ROADSTER COBRA 65 - Before & After

[Angelo]

Thought I'd start a thread on the Cobra. Factory Five Mark II. Since I bought the car ( as is in the before pic) I've made some changes and additions. It's now a FAST EFI fuel injected 306 putting about 310 hp to the tire on a 2100 pound car. Tremec 3550 with a 31 spline 373 gear posi 8.8 and Willwood brakes. It also got new 18" wheels and NT 555 G2's. 275 and 295. I'm in the process of installing a LaMans hard top that will be colour matched to the body.

[Angelo]

The top will be removable but not likly removed. It will be however hinged at the windshield supports Im going to fab up in order to pop it up at the rear. It's my way of gaining access to the trunk. I wasn't into the idea of cutting the trunk lid in half or cutting a hatch access out of the rear glass. It will have Quicker Latch fasteners where needed and two small pistons added to the newly designed 4 point roll bar to hold it up. Reminds me of some hot wheel car u had as a kid.

[Angelo]

Wheels how I bought them....

[Angelo]

.... and done painting them. I wanted to have the look of a bigger sidewall so I painted the hoop of the rim Smoke metallic grey so they blended into the rubber. Tires are not black and if the wheel is painted black it tends to look much darker than the tire and defeats the purpose I find.

[Angelo]

I noticed I didn't check the auto correct my phone did to the thread title. It's supposed to simply say " Before & After" and I can't seem to edit it. Oh well.

[Angelo]

Rear and side glass is going to be Lexan with pop up vents that are 360 degree directional and can be opened or closed. That's what I'm working on this week.

[Angelo]

If I left the wheels and tires as I bought them vs painting them. Not horrible but no life I think.

[Angelo]

How the top totally changes the look from being more centred with no top to being very rear weighted and slung back with the top.

[wfo guy]

Once the top is painted, it will be completely different. Having a car be useful for more than 3 months is always good.:)

[1965gp]

The car looks a lot more modern- I'm really interested to see how the side profile changes with the top the same color. The wheels really make the color... if that makes sense?

[andrewb70]

I noticed I didn't check the auto correct my phone did to the thread title. It's supposed to simply say " Before & After" and I can't seem to edit it. Oh well.

Fixed it for you...

Andrew

[Angelo]

Hey THANKS Andrew. Didn't make sense before.

[preston]

These cars look cool with a hardtop. I'm not sure I"d paint it, the contrast of the two tone looks kind of cool.
LIke you said it weighs the backend of the car visually and makes it look very sporty.

[Angelo]

It is cool in a two tone because I think the tire lettering is kinda balancing it out. Don't know if it would look so good otherwise.

[Angelo]

I think colour match looks great.

[Angelo]

This one started the madness lol

[Angelo]

Update on the top. 3" pop up vents arrived from the UK. Nice pieces for the side vents and three for the rear glass. They can be rotated, opened or closed. Simple and effective for moving air on those hot days. I made the brackets for the length of the windshield pillar so the hood can pivot on them. Punching 1" holes in it to make it less chunky. Waiting on the chassis builder to swing by to start fabing up the roll bar.

[Rucumn]

Resembles Jaguar XKE with top on. Love the look! Also love what you did with the wheels!

[Angelo]

Thanks Ya I agree. Those cars from that whole era of racing had a nice slung back look to them.

[Angelo]

Got the windshield pillar brackets done today.

[Angelo]

Mocking up the new 4 point roll bar rather than the single hoop. Debating on chromed or blacked out. Never a fan of taking a hole saw to a nice paint job but it was worth it. I think it's low enough and has the right curves for the style of car. I'd hate the roll bar to look like it belongs on a pickup truck. It's still tall enough to save my neck if I go wheels up but I'd rather not find out.

[Angelo]

Done shaping and modding the top. Going to spray out the high build primer and block it ready for paint. Roll bar on a bit of a delay since I need to roll a slight curve to it and both chassis builders I know don't have a roller. Just benders. It needs to look right so I'm not going to rush it.

[Godbolt]

Great job as always Angelo.

[fordsbyjay]

I couldn't imagine getting in with the top on. Last year I squeezed into a Daytona coupe and it was quite difficult (but then I am a large person). Regardless I couldn't get out of the thing fast enough.

BTW, my MK3
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2017/01/moltenmagnacobra3_zps80c9caa3-1.jpg (http://s36.photobucket.com/user/fordsbyjay/media/1965%20FF%20Roadster/moltenmagnacobra3_zps80c9caa3.jpg.html)

[Angelo]

That's funny Jason. Im 235 lbs myself and I tried a number of ways to get in and out. The result is a very specific technique that I need to get just right or I will have to ask you to look away because it gets ugly lol.

