Kirkham - now and then

[Lew Ledyard]

My Kirkham (KMP 300) is about 8 years old. During that time I have followed some of David's and Thomas' posts about the incremental changes since then. I decided to send my car back to Provo in order to have updates installed. New suspension (with a rear anti-sway bar), electrics, gauges, pipes, insulation, ventilation, glove box and many other items were replaced with the current evolution of products.

All I can say is OMFG!!! What a huge difference. The car has not lost one ounce of it's brutal impact, but it is soooo much smoother and harmonious. It beats you up less, but handles, accelerates, stops and turns much better. I hesitate to use the term "refined", but the car just works better.

I write this to thank (and compliment) the folks at Kirkham and also to encourage others with older cars to think about updating them. There are hundreds of little improvements that add up to vastly more enjoyable car.

[ERA Chas]

Avons may be a large part of the handling difference-do you have them?

[Lew Ledyard]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Avons may be a large part of the handling difference-do you have them?

Yes, before and after. Avons were a constant. As were Penske shocks.

[ERA Chas]

That's impressive testimony Lew.

[Cashburn]

Great post. Love to hear evolution is positive!

[Brent Mills]

Lew, nice post....with regards to suspension and braking, can you provide more details around what changes were made? Mine is roughly the same age.

[fordracing65]

I wish I would of gotten a glove box...

[A98Coupe]

David,

Does this mean there is a used set of original style suspension & brakes going spare? I would be very interested in buying it for my car KMP535 - if it fits?

Thanks
Stuart

[Lew Ledyard]

I kept the billet suspension arms that came with it originally. David said that upgrading to the new ones would not provide a big bang for the buck. Barkes were also untouched (but I did add bellows caps to the resevoirs earlier and they made a big difference in pedal feel. Probably due to less water contamination.)

Changes:

1. new rear half shafts

2. addition of rear anti-sway bar

3. new ceramic coated stainlees steel pipes

4. gold foil engine/trans tunnel insulation (see pix on the coupe thread)

5. install glove box (it seems unimpoirtant until you have one)

6. relocate battery to trunk/use smaller light weight battery)

7. change diff from 3.31 to 3.54 (I have the TKO with the .81 OD)

8. route frsh air ducts from brake cooling inlets on each side of radiator opening in the body rather than inside the radiator opening

9. Installed Kirkham gauges with fuel level indicator inside speedo. (Required installing fuel level sensor in tank, but tank was off car do rear anti-sway bar install)

10. They also went over every nut and bolt, replaced loose rivets and just tweeked little things here and there.

My list of requests was a lot longer, but David steered me clear of things that, while sounding cool, really would not make a cost-justified improvement.

The above list seems very minor, but those little changes really transformed KMP 300 into a really nice car.

If David is reading, he may have a better recollection of what was done. I may have skipped a few mods.

[Rick Parker]

You must have installed a small block too

[acindrich]

Did you put air conditioning in it and arm rests too, you pansy

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by acindrich

Did you put air conditioning in it and arm rests too, you pansy

Coming from the pansy who ran his motor so hard he broke his block!

Chris, you are the best

David

[David Kirkham]

There were other things we replaced on Lew's car. I really can't remember now. When a customer's car comes in for--really about anything--we replace all sorts of parts. We have just figured out how to make things better over time. Some of the original parts really weren't that great (like the steering) and were in need of an upgrade. I would imagine we updated Lew's steering and didn't even tell him

We go through the entire car and update nuts and bolts and little parts. Come to think of it, we updated his e brakes as well.

David

[csx4017]

Dave, I have a CSX4000 and the rear suspension bushing squeaks are non-stop. I have pulled pivot bolts and lubed with minimal results. In emails with Nick he has informed me of his and your use of bronze lubed bushings. I believe this is the answer. Looking at your front and rear geometry it appears your A-arms would bolt right in ?? The rear sway bar is another story...........Are you providing any components for the 6000 series ( besides bodys )

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by csx4017

Dave, I have a CSX4000 and the rear suspension bushing squeaks are non-stop. I have pulled pivot bolts and lubed with minimal results. In emails with Nick he has informed me of his and your use of bronze lubed bushings. I believe this is the answer. Looking at your front and rear geometry it appears your A-arms would bolt right in ?? The rear sway bar is another story...........Are you providing any components for the 6000 series ( besides bodys )

I am not sure at all what parts of ours would fit on your car. Shelby changed the suspension many times on their cars over the years. However, if your car is CSX4017 then it is a very early car and I imagine our parts would work. We use bronze bushings and Teflon lined rod ends throughout the entire car. In theory, our parts should fit if their suspension was made to original specifications.

We have made differentials, steering components, and other parts over the years for Shelby.

David

[csx4017]

Thanks Dave........Not so early....Built in Feb 2007 at HST........

[Lew Ledyard]

If you look really closely, you can see the rear sway bar, the glove box and the new gauges.

Kirkham Cobra - YouTube

Just kidding. But you can see how my blue car looks different than a bare alumnium car. The video is from a recent Ferrari event. The Kirkham got the most attention of any car.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by Lew Ledyard

If you look really closely, you can see the rear sway bar, the glove box and the new gauges.

Kirkham Cobra - YouTube

Just kidding. But you can see how my blue car looks different than a bare alumnium car. The video is from a recent Ferrari event. The Kirkham got the most attention of any car.

Cobras usually do, must make the Ferrari guys mad...

[DOGTORS]

This info really helps. I just bought the black and red Kirkham that was in the Maroon 5 video. It is a 2004 and I went over it with Darren Friedman and he suggested I ship it to Provo as well. Some of my gauges and electrical aren't working, and definitely could use an overhaul. I think this thread swayed me toward sending it in sooner than later. Thanks.

[fordracing65]

[quote=DOGTORS;1244833]This info really helps. I just bought the black and red Kirkham that was in the Maroon 5 video. It is a 2004 and I went over it with Darren Friedman and he suggested I ship it to Provo as well. Some of my gauges and electrical aren't working, and definitely could use an overhaul. I think this thread swayed me toward sending it in sooner than later. Thanks.[/QUO

You probably should send back to Kirkham, that car was burnt to a crisp in the video...