XC Cobra #140

[Paull]

A small update
I have not gotten too much done over the last few months, but there has been some work done.

All of the wheels and tyres got taken out for fitting and balancing



The standard ones


The not so standard ones

[Paull]

I have also got the diff out and stripped/cleaned and ready for reassembly













New 3.25:1 gears


Both centres, one from one of my P6 LTD's


Ready for painting




Both centres now rebuilt


All I am waiting on now is two new axles with new bearings and rotors. I can then put it back together again.

[Paull]

The seats have also been put together, well they will be by now as this photo is a few moths old..



I have also got all of my bolts, nuts and fittings done as well

[Paull]

Next, is the steering/suspension. I have removed the front end and am now waiting to get all of the parts back that I need to re-assemble. Should be by about March I think

You gotta love the proper spring remover, makes life so much easier








The plan for the next few months is as follows;
- Fit new brake lines when they arrive
- Chase up Superoo Falcon Spares for the new doorcards, have only been waiting since 2004 :
- Fit front end steering/suspension
- Re-assemble diff and fit
- Redo front and rear wiring loom
- Overhaul electric window mechanisms
- Get arm wrests and console reconditioned
- Locate the proper coupe seatbelts.

So, next update should be by about mid year or there abouts???

[Paull]

Originally Posted by 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

I'm still going to keep on tyring though :

[Scooter]

Lookin good, Who trimmed the seats?

[polar coupe]

Nice looking Cobra.......
it seems as though you have the "Bathurst Cobra" front spoiler.(the Bathurst one was shorter/further from the ground than the normal one so they could lower the bathurst cars ). did you buy it as an aftermarket one?

also... is it the original diff?... didnt the diff on the XC have small brackets to hold the rear sway bay, not the u-bolts.
Steve

[Scooter]

How can you tell the difference between the spoilers,I can not pick it.

[cob115]

im still impressed at how tidy the work shop is : and the cobra is looking very noice to
cheers pat

[Paull]

Originally Posted by polar coupe

Nice looking Cobra.......
it seems as though you have the "Bathurst Cobra" front spoiler.(the Bathurst one was shorter/further from the ground than the normal one so they could lower the bathurst cars ). did you buy it as an aftermarket one?

also... is it the original diff?... didnt the diff on the XC have small brackets to hold the rear sway bay, not the u-bolts.
Steve

I was under the belief that both option 96 & 97 chin spoilers were of the same height. The difference was that of the inlet ports. Option 96 has them being more squared off at the entry whereas the 97 ones have them being tapered outwards.

I bought the item from Superoo Falcon Spares who I think bought it from GT Ford Performance parts in Melbourne.

With respect to the diff, yes, it is original. The brackets you refer to were fitted on all BW diff housings as of March/April 1978 so as to accommodate the sway bar, now being fitted to all Falcons & Fairmonts. However, as the 9" Ford differential was to be discontinued (fitment to passenger cars that is, still used on the F series trucks) later in that year, this engineering modification was not carried out on the 9" housing. Ergo, they used U bolts right up to the end.

Originally Posted by Scooter

Lookin good, Who trimmed the seats?

Scooter, you have a PM.

Originally Posted by cob115

im still impressed at how tidy the work shop is and the cobra is looking very noice to
cheers pat

Thanks Pat. Getting there, very slowly.

[cob115]

[QUOTE=Paull]I was under the belief that both option 96 & 97 chin spoilers were of the same height. The difference was that of the inlet ports. Option 96 has them being more squared off at the entry whereas the 97 ones have them being tapered outwards.

iv got a coment bout the lenght of the chin spoiler ,a few years back i bought a complet cobra spoiler set from fomoco in vic for my yellow xc coupe,i remember talking to the boffin,Zed ?i think it was bout options for the front spoiler n he said 2lenghts the batherst one was longer than the standard road going type,since iv wiped out a few in my life time : i went with the standard road type ,even with this one i have to be carefull when parking up against bump stops or low gutters,so in my mind the bathurst one would be short lived and a pain ,going on what i was told cheers pat

[polar coupe]

Originally Posted by Scooter

How can you tell the difference between the spoilers,I can not pick it.

well , this is what i have heard over time ( yes i know its not directly from FORD but it sort of sounds right to me).

if you look at the Bathurst Cobras you can see that the inlet duct/hole runs straight out to the end of the spoiler ..... but the normal Cobra has a small step down (its bugger all i know, but it is there).

the other thing that led me to believe they were shorter was an interview i heard with Mark P who owns Cobra 19 (this was done during the last muscle car masters(shown on channel seven i think) when the Cobra's were showcased).... I'm pretty sure he mentioned that the Bathurst Cobras has shorter spoilers so they could be lowered for race conditions.( I may have got it round the wrong way....but it sort of makes sense).

Steve

[Paull]

It has been a while but have been getting a few things done over the last 6 months or so, not much though.

After getting most of the diff parts back, it is now mostly assembled.

Here a few pics;















I am still waiting on the rear caliper assembly bolts and sway bay U bolts to be zinced and then I can finish the diff off and fit it to the car.

The door handles have also gone in along with the striker plates and door rubber











The wiring harness is also now complete









The front indicators are also now in





I have also just gotten some correct XC Falcon 500 Hardtop rear side markers



You can see the difference between the XC front, XC rear and also the ZH/XC Fairmont Hardtop rear



The rear tailights are also in, just now need to get the sidemarkers in as well





All of the electric window mechanisms have had new rollers fitted







Still to come. As you can imagine, there is still heaps more to do but the plan for December/January will be to fit the windows (have just ordered the repro glass), get the dash calibrated and install the differential and front end.

