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  #41 (permalink)  
Old 02-27-2003, 03:07 PM
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Because anyone can go buy a factory built car, all it takes is money. To build a Contemporary or ERA takes not only money but other intangibles, and yes I am sure you can not build a nice ERA or Contemporary for the same money as a SPF, but then again I don't know of any ERA or Contemporary owners that are wanting to trade for a more modern cobra replica unless it would be a SAI or Kirkham.

For your information you can still get a Contemporary kit through Image Auto Works in Palm Springs, CA. , and I am sure you can get a turnkey car. The owner Don Borders has been recognized for years as a premier builder of anything automotive.

wt
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  #42 (permalink)  
Old 03-01-2003, 10:26 PM
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My friends tell me I have the only "kit car" Superformance around.
They come to my house and lift the cover off the car and are shocked to see essentially a bare frame and painted body with some suspension components. They ask why I tore apart a perfectly good brand new car. My simple answer is when it comes to engines and cars, I'm anal retentive, type A personality, compulsive/obsessive,psychopathand nothing "the way it comes from the factory" is good enough for me.
My main reasons for buying a Superformance are:
Price
Stunningly beautiful body work and paint
A brick s**t-house strong frame with the body riveted and bonded to it.
Power brakes and, in general, high quality components.
I like the way the a** end of a SPF looks, more than the originals and the more originally sculpted ERA, Kirkham SAI, and Contempory Cobras.
I know it's not correct but I like the way the rear wheels and tires "fill" the wheel well on a SPF. It just looks cooler to me.
All this being said, if Turks ERA had come on the market 6 months earlier (before I got my SPF), I would have bought it in a heartbeat!
--Mike
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Last edited by SFfiredog; 03-01-2003 at 10:33 PM..
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  #43 (permalink)  
Old 03-01-2003, 10:48 PM
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Mike,
I agree with part of what you are saying...
The part about being a "psychopath".

I am sure your car will be better an SPF by a mile when you get done with it. I have seen some of your stuff.
My bird is prettier and smarter than your bird also.

TURK
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  #44 (permalink)  
Old 03-01-2003, 11:27 PM
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Yeah, but look who he has for a daddy!
No wonder he makes that funny faucet drip sound
--Mike
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  #45 (permalink)  
Old 03-02-2003, 06:52 AM
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Mike,

Why did you take your SPF apart? What are you doing to it? What are you replacing? With what?

Lowell
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  #46 (permalink)  
Old 03-02-2003, 03:57 PM
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Hi Lowell,
I dissassembled my SPF for cosmetic and performance reasons.
I stripped the engine compartment bare so I could paint the inner fender area, radiator shroud, and various pieces titanium, to match the exterior color. I also am painting the Indigo blue stripes under the hood, on the fan shroud and under the decklid.
I'm hiding the wiring harness as much as possible.
I moved the starter relay to the rear of the car, moved the clutch resevoir to the right footbox, and removed the throttle linkage (my EFI uses a cable routed directly from the pedal) The firewall is now clean except for the wiper motor. I replaced the easily scratched aluminum firewall panel with a thin sheet of stainless with no holes for a very clean look.
I am modifying the front frame crossmember for added rigidity and to clear my dry-sump oil pump and lines
I pulled the radiator to weld on AN fittings and add a cavity for the electric water pump
I am fabricating polished stainless steel brake lines with billet aluminum mounting brackets
I manufactured a new rear crossmember to fit the T-56 six-speed The crossmember is a bridge type that fits up into the trans tunnel
It has a removable truss style lower crossmember that incorporates the trans mount. It has left and right hand threaded rod ends that can pre-load the crossmemeber for added strength
The upper crossmember has support tubes that reinforce the center section (rear end) mounts.
I am modifing all the geometry on the parking brake brackets and cable mounts so the parking brake will actually hold the car on a hill
I'm installing a fuel cell and a complete return style fuel system for the EFI.
I removed the dash to modify the wiring harness (one part of a SPF that is good in some areas and marginal at best in others)
I'm replacing the Smiths gauges with Autometer Replica gauges
I'm adding a "push to start" buttom from a Honda S2000
Installing apush style lock in the glove-box door
I'm replacing the rubber hose from the heater core with tubing.
I will post photos as the work progresses. I have too many customer's cars to finish before I can get to mine
More on the suspension a brakes later.
--Mike
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  #47 (permalink)  
Old 03-02-2003, 06:43 PM
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Hal,

I work with a guy who is building his own version of a Lotus 7.
He has the chassis done and is working on the front suspension.
He is making it 4 inches wider than the original, and using a Mazda RX7 turbo motor with some mods. He expects it to weigh about 1200 lbs and make about 300 HP. I'm looking forward to a ride, it should be fun.
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  #48 (permalink)  
Old 03-03-2003, 11:43 AM
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Hi, Mike,

Thanks for your detailed explanation. Sounds like a lot of work but it will make an already great car a real standout. I'm especially curious about the parking brake mod, as this is an area in which there's lots of room for improvement.

