CSX rebuild from Italy

[borchi1]

Good morning to everybody!

I have acquired the incomplete CSX4802 from a very nice guy, and i am now in the long process of rebuilding it to exactly specs as when the kit was bought..

I am from Italy, and i have dreamed to own a Cobra since the first time i have seen it.. i still have the Cobra toy car of when i was 4years old.. :-)

I am a Uk classic car lover, i have owned Mga, restored a Jaguar E type and restoring some other little fiberglass specials of 50s and 60s..

I am writing here as a suggestion from the very nice guy i have bought the Cobra from (Bret) which he is also a member.

I have acquired the car without suspensions parts, so first of all i would like to put the car on his wheels. But i have a few questions:

1- which differential the CSX4000 uses as described "Shelby 3.54 differential"? i have done some research it seems the 4HU Salisbury XJS Jaguar unit, but dana44 internals..?
2- second is, where can i get one and if Shelby still have it for sale or if there is a dealer who i can ask for..

also, who sells original CSX hubs and mountings and rear suspension frames etc..? i have tried also to find a CSX4000 parts manual but nothing.. only the Era manual and little more..

many thanks for help!

Emanuel

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by borchi1

Good morning to everybody!

I have acquired the incomplete CSX4802 from a very nice guy, and i am now in the long process of rebuilding it to exactly specs as when the kit was bought..

I am from Italy, and i have dreamed to own a Cobra since the first time i have seen it.. i still have the Cobra toy car of when i was 4years old.. :-)

I am a Uk classic car lover, i have owned Mga, restored a Jaguar E type and restoring some other little fiberglass specials of 50s and 60s..

I am writing here as a suggestion from the very nice guy i have bought the Cobra from (Bret) which he is also a member.

I have acquired the car without suspensions parts, so first of all i would like to put the car on his wheels. But i have a few questions:

1- which differential the CSX4000 uses as described "Shelby 3.54 differential"? i have done some research it seems the 4HU Salisbury XJS Jaguar unit, but dana44 internals..?
2- second is, where can i get one and if Shelby still have it for sale or if there is a dealer who i can ask for..

also, who sells original CSX hubs and mountings and rear suspension frames etc..? i have tried also to find a CSX4000 parts manual but nothing.. only the Era manual and little more..

many thanks for help!

Emanuel

Contact Kirkham Motorsports, Provo, Utah, USA...

[borchi1]

many thanks.. will do that and will post result!!

[LMH]

Welcome Emanuel!
Kirkham will have the 4HU you need as will Shelby American. Another and much cheaper route may be to use one from a Jag as you have found but it doesn't have the right mounting's in the casting. Nick Acton sells a bracket to adapt the jag unit to the Cobra chassis.

Kirkham Motorsports
http://www.actoncobra.com/
http://www.shelbyamerican.com/index.asp

Hope that helps!
Larry

[xb-60]

Welcome Emanuel,
You're in the right place for Cobra building information, and Larry's suggestion of Nick Acton as a source is a good one. If he doesn't have what you want, he'll know where to get it.
I note your comment on still having the toy Cobra from when you were four years old....a passion that's been there for a long time is definitely worth seeing through to fruition!
Ciao,
Glen

[750hp]

Welcome Emanuel. I'm interested to know why you shipped the car without suspension. Did you have to do it this way so the car was just considered by your government to be car parts (rather than an actual car)?

[mickmate]

Congrats and welcome aboard. The car was purchased minus suspension, that all went onto Bretts Kirkham.
The Shelby differential is similar to Jags but the housing has pinion mount bosses. All the parts you need for 4820 are readily available. I am putting 4772 back together from a worse condition than yours. You have a good starting point for your project, we'll be talking more about it I'm sure.

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

Glad to see you have your Cobra. There are many different sources for your parts, but what you will learn here on this forum will be invaluable to you. Almost all of your questions and problems have already been dealt with at one time or another and the members will be delighted to offer advice. Welcome and please post photos.

[OnyxRider]

"and restoring some other little fiberglass specials of 50s and 60s.. "



Paisano what specials do you have hidden away as you describe fiberglass specials?


I'm sure many on here can help you with the build stuff or get you in the right direction.

[Bernica]

Originally Posted by mickmate

Congrats and welcome aboard. The car was purchased minus suspension, that all went onto Bretts Kirkham.
The Shelby differential is similar to Jags but the housing has pinion mount bosses. All the parts you need for 4820 are readily available. I am putting 4772 back together from a worse condition than yours. You have a good starting point for your project, we'll be talking more about it I'm sure.

Welcome and congrats! All you need is right here. Stick with Nick (Mickmate) or Kirkham and you will not be disappointed. Their advice and resources will prove invaluable to you. We are all always here as well.
Good luck!

[borchi1]

Manythanks for the help guys, i am really impressed =)

I 'm happy i can share my car virus with you!

yes i have acquired 4802 (not 4820) as incomplete because it was stripped with parts to go in a Kirkham car.


