FRUSTRATION with a capital FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!

EarlsflyinCobra · #1 (**permalink**) 03-19-2013, 12:10 PM

Well, I've been working with the Cobra lately, doing mostly fiberglass work and ran into a MAJOR

FUBAR when I went to mount the door hinges. WAYYYYYYY

YYYYYYYYY back in an earlier stage of construction we made a modification to the dash/firewall structural hoop which now has ended up being RIGHT in the MIDDLE of the Drivers door hinge mounting location

. So, last night we spent several hours modifying the drivers door hinge

. So, now, HOPEFULLY the rest of mounting the doors will go smooooooooooooooooothly!! We have also been working on the front inner fender wells and have them almost ready to glass in. The only other major glass project will be the redo of the inner trunk floor, since it had to be cut up to get the body to fit right , and the manufacture of a battery box incorporated into the trunk. So, hopefully, if progress keeps up I will be on the road before the year is out

!!!

ALL FINGERS AND TOES CROSSED, PLEASE

Ron61 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-22-2013, 07:19 AM

Hey Earl,

How are the doors coming along? I hope that you have them figured out now and they are working great.

Ron

littlewave · #3 (**permalink**) 03-22-2013, 07:29 AM

What is going on Earl? Did you get them to fit? I mounted mine on the front of the hoop support, but it limits the travel of the door ( dosen't open as far) and I don't think you can mount them on the back side. When I get a chance I will take some pics and e-mail them to you. Good luck....

EarlsflyinCobra · #4 (**permalink**) 03-23-2013, 07:30 PM

Thanks for all the support......I took a step back from the doors and moved into the trunk area.....figured/hope that when I go back to the doors they will cooperate and fall into place

Ron61 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-25-2013, 08:01 AM

Earl,

Don't you have a supercharger on your 302 engine? We have a guy that is asking about which one people thinks is the best as he wants to make his 302 a little more powerful but not go out of sight with it.

Ron

EarlsflyinCobra · #6 (**permalink**) 03-25-2013, 06:58 PM

Ron,

No SuperCharger, just TWIN Turbo's..............

EarlsflyinCobra · #7 (**permalink**) 07-14-2013, 06:52 PM

Well, the trunk liner is back in place, I've made a battery box in the trunk, and I've solved the door hinge problem.....

now I'm in the progress of re=powder coating the roll bars (for the third time) and putting in a remote jumper for the battery, since the trunk has been changed to an electric opener (no, not a can opener, LOL, since Tom from FCCC asked), and then on to modifying the hood.

Hopefully, pictures will follow.

Ron61 · #8 (**permalink**) 07-16-2013, 06:28 AM

Earl,

You are making progress. But why did you have to powder coat the roll bars 3 times? I suppose the hood will also be electric opened too.

Just a suggestion as I saw this happen on a 57 Ford that had everything electric and he had a remote battery charger terminal setup. But the battery had a cable short to ground and weld itself there and the charger couldn't get any juice past it to open a door or anything. When we finally got it open, I helped him put in a way to manually open the doors, trunk, and hood if everything else failed.

Ron

EarlsflyinCobra · #9 (**permalink**) 07-16-2013, 09:17 AM

Good thought Ron, maybe a backup to open the trunk in case of electrical failure is in order. As far as the roll bars go, the first time we did them the company that we bought the powder coat from left out a critical piece of information about the color we are using (they have since corrected that at my request) and the color, which has a black base, allowed the black to bleed through. The second time was our fault, we used all the powder we had on hand and of course we had a malfunction inside the oven and with no more powder to correct the problem we now have to strip them and do them for the third time when the powder comes in......oh well, they say the third times the charm, I sure hope so. By the way, I'm sure someone will ask so the color is Smoke Chrome from Eastwood.

EarlsflyinCobra · #10 (**permalink**) 07-20-2013, 06:45 PM

[IMG]

[/IMG]Without headlights..............

[IMG]

[/IMG]With headlights.............

Ron61 · #11 (**permalink**) 07-21-2013, 02:35 AM

Earl,

It is looking good and you will soon be ready for the first real test drive.

Ron

EarlsflyinCobra · #12 (**permalink**) 07-26-2013, 09:59 PM

The roll bar being prepped and the other bare metal waiting for powder coat

Well, they say the Third Times the Charm, and Luckily for me, it WAS. The roll bars turned out good this time (third time we powder coated them) so now I can get them installed

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE E

Ron61 · #13 (**permalink**) 07-27-2013, 04:21 AM

That is good news Earl. Why did the powder coating keep flaking off the first two times? Bad prep.

Ron

EarlsflyinCobra · #14 (**permalink**) 07-27-2013, 07:11 PM

Ron,

The first time we powder coated them we didn't know that the color we used "had" to be clear coated after it cured. The color I bought, online, did not have any indication of the need for clear coat, however in the catalog it did. Now, since I complained, they have added the need for clear coat to the online catalog and they sent me a half bottle of the color for the mistake.
The second time, we were running short on the color, and of course, we bumped the roll bars when putting them in the oven and had no more powder.
The third time we had plenty of powder and we were "extra" careful, so it turned out great. Now I just have to install them.

EarlsflyinCobra · #15 (**permalink**) 08-04-2013, 05:20 PM

Well, one problem solved and another rears its ugly head

I've been working on wiring off and on for about two months, chasing gremlins, and trying to get everything working. Well, today I got frustrated and made a trip to AutoZone where I bought all new 2057 bulbs (I know, I should have known better, but I had bought cheap import brand 1157 LED bulbs) and upon installing them "ALL" the gremlins "RAN" away

.

The other problem arose when I tried to hang the doors, the drivers door doesn't seem to fit

and the passenger door is being difficult too.

Ron61 · #16 (**permalink**) 08-05-2013, 04:01 AM

Earl,

Sometimes the doors can really be a pain to get to fit correctly. I have know people that had to shave some off the edges. change the hinge locations by a fraction, and almost every other thing you can imagine to get them to fit right.

Try leaving the hinges and other stuff off and if you can get someone to help you, hold the door just the way you want it to fit and then try putting a hinge on loosely and see if it will line up. Also check the top of the door to see if it is level with the body on each end. Then check the door latch to be sure it is lining up. If everything lines up ok and you still have gap problems, then you may have to do some fiberglass work.

Remember, if you have at least two people it makes it a lot easier.

Ron

EarlsflyinCobra · #17 (**permalink**) 08-09-2013, 08:09 PM

Well, tomorrow the windshield and roll bars are going on, hope they don't "FIGHT" me

Ron61 · #18 (**permalink**) 08-10-2013, 02:58 AM

Earl,

Goood luck and how about some pictures when they are on? If there are no pictures then I am going to guess you never got them on.

Ron

EarlsflyinCobra · #19 (**permalink**) 08-10-2013, 05:17 PM

Well, they're in, not totally satisfied with the windshield angle yet but its getting there...and, yes, they FOUGHT me a little but I whooooooped em...

[IMG]

[/IMG]

Ron61 · #20 (**permalink**) 08-11-2013, 06:07 AM

Earl,

That is looking good and more like a Cobra every day. You will soon have it ready for the finishing touches.

Ron