Economies of Scale - Building a Cobra

[john chesnut]

Hi Ezra, I am just finishing the build of my scratch built Cobra. Talk about alot of work!!! And money!!!! My wife pulled me aside yesterday to tell me that for what I have spent on this project one of my kids could have gone to an Ivy league school.
Seriously it is extremely rewarding to design and build your own car. But figure that it will take 2 to 3 times as long and 2 to 3 times as much money to build it.
I started by having a massive jig base welded up on a NASCAR flat plate. I designed a tubular space frame chassis for the Cobra. I built 32 scale models of the chassis. I have built 3 full size prototypes before I got everything right. I am using all new Corvette drivetrain. The Vette suspension mountin locations are very complicated as nothing is in a single plane. The Vette has a wider track so I had to have a new steering rack designed and built to maintain proper geometry. I had to have new rear axles made. The Vette uses a transaxle which would have made the trans tunnel too wide. So, I had designed a conversion for the Vette diff so that it will accept a driveshaft.
I used a Mid States body shell which I think is one of the best shapes on the market. I made aluminum panels to skin the chassis. I then made molds for a trunk, door jambs, rear bulk head, and dash. I built an aluminum insert that mounts to the chassis and then mounts to the return edge of the hood opening to support the front of the body. I had custom headers made. The list goes on and on. I started fabricating full time in March and the project will be finished the end of Sept. I am racing it at Run n Gun in Oct.
This project is alot of fun. I like the challenge of figuring every little detail out. But, since I put my self under a tight time schedule it has been stressful too. As soon as I get off the forum I am going into the garage to keep working.
I do have 2 extra Cobra bodies if you end up needing one. The first is a Mid States. The trunk, hood, and doors have inner skins. I have a FF body. The trunk, hood, and doors are skins and do not have a finished inner surface.
Good luck! John