Non Cobra build--Cheetah

[john chesnut]

Thank you for the comments.

I'm not sure about the color yet. I'm partial to Ruby Red. I used it on one of my cars and I loved it. My Cobra was a Atomic Orange Effect. I liked that a lot too.

I'm having a problem with the air cleaner sticking through the hood. The original Cheetahs had holes cut into the hood for Carb/Aircleaner clearance. I would prefer not to have to cut the hood. I have an LS engine (needs rebuilding). The LS will fit under the hood.

When I got to the shop this morning I mocked up a cowl induction bulge. And, I placed a spoiler mold that I have on the rear deck. I think that I'll mold the body and hood with out these pieces. Then make final parts and mold them separately. They can be riveted or bonded on.

- I bonded the thin plywood cover onto the rear deck.
- I worked on the interior of the cockpit.
- I worked some on the windshield base.
- I worked on the seam between the hood and body. When I mold the hood there will be a return molded into the firewall mating edge. That way the body and hood will fit perfectly.

[john chesnut]

I'm having fun but I'm tired of foam, body work, and fiberglass

- I made windshield mount brackets. The brackets hold the windshield about 1/8 inch above the body. I'll touch the brackets up and drill a couple holes for looks!

- I want the body to come out of the mold and drop, self aligning, onto the frame. For this I glued in what will be the top of the dash and a dash face. I think the dash looks Cobar-ish and could be used. It's mostly there so that the body is stable and strong. I'm planning to cut much of the face away so that the Kellison dash slips in.
- I'm molding in smooth transitions from the dash and the rear bulk head to the sides of the cockpit. My hope is to have a good looking cockpit that doesn't require much work out of the mold.
- I glassed in all of the pieces that I've been working on, including the rear deck.
- Tomorrow I plan to remove the Carbed engine and install an LS engine. I'm hoping that it fits under an uncut hood.

For this build I'm trying to imagine if the Cheetah had continued on and a more civilized, street version was created. I like the look so far. IMO its lean but muscular looking.

[lovehamr]

John, I think you're right on target man! That's going to be a sweet ride......... even if it is a che, che, che, I can't say it..

[john chesnut]

Thanks Lovehamr.

Today I jacked up the car and switched the Carbed engine for the LS. It still protrudes through the hood! But, not by that much. I'm thinking that a Jaguar XKE hood bulge could look cool. Or, to make an engine cover for the LS that would have velocity stacks. Try to make the LS look old school. It would be a shaker cover.

I made an engine cover for the LS that I put in my Cobra. I don't think that it would be that hard to do one with velocity stacks.

Now I have to decide which engine to go with.

[1795]

John,

With that hood profile the XKE style bump would look nice. It would provide for a nice smooth and sexy look to the car.

[James Stern]

John,

I agree with 1795 on the E-type bulge. It has a sophisticated look and does a job.

[john chesnut]

Thank you for your input. I've decided to use the LS engine for my car. Yesterday I used wood, foam, cardboard and duct tape to make the rough shape for the hood bulge. It's different than the XKE but I think that it matches the shape of the car.

I glassed the hood bulge last night. All of the support stuff will be removed from the underside and it will get glassed from the bottom. Now I get to have lots of fun and use body filler to smooth the radii.

Now that the hood bulge is done I can see that the hood vents aren't equal distance from the center line. And, I found that the license plate holder isn't centered either. I'll be cutting them out and re-position them.

Once I'm done getting the body to my satisfaction I'm going to make molds and pull a clean body for my car. My son and a friend want to build one too.

This car is low and small. Here's how it compares to a Cobra

Cobra- Wheel base 90 inches, height 48 inches, width 68 inches, length 158 inches, weight about 2300-2500 ( I'm guessing that most fall into this range)

My car - wheel base 93 inches, height 41 inches to the top of the windshield, 43 to the top of the roll bar, length 148 inches, width 73 at the rear wheels, goal weight 1900lbs.

Today is shop clean up and dump day!!

[john chesnut]

I've been cleaning the shop and hauling stuff to the dump.

Here is a picture of my son in the car. He's long in the torso and 6'2".

[john chesnut]

I've been working on the hood pivot for the hood. I'm glassing in parallel panels into the snout. The hood pivot bolts to these and then bolt to the frame with hinges. The entire hood can be removed by unbolting 4 bolts. The panels, when closed become the duct for the radiator. The air flows through the radiator then down the sides of the frame. Air from the radiator does not enter the engine compartment.

I also have been working on the hood bulge. Years ago I got some hood vents that Bill Hough made for a Cobra. I'm incorporating them into the hood.

I'm hoping to finish the fiberglass work that needs to be done on the exterior of the body today. Then the body can come off and I can finish welding and start assembly. While I'm doing that I will continue with fiberglass work on the underside of the body.

I'm having fun but it seems like it takes me 3-4 times to get every little thing to fit or work correctly.

In the photo of the exterior panel that I'm glassing in to the shout shows the radiator with the outlets facing forward. Obviously there was going to be a clearance issue. I was able to use a different radiator and mount it so that the inlet/outlet face the engine.

[john chesnut]

Sorry for the double post!

