Cobra Coupe - Le Mans - Model Factory Hiro 1/12

[CANicoll]

Rob,  I'm sure you've done your own web searches, but I did find this site which shows the spare tire tightened down with a nut, not rope.  I would think the nut to be the preferred method to secure the spare.  Hope this helps!  Lots of other good shots which may or may not be helpful to you at this point.

[DocRob]

7 minutes ago, CANicoll said:

Rob,  I'm sure you've done your own web searches, but I did find this site which shows the spare tire tightened down with a nut, not rope.  I would think the nut to be the preferred method to secure the spare.  Hope this helps!  Lots of other good shots which may or may not be helpful to you at this point.

Thank you Chris, I also did some research, but find it hard to get conclusive evidence about some details, as all the built chassis were different and were often modified later on. In your picture and the other rear section shot of your source, I can´t even see evidence of a spare tyre rack. 
I found some pictures on Rare Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe to Auction - Racing Vintage Cars for chassis #2601, which show the rack, but without the possibility to add a center lock. There is also no evidence of the rear light wires on the sides of the trunk. It seems difficult to build the #2286 chassis to 1965 standard without compromises, which is ok for me. 



Cheers Rob

[CANicoll]

Isn't that kind of frustrating!  On the other hand, if you decide to put in the rack and a center mounting point who is to say you are wrong? (Assuming you have the parts).  I'm with you, however.  I'd want that heavy tire sitting behind my head to be fully secured in the event of an 'event'.

[BlrwestSiR]

25 minutes ago, CANicoll said:

  I'm with you, however.  I'd want that heavy tire sitting behind my head to be fully secured in the event of an 'event'.

Years ago when I was the warehouse manager at a wine agency I had to cover for one of the regular drivers while he was on vacation. We had 1 ton cargo vans but there was no safety barrier between the driver and the cargo area. So when I had to slam on the brakes one time a case of wine went flying from the back right between the seats and slammed into the dash. Left a sizable dent in the dash. Surprisingly none of the bottles broke. After that happened , the drivers started putting the cases at the front so it wouldn't happen again. When the vans got replaced with newer ones they asked for and got the barriers. 

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, CANicoll said:

Isn't that kind of frustrating!  On the other hand, if you decide to put in the rack and a center mounting point who is to say you are wrong? (Assuming you have the parts).  I'm with you, however.  I'd want that heavy tire sitting behind my head to be fully secured in the event of an 'event'.

I wouldn´t call it frustrating, Chris. Usually the research done by MFH is pretty decent and I tend to rely onto their information. The instructions show two different chassis, #2601 for different races and my #2286 for Le Mans and always refer to their differences.

Cheers Rob 

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Years ago when I was the warehouse manager at a wine agency I had to cover for one of the regular drivers while he was on vacation. We had 1 ton cargo vans but there was no safety barrier between the driver and the cargo area. So when I had to slam on the brakes one time a case of wine went flying from the back right between the seats and slammed into the dash. Left a sizable dent in the dash. Surprisingly none of the bottles broke. After that happened , the drivers started putting the cases at the front so it wouldn't happen again. When the vans got replaced with newer ones they asked for and got the barriers. 

Pretty scary stuff, Carl. I think unsecured load was very common in past decades, but the situation bettered. What also changed is the power and aggressive driving style of transport vehicles. Back in Germany it was sometimes scary to had a white van in your vicinity. They were a symbol for traffic rudeness.

Cheers Rob

[ScottsGT]

On a side note, have y’all read or watched the tv show on the development of the coupe?  The roof design was

an aero dynamic design over the Cobra convertible that allowed it to go into turns at a higher rate of speed.  There was something about the first body built didn’t have this correct airfoil shape and it was like hitting a brick wall in the turns. If memory serves me correctly, body was built in Europe and was returned for the roofline changes.  Now talk about a long warranty service.  

[Count0]

2 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

body was built in Europe

Interesting. It's certainly possible. You can see the buck in one of the garage shot in Ford Vs Ferrari. Not that that's any kind of proof, Hollywood screws up stuff like that all the time.