[Yukon Cornelius]

Looks great Angelo, but I would seriously consider going white with the top.

[Angelo]

Really? You don't think it would look better with the paint flowing as all one? What makes you like the white better? I don't exactly hate the white myself.

[1965gp]

I suggest going with one single color- I think the car will have awesome lines when you are done.

[Angelo]

I don't hate the white but I'm not a two tone guy and one colour for the whole car does create some serious lines. Only thing that may go white is the gum-balls with the number 36 done in black.

[wfo guy]

Years ago one of my friends was talking to his son about his requirements for a street rod. The bottom line was " hot rods and cool cars all have space problems." His son then said"you might as well go drive a Lincoln town car! I think that was the last time that was discussed. Sometime later, he and I took a 29 roadster pickup to Bonneville with no top in 100 degree temps. It was one of the best trips we ever had. :)

[Angelo]

Open air ROADSTERS are great fun to take a blast in but vintage race cars are my itch and with a hard top is my favourite.

[Angelo]

Btw Jason your MKIII looks sweet and the cooper looks great.

[Angelo]

Got the main tube made for the roll bar so I can move onto making and installing the custom brackets and dampers. Working out fine except the top is so light at 25 lbs. that I need softer pressure dampers. Not a big problem although working around this really nice paint has been.

[wfo guy]

Angelo, I found this chart when I was doing the hood one the 51. It might be useful.
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/092437.html

[Angelo]

Thank you. My supplier is looking into the carbon-fibre weighted ones for me.

[Sj_mr2]

That's going to look awesome. My vote is satin black on the rollbar to match the wheels

[Angelo]

Thanks. I agree with you. I'm doing away with all that chrome for the roll bar and going with a graphite satin metallic instead. Should look right with the black leather interior as well as the wheels if and when the top is removed.

[Angelo]

Besides. My friend Marco and I chose to give the car an identity of its own and too much chrome wouldn't suit this character. This is a rendering of the piece that will be CNC'd and added to the lower corner of the trunk lid.

[Angelo]

Pic

[Angelo]

The actual acrylic piece before paint.

[Angelo]

Messing around with the custom trim rings my friend Marco cut for me. Nothing is painted to match the rim colour yet but you can see the image with the electric actuator behind the roll bar. One shot is with the extension bar to lift the top and one is what it would look like if the car was topless. Not much looking out of the ordinary for as clean a look as I can manage. Actuators cost only $65 each and weigh 1.5 lbs a piece.

[funbnme]

Car looks great. Love the top...where'd you get it?

One word of caution...the windshields are known for cracking if there's tension put on them. The frame is brass and will flex easily. Be careful when lifting the top. If you lean too hard into it, I could see the windshield frame flexing forward and you'll be replacing the window (or fitting a lexan one which a lot of guys have done).

[Angelo]

Thank you for the heads up Dan. I saw that on a forum somewhere before I started so I made these steel brackets that put vertical sheet on the windshield braces. And then I installed 1/8" Lexan behind the small holes I cut out and ran it down to the body so the pressure is off the glass and on the body instead. Top is a total of 22 pounds and is pivoted off those brackets.

[Angelo]

I finished painting and installing everything last night. All that's left is to wire the switch and paint top and bottom of the roof. It's been about a 200 hour undertaking making all of these one of parts. Very satisfying when it's done. Oh and the top came from Mr. Bruce. I found him on the Cobra Forum. I'm in Toronto and I don't know if that's close to you but it would be nice to run into you and your 65. Keep in touch

[wfo guy]

Anxious to see it finished. :)

[Angelo]

Numbers are on. It's exactly what I was after for this car.

[Angelo]

Before and aftet

[Angelo]

Did some body filling, high build and lots of sanding to get the underside of the fibreglass ready for paint. Has a durable suede finish to it. One more pass tomorrow to even it out.

[Angelo]

A product from Canadian Yire. Car surface repair isle.

[Angelo]

Today build prime and block. Sunday lay down the green. Monday weatherstrip the bottom, install the rear glass. Should be good

[Angelo]

How to black out the perimeter of your Lexan glass. I cut the 1/8" sheet to shape and removed about a two inch strip of protective coating from it. Then I used 1"-1/4 tape to mask the area being painted To get an even line to follow with the striping tape. Once you've spent the time getting a very good line with the masking tape you follow right next to it with the green striping tape. Take your time because it will be the final clean line of your paint. Once that is stuck down we'll you can remove the 1"-1/4 masking tape to expose the area to be paired. Of course the pictures loaded in reverse order. Lol.