I would like to have an original shelby differential, if possible and not incredibly expensive, so i can rebuild csx to exactly correct specifications, as per build sheet.

Regarding my specials, i have a rebodied tr4, a rebodied austin seven and a rare watling, all under rebuild.. looooong projects but hey, i need something to play with!

I have afforded the Cobra because i have sold my 4 years concours condition Mga 1500 roadster, nut and bolt, which was stunning but underpowered..

Will keep progress updated, now i am beginning to do a list of what needed to put the car on his wheels like hubs, brakes, axles, diff..

many thanks to all!

[LMH]

I don't know for sure but Kirkham may be the source for the Shelby differential. So either place would be Ok for purchase. I have one of Kirkham's differentials and it's really a work of art! I think he gets around $5000 USD for it new. Shelby may be more.

BTW, love the TR4! Beautiful sports car!
Larry

[Al G]

Congratulations on your acquisition and good luck with the rebuild.

Does anyone else see the irony in this? After the discussions a few weeks ago claiming the Kirkham suspension components are superior the suspension components missing from this Shelby are now on a Kirkham.

[Bernica]

I am running Shelby 3:31 with a big block and a top-loader. No complaints.

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by Al G

Congratulations on your acquisition and good luck with the rebuild.

Does anyone else see the irony in this? After the discussions a few weeks ago claiming the Kirkham suspension components are superior the suspension components missing from this Shelby are now on a Kirkham.

Superior is in the eye of the beholder. If you want a lighter weight car that handles better, then you want the billet suspension. However if you want ORIGINAL style suspension for a more authentic replica, well then original would be superior in that case.

If you want to order a Kirkham with original style suspension (as opposed to their light weight billet aluminum suspension), Kirkham charges you $15k to upgrade to the original style suspension from the billet suspension.

So presumably if you wanted to get the original style suspension parts from Kirkham, it would cost you more than $15k.

Suppose you have both a used fiberglass bodied Shelby (that is apparently damaged) with the more original style suspension and a used aluminum bodied Kirkham. But what you really want is an aluminum bodied car with an original style suspension, you might be able to get the parts off the damaged Shelby more cheaply than buying an original style suspension from the Kirkhams (and considering you can sell the Kirkham billet suspension parts and what is left of the Shelby, that would also help defray the cost).

[1ntCobra]

And there is a market for very authentic Kirkham replicas. Have you ever heard of David Wagner? He builds some really nice Kirkhams. Here is a small block street car with original style suspension for $135k.

1964 Kirkham 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra Street Car - Kirkham Alum. body, Excellent Driver for sale: Anamera

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Al G

Does anyone else see the irony in this? After the discussions a few weeks ago claiming the Kirkham suspension components are superior the suspension components missing from this Shelby are now on a Kirkham.

I've also seen people walk right up to bears and bison to take pictures not worrying about the potential consequences of a very large animal attacking them just because they were close. Your point seems superfluous to me. Who knows what the true intentions were of the original owner. However, as pointed out, you can install original or the billet suspension in a Kirkham.

Personally, I wanted the lighter, stronger and better handling suspension offered by the billet aluminum. Others desire originality.

[fordracing65]

And that right there fellas is why the Kirkham's are in the Shelby Registry...All this switching parts and sourcing from here and there make for a $300,000 Kit Car that nobody really knows what it is but the owner/owners down the road claims its' an original car from the 1960's to some dumb ass who has never seen a Cobra before and wants to buy one...

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by Bernica

Welcome and congrats! All you need is right here. Stick with Nick (Mickmate) or Kirkham and you will not be disappointed. Their advice and resources will prove invaluable to you. We are all always here as well.
Good luck!

Emanuel,

Have you looked at Mickmate's website yet? I was just looking at his suspension and steering page. Mickmate Suspension Page

To quote part of the page: "Acton Custom makes all the suspension for coil over and leaf sprung suspension in traditional geometry and bushing materials or with modern adjustable heim jointed geometry and Energy Suspension urethane bushings."

Nick has a great reputation on this site and looks like he looks like he should be able to supply whatever you need.

Anyway, it looks like you should try contacting Nick, Kirkham and Shelby. Then you can figure out which of the 3 companies can help you the best.

[dcdoug]

Kirkham actually has built the diffs for Shelby at a number of points over recent years and they are nearly identical externally. Internally, Kirkham has strengthened the axles and gone to Trutrac limited slip, which is stronger than the Auburn LS that Shelby still uses. In fact, after breaking an axle (due to a metallurgical flaw in the axle itself, not an LS failure), I ended up buying a Kirkham diff as a replacement as they are visually identical and stronger. And removing/installing them is a massive PITA, so I'd rather not break it again. I had a 3:31 and now have a 3.54. I like both, but probably the 3.54 better. Shelby offers both ratios I believe (as does Kirkham).