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CC Advertisers
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 2Likes
02-15-2008, 08:02 PM
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Senior Club Cobra Member
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Cobra Make, Engine: KMP 539, a Ton of Aluminum
Posts: 9,592
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Not Ranked
David and Joe,
I'm a bad guesser and I have little time for this since it's 6:00 PM Maui time right now. I've got to back to the pool and play with the kids. Can you hurry it up?
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02-15-2008, 08:03 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Cobra Make, Engine: KMP
Posts: 790
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Not Ranked
Naturally my friend. Don't worry, if I can protect Santa Claus' story in my house, I can protect anything.
Judging by the time of your posts tonight vs. last night, you guys wrapped up early today.
Congrats.
__________________
Lew
I'm no expert. 
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02-15-2008, 08:04 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Cobra Make, Engine:
Posts: 214
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Not Ranked
Maui?
Its 19* here in Provo. You do not deserve to know. Go back out and play with the kids.
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02-15-2008, 08:06 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Provo,
Ut
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham, 427
Posts: 6,990
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Not Ranked
Lew,
We aren't wrapped up yet! It will be a long night. I have a special dish I have to get out oven.
This is so cool...It's like my birthday!
David
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02-15-2008, 08:09 PM
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Senior Club Cobra Member
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Cobra Make, Engine: KMP 539, a Ton of Aluminum
Posts: 9,592
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Not Ranked
It was a tough choice. Provo for Ski Week or Maui? My wife said Maui. It's about 80 here. Gorgeous.
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02-15-2008, 08:10 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Fairfax Station,
VA
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham 427 & 289 (KMP 090 & KMPS 040) and need a Kirkham GT-40
Posts: 39
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Not Ranked
Oven.... ? Are you heat treating something or autoclaving carbon fiber ???? Or is it just a TV dinner? Robert
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02-15-2008, 08:37 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Outside Miami,
FL
Cobra Make, Engine: Several
Posts: 949
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Not Ranked
Looks like a billet chassis.
Think F-22A wing.
True Carbon Chassis /body. Monocoque. Million USD may not be enough.
Carbon/carbon brakes.
Real CV half-shafts. String cut.
Billet wheels (Cobra II).
Billet engine, Ceramic pistons, Cracked Ti rods, 9000RPM, 300Ci, pneumatic valves, 850HP
700kg
__________________
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
George Washington
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02-15-2008, 08:46 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Cobra Make, Engine: KMP
Posts: 790
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Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Kirkham
Lew,
We aren't wrapped up yet! It will be a long night. I have a special dish I have to get out oven.
This is so cool...It's like my birthday!
David
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HA! HA! HA!  
__________________
Lew
I'm no expert.
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02-15-2008, 09:16 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Provo,
Ut
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham, 427
Posts: 6,990
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Not Ranked
Lew,
Bert,
Just put the hubs in the oven. They come out looking like gold...about as expensive too!
What'saCobra hits the nail right on the head! (But he cheated, he came out here and saw us sweating over it!)
BILLET ALUMINUM CHASSIS!
If you take billet far enough, you eventually just billet the chassis so you can get the suspension points where you want them.
The 90 inch wheel base presented some real challenges. The structure is very similar to a wing with longerons. We will rivet sheet aluminum over the billet rails.
Just for some fun information, we did an FEA (Finite Element Anaylsis) on the original 427 Cobra chassis and it had a stiffness of 1450 foot pounds/degree of deflection. The billet aluminum chassis we engineered has a stiffness of right at 4500 foot pounds/degree of deflection--or a 300% improvement over an original. Just for comparison, the thicker frame rails we use have a stiffness of 1650 foot pounds/degree of deflection--for an improvement of around 14% over an original chassis.
Interestingly, even so low a figure as a 14% increase in stiffness is READILY noticeable as soon as you drive down the road. I can't wait to try a 300% increase in stiffness! Another point of comparison, a "Supercar" (like a McLaren F1) typically has a stiffness of 10,000 foot pounds/degree of deflection--but remember, they have a roof which is an enormous help. We were able to get the stiffness of the billet chassis so high because we used very tall door sils that we hid under the doors and spread them WAY apart. We also made a really cool billet aluminum bulkheads and a stressed tunnel to help transfer the loads.
David
I will post a picture soon.
Last edited by David Kirkham; 02-15-2008 at 09:19 PM..
