I'm in the middle of the project you describe as are several other people on this forum.
Probably the best way to begin a project like this one is to talk to several people who are in the process of doing it. I talked to Mickmate on the phone a couple times before I decided my course of action.
From most of the available input, this is a big project and you need to commit a large block of time to the project, as well as substantial fabrication skills.
If you are determined to take this route, you should go to the Cobra Restorers site (
www.cobrarestorers.com), look under literature, and order the Cobra restorers chassis plans, which are very close to the original chassis- if not identical to some. They run $200 plus shipping.
After looking at the drawings, you will be able to determine if this is something you really want to tackle. Personally, I ended up buying an incomplete chassis and going from there. My fabrication skills are up to completing this chassis but I doubt I could have built it from scratch in a reasonable amount of time. Besides, the chassis requires quite a bit of material and tools that a one-off builder just won't possess and it isn't reasonable to buy the tools required to do one chassis. An example- the 4" DOM round tubing for the chassis comes in random lengths about 20' long. It is very expensive and you will probably need to buy more than you need. It is only sold in the 20 foot (random) lengths at suppliers. Now, multiply this times every piece of material in different sizes and shapes on the vehicle and you'll immediately see the problem.
There is at least one forum member who can supply you with a chassis in whatever stage of completion you wish. His chassis are basically a copy of the original.
The original chassis is set up for the Jag XKE rear differential, which is difficult and expensive to come by these days and has realiability issues from what I've read. (don't flame he here guys, just my opinion). They also have inboard brakes, which I never cared for. Also, many of the original style suspension pieces are available from a couple sources, but are VERY expensive.
Here is the route I've decided to take to make this build a reasonable time and budget project.
I bought a chassis and body from a forum member built to the Cobra Restorers plans. I'm using the Ford T-bird IRS rear end, which is requiring a few minor modifications to the chassis.
I am having a forum member help me with the suspension design as I'm not really trained in this discipline and would really rather have someone with experience perform this task. If you think about it, the suspension is the heart and soul of these vehicles. If they won't handle properly due to poorly designed or retrofitted pieces that have lousy geometry, the car will never live up to it's potential.
I am building the engine myself, as well as most of the other pieces I will need such as the aluminum pieces required for the cockpit tub, trunk, wheel wells, and engine compartment/firewall. I will also be doing the body and paint prep and painting if everything works out for me to do it.
This leaves a lot of room for individual design and modification if you like, or you can go with a straight build. The biggest problem with doing this type of build properly, in my experience, is finding and interpreting enough information to make everything fit and work together the way it should.
I encourage you to go ahead and go for it by asking plenty of questions and start to seek out sources for the parts, pieces, and information you will need.
Depending on how you decide to proceed, this can be a project on a very limited budget- or a completely over the top vehicle with tons of personal touches. I hope you have a great time with it as I am having.
If you need some input or questions answered, let me know. E-mail me at
bsfx@aol.com and I'll send you my phone number or call you. There are some very helpful people on this forum who are more than willing to help you out, you just need to ask.
Sorry this is so long winded, my enthusiasm must be showing- Bob
Hybrid Mode
