Here you go..................
 

I received some very good advice from Randy Thomas at SCOFF and discovered the cause of the issue:

on the left front wheel brake caliper there are supposed to be four bolts that should have been secured by locktite by the installer, guess what when I checked last night there were only three, apparently they was no locktite and thus one vibrated loose, as a result the entire assembly could move vertically and thus when braking the assembly would move and sound like metal to metal and make a loud clunking noise. After driving back and forth several times to get video of the motion and noise the wheel well was heavily scraped.

Long story short I sent a video of the breaking motion to Lance of Superformance and he got Charlie of Hot Rods by Dean in Phoenix to pick up my car, it will be fixed tomorrow. Also on the fix list is the turn signals, they never worked from the very first time I got the car and after I returned the car I was subsequently assured by the installer they would be fixed. I am also guessing the power booster brake pump will need replacing since it was acting up on the very first day I went to test drive my car six months ago.

Not sure about you guys who are skilled in the art of automotive sciences, but when I saw this picture it sure didn’t look right, even if it works well.

You guys be the judge. tin-man

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/pict...pictureid=6863

Tim Man,

Charlie is a great guy. He fixed mine. While he is under there have him check all the bolts. Well worth it. I knew it after you described what happened. He knows these cars very well.

What's up with the transmission pan?

It looks like the transmission is at quite an angle?:eek:

How do you replace a wheel well on a SPF car?:confused:

What he said.


Is that chipped paint on the lowest part of the trans pan?

What a fuking crime, joke, fuking turn signal doesnt work? If that is the transmission pan and it is cocked, I am beyond words and must leave this thread.

Maybe just me but the bell housing flange/engine appears to be cocked as well.

The situation was a little bit humorous back in June when it all started http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/all-...-78-miles.html -- but there is no humor in this anymore.:( It's actually turning in to a sad thread. Anyone with an autotrans SPF should step up and post some pics so we can see what the right way looks like. Maybe it's not as bad as it seems.

Tinner,
My sympathies to your plight. I anyone on this thread can feel your pain when it comes to things happening (Roush or otherwise) it is Myself, Sandy and Spooky. I am no expert but maybe they were under the influence when they installed your transmission? That can't be correct. Hopefully they get you back on the road soon.
Ron

I'm going to withhold comment as I have nothing good to say about Hillbank right now. That's amazing that for that much money, you get that badly screwed and never kissed.

John, if the brake caliper was loose and moving, is it actually the inside of the wheel itself that's scraped as opposed to the wheelwell?

Re: the transmission pan angle, let's hope it was deliberately canted that way for clearance or some other purpose and does not present any sort of problem.

With a relatively bare bones hotrod like a Cobra, some ongoing tweaking, tightening and vibration related issues can be expected. These early problems you're experiencing though, are more typical of what an amateur home builder/assembler might expect and cheerfully accept on a car he built in his own garage but DEFINITELY NOT from a $100K plus turnkey the second time around from an all-star cast of names like SPF/Hillbank/Roush et al.:mad:

But don't lose faith in Cobras buddy - they really aren't that bad. Get your remaining issues sorted so you can get out there and really feel the joys of Cobra ownership.:)

Is the entire engine/trans at the angle or just the trans? Check the oil pan. Mine was slightly off center too and it was due to engine mounts.

It was a incorrect description of what I saw, it was the inside of the wheel rim that got scoured, me bad. That said, I accept the fact that every now and then I will make some type of dumbass remark since I is an inexperienced car enthusiasts, but you can bet your bippy I will absolutely become an expert over time on all the issues associated with owning a Cobra. :CRY: That's what's going to keep the adrenalin pumping for me in in my retirement, along with tinkering, fixing, polishing, and driving the car in a very sedate manner,:LOL: and on rainy days going into the garage and just sitting in my car shouting as loud as I can, varroom, varoom.:D .:rolleyes: Oh and along with chasing my wifey and doing all the stuff retired folks do.:LOL:

Cheers, John,AKA, tin-man

Tinny, I know you will think this is easy for me to say, but, I agree. Hang in there. It took me a long time to iron out all the little intricacies of your unique toy. Once on this side of working out the bugs I haven't had any problems for years. Outside of replacing rear tires frequently. You will learn ALL about your car and the more you know, the easier it gets to fix yourself, and the more you fix youself the more you know.
See how that works?
Eventually "one" with your cobra you will become.

AZ Yoda Bob

X2 on that. I have been in your shoes x3 and it will test your patience. Hang in there.

Some perspective seems to be in order with so many opinions:

- Superformance built the rolling chassis and body. Does not appear to be any issues with that (the car is gorgeous and structurally sound). Verdict = Positive.
- Hillbank sold the turn-key-minus car and is clearly standing behind their product (and supplementing the installer they may have referred the buyer to). Verdict = Positive.
- Eric Voss installed what might be a one-off combination for any prior replica Cobra build (BIG INCH Roush injected motor with auto trans). Fraught with issues, some which clearly could have been avoided, but still more complex then your typical build. Not sure why this project, after countless others, went so far south either. Maybe even this one-off install was out of their league? Verdict = Negative.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And the weakest link is clearly evident. I hope this owner gets his car sorted out...sometimes it takes a while but once it's set (as others have pointed out), it's set for good with just routine maintenance thereafter.

Superformance installed the brake calipers and turn signal both of which have problems = negative

Hillbank = I assume knew of loose calipers issues since there was a TSB. I assume a dealer would run a shake down on the car. Maybe they never had to stop or use a turn signal prior to both deliveries :LOL:. = Negative

I have no idea about the transpan with missing paint but it met expectations on someone list**)

John,

Let's see what Charlie can do with it. He has worked miracles in the past. Maybe for the Jan 1st run have him ride along, just like the old days at Indy.

Mike

So just how does an obvious recall-level flaw like the calipers get by so many people? SPF doesn't send a note to purchasers on something like that like every other car manufacturer in the world does? I'm still getting recall notices on cars from GM that I don't even own any more. And none of the "experts" that were putting the car together, or fixing it, bothered to even check the TSB list? C'mon, we don't need to turn this thread in to an SPF bash, but let's get serious. If SPF put one tenth the effort in keeping their buyers advised of serious dangers that they do in marketing, tin-man's brakes wouldn't have torn up his wheel the first day he had it. What would they have said if those calipers had put tin-man in to a head on collision... "uh, we just sell rollers, it's the responsibility of someone else to make sure you haven't bought a death trap."

Have them check for broken engine/transmission mount.