silicone boy Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I've been researching Shelby Cobra kits lately as I'm dreaming about my next project (prematurely). I came across this article about Kirkham Motorsports, who make what is arguably the best Cobra replicars over in Poland (in a former MiG factory). Kirkham has created a buzz by creating aluminum body panels for their kit that even Carrol Shelby would envy (they even plan on making aluminum block 427's, which have become as rare as hen's teeth--I suspect this will be the most lucrative aspect of their business). Why is this article relevent to our cars? Well, as I was redoing my subframes, I noticed how assymetric the car was. At first, I thought it was my inability to take accurate measurement. Nevertheless, I was able to repeat these errors. I still worried if I was getting the car straight when I welded in the subframes. Well, as it turns out, the Kirkham guys figured out that AC cars had really assymetrical frames. In fact, it was pretty pathetic how far off the cars were from what they were intended to be. They therefore created a "blueprinted" Cobra by creating a mirror image of measurements from one side and translating that into a jig. Of course, the best place to do this is in a modern fighter aircraft facility I guess the take home lesson here is: get your measurements as correct as possible and get everything aligned to the best of your ability before you weld, but don't sweat it too much, cause even the King didn't get it completely right and it did OK. (I'd take one, at least) http://www.cobracountry.com/kirkham/kirkhamfeature2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 For peace of mind, use a water level and measure from the tops of the strut towers to make sure the chassis isn't twisted before welding in subframe connectors or a roll cage. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I don't think any production cars are "square." All manufacturers ahve tolernaces and sometimes they build up during assembly and you get a car that's really off. In the case of our Zs, you also have to account for 30 years of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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