[Angelo]

Give the surface a quick wipe for dust and lay on light coats of your colour. BTW this is all done on the back side of the glass. It would be in the car and not in the elements. Do not remove the protection from the outside of the glass or you'll have to cover it up from overspray. Once you have built up a solid black finish DO another few passes because it will still be transparent up to the light. Learned that one the hard way. Light pass with the heat gun is my truck to flashing off the solvent do you don't get wrinkling from laying on coat after coat. And I do mean light. Keep the gun moving. Once a couple of hours have passed and you can touch the surface you can peel back and check out your work. Good luck. Hope it was helpful.

[Angelo]

Baking in the oven.

[Angelo]

Done

[Angelo]

Pic

[Godbolt]

Looks fantastic Angelo. Looks like it rained for the occasion as well.

[aronhk_md]

Absolutely beautiful. Everything you did was well thought out and executed. But I can't imagine not taking the top off on my healey replica. lol I love going topless.

[Angelo]

Thanks my friend. We are supposed to be knee deep in snow but another mild day do I took it outside for some shots.

[Angelo]

I like the Healey and 73 Firebird. I had a rag 69 firebird for 9 years and the top went down only a few times a summer. Just me I guess.

[Angelo]

Car has some nice curves and the top I think just keeps the party going.

[aronhk_md]

Oh it definitely looks great! What did you paint the NITTO raised lettering white with?

[Angelo]

http://tredwear.com/tire-kits/
I ordered them custom cut from this site. Very nice to deal with.

[aronhk_md]

Did you have to smooth the area of the tire from any raised stuff already there?

[Angelo]

No. just cleaned it very well with a degreaser. You can use an 80 grit paper on a DA sander and then move to a lighter grit till its flat but in my case the tire is embossed rather than raised. Still worked well.

[1965gp]

It looks fantastic- great vision putting this together

[Angelo]

More pics

[wfo guy]

Looking good. We need sunshine pics. :)

[Angelo]

Working on side glass for the cold spring and fall nights.

[Angelo]

Door glass is done. A pic with and without the insert piece in place. Just waiting on the locking knobs to arrive. I made it a quick removable cut out instead of a sliding opening so I can comfortably keep my arm on the door.

[Godbolt]

As with everything you do, it looks fantastic. Very nicely done.

[rustomatic]

That is a killer execution, for a lack of less murderous words. The painted top just flows perfectly with the car's voluptuous rear hips--nice work!

[Angelo]

Thank you gentlemen. Too much fun to be legal... I'm just glad it is.

[Angelo]

Putting in a kill switch with a custom made base plate to drop into the unused roll bar hole. Perfect fit thanks to Marco's CNC.

[wfo guy]

Looks nice. Matching plates looks well thought out.

[Angelo]

At my friends shop getting all the wiring for the hard top switched completed as well as fresh plugs and oil.

[funbnme]

How do the windows open or swing out/up so you can get in/out of the car when they are installed?

Your thread is making me want to do a hardtop for my FFR when I'm done with my 65 Mustang build.

[Angelo]

They are installed same way as the wind deflectors. I just tightened the screw so it's a stiffer hinge. Also I used flat head screws so that the hinge can open fully. Glass isn't so heavy that it drops, unless it's windy of course. Post a pic of your cars on my thread I'd like to see them. Cheers.

[funbnme]

That's really slick.

My Mustang is a work in process - with a lot of work left to do. Doing a resto-mod/gt350 type of thing with it.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2017/04/C042D183E3E84EE8934BD14520FF885C_zpsn1m9-1.jpg

Here's a picture of my FFR that I took on Saturday at a breakfast meet-up.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2017/04/MyFFR_zpskngmk9gj-1.jpg

[Angelo]

Like those rims on the Stang. Makes me think hot wheels. I know what it feels like to have that much work ahead of you. I'm at the same stage with my 71 mustang widebody I'm building. Cobra looks beautiful. If it had a hardtop on Saturday you'd have stolen all the attention. Hurt your friends feelings lol.

[Motown 454]

Angelo the top looks great! You did a nice job on it. I like the black around the windows too. very well executed.

[Angelo]

Thanks Wayne. Car is just a couple of days away from being enjoyed. Paint is getting cut polished and ceramic coated. Glass and Lexan is also getting polished and ceramic coated. Should be pretty sweet I will take some shots and post the finished product.

[Angelo]

In the process of getting polished.

[Angelo]

https://youtu.be/GhJNAscA5kI