"Sorting out" Issues...

[itstock]

What type of issues does everyone consider typical things that are classified as something to be sorted out in the first hundred/thousands of miles?

I'm just trying to figure out how unrealistic my expectations are/have been so far, with just over 500 miles.

I would just like to see an honest list from some owners of issues that have come up in the first sub thousand or so miles.

Thanks,
Steve

[Grubby]

readjust clutch, various fasteners worked lose or not tight, slight oil leaks from hose connections, ground loose, new starter would not start car hot, new alternator died, oil temp gauge died, carb secondaries had too stiff spring and would not open.

I think that covers it.

Nothing major and nearly 8,000 miles of fun and 3 years.

John

[patrickt]

In no particular order, oil leaks, fasteners coming loose (which can and did cause stranding), cheap external engine part coming apart, a circuit that was overloaded by extra fans, loose wiring connections, coolant leak, AN fittings leaking, carb clogging, distributor corrosion, ignition switch failure, gauge failures, parking brake not holding, clutch fork gouging master cylinder, sieve like brake/clutch reservoirs, and that's just off the top of my head. I consider all of the above to be "minor nuisances." I will tell you that almost all of those issues gave a "hint" that they were getting ready to go before they actually went. Some I caught early, some not so early. As a result, I am now "extra vigilant" to any new sound, smell, drop, or feel when it comes to this car. It's taken a good 5k miles to get to the point where I now might, just might, be able to make it coast to coast. That's still a dice roll, though.

[brandx]

I would go over all of the suspension items. Brakes especially.

[jhv48]

13,000 miles and almost three years later and mine still isn't fully sorted out.
Alternator wire broke. Cost me a battery.
Two thermostats replaced. four tranny pulls to diagnose and fix shifting problem. Replaced master cylinder once, slave three times, throwout bearing and pilot bushing four times, complete clutch assembly and clutch fork once. Grinding in reverse.
Three intake manifold gaskets. Leaking.
16 valve guide seals. Oil consumption.
Cobra valley ball joints, adjustable shocks and springs and several trips to the tire shop to get rid of front end vibration.
Three cracked windshields.
Four Tire replacement at 500 miles (sumitomos, need I say more?). Needed traction.
Replaced oil temp gauge. Died.
Replaced nylon oil pressure tube with stainless line. Leaked.
Replaced carb with prosystems dp once. Street avengers are crap!
Replaced valve cover gaskets three times. Leaks.
Replaced restrictive side pipes and gaskets. Choking engine.
Fixed parking brake. Adjusting nut fell off.
Replaced painted wheels with polished wheels. Just for looks.

Other than that, my car has been trouble free.

[menace1]

I was stranded twice by a rocker backing off and intake gasket leaking. Both times I was only a few miles from the house and had AAA tow the car to my garage. Then leaks a plenty with antifreeze leaking at hose connections and oil from valve covers and the pan. Also had leaky slave cylinder.
Pedel height adjustment to eliminate reverse grind and a new Jordan shifter to make 3rd gear shifts every time. Corner weight the Cobra after adjusting ride height made it handle 100% better and the list goes on and on...

Glenn

[mdross1]

My only issue was burping the cooling system,had once added too much coolant and a little overflowed and caused a lot of smoke at an intersection.Had to get used to the quick temp rise and bee comfortable with 190 degree running temp.Always keep an eye on loose hardware especially exhaust and suspension.Otherwise have fun and learn what your car is trying to tell you.

[YerDugliness]

I can't imagine one of these beasts not having electrical system issues....those can be infuriatingly difficult!

Cheers!

Dugly

[Tommy]

Steve,
In the big time auto industry, auto repairs on new cars are tracked by model and plotted on a graph with the number of repair on the vertical axis and miles plotted on the horizontal axis starting at zero. Over time this graph has come to be known as the bathtub curve:


The shape of the curve has improved over the years as manufacturers have gotten better at making problem free cars that last longer. But I doubt that applies to small scale manufacturers of specialty cars equipped with aftermarket drive trains. .... My point is that with cars like Cobra replicas, there is no typical sorting out period. These are not daily drivers like Hondas and Chevrolets. These are replicas of race cars that were sold as street cars only to meet the requirements of their racing classes. For many of us, sorting them out is a never ending process.

