The duct tape on the inside of the wheel could have been used to secure wheel weights when the wheel was balanced. When I had mine balanced on the car, the mechanic would duct tape the weights to the wheel so he could move them around after each high speed spin to fine tune any vibrations. Once he found the right amount of weight and where to put it, he would remove the tape and glue the weight directly to the wheel.

Thank You VMS
 

Man I am Glad I got my ride Through VMS , Thanks Jay :o

The duct tape is probably from the wheel weights coming off. Backdraft of Boynton Beach seems to do things "half-ass". They will balance the wheels and attached the weights with duct tape. What they fail to do is clean the inside of the wheel before installing the weights and the weights fall off a few weeks later. At least that is what happen to my car #1214 the next week after it was delivered to me.
If brake fluid is disappearing from a NEW car, make the dealer install a complete new system.

I think you've found your front end vibration. If that duct tape was used to secure the wheel weights, and there aren't any weights under the tape, then the weights have fallen off. Have the front wheels rebalanced.

Any update on this? Did you ever get the brake fluid leak fixed?

Didn't have time yet, was traveling during the week. I filled up the break fluid and it didn't leak while parked so far, so it appears it will only leak when the break booster is fired up.

Kind of really mad about these paint chips and also learned they actually replaced BOTH of the rear calibers which makes me wonder about the front, I would bake all 4 at the same time. BDR didn't even address the paint issue in their response to my email.

I understand it is a handmade low volume build and that there are issues, but I would, if I would sell a product like this, stand more behind it.

Here is my email to BDR:

Reg,

My brake fluid reservoir is empty again.I don't think air made it in the system yet. Which DOT fluid are you using? There is not enough in there to test if it is silicone or glycol. I will bring it to a local shop this time, but need to top it of with the right stuff.

Not happy about that or the paint chip I discovered when the hood was open, see attached.

---

Their response:

Hi Klaus,

The fluid used in the system is Synthetic fluid. Typically a Valvoline DOT3/4 fluid. Please let me know what the find wrong with it? We have replace both rear calipers on the car.


Reg Dodd | reg@backdraftracing.com | 561.752.3693 ext 103 | Fax 561.739.5126
3210 SW 14TH Place | Boynton Beach, Florida 33426

---

Now the duct tape, it makes totally sense about putting duct tape to test with the weights if you have an older balancing machine, but the vibrations actually go away at highway speed. I remember in the old days feeling unbalanced wheels the most at about 55-60 mph, but at that speed it is nearly gone. I can feel it a lot at 35 to 40 mph. I hope it is just a balancing weight issue as this would be easy to fix.

Still love the car and hanging in there and not giving up!!

Front wheel vibration
 

Just so you Know and feel better mine has done that from day one too ,but I have got to the point I don't care ,Personally I think it has to do with the true knock offs, I have monitored mine since day one rebuilt the tie rods and still there, but have also noted there is no unusual tire wear and I have put some miles on it, just an FYI . Very seldom I am at 40 MPH :p

So sorry to hear you're having all of these issues. Keep being persistent and maybe they'll mail you some touch up paint to fix that paint chip, or at least they give you the paint code so you can source some out. As far as the brake leak, I wouldn't risk driving it. Get it towed to a local shop and have them look into it there. Wish you lived in Orlando so you could take it to my buddy's shop. I've taken mine to him several times for various reasons (oil pan leak, new clutch, and other minor things) so he's gotten pretty familiar with BDR Cobras.

There is NO excuse for anyone that works on these cars or any other classic car to not put fender pads on whenever the hood is opened!
They should totally repaint that fender lip and not just do a 'touchup'. You will notice that spot everytime you open the hood especially on an otherwise perfect car.

There is a time to be nice and a time to be a DICK, you should be alot more pissed off about the things that have happened to your car and do whatever it takes to get it fixed correctly. I also emailed BackDrafts headquarters before i bought my car and finally got a response after i sent a nasty email because i was getting ignored. I am lucky to have one of the best if not the best dealer/builder for backdraft in my backyard, 25 minutes away. I have had a few issues with my car and Jay dives in head first and even goes head to head with the suppliers who have given him faulty parts and equipment. These cars cost a good amount of money and I think Backdraft headquarters should wake up and start treating their customers better because I see alot of bad posts and comments about them lately. Not even sure if they read these posts but they should be if they care about their reputation.Rant over!

Me Too!!

Pretty chotty work if you ask me! Check the underside edge of your hood for a scratch or something stuck in the rubber seal as well! I would be pissed off at this point! Good luck man!

on the engine vibration issue. pull the plugs, check the plug gap, look for cracked plug ceramic (it happened to me on a Speed Fax build), plug color will tell you how the cylinder is firing and plug wire firing order sequence is correct. Cam should not be that radical to cause vibration at 2500 rpm's. As previously mentioned...proper balancer, flywheel and clutch ass'y. I assuming this is a 28oz balance engine? Rouch dyno's all engines they build, I believe. my 2 cents

flywheel balance
 

agree with this 100%

"The shaking at 2000-3000 RPM is most likely a suspect of imbalance with the flywheel. the flywheel is out of balance or the wrong weight. For 427s it could be a zero balanced or 28 ounce balanced flywheel, you would need to check with Roush on which one you got."


.

Still working on the car, mechanic wasn't able to get the wheel off with the lead hammer, so I'm looking into the Halibrand three eared knockoff spinner tool kit, anyone using the tool and does it fit?

There was no break fluid leak just not enough fluid in there, I assume Backdraft didn't bleed the brakes correctly when they had the car to replace the caliber.

Mechanic hasn't done anything about the engine vibration as the vibration might come from the unbalanced wheel, so we will see once it is finally balanced.

The new discovery was also a fuel leak, had some smell before in the garage, but thought it might be just normal due to having a carburetor.

Yesterday I walked through the garage and I couldn't believe what I was seeing the windshield cracked just being parked there. After reading some posts and seeing the out of stock on the Backdraft web site, I can already see the next long-term problem.

So far the car has been a hell of a nightmare. :CRY::CRY::CRY: Not even talking about Backdraft customer service, they just don't care. I will try headquarters next.

Sorry to hear your still having issues. On the wheels make sure your mech is tapping on the Left side ear (counter clockwise) of the drivers side and Right side ear (clock-wise) to loosen the passenger side. They shouldn't be too tight as they just were installed (unless Link installed them...)

I hope he was doing it the right direction, but the safety wire kind of tells you which way is correct, but it can't hurt to tell him.

Safety wire is often installed backwards

Maurice

My windshield also broke soon after I got my car while sitting in the garage overnight. Jay sent me a replacement and it's been good (knock on wood) ever since. I think it may have something to do with how they are installed. Also, try to avoid washboard roads, as they will really stress the body, causing the windshield frame to twist.

Save your money, these types of tools do not generate the "shock" needed to loosen an overly tight/too long since removal knock-off. A six pound lead hammer is the tool and otherwise something like this will work: Spinner Removal