Absolute Pace footwell room (and road trip).
 

I just read Leroy's comment in Paintwerks' thread about Pace footwell room and wanted to recount a recent experience of my own.

It seems like so long ago but way back when Brad (Cob01) was beginning his build, I sat in his car at the Pace factory and was surprised at the amount of leg room. Sure it was bare -- no seat, no pedals, no door -- but it was obvious the thing had plenty of cabin space.

Fast forward to last week when Brad called out of the blue and said it was time I took his now completed car for a drive. He duly arried at my place and I was just in the processs of trying it on for size when we got a call from another CC member Jeff Wood who had just returned home from a trout fishing trip to Lake Eucumbene and was suffering withdrawal symptoms from not having driven his Cobra for a couple of weeks. Jeff rolled around in fifteen minutes and what I thought was going to be a brief run around the block turned, at Brad's suggestion, into a drive up to Wivenhoe Dam!

Now, I'm 194 cm tall and Brad's not. Nevertheless I fitted in quite comfortably and off we went -- carefully. The last thing I wanted to do was trash Brad's new baby, Pace No.1. Things were going smoothly and I was starting to relax when just before Fernvale, with no chance of avoidance due to oncoming traffic and no run-off area, we simply demolished a poorly filled pothole on top of a ridge we had to straddle, overfilled to the max and not tamped down. Luckily it was a recent job and the gravelly bitumen had not fully hardened, but Jeff who was following was peppered with sticky black rocks. The jolt was bad enough but the noise of bouncing gravel hammering the undersides of that lovely car was scary. I s**t myself but Brad was amazingly calm and unruffled and suggested we continue on to Fernvale, which I did but keeping an eye on the gauges and looking in the mirror for any trace of oil.

An examination of the undersides in Ferny revealed no damage and after a calming cuppa (for me -- Brad was totally unconcerned -- unreal) we continued on up to Wivenhoe where Jeff left us and Brad and I continued on up and over Mt Glorious, down through the lovely Samford Valley and then Gap Creek Rd and home.

We'd done about 150 klms and I'd driven all the way, some highway, some suburban stuff, and more testingly Mt Glorious which requires a lot of pedal work. Initially on the highway I'd tried to find a spot for my left foot down among the floor-mounted pedals. It wasn't too bad with my leg slightly bent resting on the transmission tunnel, but after a while I found that I could put my foot between the clutch and brake pedals and stretch my leg out. Obviously not the thing for driving in traffic but for highway cruising, lovely! The throttle was OK, not absolutely perfect for me but I could have driven much further without drama. Knee room was plentiful. The high line of the underside of the dash meant that even with my long legs, my knees did not touch the dash at any time during the drive, ever! Similarly with the steering wheel -- heaps of clearance.

Brad said that there was a further forward adjustment of 50 mm available on all pedals, and that later Paces also had an additional rearward movement of the seat of 50 mm available as well, so for incredibly tall people like myself leg room is quite simply not an issue. I'm not sure if Pace offer a dropped floor option, but if they do then any leg room problem is solved beyond any doubt whatsoever.

Another interesting point was the height of the seat (or the height of the doors, not sure). In my Arntz, I sit at a height where wind blows up my shirt sleeve. In Brad's car I sit much lower so that the wind is not a problem and it feels somehow safer being right down in the car. I had to have the steering column in my car moved inboard a little to give me sufficient elbow room but no such problems in the Pace. The Pace trampoline seat copped a good workout too with my 115 kgs and didn't bottom out at any time. So ... leg room length and width tick, dashboard clearance tick, steering wheel clearance and placement tick, elbow room tick, seat tick, supremely comfortable driving position tick, underbody strength and well guarded sump plug for dealing with Queensland road repairs, big tick!

Way back in the early days, Brad had said I could take his car for a drive when it was finished and now I have. It's only the third Cobra I've driven -- Craig's (750HP) blue monster, mine, and now Brad's -- simply because I couldn't fit into them. Pace have emphatically put that problem to rest with their beautifully crafted 427. Well done to Craig White and his staff for bringing this car on to the market and my whole-hearted appreciation and thanks to Brad for entrusting me with Pace No.1.

Hi Don

Thanks for sharing.....Posts like these are very informative , actually I enjoy these the most and to know that the car can accommodate tall people is very reassuring for us larger types.