One of my main reasons for buying a SPF was that there was more legroom than any of the other 90"WB cars I looked at. Even so, at 6'6", I'm looking for any possible way to get more room. I plan to lower the gas pedal (will make the throttle operate "faster"-not sure how that will work out), glass in a groove or notch in the tunnel for more right leg room and see whether I can thrash the seat around somehow to try to get a little more room there. If you have any suggestions re. the above, I'd appreciate your input. Basically, I'm trying to get 6-1/2 feet of driver into a 5-1/2 foot car...

Thanks,

Lowell
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  #49 (permalink)  
Old 03-03-2003, 05:17 PM
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Hi Lowell,
I'm 6'1" and know what you mean about needing cockpit room.
The 2 things that bother me are the edge of the trans tunnel and the fiberglass cover on the door hinge. Here are a few ideas to get more room in a SPF.
The newer SPFs (1300 and up?) have re-designed lower seat pads that make you "sink" farther down in the seat.
If you are to be the only person driving the car you can remove the seat tracks for some added leg room.
I have a Nardi wood steering wheel that looks ten times better than the plywood one that comes with the car. It's main advantage is being 1 inch smaller in diameter which gives you more leg room.
I plan on cutting a wedge out of my trans tunnel where my leg rests (there is room brfore hitting the trans) and glassing in a curved section for clearance. I was thinking of placing a pieceof foam cut to the shape of the tunnel to fill out the carpet so the cut would not be noticable.
Keep your ignition keys to a minimum. I have gouged my knee on the extra keys
The Second Strike newsletter has an ad for a pad that fits on the
door hinge. I don't have one but they look pretty good.
--Mike
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  #50 (permalink)  
Old 03-04-2003, 03:16 PM
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Hi, Mike,

Looks like we've both had the same ideas. There should be a lot of room (2" or so) in the tunnel and the best part will be getting rid of the sharp corner. I may even be able to move my right foot a bit to the right. I have the new seats and the car came with the seat tracks removed, so the seat pad is on the floor. I've looked at the pad for the door hinge cover: guess I'll gamble $30 to see if thats' an improvement, but it will push my left knee a bit further to the right. I don't mind wrestling with a smaller steering wheel-where did you get yours?

Thanks again,

Lowell
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  #51 (permalink)  
Old 03-04-2003, 07:28 PM
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Hal,
I built my custom round & sq. tube frame "from scratch" to fit one of the few Hi Tech fiberglass bodies made.

It took so damn long to do, I forgot why I decided to do it in the first place.

It came out beautiful, but I traded many months of my life for the result.

also, stainless steel; this is NOT a good choice for an automobile frame.

Because of the high nickel content, it tends to "work harden" as it flexes, particularly near the welds. SS is not really for structure, it's for corrosion and/or high temperature exposure.

Unless you are going to bake cookies on it, a mild steel or chromalloy frame is far superior.

scratch

Last edited by scratch; 03-04-2003 at 07:39 PM..
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  #52 (permalink)  
Old 03-05-2003, 04:48 AM
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Ok, Hal here. I fully understant that there are talented people out there who can and have made replicas, all by their lonesome selves. But my original post was motivated by the remark, as it seemed to me, from someone who was critical of me for buying rather than building my Replica. Perhaps he was one of those rare men who actually could make a Replica from scratch, frame, suspension, body, and so forth.

It was just that he seemed rather haughty to me, and i took his remark not as his personal goal or pride, but rather as a "put-down", when i was trying to proudly explain my particular replica, even giving him one of my SPF brochures.

In my line of work, i have learned to not be too sensitive, but sometimes i just get aggrivated by someone who is critical of those things that are imporant to me.

My hats off, my admiration is extended to all out there who "roll their own", so to speak.
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  #53 (permalink)  
Old 03-05-2003, 08:42 AM
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Heck, I admire the guys who build their own cars from kits. Do I have the ability? Sure. Do I have the perseverence? Well...it's like this: I came to the realization that every day spent building is a day away from being able to drive the car I've wanted for 37 years. It's gotta be hard to be working in the garage while other folks are out driving their Cobras. If you have the ABILITY and the INCLINATION to build a car from scratch, well, go ahead and build it and then we'll all admire it. 'Til then, we'll enjoy the cars we have...
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  #54 (permalink)  
Old 03-05-2003, 09:28 PM
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It both has been done and is being done. For those who don't believe it check out www.members.aol.com/coupechuck/index.htm
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  #55 (permalink)  
Old 03-05-2003, 09:41 PM
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Tinker 51,

THAT is a he!! of a first post!
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  #56 (permalink)  
Old 03-05-2003, 10:10 PM
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Hal,
I am in total agreement. It seems that car guys can be cool one day and bastards the next...

I fight the urge to challenge them, it seems there is always "one upmanship" going on around us all.

Probably just plain envy or jealousy working itself out to raw comments.

But after all is said and done, isn't it a kick to have a car that you can fire up and lose all the work-week aggravation? I think that is what every car guy wants.

scratch
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