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

On a side note, have y’all read or watched the tv show on the development of the coupe?  The roof design was

an aero dynamic design over the Cobra convertible that allowed it to go into turns at a higher rate of speed.  There was something about the first body built didn’t have this correct airfoil shape and it was like hitting a brick wall in the turns. If memory serves me correctly, body was built in Europe and was returned for the roofline changes.  Now talk about a long warranty service.

First there were experiments with hard tops on normal Cobra roadsters to increase their speed. That became necessary, because Shelby wanted to compete in Europe, where the track designs were different. Longer race laps and higher speeds called for better aerodynamics. It proved, the hard tops were not enough and so Peter Brock designed an all new body, the Cobra Coupe. The first one was built on the chassis of a Cobra roadster in the US and proved fast, but underwent several aerodynamic changes, cumulating into the new rear spoiler, which added some needed rear downforce.
Brock claimed, the design, specially the cut tail end was based on German constructions from the 30´s and he seemed to be right with his approach, gaining more than 20 miles top speed and reduced gas consumption.
The remaining five chassis were built in Modena (Italy), because there were no capacities in the US.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Exhausts and manifolds, an assembly, I didn´t look forward to, because it´s multiple parts in very confined space. I took my time, dry fitting the manifolds before painting. After airbrushing all in Tamiya lacquer matte white, there was no way around continuing. 
Fortunately there is an additional manual page provided by MFH, which shows the sequence, how to mount the parts. With the sketches in the normal manual, I would never had made it.
Especially the right side was delicate, as there are frame rods and the steering column to add, which are all intersecting, it´s a true 3D puzzle. It took some time and some damages occur during the process, but somehow I got it done finally. Mind, these are bench shots without touch ups and repairs, which will be done after test fitting the side pipes.





Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

Looking fantastic !

Nothing like a plate of spaghettis after a hard day’s work 😋 !

Hubert

[DocRob]

13 hours ago, HubertB said:

Looking fantastic !

Nothing like a plate of spaghettis after a hard day’s work 😋 !

Thank you Hubert, these spaghettis are definitely al dente, which was part of the problem. There are two manifold parts for each side and you have to explore, how to fiddle them in. It took some time to find out how, even with the extra sequence description. That MFH provides updated manual information shows, that they are really building the kits, which is good to know.

Cheers Rob

[CANicoll]

Rob, Still, amazing work.  I see the bit of damage that you'll touch up, but overall this looks terrific.  I didn't realize the headers were white.  I did remember how tight the engine compartment was with the 427 shoe-horned in where a small-block had originally been fitted.

[Landlubber Mike]

For a minute there, I thought I was looking at pictures of the 1:1 version.  Amazing work with such incredible detail!

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, CANicoll said:

Rob, Still, amazing work.  I see the bit of damage that you'll touch up, but overall this looks terrific.  I didn't realize the headers were white.  I did remember how tight the engine compartment was with the 427 shoe-horned in where a small-block had originally been fitted.

Thank you Chris, the whole exhausts were white, at least in 1965. Later some chassis had polished metal ones. My chassis was painted white in the engine area, where others were painted silver. The change for a bigger block seemed to have been not so easy in the confined compartment.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

24 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said:

For a minute there, I thought I was looking at pictures of the 1:1 version.  Amazing work with such incredible detail!

Thank you Mike, right now, I´m detailing the engine area further with plumbing and wiring. There is definitely a lot stuff under the hood.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

One day later and the engine bay is near ready. I added electric wiring, oil and cooling tubes and re glued the ignition wiring. I also made a lot of touch ups with white and black paint and added the fender fairings, which broke loose more than once. One tip for adding the tubes into pre drilled holes like the silver coolant tank on the left. I cut the hose diagonally and that made it easier to fiddle them in. Same goes for the yellow oil tubing under the stripes, which are really hard to reach.
The small black oil reservoir on the right side is still not fit, because I lost the inner part, which I needed to break free for adding the manifolds. 