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02-16-2008, 05:59 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Saratoga Springs,
UT
Cobra Make, Engine: FFR 3850, 95 Cobra 5.0 EFI, IRS, Pin Drive 15" real Magnesium Halibrands & Vintage Wheels, Billboards & Mickey Thompson S/T tires, Blue/Wht Stripes, Hoops, CSX Dash, Konis, VPMs, Torsen
Posts: 626
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Not Ranked
a few more hours
David,
Nice !!
See you and the great Kirkham team in a few hours.
Larry
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02-16-2008, 09:14 AM
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Senior Dragontamer
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Alvin,
TX
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham, 427 S/O
Posts: 271
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Not Ranked
Kirkham Winter Summit
Last edited by Guinness; 02-16-2008 at 09:16 AM..
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02-16-2008, 09:20 AM
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Senior Dragontamer
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Alvin,
TX
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham, 427 S/O
Posts: 271
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Not Ranked
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02-16-2008, 09:27 AM
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Senior Dragontamer
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Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Alvin,
TX
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham, 427 S/O
Posts: 271
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Not Ranked
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02-16-2008, 09:34 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Waterford,
PA
Cobra Make, Engine:
Posts: 1,384
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Not Ranked
:drool: 
__________________
 Bagram AF Afghanistan
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02-16-2008, 09:42 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Shawbury,
Posts: 325
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Not Ranked
Looks impressive! When you actually use it for normal driving, would it need to be x-rayed/dye penetration tested now and then to detect fatigue cracks (like airplane parts)?
-Simon
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02-16-2008, 10:30 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Provo,
Ut
Cobra Make, Engine: Kirkham, 427
Posts: 6,990
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Not Ranked
Simon,
No, airplanes are made out of very hard (and crack prone) aluminum alloys. (Typically, 7075 and 2024). Additionally, airplanes are typically only made with a very small safety factor as an airplane has to fly and everyone knows it is very difficult and expensive to get extra weight (more safety) off the ground. Finally, airplanes can't just pull over on the side of the road when the crap hits the fan.
On this car, we observed as strict of weight discipline as was reasonable. We used 14,000 psi as the endurance limit on the FEA (Finite Element Anaylsis) tests. (The aluminum doesn't yield until 30,000 psi.) The chassis should last forever. It is amazing the amount of material that can actually be removed when you run a part through FEA.
It is extremely interesting to design a part and then run it through FEA. You think you are cool until Cosmos tells you otherwise. After the tests, it is amazing to see where the computer tells you you have too much material and when you think about the colors you wonder why you were so dumb in the first place. (We call FEA "looking for rainbows" as different stresses show up as different colors). What is really interesting is when you actually REMOVE material and make a part stronger by shifting the load paths around. As you can imagine, we were very concerned with keeping our customer happy and him off of You Tube.
David
Last edited by David Kirkham; 07-14-2008 at 03:51 PM..
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02-16-2008, 10:41 AM
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CC Member/Contributor
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Greenville,
SC
Cobra Make, Engine: 70 Shelby convertible, ERA-289 FIA, ERA 289 roadster hybrid, mystery Ford powered 2dr convertible
Posts: 12,761
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Not Ranked
David,
How about a one piece "Billet" aluminum body .
Bill S.
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02-16-2008, 10:43 AM
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Senior Club Cobra Member
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Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Ellington,
CT
Cobra Make, Engine: Classic Roadster 351W, T5, Red & White
Posts: 3,478
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Not Ranked
Guiness:
RE: Spy Photos, 3rd photo:
Appears to be the hood and fenders of a Series I XK-E ? If so, any other info, such as reproducing the entire body ?
One of my previous vehicles was a Series 1 1967 XK-E coupe, silver blue with the gold head. I do not know if they are still in business, installed an Abarth exhaust system, real neat sound with the Jag engine.
__________________
2014 Porsche Cayman S, 2014 M-B CLA 45 AMG,
Unkown:"Their sweet lines all but take my breath away, and I desire them as much for their beauty as for their use "
Last edited by computerworks; 03-11-2008 at 09:30 AM..
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02-16-2008, 11:07 AM
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Beam Me Up Scottie
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Squantum (part of Quincy),
MA
Cobra Make, Engine: SPF1049 Titanium w/black stripes, 351W with Trick Flow Heads, Tremec 3550
Posts: 7,592
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Not Ranked
Too nice to cover up with a body. Does anyone make a 427 S/C body in a clear material?
__________________
Warren
'Liberals are maggots upon the life of this planet and need to get off at the next rotation.' (Jamo 2008)
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02-16-2008, 11:44 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Cobra Make, Engine: KMP
Posts: 790
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Not Ranked
It would look great with 15" magnesium wheels in 15X8 and 15X10.
__________________
Lew
I'm no expert.
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