Thread on Tin-Man's Cobra

[tin-man]

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

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by tin-man

After driving back and forth several times to get video of the motion and noise the wheel well was heavily scraped.

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

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by patrickt

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

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. 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, and on rainy days going into the garage and just sitting in my car shouting as loud as I can, varroom, varoom. . Oh and along with chasing my wifey and doing all the stuff retired folks do.

Cheers, John,AKA, tin-man

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by tin-man

...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.

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.

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.