Backdraft parts
 

Tony, Reg, and Jay.

Due to the changes on these cars from one batch to another some of us would like the option of upgrading our cars with the new technology.
Example;
The piston for the hood is just holding for now. The new cars come with a prop rod. Also the new cars come with door alignment bumpers to help keep doors quiet and straight.
I had to upgrade my car with the collectors to fix exhaust leak problems. These fixes are because of everyone talking about problems on this site and phone calls to dealers.
I can't say enough about Jay and Vintage and also Reg has been a great help also whenever I call him. I think with some help from the factory with Tony Reg and Jay we would all be greatfull. Someone needs to do a full scale parts list and get it to our dealers. Jay just opened his parts store and so far it's comming along great but we need to have ALL parts listed or someone we can go to directly to order parts. I know changes have been made throughout the years and not all parts will fit all cars but to be able to talk to someone about getting a part would help us all.
Can we in the near future look into a parts book please.
Thanks
tom
#188

Yes
 

HI TOM,

PARTS LIST FORMAT ALMOST READY TO GO OVER TO REG.:MECOOL:

HE WILL THEN DISTRIBUTE IT TO ALL DEALERS.:3DSMILE:

THIS WILL BE IN E MAIL FORMAT SO U CAN ALL GET A COPY.:p

HOPE THIS WILL HELP U.

REGARDS

The door catch won't fit with earlier models like mine. I saw Brian about that and the new cars have a notch for it. MY pistons gave out and i added the hood rod. i'm lucky i live minute's away Vintage and get to see the new upgrades .
joeg

Lucky
 

HI SMOKING JO,

YES,U ARE VERY LUCKY TO LIVE SO CLOSE TO VINTAGE.

GREAT GUYS TO DO BUSINESS WITH.:D

I AM LOOKING FOR A WAY TO FIT THE NEW DOOR JAMS TO THE OLDER CARS.:confused:

WILL LET U GUYS KNOW.;)

CHEERS

Tony,

Will exhaust collectors be made available to retrofit the old slip joint exhaust headers? I realize there will be cutting/welding involved, but it might be easier and cheaper than a total custom made collector system.

SkipB

Ps. If you have the old hood shock (and most are shot by now), you might put the word out that Secret Squirrel (his name on this forum) makes a very nice piece that holds the hood open by blocking the shock from compressing. Very easy to use and no prop rod in the way.

upgrade
 

Tony,
That sounds good about parts list. This should be a great help for those who like to tweak their cars or need to fix them.

I've made myself a block already for piston like Secret Squirrel was selling.
I had hood fall twice at shows. Not a good thing.......

I paid around $350.00 for the exhaust fix. Well worth the headache fix.

I'm very interested in door jam bumper kits. Will wait for these.

Thanks to all for your input.

tom

Tony, great news on the Parts list. Many customers have been requesting replacement parts. I look forward to helping in any way to get this up and running.

Thanks, James Yale

OK, Skip B brought up the exhaust collector problem. His is build #100, mine is build #139.

I cannot have mods done locally, my guys don't have a clew what you are talking about.

Mine spews exhaust soot into the engine compartment any time the engine is running. It's a direct exhaust leak, under pressure.

The spring-loaded header/sidepipe connectors don't work.

You KNEW that when you built the car and delivered it.

I have not yet seen a "fix" that I can afford or deal with.

I even tried cramming steel wool down into the joint and clamping it with a giant hose clamp. Didn't work.

Historically, BackDraft does not return my Emails or phone calls to Miami.

Fault me if you can, I have the docs.

UT

UT,

Check with some of the shops that sell stuff for the tuner cars. I have seen some stainless band clamps that may work. They are about 3" long and could span the gap...

collectors
 

If someone is interested I can get collectors made for a price. The place that did it for me has it on their CNC.
You would then have to mark your pipes where they meet and cut and weld. FYI my 1st fit was off. The pipes were too close to body.
I had to remove and he chained them to straighten to fit on table. That could be done on car but I wouldn't. It's not a science, only trial by error. The final result is no more leaks.

You could also ship them to me with pipes marked and for the cost I will get them done and return. If they don't fit it's not on me. I only can go by your marks.
You can look at my pictures on Vintage Racing site for my pipes.
Email me if you have any questions. I had a tough time with drivers side header. You have to take steering column out.
Backdraft may have a kit that you can get to fix problem. (Collector kit)?
tom

Bad History
 

UT,
LET ME EXPLAIN TO U A BIT ABOUT THIS EXHAUST COLLECTOR PROBLEM.

WHEN WE STARTED BUILDING THE BACKDRAFT WE USED FLANGED HEADERS AND SIDE PIPES.

AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS WE WERE ASKED BY MANY OF OUR CUSTOMERS,AND WE GOT THE GENERAL VIBE,THAT THE POPULAR CHOICE, WAS FOR SLIP JOINTED HEADERS TO SIDEPIPES.%/

SO,WE STARTED BUILDING THEM THIS WAY.:)

NEXT STEP WAS THAT THIS,AGAIN,ACCORDING TO GENERAL OPPINION,THIS WAS NOT THE WAY TO GO.:mad:

SO,WE THEN CHANGED BACK TO THE FLANGES.:D

WE DID HAVE AN UPDATE FLANGE KIT AVAILABLE AT A NOMINAL COST TO RETRO FIT ONTO THE CARS OF ANYONE WHO WANTED THEM.

