HM-2005 Build Thread

[s_reynolds]

Russ, when I moved here to Texas I registred mine as an antique and didn't have to do any inspection at all and no annual inspection.

Sam

[Russ Rittimann]

Sam -- Sent you a PM

Russ

[Russ Rittimann]

Installed the emblems.  Used some #4010 3M clear mounting double sided mounting tape.  The package says it is good for indoor and outdoor so should work just fine for the emblems.  Nice sticky stuff.  Ground the mounting nibs off the emblems first.  This tape is crystal clear and thick enough for the edge on the side emblems so it sticks to the body.  Not the foam type.  The tape is 1" wide so works well with the side emblems.  Used 2 widths for the round emblems.  Trimmed the edges with a pair of scissors angled over so it undercut the edges.  Seems to work great.

My wife says my car is officially a Cobra (alright a replica) now that it has the emblems on it.

Used the ERA instructions on placement.

Russ

[mandmGuys]

Looking good, ready to tackle the interior??

Mark

[Russ Crouch]

 Russ,
My Wife and I had a discussion the other day on if we should drill holes for the badges. We chose to go with the same solution as you did. Our stripes will also be white, so the clear adhesive will work well for us too.  I'm not sure if the dimples on the hood and trunk lid are for placement of the holes for the badges, but they were not centered.
You Cobra is really coming together very nicely. It won't be long now.

Russ C

[Russ Rittimann]

Mark -- made a templet yesterday to make the door thresholds out of 3/4" MDF instead of the aluminum.  Will cut them out today and cover them with carpet.  I believe you did something similar out of plywood.  Chose 3/4" so it gave some width to the thresholds.  Will make some brackets so the MDF thresholds attach to the body mounting bolts.  Might run a couple of trim screws thru the fiberglass at the threshold to hold the tops securely.

Got all the carpet pieces out so I know where they go.  I had done that a year or so ago and found out I was missing a couple.  Hurricane provided those.  I have a list somewhere of the number of carpet pieces that are required.  I have also asked Jason if Hurricane ever finished up the floor mats for the Gen II cars.  He hasn't responded if they have them or not.  They should as the carpet pieces for the bottom of the footboxes would work just fine.  Just need a heel protector and maybe the Hurricane logo embroidered into it.  Might make my own without the logo.  There is someone that makes custom Cobra floor mats if you send them a drawing with the dimensions.  They embroidery the Cobra logo into them.

Russ -- You won't see the clear adhesive of the tape.  I undercut the circular emblems by tilting the scissors and the rectangular emblems are plenty wide for the 1" tape.  I believe the dimples were where they original car emblems were.  My dimples are long gone.

[Paul Proefrock]

I went to Cobra Restorers who made custom mats for me. Picture below. I cut a template of the dropbox and sent it to them. They embroidered the cobra logo and bound the carpet. They've held up well.

My original set had a heal pad but it really was no use. I learned I had to add a shield on the clutch side, my foot was wearing a path on the carpet. I took a piece of stainless and bent it to match the curves then screwed it to the dropbox metal.

After using them for awhile, I learned I needed to anchor them to keep them from sliding. Put a large grommet in the center of the back edge and turned a mushroom shaped stool and bolted it to the box so the rear of the mat was retained from sliding forward

Paul

ps: my door sill is a 3/4" wide extruded aluminum tile edge that I formed to fit the opening and the small D-lip slips down over the edge of the carpet.

[Russ Rittimann]

Thanks Paul.  Really looks nice.

Guess I could use a shoulder screw to hold the mats since I don't have a lathe. I do have a grommet tool.

Russ

[Russ Rittimann]

Update on HM-2005 build.  I made some foam pieces to fill the gap between the cockpit tub and the body at the door opening.  They just slip down over the bolts.  I sealed them from the top with black silicone.  Can't get to them from the bottom.  Should keep any water from making it up between the body and cockpit tub.

[Russ Rittimann]

Installed the door pockets.  Pretty straight forward.  Used 3M 77 Super adhesive to attach the carpet piece.  I found some black trim screws instead of the silver ones at a Ace Hardware that has a great selection of bolts and hardware.  They blend in better.  These are the sheet metal type that screw into the fiberglass.  Since the door hinge sits on top of the door pocket, I trimmed the door pocket on the edge where the fabric is doubled over and sewed so it only sits on one thickness.  Kept me from having to readjust the door fit.

[Russ Rittimann]

Installed the front inner fender sheet metal.  Had to make cutouts for the fresh air ducts and the wiring harness.  Since it would be a pain to get to the bolts for the header/side pipes to change the gasket, I decided to make the pieces removable.  Used some 10-24 nut inserts (riv-nuts) and screws.  Put Locktite on the screws to keep them in place.

[s_reynolds]

Russ, looking good. What is your ETA for getting on the road?

Sam

[Russ Rittimann]

Made some pieces to go under the door sills to give them some width instead of just the aluminum pieces.  Made them out of 3/4" MDF board.  Made some metal pieces that go under the body bolts to keep them in place.  Painted everything black and will cover with carpet.  Also made some metal pieces that go up the door posts.  The cutouts are for the adapter that a friend made to mount the door strikers.  For some reason the adapters from Hurricane did not work on my door posts.  My posts were too close to the doors.  My door posts have a bit of a tilt so they didn't allow the strikers to fit the door latches.  My friend also made me some wedge spacers (3/16" to 0" wedge) using a 3-D printer.  The printer uses a very hard plastic.  Worked like a charm to get everything aligned.  You can see the adapters/strikers in the last photo.  The metal pieces up the door posts will also get covered in carpet.

[Russ Rittimann]

Spent the last couple of days installing the carpet padding.  Fun times getting the padding stretched over the rear fender wells.  Also, getting it installed on the firewall and sides of the foot boxes.  Would certainly help if I had rubber arms and I was a couple of decades younger.  Used 3M 77 Super adhesive to get it all glued down.  The adhesive works much better if you can apply it to both surfaces.  I like the 3M 77 Super better than the 3M 90 even though the 3M 90 is supposed to hold better as the spray nozzle works better.

Also, I found the carpet padding is tough stuff.  Hard to cut with heavy scissors, razor blade or a sharp utility knife.  Found that aviation tin snips work great.  The tin snips cut at the tips and make for intricate cuts when needed.

Anyone know why the premium carpet instructions have you gluing the carpet pad to the carpet for the two floor sections that go under the seats?  Not sure what that will buy you.  I am going to glue the padding to the cockpit tub like all the other pieces and then install the carpet.

Next will be to get the carpet installed.

[Russ Rittimann]

Sam -- I've never had an ETA or schedule.  I started on this project in 2011 so I've been working on it for 6-1/2 years.  I'm really in no hurry.  I'm hoping I can get the interior wrapped up soon and get everything ready for inspection.  Have to have the inspection so I can get it registered.  I'll finish up the carpets in the trunk and other stuff later.  I expect to be driving it and have the bugs worked out by the time of the next Texas Cobra Club meet in March.

Russ