I’ve gotten the buck about half done. The top, which actually supports the car, is all set. The problem is, I need to put four 38″ long legs on it, and associated framing… which means flipping it over.
And its heavy.
Really, really heavy.
And when I’m done, I have to flip it over again.
A body buck, that is.
Part planning is coming along, but a final list of parts I need is still waiting because Mike Forte from Fortes Parts has been slow getting back to me. Its a small shop, and I know how running a small business is. I’ll be calling him tomorrow.
Until then, my highest priority is building a body buck.
I’m still working on getting the total parts list put together for the car. I’ve decided on the I-Squared 1+1 system for the electrical. Picking up some new sheetmetal from FFMetal.com (their Grand Slam kit). I’m also going to pick up the touring trunk from Cobra Earl. (I realize I should link these, but I haven’t figured out how to do that in WordPress, yet.)
For the drivetrain, I’m currently planning on a 351 Windsor motor, with the Mass-Flo EFI system and a Tremac TKO 600 transmission. I’m undecided on rear-end gearing as well as mid vs standard shifting. Brakes are going to be the 13 inch front and 11.5 inch rear Cobra brakes. I’m still debating power vs manual brakes and steering.
I expect I’ll have the parts list worked out in the next day or two.
I’ve started ordering other stuff. I ordered a hundred clecos and a cleco wrench last night, and got the air riveter from Amazon today. This weekend I need to clean the garage and build the body buck, if the weather cooperates. Next weekend, I think I’m going to pick up the stainless rolling tool chest at Costco, if I take the tonneau off my truck.
Its going to be a busy couple of weeks!
Saturday I took a trip down to Factory Five. It was the third time I was there, first having been for a tour a year ago and again at the open house last summer. Even though I’d done a tour before, my girlfriend and I, as well as her father, did another one. Its really an impressive place, worth a walk through when in the area.
The kit is ordered! I don’t actually remember all the details of what I ordered — the paperwork should be here later this week and I’ll post what it was. Its basically the roadster kit with IRS, the convenience sale package and associated other minor bits and pieces.
Today I got the call — the car will be ready on the 31st! Thats actually quite a bit stressful because I need to clean and organize the garage, as well as build a body buck. Turns out my parents are in town that weekend, which will be cool. They’ll get to see the place.
I’m still working out the plan for everything else. I spent a bunch of time on the phone this evening with Mike Forte from Fortes Parts. I’ve got at least a partial list of what I want to order put together, but I need to get the quote list from him to get the order in.
So thats where I am right now. Exciting!
Tomorrow I’m headed down to Factory Five. I did a factory tour about a year ago, but tomorrow’s is a bit different. I’m going to do the tour, but instead of taking a few photos from the showroom and heading out after, its time to sit down and talk to someone there about what exactly I want to build… and order the kit.
Its a big day!
Last night I started building out a “build spreadsheet” with a list of every little detailed part I could reasonably identify I needed to order. As they say in the Boy Scouts, be prepared. If I know what parts I need up front and get them ordered in time, I’m less likely to have a rare bit of time to work on the car and not have a part I need. It also helps me focus on what exactly I want to do.
Now I’m a bit embarrassed to say, especially if I was to sit here and describe the mini data center in my basement, that this is actually the second time I’ve made a build spreadsheet. I did one in exhaustive detail a year ago. I had it on my laptop, thought it was backed up and reinstalled the OS on the laptop.
Oops.
So now I have to do it all over again.
The purpose of this site should be self-evident from its title. I generally dislike the term “blog” and won’t use that term on here, since its a trendy term for something people have been doing online for fifteen years. However, thats basically what this is — a diary of the process of building a specific replica ’65 Cobra Roadster, using the excellent kit from Factory Five Racing and its associated community of enthusiasts.
I’m hoping ReplicaBuilding.com, through its wiki, can turn into a valuable resource for all Roadster builders, as well as other replica car builders and enthusiasts. This WordPress “journal”, however, is my own personal experience. Its the process I’m going through to plan, purchase and build MY car.
When I get into the actual build process, the entries in this part of the site will be linked to the appropriate sections of the Wiki, where I can discuss specifics of how I undertook a particular step of the build, and where others can contribute their experiences.