UNFORTUNATLY IT DOES HAVE TO BE DONE BY A GUY WHO IS RESONABLY HANDS ON,WITH A BIT OF METALWORKING TOOLS,OR ANY HALF COMPOTENT EXHAUST SHOP.

REG SHOULD HAVE A FEW KITS LEFT.
IF NOT JUST PM ME AND I WILL POST A SET OVER TO U.:MECOOL:

WITH REGARD TO YOUR E-MAILS AND PHONE CALLS NOT BEING RETURNED,I WILL TAKE THIS UP WITH THE FACTORY IN FLORIDA.:o

IF,AND I HAVE NO REASON TO DOUBT U,THIS CORRECT,I APPOLIGISE ON BE HALF OF OUR GUYS OUT THERE,AND CAN ASSURE U THAT IT HAS NOT BEEN INTENSIONAL.SOMETIMES THINGS SLIP THROUGH.THEY SHOULDENT,BUT THEY DO.:JEKYLHYDE

NOW,LETS GET THIS COLLECTOR PROBLEM SORTED OUT SO THAT U AND YOUR BEAUTIFUL LADY CAN REALLY ENJOY YOUR ROADSTER.;)

I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM U.

PS. SPEL CHECK AINT WORKING,EXCUSE THE SPELLING.:CRY:

TAKE CARE

Just to let you BDR guys and anyone else know that have slip on pipes, Naumoff and I changed mine over to flanged last week. :) When I get a little time I will post step by step how we did it. We took pics as well to help everyone get a visual. I planned on posting on CC as well as BDR boys.

I bought my flange kit from Bill Littleton who was very helpful in getting them out to me in less than a week. Cost with shipping was about $140. Well worth it! Looks good and no more black sh!t blowing back all over the motor. The car has a totally different sound, and I can now sit at a light and not get choked out by fumes. :D

We learned you don't have to be a professional welder to do this, just take your time and have a good angle grinder. ;) Thanks for everything Tony!

Tony, Gee, golly. wow, good to hear from you after over two years.

"Update flange kit?" Nice of you to let me know. I took delivery in 8-04.

Send me the biggest jar of Vaseline you can find, I know when I have been screwed, I accept your apology, but on a scale of 1-10 for support from BDR I will have to rate BDR a minus-1.

Fault me, BDR #139 is for sale.

UT

Insults and Sarcasm Inappropriate
 

Uncle Todd -- a little civility, please. And, you may want to rethink what 'accepting an apology' means. You sure don't sound 'accepting.'

Hey, Mr. want1bad, I saw it, lived it, and I'm trying to deal with it and fix it.

That was one of the most civil posts I have made in the last year or so.

You did not sign the checks that nobody hesitated to cash, years ago.

I have been very civil for the past year but I am in a great deal of pain now and have a very short temper.

I was "burned" by a former BDR dealer in N. Tejas and received little or no help from the parent BackDraft company.

Yeah, I'm a little bitter.

Truth will out.

UT

Right On UncleTodd!!!

You have the right and duty to express your feelings and opinions! I appreciate all opinions and info, both GOOD and bad... These cars cost alot...they should be real close to perfect with the bugs worked out, as there is not a dealership for warranty work right around the corner....

These cars are purchased complete and assembled....not as kits...we pay good $ for that!!! If I wanted to work on it all of the time to fix factory defects and figure out what works best, I would have bought a kit....some of us don't have the time, or want to work on these all the time...we expected REASONABLE quality and workmanship.

I too, have be chastised on this site for speaking my mind, for not following like a mindless sheep that everything is good...because it's a COBRA!!!

You see the same posts from new owners: rear end leaks, radiator leaks, doors don't fit, hoods slam shut, turn signals don't work, license plate brackets, exhaust leaks....it would be comical maybe, but it sucks!

The silent majority has a right to be pissed!

"But Mommy, the Emperor has no clothes...."

cbreez- What's your build number?

Until you buy a BackDraft (the finest Cobra replica ever built, BTW) you need to stay down in the shallow end of the pool.

Each BDR is hand-built in the factory in Durban, SA. They are NOT kit cars!!!

My lament is the lack of communication between BDR and UT.

I am bitter and will remain so, but that is just me, I'm a BackDraft pariah.

UT

i don't know what a pariah is???

I do own one, bought new, after your build #, and i realize they aren't kits...as far as the best ever? hmmmm, I dunno....

I'm sure you guys have a reason and a right to be pissed off and vent. But please don't hijack this thread. There's some good information flowing here and some of us would like to use it.

Every fricken time there's a thread about overcoming some issue you jump in complaining. You wonder why someone "chastises" you for speaking your mind?? You clutter up informative threads with mindless dribble about "I got screwed" and "Backdraft sucks" or whatever. If you can't add something constructive, start your own thread, piss and moan all you want and I promise I won't post in it.

Sound fair?:)

Hey I'll add something constructive. I fought the exhaust header to side pipe leaks for about 40 hours. Eventually bought a $80 lysle (spelling?) tail pipe expander, another 4 hours and they were fixed. Also fought the license plate issue, it took about 8 hours. The worst car to ever come out of detroit has less issues than these cars. I love them, but they for the most part are junk. If anyone wants the tail pipe exander $40 plus shipping.