[tirod]

Aside from the simple mechanical fasteners going loose, or an aged donor wire harness just being itself, there's the complete mismatch of a bunch of race oriented parts thrown at a street car.

The most famous is "my car is overheating/the battery won't stay charged." Usually caused by a set of underdriive pulleys not spinning the water pump and alternator enough to make them work. Add the one wire alternator, something really designed for a tractor and misused on cars. Then apply the spiral cell battery, which keeps the whole thing running just long enough to give up the ghost 35 miles from home.

Search across the forums and it pops up everywhere.

The early races Shelby American went to with their newer models are a litany of sorting out. Differentials overheating, breakages, the infamous Daytona fire, on and on. What kit builders put together today - roadster, coupe, rod, street machine, rat rod, whatever - have the same problem. The builder isn't putting together a system of compatible parts in a design to meet the requirements. He's putting parts together that he thinks are cool, and it's really amazing that it actually works as well as it does.

'94 Mustang brakes on the roadster? Big area to sort out. Small lines on a Championship racer that restrict crankcase breathing at high rpms forcing oil out the dipstick tube? An area to sort out. AN fuel lines from tank to engine leaking and causing fires? Sort it out.

There are posts every day. The factory uses names like recall or technical service bulletin. It's all sorting out.

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by tirod

It's all sorting out.

...and, I might add, it never ends.

This is one thing that prospective owners need to realize...there is ALWAYS something that will need attention since most of these things are assembled by an amateur, not a professional, and certainly most often NOT an automotive engineer who understands the interplay of systems.

Right now I have low beams on my headlights but no high beams. Nobody can figure out why....off to the shop, I guess, at $80/hour.

...it's always something.....

Cheers!

Dugly

[mln385]

Shouldn't ones expectations be higher with a turnkey car from an assembled Manufacturer such as BDR or Superformance etc. After all isn't that part of the sales pitch on these types?

The OP has a newer BDR so one would suspect the car should be fairly well built no?

[jhv48]

One would expect that, yes.

But then one would be greatly disappointed.

[TButtrick]

All of my failures have been engine/ignition related. Should have gone with Ford Motorsports and simple electronic ignition from the get-go. Many upgrades like 3 link, later Ford spindles/rotors for pin drive knock offs, etc. Other than some worn out door hinges, and a replaced pitted windscreen, I only rebuilt the rear clutch pack and no other chassis or running gear problems in ten years and 90,000 miles. Preventive maintenance is key. I'm going for a ride!

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by mln385

Shouldn't ones expectations be higher with a turnkey car from an assembled Manufacturer such as BDR or Superformance etc. After all isn't that part of the sales pitch on these types?

The OP has a newer BDR so one would suspect the car should be fairly well built no?

Better than most? Yes. Perfect? No.

I have seen very few FACTORY related issues on chassis' that have been properly dealer prepped and road tested. Most issues are powertrain related or due to an "improvement" made by the installer.

Thing not caused by the factory we have seen or are aware of:
-Electrical problem caused by splicing into a wire with a 3M "Scotchlock" connector (these are a crime against nature)
-Oil leak due to poor routing of hoses.
-Heater hose failure due to routing against sharp edge and no restraint to prevent hose from chafing on edge
-Use of racing type electric fuel pump, you know the one intended for a drag car that runs 90 seconds total? The ones that overheat and fail when expected to pump for 350 miles?

And so on. A well FINISHED car will have few problems and all will need a re-tune, etc. after a few hundred miles of run in.

[mreid]

So, Steve, what kind of "sorting out" issues are you having? Perhaps we could be more help knowing what kinds of trouble you are experiencing.

[MRGEORGE077]

An excellent question and yes one would expect that if you bought a new Cobra from a dealer you would have fewer problems. The following are issues that I faced upon delivery, from an authorized Shelby dealer, after a very long wait on baby for a CSX car.

