Another Pace427 heading to Vic

[400TT]

[/quote]

Guy, that is a great photo of you with your PACE 427.

Love the stance you have set and the way you have your wheels positioned!!!

Enjoy.

[Donunder]

Originally Posted by 400TT

Guy, that is a great photo of you with your PACE 427.

Too true.

A really impressive car outside one of the most enjoyable establishments in one of the prettiest little towns in the country.

[albanycobra]

Awesome Pics......fantastic job.....hmmm think i need a violet crumble....

[guye]

Cmon Dave, that doesn't even have a hint of purple there!

[albanycobra]

Im not starting that again.......im just jealous....you're driving....Im dreaming....lol.

[Modena]

It's a glass and a half of full cream dairy goodness.....oh wait that just doesn't sound right

[kyleb]

The Cadbury's Cobra !!
Possible sponsorship for Shelbyfest mate.

[LoBelly]

Hey Guy

Got any photos of your car with the bonnet up at night ?

LoBelly

[guye]

Sshhhh LoBelly. Gotta leave something for those that get to see her in the flesh....

[guye]

9 weeks and counting. STILL no VIN from VicRoads yet. This will probably take longer than it took me to build!

While I wait, I've been doing a few odd jobs. I'll add some pics in a second, but first a question: what do people use or recommend to use as protection for the radiator? I'd like some aluminium mesh or something. Sliver I think. The stuff I checked out at autobarn and SCA are ok, but sheets are only about 200mm wide, and I'd like a single width ~450mm . Probably also like similar stuff to cover the brake cooling duct inlets.

Installed some racing harnesses:



And a smaller, more comfortable wheel for track (complete with some AP bling):



Did some early morning testing:



And some local community service work (thanks Deano for cutting the logos):

[750hp]

Guy, what's the wheel finish in that last photo. I can't tell, it either looks like you forgot to watch the dust off them ( ), or have you given them a magnesium style finish? Looks cool.

[guye]

Built my car to drive, Craig. That's a bit of 'track' dust from my day out at Calder Raceway

Thanks for saying it's cool - you should see them now after ShelbyFest! The fronts especially are nearly black! It must be mega awesome now!

[Towmaster]

Great work Guy! It was great to meet you at the Nationals and even more so now to see you really enjoying your finished Cobra.
Great work!

[Buzz]

Absolutely beautiful Absolute Pace, Guye! Now that you've gotten a few street and track miles under the keel, can you tell us a bit about how the chassis and suspension feels and works? Steering and brakes, ride quality, etc? If I do another Cobra in the near future, I'm seriously thinking it would be a Pace.

[guye]

Originally Posted by Buzz

Absolutely beautiful Absolute Pace, Guye! Now that you've gotten a few street and track miles under the keel, can you tell us a bit about how the chassis and suspension feels and works? Steering and brakes, ride quality, etc? If I do another Cobra in the near future, I'm seriously thinking it would be a Pace.

Thanks Buzz.

The more I drive it, the more I enjoy it. And I'm not just 'Cobra-struck'! Sometimes I forget to reset the ride adjustment on the shocks (which is so easy with the in-board suspension setup) after the track, and it is of course very firm. Wind it back to only click 2 or 3 and the car feels to me like a good euro car. Firm, responsive, with feeling, but not unforgiving nor jarring.

The steering is quite light as long as your moving. Even at very low, sub-walking speeds. No power hook, so it is naturally tough at a standstill, but surprisingly not as hard as I recall my first few cars where in my youth! The turning circle is amazingly tight, which is great considering you really want to do the minimum steering turns when your parking, turning around, etc.

In terms of cornering, I've pretty well used the recommended settings and it was very neutral - no under steer nor oversteer to speak of. (I learnt what that is at ShelbyFest ).

I've adjusted the tracking on the car a few times for various reason, and settled to where I have it now. I like the ride height I've got now, but that does mean the rear tracking is arguably a little narrow in some people's eyes. If I move it out even 2-3mm further, the tyres rub the arches under suspension compression on bouncy roads. I think they are ok, and those nice looking flared rear arches especially just tend to make the wheels seem they could go a bit further out, that's all.

In terms of the chassis, it all feels very firm and confident to me. Now, I'm no racing driver (I know, I know, despite my huge win at ShelbyFest! ) so I haven't driven 20 different vehicles on the same track to compare. I've certainly been a passenger in the Pace427 also with someone who CAN really drive (at the Nationals - thanks John!) and the same chassis didn't feel the slightest bit spongy to me in THAT outing I can tell you!

Buzz - do it! I think I get a referral fee for the first O/S sale!

[dave295]

Would the stainless steel mesh used in household security screens on windows/doors be any good to protect the radiator.

Cheers
Dave

[Donunder]

I've often thought that the radiators in our cars are vulnerable to damage but the silver alloy screens on some cars that are mounted right on the mouth of the radiator opening seem to me to look like some ugly visual "block" that severely affects the car's attractive front end design.

Dave's security screen suggestion has merit in that most of these screens are black. If you've ever noticed on these screens at home it is possible to see through them to the outdoors, whereas the grey material on others screens restricts this through vision. So then, black for me. It would blend in far better. Also does the mesh need to be as fine as on security or fly screens? We're not trying to keep tiny objects out at the expense of restricting precious airflow.

If your plan is to mount the screen right at the opening, then black less noticeable Crimsafe-type material with a similar strength but of a slightly coarser mesh would seem OK. Preferably, if you're not running pusher fans, mounting the screen a couple of centimetres in front of the radiator body would be ideal, and then the colour becomes immaterial.

Another thing -- Murphy's Law. I have a liquid cooled motorcycle. In one year I had two major hits to the radiator. I put on a radiator guard and five years later it is still pristine and unmarked....

[David Hodgson]

I've used light 1 - 1.2mm? expanded mesh with about a 5mm opening spaced off the radiator about 10mm. If you're radiator is alloy you could use stainless or aluminium. I've used the fluted style not the flat and mounted 180 degrees to what this pic shows. With the lean back angle of the radiator, it is only the thickness of the metal facing the direction of flow.

[Tonus72]

You must have a place like this over there Guy?

Grating Tasmania! | Metal with holes!

[SVO 050]

I used black powder coated stainless steel mesh, very strong and light. Made it removable so I can clean it easily. I tried the perforated alloy sheet but it restricted air flow too much as my radiator is mounted at a 30 degree angle with the top laying forward.
Cheers
SVO