XC Cobra #140

[Paull]

I have had this one on the go since 2003. Yes, we all know how long it takes to restore a car with everything else that keeps getting in the way. I wont post up all pictures as I have another link that you can see all of them and here it is;

http://www.paulsfords.com/main.php?g...m&g2_itemId=16

However, I am using the photobucket site now so will post up the pics as I go. Here a couple of where the car is now as well as a recent arrival;

I have had the car kept well out of the way since December 2005, whereas now, I have moved it to where I can start work on it, finally!!!! Don't mind the box, sorry.


The XC style (large centre) Bathurst Globes, have just arrived. And they look bloody excellent!!!!!!!!! I got 5 of them and will soon be putting the tyres on them.


I will post up more info later.

[cob115]

apsoluty beutiful mate keepem comeing i reckon the xc was and still is the best ever cobra made cheers pat cob115 :

[UU TS50]

Hi Paull as you are aware i was the last person to drive your cobra under its own power back in about 1991
I wrecked 1 of the original globes against a kerb bent wish bones as well was ucky not to hit a light pole missed it by about 6 inches
look forward to watching it come back to life love the cobras

[SeXC]

what did those globes cost ya, and where did you get them from?

[Auslandau]

Looking forward to see things as they go so keep posting! Great garage to play in ...... how many sets of wheel arch moulds do you have!!!!

GT Performance in Niddrie do the Bathurst Globe replicas but I am sure available else where



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[galaxy xr8]

This is another project worth veiwing, keep us updated along the way mate.

[Paull]

Originally Posted by SeXC

what did those globes cost ya, and where did you get them from?

I paid $2,550 for 4 with caps and nuts and then another $550 for the 5th wheel on its own. Am not sure who supplied them as I bought them through a friend of mine who deals directly with the manufacturer/supplier, sorry.

Originally Posted by auslandau

how many sets of wheel arch moulds do you have!!!! ?

A few . They are for P6 LTD only, of course. Have a few NOS ones but mostly second hand.

[UU TS50]

did you get the originals with the car when you bought it ?

[Paull]

Originally Posted by au302s3

did you get the originals with the car when you bought it ?

No, unfortunately not. I also did not get the transmission, door trims and electric window mechanisms. And yes, has taken quite a while to get that stuff, but that was simply the way the deal was structured.

[Bearman]

Love the garage....... and the contents!!

It'll be great to see another Cobra brought back to life, keep the pics and reports comming.

Cheers.

[UU TS50]

i had fitted a toploader to it so the original FMX was long gone i knew he onsold the toploader but i didnt think he would have separated those other bits as it was all there when i sold it just in bits thats all

[Paull]

I thought I would post up a few of the pics, of the last few years that is, and then continue on with the latest.

I had had the car for about 1 year but these were first taken when it went to the panel beaters in 2003




A few progress pics, circa 2005

[Paull]

Completed and now on its way home in December 2005





And there it sat up until recently and yes I know, I am very slow at getting this thing done:

[Paull]

After waiting 9 months, the dash parts have finally been finished :

Dash fascia


Glove box


Dash vent


Clock


Will post up more pics this afternoon.

[Auslandau]

Everything is brand new!! Obviously you had all the bits re done ... who did the re chroming? When do you envisage the job to be done or you havnt set a time line?



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[Paull]

This is the car now as it stands

I still have to remove all of the front end as well as the differential and leaf springs. Once done, I can then fit in all of the new stuff in. Just not sure whether to go for the 3.25:1 ratio gears or stick with the original yawn boring 2.75:1 gears?????



I have also recently gone through all of the spares that I have been accumulating over the last 5 years as well. It is amazing what you forget what you have. At any rate, all has now been sorted and the only thing that is missing are the door trims. Have been waiting for more years than I can count on these ones. Apparently restoring XC coupe door trims come well behind all other models :

The good thing is that I now realise that I have two and half sets of coupe electric window mechanisms :




And the last one is the engine as it sits now. Will be a while before I make a start on this one though :

[gregaust]

Paull, have you ever found a way to recondition the aluminium panel that sits in the console. I have one i want to get recovered in the original vinyl sort of stuff.

[cob115]

[QUOTE=Paull]This is the car now as it stands

I still have to remove all of the front end as well as the differential and leaf springs. Once done, I can then fit in all of the new stuff in. Just not sure whether to go for the 3.25:1 ratio gears or stick with the original yawn boring 2.75:1 gears?????

looking very nice paull,i know what your saying bout the diff gears ,i use my cobra nearly every day for work etc so il leave mine with long legs(more practical) ,but i wouldnt of thought going to 3.25 wasnt a big deal,i went from 2.7 or what ever they are to 3.7 (in my yellow xc)still steetable but boy big difference at the lights :evil3: but pretty crap on the highway cheers pat

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by cob115

looking very nice paull,i know what your saying bout the diff gears ,i use my cobra nearly every day for work etc so il leave mine with long legs(more practical) ,but i wouldnt of thought going to 3.25 wasnt a big deal,i went from 2.7 or what ever they are to 3.7 (in my yellow xc)still steetable but boy big difference at the lights :evil3: but pretty crap on the highway cheers pat

3.7 with a lower profile tyre gives me around 3000RPM at 100k'ms which i find not too bad for the open road. When I put the 65 profiles on it changed to around 2800 which is very comfy. 3.25 should be somewhere around the 2500 mark ?