Cheers Rob

[FullArmor]

Nice work! Those clear hoses look great👍

[belugawhaleman]

Looking great Rob!

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, FullArmor said:

Nice work! Those clear hoses look great👍

 

55 minutes ago, belugawhaleman said:

Looking great Rob!

Thank you FA and Paul. The hoses are all supplied with the kit. The two yellow oil tubes in the middle should have been a greater diameter, but I found that looking odd and chose the smaller ones.
The only aftermarket used, I can think of is the red battery wire. There is only black supplied, but I wanted a touch of color.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

It looks just like you're plumbing a real engine bay. Nice work there including the touch ups you've had to do. 

[DocRob]

The Cobra build will go down as a fail for me. Nonetheless, I will finish it, but my attitude towards the build has changed and it doesn´t feel good, as I gave my best and am sure, it´s only my fault and not the kits. 
What happened. From the beginning, I feared the fit of the huge bonnet to the body to be critical and spent numerous hours in dry fitting and manipulating parts to reach that goal. When I finally came to the last dry fitting, after marrying the chassis to the body, I hit the wall again, it was not possible to close the bonnet properly. After hours of searching again for the obstructive parts, sanding, routing and grinding them to fit, I gave up and cut the bonnets hinges, the final measurement, which made the build a fail to me. I will only be able to remove the bonnet, but never with it´s purposed function.

Nonetheless, I continued with outfitting the bonnet. I added the front coolers and headlights. These have a cast metal socket, bolted on from the inside and consist of finely turned aluminum reflectors. The bulbs are clear resin and I decided to paint them with clear yellow for a dot of color. The headlights then receive a PE and cast framing and were glued in from the outside. The lower lights got a tiny polished reflector glued into the middle of the clear part. I will skip the internal wiring, to leave the bonnet removable.



Cheers Rob

[CANicoll]

Hmmm.  Sorry to hear you consider this a failed build, Rob.  I certainly understand your frustration with getting things to fit (or not fit as the case may be) and the bonnet is the latest example of bits to disappoint you.  For static display buttoned up, all of the frustrations are not apparent, at least from what I can see.  She's a real beauty and the detail inside and out is amazing.  The engine bay is too good not to be seen and appreciated.  Sorry it is turning out this way, but what a beautiful effort and workmanship you showed.  

[HubertB]

Too bad about the bonnet fit when hinged … But she is still a spectacular beauty, and your workmanship shows throughout …

You should really be proud about it, Rob, despite this last fight she put up for you 👍

Hubert

 

[DocRob]

4 hours ago, CANicoll said:

Hmmm.  Sorry to hear you consider this a failed build, Rob.  I certainly understand your frustration with getting things to fit (or not fit as the case may be) and the bonnet is the latest example of bits to disappoint you.  For static display buttoned up, all of the frustrations are not apparent, at least from what I can see.  She's a real beauty and the detail inside and out is amazing.  The engine bay is too good not to be seen and appreciated.  Sorry it is turning out this way, but what a beautiful effort and workmanship you showed.  

 

3 hours ago, HubertB said:

Too bad about the bonnet fit when hinged … But she is still a spectacular beauty, and your workmanship shows throughout …

You should really be proud about it, Rob, despite this last fight she put up for you 👍

Thank you for your sympathy and support Chris and Hubert. It´s not the worlds end to me and I really enjoyed most of the build, it´s only a degree of frustration, not be able to solve a problem, I had foreseen through the whole build. Usually, I find solutions for these kind of things, but this time I failed, but I will try it again. My next MFH build will be probably a Formula 1 car, which I suspect a bit easier to build. The Cobra was possibly a bit too much for my minimal expertise with these kind of kits. 
The engine will remain accessible, if everything works like planned. There will be two tiny rivets to be pulled out with a pair of tweezers, to open the bonnet.
I have some more MFH kits in my stash for training purposes, so maybe one day, I roll one out, which i don´t consider a fail .

Cheers Rob