Upon arrival, the following issues existed.

1. Speedometer was registering 20 miles off because of wrong gear in transmission.
2. Tachometer wasn’t working because dip switches had not been properly set.
3. Carburetors were blowing raw fuel on to the engine, floats were set to high.
4. Brakes were only working at around 50% had to flush and adjust.
5. Left wheel bearing had to be adjusted.
6. Radiator expansion tank was leaking antifreeze into the engine compartment, had to be replaced.
7. All four wheels were out of alignment and had to be realigned.

After 200 miles, I experience the following additional issues.

1.T-bar reverse lockout on the shifter broke.

2.Remote starter solenoid failed and had to be replaced.

3.Exhaust system improperly installed and was generating excess heat in the cockpit area; muffler after 100 miles was beginning to burn the drivers and passenger side foot pan out. Exhaust system re-engineered and interior as well as exterior heat reflected material installed.

After 300 miles, the following additional issues came up.

1. Transmission will not shift into third or fourth gear; this issue will have to be addressed when we receive the car back from the upholstery shop.

2. Parking Brake does not fully disengage rear wheels this issue will have to be addressed when receive the car back from the upholstery shop.

Other than that it’s a great automobile that I look forward to, after fully shorting out, one day, enjoying the car.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by MRGEORGE077

An excellent question and yes one would expect that if you bought a new Cobra from a dealer you would have fewer problems. The following are issues that I faced upon delivery, from an authorized Shelby dealer, after a very long wait on baby for a CSX car.

The speedo gear, tach switches, setting the floats, bleeding the brakes, making sure there are no coolant leaks, aligning the wheels, and making sure the exhaust is positioned right, IMO, is the job of whoever dropped in your engine/trans. The wheel bearing should have been right from the outset, but that could just have been a fluke. The T-Bar and solenoid could have happened to anybody at any time. Regarding the shifting problem, I bet your bellhousing was never aligned -- that's a reasonable PITA and I bet your guy just skipped over it, since he seemed to skip over some other basic "get it ready" type jobs. That would be a pisser alright.

[MRGEORGE077]

Originally Posted by patrickt

The speedo gear, tach switches, setting the floats, bleeding the brakes, making sure there are no coolant leaks, aligning the wheels, and making sure the exhaust is positioned right, IMO, is the job of whoever dropped in your engine/trans. The wheel bearing should have been right from the outset, but that could just have been a fluke. The T-Bar and solenoid could have happened to anybody at any time. Regarding the shifting problem, I bet your bellhousing was never aligned -- that's a reasonable PITA and I bet your guy just skipped over it, since he seemed to skip over some other basic "get it ready" type jobs. That would be a pisser alright.

You got that correct my friend, just can't wait to see what else breaks after we get all of this fixed.I tool delivery in May and it's been in and out of the shop most of the time.

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by MRGEORGE077

You got that correct my friend, just can't wait to see what else breaks after we get all of this fixed.I tool delivery in May and it's been in and out of the shop most of the time.

My goodness, that has to be incredibly frustrating, to lay out that kind of $$ and get a car that for all intents and purposes is unusable.

There is only one "kit builder" type of business in the Houston area of which I am aware, and one person who specializes in the F5R products, but for those areas where the well known builders are located I bet there is a real need for a mechanic-type business where the focus is to inspect the car before delivery is taken and point out areas that need further attention while it is still in the hands of the builder...sort of like a building inspector, but focused on component cars.

Rest assured, though, something else WILL break...it's just the nature of these things, there is always SOMETHING that needs attention. For those of us who are mechanically inclined and enjoy fiddling around with these toys, that can be a source of joy, but when the issues require expensive attention by specialists (like mine, nobody can figure out why I have low beams and not high beams despite changing out the switch and both halogen bulbs) who charge $80/hr and take their sweet time it can get infuriatingly expensive, not to mention frustrating!

Good luck, George.....

Cheers!

Dugly