I've been working on the hood pivot for the hood. I'm glassing in parallel panels into the snout. The hood pivot bolts to these and then bolt to the frame with hinges. The entire hood can be removed by unbolting 4 bolts. The panels, when closed, become the duct for the radiator. The air flows through the radiator then down the sides of the frame. Air from the radiator does not enter the engine compartment.

I also have been working on the hood bulge. Years ago I got some hood vents that Bill Hough made for a Cobra. I'm incorporating them into the hood.

I'm hoping to finish the fiberglass work that needs to be done on the exterior of the body today. Then the body can come off and I can finish welding and start assembly. While I'm doing that I will continue with fiberglass work on the underside of the body.

I'm having fun but it seems like it takes me 3-4 times to get every little thing to fit or work correctly.

[krausewich]

Clever use of reinforcement as partition and hinge point! Instead of the lower hinged framework, would a rod-end mount system w/ a bolt running through your partition at the lower edge work? That would offer you multi-directional adjustability. I admire your determination and progress.

But why mention that criminal's name for your vents....

[john chesnut]

Thank you for your comments and input. I can see making the hood pivot mount adjustable. If I build another one of these I should do that.

I only mentioned the name because I don't want people thinking that I'm taking credit for work I didn't do.

I purchased the LS engine 10 or more years ago in NH. I can't find the paperwork. I don't think I would get through the NY registration process with out it. So, I purchased an inexpensive 5.3 engine from a friend of mine that does a lot of LS work and custom makes wiring harnesses. It's been rebuilt. He's making me that harness and will tune the engine.

The 5.3 engine intake is too tall to fit under my hood bulge. And the oil pan is too deep for the ground clearance I need. So, I'm installing the Camaro pan and intake from my LS1 on the 5.3.

I'm going to have to build the headers for the LS engine. I've ordered a kit to do that. This will be my first attempt at that!

I've been working on brackets and details on the frame. I've mounted the radiator. I ended up going back to a larger radiator. The electric fan will mount engine side. The inlet and outlet are facing towards the front of the car. There is clearance under the hood for this.

The fuel tank mounts are in. The seat mounts are in. The Ebrake system is in. I made a torque arm that mounts the pinion. It bolts to the transmission crossmember and trans tunnel. I made a driveshaft safety hoop. The transmission mount is in. The pedal mounts are in. The steering shaft is in.

The only thing left to do on the frame is the rear upper shock mounts. I'm doing that tomorrow. Then everything comes apart for final welding.

I have the body and hood upside down. I've been cleaning up the underside and getting ready to fiberglass the backside of the mods that I've made. It's going to be warm here for a few days. I expect to finish that by Friday night.

Man there is a lot to do!

[john chesnut]

Thank you for your comments and input. I can see making the hood pivot mount adjustable. If I build another one of these I should do that.

I only mentioned the name because I don't want people thinking that I'm taking credit for work I didn't do.

I purchased the LS engine 10 or more years ago in NH. I can't find the paperwork. I don't think I would get through the NY registration process with out it. So, I purchased an inexpensive 5.3 engine from a friend of mine that does a lot of LS work and custom makes wiring harnesses. It has the correct paper work. It's just been rebuilt. He's making me that harness and will tune the engine.

The 5.3 engine intake is too tall to fit under my hood bulge. And the oil pan is too deep for the ground clearance I need. So, I'm installing the Camaro pan and intake from my LS1 on the 5.3.

I'm going to have to build the headers for the LS engine. I've ordered a kit to do that. This will be my first attempt at that!

I've been working on brackets and details on the frame. I've mounted the radiator. I ended up going back to a larger radiator. The electric fan will mount engine side. The inlet and outlet are facing towards the front of the car. There is clearance under the hood for this.

The fuel tank mounts are in. The seat mounts are in. The Ebrake system is in. I made a torque arm that mounts the pinion. It bolts to the transmission crossmember and trans tunnel. I made a driveshaft safety hoop. The transmission mount is in. The pedal mounts are in. The steering shaft is in.

The only thing left to do on the frame is the rear upper shock mounts. I'm doing that tomorrow. Then everything comes apart for final welding.

I have the body and hood upside down. I've been cleaning up the underside and getting ready to fiberglass the backside of the mods that I've made. It's going to be warm here for a few days. I expect to finish that by Friday night.

Man there is a lot to do!

[1795]

Looking good John. You are probably correct in your thinking that without a receipt for the engine it would be difficult to get through the NY custom build registration process.

[john chesnut]

I've been working slowly on my build.
- I decided that the body was sitting a tad too low. I raised it up by 1 inch to create more tire room and so that an old school engine with a Carb would fit under the new hood bulge. This took more work than you might think. It required cutting away the flanges that I molded to the frame and doing them over!
- I completed welding of the frame. There are a lot of pieces and joints. Welding took me 2 full days.
- Then I cut and fit the aluminum skins that seal the body, flow the air out of the radiator, and form the foot boxes.
- Then I painted the frame. I completed that this morning. In a couple of days I'll rivet the aluminum panels to the frame. Then starts the build!

[1795]

Looking sweet.

[Tommy]

Thanks for the update. I look forward to more.

[john chesnut]

Summer has arrived in the Adirondacks. I've been working on our family camp on Lake Champlain and doing work on my house. Starting in July I'm going to take 2 months off and enjoy family and our camp. It's going to be Oct before I will spend meaningful time on my build.

Have a great summer!