I need to get the best one then get it calibrated and assembled





I have most of the bits for the front end, just need to get the upper and lower control arms back



The plan is to have the interior put in early in the new year, can't wait for that!!!!!!!!!

[gcg2503]

Paull

You are an inspiration

I can imagine the clarity in your mind simply by your organisation displayed in the pics in the above post!

[cob115]

il 2nd George : awsome work Paull,i was only thinking the other day ant seen any progres,how did u go with the seats?sorry i for got about it,if u still need a pic let me know ,looking great

[FTE217]

Damn sensational build Paull, glad I have come across it and will look forward to further updates !

[GT-GTF]

Top stuff Paull. This is going to be one beautiful cobra. You are doing a fabulous job. Keep up the good work.

[Muzz Landau]

Awesome job Paull. An absolutely magnificent job.
I love to see cars come together with this sort of quality build.
Well done.

[Paull]

Thanks for all of your kind words fella's, much appreciated. Will have more progress early in the new year I hope.

[Snake Bite]

: Hey Paull ya baby is looking good. Cobras rule. Just a quck question about the challengers, are they hard to get and can you give me details of where to buy them and an idea of how much? Not gona put them on the cobra but have an xb i would like to get them for. Keep up the good work

[xbrules]

That s the thing with these restos, you are doing such an awesome job, if it were me I'd be too terrified to even drive it and get any of that lovely freshly plated, powder coated, painted undercarrige dirty. i couldn't take the car outside!!!! there's dirt out there!!.

Keep up the awesome work!!!! looks a million dollars!!!!

[cob115]

Originally Posted by Snake Bite

: Hey Paull ya baby is looking good. Cobras rule. Just a quck question about the challengers, are they hard to get and can you give me details of where to buy them and an idea of how much? Not gona put them on the cobra but have an xb i would like to get them for. Keep up the good work

the 15x10 challengers wont fit,well they will if you put 275sbut not 295s,the back space is up the pooooo,even if you roll the gard they still hit: (,bradv8 had to shorten his diff

[Paull]

Originally Posted by Snake Bite

: Hey Paull ya baby is looking good. Cobras rule. Just a quck question about the challengers, are they hard to get and can you give me details of where to buy them and an idea of how much? Not gona put them on the cobra but have an xb i would like to get them for. Keep up the good work

I believe that they are still readily available. All I did was go to the local tyre shop and told them what I wanted and they simply ordered them in. I don't believe that you can order directly from Performance Alloy Wheels.

http://www.performancewheels.com.au/...s_classic.asp#

I can't remember how much the 15 x 10's cost but the 15 x 8's were about $250 each, mind you, that was about 5 years ago. Don't know what they cost now?????

[Scooter]

Hey Paull, your car is looking real nice. Good to see you are still get bits and piees done on her. How did you go with getting door trims?

[Paull]

Originally Posted by Scooter

Hey Paull, your car is looking real nice. Good to see you are still get bits and piees done on her. How did you go with getting door trims?

Still waiting I'm afraid.

[LimeGlaze]

Originally Posted by xbrules

That s the thing with these restos, you are doing such an awesome job, if it were me I'd be too terrified to even drive it and get any of that lovely freshly plated, powder coated, painted undercarrige dirty. i couldn't take the car outside!!!! there's dirt out there!!.

Keep up the awesome work!!!! looks a million dollars!!!!

He has to get it dirty - he has a gravel driveway!

[Bradxbv8]

Originally Posted by cob115

the 15x10 challengers wont fit,well they will if you put 275sbut not 295s,the back space is up the pooooo,even if you roll the gard they still hit: (,bradv8 had to shorten his diff

True, I did shorten my diff, about 17mm per side, and i beilive i did the wrong thing now in hindsite. There is so much meat on the wheels, that im positive you could machine a bit off the back where it hits the hub, make it a 5" offset instead of the 4.5". (12.7mm) and possibley a bit more, any local machine shop can clock up a wheel in a lathe and take a skim for not many $ either. The housing shorting was not bad, but getting the axles done was the killer.
Also another thing to consider is the length of the diff that you are using, is it a standard xc one or the shorther xy one?
My car being a fairmont still has the chrome trim on the wheel arches, and never had the lips rolled, those that have obviously have more clearance.
The thing to do here, is call Tracy in the sales office at Performance Wheels (08) 8294 9455 and get her to check it out. If you need a hand, send me a PM. I would not mind personally setting Performance straight on the truth about what our cars actually need. I also know the factory manager there well though a former buisness, He has been in the wheel industry all his life and quite approchable.

[KR1STO]

love the progress so far mate... can't wait to see it completed..
great job bud!!!

[cob115]

, is call Tracy in the sales office at Performance Wheels (08) 8294 9455 and get her to check it out. If you need a hand, send me a PM. I would not mind personally setting Performance straight on the truth about what our cars actually need

im not being negative but i dont belive it will do stuff all to performance,b4 i bought my 15x 10s from them i asked /told them i want masive rubber (295 and larger)wil they fit on a xa/b/c coupe ,no problem easy,they said,after them being amazed that they didnt fit then trying to say oh it must be your coupe etc trying to get out of me returning the wheels,i finaly cracked a wobbly and said take the F#$king this back ya morons !!,this was a few years back,since then iv bumped in to a few more coupe nuts like us ,being told the same thing buy performance and the people who sell them regardless : .but some thingto think about is there 15x8s with a 4rinch back space ,you can go 295s with the correct back space to clear the gards(thats whats been on my cobra for years now

[wayne cqld]

Wow, great job and sharing of info. I was just directed today to this thread by a friend. I have'nt been on this forum for some time. I am currently restoring Cobra 175. It would appear not that far behind you Paul. Now to keep up to your high standard! Well done and I look forward to seeing updates.
Cheers
Wayne