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The mistress

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Hyper:
At least that's what the wife calls it.  This is my ( way too ) long term project.  I've wanted a Cobra since I was about 6, but since Dad never invested in Apple in the 80's, a replica was the only option.  It's a Factory Five MKI Roadster.  They are up to a MKIV now so that gives you an idea of how long this has been going on.  Can't get much done on your own car when your at the track with someone else's.  It is nearing completion and would be by now if I would stop tinkering, but that's what we do. Right?  Anyway, here's some of the basics..
Ford 302 bored .030.over
Edelbrock heads and EFI intake
Ford Motorsport X303 cam
75mm TB and Mass Air with 30lb injectors ( preparing for boost!)
Tremec TKO 5 speed turning 3.73 gears in an 8.8 rear
Cobra 13" front discs, 11" rear
Halibrand Cobra III wheels in 17x9 and 17x10.5 with 275/40 and 315/35's
Autometer UltraLite gauges




Never one to leave well enough alone, I've spent far more time making tweaks and parts than actually assembling the car.  Not one for a lot of bling and wanting a driver over a show queen, one of the first things I did was to scotchbrite and clear all the chrome for a brushed finish.  I'm a fan of the machined, industrial look and this led me to begin making some of my own billet pieces.  The billet Kirkham was an inspiration for this too. 
One of the first of these would be my trans tunnel trim.  I chose to make the trans tunnel removable for service and also covered the top with the same material as the dash rather than carpet.  This left a transition that needed to be addressed so I made these trim pieces...

That began the snowball.

Hyper:
Next up was the rather gaping hole left by the tiny steering shaft poking out of the dash.  That just wouldn't do.  I had a broken Autometer gauge that had a matching rim so I removed the bezel to make a trim ring.  Getting thses apart isn't that easy but once off, I spun up a delrin disc to crimp it back around and then bolt to the dash.  Then I chucked up a nice big chunk of Delrin and pulled the stool up to the lathe to make a faux steering column.  This is a hand tight press fit on the steering wheel hub and it ends just shy of the trim ring.


This also shows the indicator light bezel.  This was made out of necessity.  I had drilled the dash for different led's and could no longer locate them in that size. This covered the obsolete holes..


At one point there was a set of car skates in the shop that had one bent up pretty bad, so I took the material off and whipped up some pedal covers.  The dead pedal is aluminum angle.

Hyper:
The original style door latches were flimsy on a good day.  Picked up some mini-bear claws and got after some more ali angle with a dremel and drill, then sunk them into the doors



The kit came without hood hinges and I wasn't really thrilled by the ones being offered. They just looked too modern.  Spent quite a while staring at this and at one point I was set to do a tilt front end.  Still really want it but decided the extra body work wasn't worth it.  So I found a great supplier on Ebay ( I'll dig up the name ) and order up some flat stock and u-channel and came up with this..

Hyper:
There is a trunk hinge that matches the hood hinge but it still needs trimming and I haven't gotten a good pic of it yet.  I also cleaned up that hood hinge on the belt sander since those pics.  One of the things that has always bothered me on this car is the belts.  There is a tab welded to the frame in the trunk that the harness bolts to, then it passes through the rear bulkhead into the cockpit.  My issue is that it exits the bulkhead roughly 3-4 inches below my shoulders.  No good.  There are cross bars that will bolt to the rollbar or some weld them in, but I've always thought it cluttered up the lines of the car and I didn't want to buy new belts.  So more aluminum chips...


Just ahead of the bracket and above the silver cross bar, you can see the hole peeking out where the belts originally passed through.  The bracket directs them up through the body between the rollbar legs and puts them above my shoulders..

Brass_Machine:
That thing is fantastic. I have seen some of this in person (many years before this point) and it is top class work. I have seen the race shop where Hyper worked and have seen some of his handy work. He is a natural at this. This car, when finished, will be something pretty special. That in itself, is a strong statement as there are quite a few Cobra replicas out there. His will stand out.

Eric

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