That's great to hear Don. I recall seeing that picture of you sitting in Brad's car in the factory and thinking I won't have any problem. The last thing I want is to look like I'm sitting ON my car rather than in it. I'm 6'2" so should have plenty of room.
Cheers,
Glen

exellent don im only a shorty at 5 ft 11 so im sure i will fit into mine with no probs the g force i went too look at in tassie when i sat in that i felt cramped and looked at the top of the windscreen . with the pace the extra 50 mm rearward is done by reshaping the rear wheel arch differently along with a differnt shaped seat i am led to believe .
it's great to see brads car clocking up some miles . i was lucky to meet brad and go over his car while i was up there ordering mine .
there should be a few paces hitting the rd aust wide for the next few yrs just on the kits that are out there at the moment let alone any kits to be sold in the future .
im chomping at the bit for mine to rock up im sure my mrs is slipping me valium to calm me down lol.
cheers dean

I know the feeling of apprehension when the kit is nearly ready to ship.....

Most of these apply
anxiety, angst, alarm, worry, uneasiness, nervousness, misgiving, disquiet, concern, agitation, restlessness, edginess, fidgetiness, nerves, tension, trepidation, perturbation, consternation, panic, fearfulness, dread, fear, shock, horror, terror........

bloody hell you will be nervous wreck if you feel like that already lol and you forgot the night sweats . twas great to see pics of Ians car arriving in Adelaide this week another one down so next one can roll down the line .
the production line at gmh elizabeth will be vacant soon i reckon craig ought to move into there imagine cobras and gt 40's rolling down the line like commodores :-) would be fantastic too see.:D:D:D:D
cheers dean

Have I seen pics of the Adelaide car?

pm sent

Fantastic write-up! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. :)

Can somebody please post up a video of a Pace 427SC in action (cockpit video or drive by's)????

Brad was kind enough to drop round about a fortnight ago and after looking over my build and giving me a few tips he took me for a spin.

The back end got a little loose as we hit Robina Parkway.

After he left my wife asked me about the drive. I nervously replied that I think I bought the wrong engine. After feeling the power of Brads 302w, the 351w in the PACE should be interesting.

I don't know how you blokes manage with 500HP+ engines. Brads PACE should be enough beast for anyone.

Thats the best part about these forums.. I'd only spoken to Brad a few times and already he was happy to drop by my place and give me a few pointers and take me for a drive. Looking forward to seeing a few more completed cars on the road.

Brad is going to have to name her so the introduction is a little more formal, after all, she is giving all the boys rides and making them very happy.

And in saying this, I too have been taken for the ride with the Pace Mistress. Dons comments above sum it up for me. You really sit in the car than on it and looking out the middle of the windscreen is just right. Footbox was no issues. I am 6'1'', big feet and had plenty of room. The door height was just right for my arm. To be honest it was quite similar to my previous Harrison for sitting in, but there was just more room...... everywhere.

The Pace Mistress, she's getting around alright.

i think brad needs to do a road trip to south aust lol so we can meet and greet his mistress

Hi Deano and all the others,

Its a very nice feeling sitting in the Cobra in the passengers seat and being chauffeured around by an extremely competent driver .

On another note I can't drive Don's Arentz because I can't reach the foot pedals,I am too short one end.

I had intended to drive (Cobrina) My wife has named the Cobra that ,to Victoria's Shelbyfest that was held recently but time and business commitments stopped me doing that.

However the road trip to the south is nearly on because I think the Taxi business has been sold,(he has paid the deposit and id making all the right inquiries and noises for an end of July settlement.

Also I was at the Pace factory yesterday (It seems that I can't stay away from the place) and saw the Carbon fiber insert on both sides of the rear bulkhead to give the driver and passenger an extra 50 mm of room.

It looked so kool that i might do it to Cobrina time will tell.

See you at the QLD Cobra Club Breakfast those who are attending

Cheers

Brad

P.S. Don the Taxi meter in Cobrina was broken so I don' know how much the fare was for the drive haha .

Hi Leroy

I am going to the breakfast on sunday so you might like to drive Cobrina to the Pace shed run after the breakfast

Cheers

Brad

Brad can you drive Cobrina over to WA?? **)

Hi Albany

I don't know about driving to WA but I reckon that I would need a cold drink at the end of the trip (If it ever happens).

Cheers

Brad

Ha ha , I guess I could offer a beverage or two.....