Boss JBL Progress
 

Just checking in:

There has been little work done in the last two months due to unexpected traveling and events. I believe I am home now for a while and able to get back in the groove.

The current plan is to take this badboy off the jack stands, where it has been for the last year and nine months, set it on the pavement and light the candle.

The chassis is basically ready to drive with the exception of fuel lines and to tidy up a few things.

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...sc00079two.jpg

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...sc00089two.jpg

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...sc00086two.jpg
Kinsler linkage parts

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...sc00090two.jpg
Temporary rough dash and layout. Still working on final. Two small LED's seen through the steering
wheel are the front and rear roll bar actuator indicators. Which, by the way, work beautifully Richard.

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...sc00088two.jpg



Keep your fingers crossed for me. Thanks, John Marsey

John,

Hi, it's Tom Thompson--we've met at a couple of events at Sears Point--I'm the one with the red Contemporary. You're doing an incredible job with that car. Can't wait to see it go!

TT

John, Looks fantastic! You have always been such a perfectionist!Almost ready for a 3am Calistoga run?.....Charlie

trip down...
 

Hi John,
nice to see the progress on the Cobra Kart... I talked to the guys about making another trip down in the next 30 days or so. It will be good for Marc to see your progress (and hear a real v8) because I know it will motivate him to sell the V10 Vacuum cleaner, step up, and finally build a JBL once and for all.

Let me know what you think about dates to come down so I can let the troops know. Looks great, and I bet it will sound great with them Yates heads... Gota love them garden hose spark plug wires! See ya. Duane

John - Just as I thought I was getting good at understanding what goes into a Cobra, you come up with "roll bar actuators." Can you possibly explain exactly what that is, or those are? I thought roll bars are just stationary, welded or bolted to the frame. If it's a good thing, I want it on my car.

Bumpster

John,

Your work is beautiful. It looks as good as any of the stuff I see the boys in CART and Trans-Am do. You should be quite proud.

I am quite proud of your work as you are building the car in the design image that I originally meant it to encompass.

Your efforts are why I designed the car in first place.

Thanks, John. You have made the design effort worthwile and rewarding.

Now, what is the blue inline fitting in the rear brake line?

Also, I do not know what your sizing might be for the rear brake MC as supplied. If you have the .75 unit, call JBL Dave so he can send you the .625 unit.

It seems that my calculations on bias were wrong with the Wilwood rear option. I somehow got the CG altitude wrong with these units and that made the .75 recommendation incorrect. You are not able to get the correct bias at center position with the .75. (Hey, sometimes you just get caught out.) There is no cost, you guys just swap out parts.

Also, have you tried the body fit with your oil radiator in it's current position? It looks a bit tight to me. There may not be enough room as standard.

Once again, a real beauty.

Now, lets get that thing done and at the track so that we can start talking about chassis setup stuff and how to go even quicker then the last time.

Richard,

Those are residual pressure valves, 2 lbs. Both front and back. The brakes are "right there" with very little sponge. I am very pleased with the break system. Balance bar works smoothly too.

The oil cooler is a 1.5 quart daul pass unit and temporarily mounted. Once I mount the body I will fit the cooler and properly shroud the air thru the cooler out to the wheel openings away from the radiator. There is quite a bit of temporary stuff, gaggle, just stuck on for the time being till I mount the body.

Thanks as usual for your support, will keep you posted, John

Re: trip down...
 

Hi Duane,

Yes, that's water injection you see there.

Send me your email address and we can discuss our get together at the Rod Shop. Late May , early June? Not June 1st, I have a kart race. I can check with the boys as to options. They are deep in race season now and doing quite well. We want those guys to be available when we get together. I'm looking forward to it.

Is Marc still talking about a JBL? This would be a good time for him to dump that Mopar and build something serious.

Talk to you soon, John

I guess the "roll bar actuator" thing must be a secret.

Bumpster

Bumpster,

The anti-roll bars and the actuator are certainly no secret.

They are standard on the JBL.

It is really quite simple. We use a blade type anti-roll bar and the blades are rotated by a linear actuator controlled by a PC board driven by driver controlled rocker switches in the cockpit.

This gives you the capability to change roll stiffness from 125 to 1525 lbs in front and 85 to 835 in the rear as required by the track or road conditions.

Bumpster,

The adjustable swaybar or rollbar is not a secret at all. In fact it is a standard detail on most road race cars. This setup is stardard on the JBL. All I did was bolt it together. There are companies thru which you can buy the parts or a kit. But you will need to work with a professional in order to calculate correct resistances. It's a bit complicated. Nothing is made for cobras. The parts alone will run you $2000. give or take and you will need to do some fabrication and testing. I think I would do it if I were building a conventional cobra.

If you are serious, I can point you in a direction for parts.

John

Hey Tom,

Yes I remember. I think with a little luck I'll have this thing ready for next years Mini Nats at Sears. Maybe I won't run open track but at least have the car there in what ever stage it's in. I think you'd get a kick out of this beast. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, John

The JBL suspension always looks like a work of art to me!

John -

Damn that looks like a sweet motor man...Nice work. Did you build it yourself ? Is it dry sumped ? Must sound amazing at 7 grand. If you don't mind me asking; approx. how much did it cost to build the motor and what are the spec ?

Where did you get the heat shields for the plug wires ?? Did you fab them yourself ? Take care, and congrats on a very nice build. That thing oughta be a monster on the track...

What an impressive piece of engineering and fabrication--you and JBL should both be proud to post those pictures. That car ought to be an absolute track monster--

argo,

Keith Craft Racing in Arkansas built the motor and is not dry sump yet. I have somewhere btwn 15 to 18k in the complete motor. I don't keep track of costs, it's too painful. I am in denial. Moroso sells the plug wire shield in a roll. I tailored the wire set.
The basic engine:

Blue printed 302 R-block
Bronze lifter bores
Zero balanced forged rotating assembly
Crank scraper & windage tray
10.5 compression
solid roller cam
Yates heads, titainium valves, T&D rockers & spray bars
Roush C302 intake, 750 Holley
7.25" triple disk Tilton clutch
bla, bla, bla

Thanks, John

Wow man - sounds like a full boogie runner...just keep'er shiny side up ;)

.......and rubber side down.