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[Paull]

Originally Posted by gregaust

Paull, have you ever found a way to recondition the aluminium panel that sits in the console. I have one i want to get recovered in the original vinyl sort of stuff.

Not knowing as I have a new one;


However, I would think that you could remove the existing vinyl material and ask a Trimmer or the likes if they can either heat shrink or vacuum wrap some new vinyl onto it. I also would have thought that the companies that restore consoles could perhaps do it for you????

Originally Posted by auslandau

Everything is brand new!! Obviously you had all the bits re done ... who did the re chroming? When do you envisage the job to be done or you havnt set a time line?

This is the company that did it;
http://www.classicautoupholstery.com.au/

How long is a piece of string Dave????? Sorry, really don't know when it is going to be done as everything else keeps getting in the way. I don't see much more being done on the car for the rest of the year, just don't have much time to spare. And no, there has been no real time limit set as I simply look at it as being 'the car will be done when it gets done'. I am also doing another one as well - XD ex pursuit car

Originally Posted by cob115

looking very nice paull,i know what your saying bout the diff gears ,i use my cobra nearly every day for work etc so il leave mine with long legs(more practical) ,but i wouldnt of thought going to 3.25 wasnt a big deal,i went from 2.7 or what ever they are to 3.7 (in my yellow xc)still steetable but boy big difference at the lights but pretty crap on the highway cheers pat

Thanks Pat. The car will only be a once in a month Sunday driver so I am not too concerned about using it on long runs and everday as well. I have two sets of tyres, 1) 4 x 245 65 15's on the aforementioned 15 x 7 rims and then 2) 2 x 265 ? 15's on 15 x 8 Challenger rims (front) and 2 x 295 ? 15's on 15 x 10 Challenger rims. All of them are Yokohama 352's.

Originally Posted by auslandau

3.25 should be somewhere around the 2500 mark ?

That sounds pretty good, thanks for that Dave.

[cob115]

more pics please :oh i just read u have challenger 15x10 for the rear and were going to fit295sif you havnt shortnd your diff you wont fit 295s I know as i tried it my self,god dam back space,in the end i kept the 15x8 with a 4inch back space n still fitted 295s cheers pat

[Scooter]

Who panelled and painted your Cobra? Did you get any plastic repaired for your dash etc?

[Night]

Curious as to if you painted the blue before the white, I would have thought it would be the other way around. Looks good though, Cobra's were always my favorite coupes.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by Night

Curious as to if you painted the blue before the white, I would have thought it would be the other way around. Looks good though, Cobra's were always my favorite coupes.

this has been a passionate subject on the forums before. it seems that when the cobra was thought of, they were meant to be a blue car with white patches. probably ford started counting the extra money they were spending with two coats of paint, and started cutting back. some people will swear their cobra was all blue with white. others swear theirs was only blue where the stripes are and no where else. and of course it seems there were some in between with similar amounts of blue to paull's

i believe the goss specials were similar - painted blue or green first, then white over the top

[Scooter]

The Cobras were painted Bold Blue, Then the Snow White. I just want to know who did yours as it looks like a pretty sweet job, And I too am in WA, looking for a good spraypainter.

[Paull]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

this has been a passionate subject on the forums before. it seems that when the cobra was thought of, they were meant to be a blue car with white patches. probably ford started counting the extra money they were spending with two coats of paint, and started cutting back. some people will swear their cobra was all blue with white. others swear theirs was only blue where the stripes are and no where else. and of course it seems there were some in between with similar amounts of blue to paull's

i believe the goss specials were similar - painted blue or green first, then white over the top

That's pretty much it. From what I have been told by owners of the higher series numbered cars, they got the part blue/part white. Whereas the lower series numbered cars (mine included), got the all blue/part white treatment.

Originally Posted by Night

Curious as to if you painted the blue before the white, I would have thought it would be the other way around. Looks good though, Cobra's were always my favorite coupes.

Cars where painted this way from the factory and that is the way the painter wanted to do it.

Originally Posted by Scooter

Who panelled and painted your Cobra? Did you get any plastic repaired for your dash etc?.

A mate of mine did the job. He works from home and restores anything Mopar. The only reason that I got mine done was out of sheer perseverance. So no, as many times I have asked him to do more of my cars (1 x XD Falcon and 3 x P6 LTD's), he always says no now, Chrylser Chargers are the go now.

And no, I had no plastic repairs done to my dash.

[Night]

Cheers for that, I asked cause I'm still picking up methods for when I start one of these projects myself. Seemed a bit strange painting a white over a colour and I thought you would need a lot more coats of paint to do it that way.

[gcg2503]

Paull

Clearly the spray painter is a clever bloke

If he says to another car then he will be doing P6s for the rest of his life! You have about 10 of the damn things

: :

George

[cob115]

intresting ,i thought all of them were blue 1st ,when i found mine it had ben polished so much and faded you could see blue under the white evey were,

[Scooter]

Cheers for the reply, You must of been collecting a lot of goodies for your car for a long time to have such nice bolt on bits for her.