Monday 28 May 2012

Donor Rebuild Part 1

With the chassis on order as well as the differential and brakes out for reconditioning, I have turned my attention to the suspension components. I cleaned and painted these some time ago before putting them into storage and now was the time to dust them off and start reassembly. Every serviceable part (bearings, bushes seals etc.) is being replaced so after wading through various Jaguar parts catalogues, I have procured the vast majority of required components. No doubt shortfalls will be found as I progress, but I have at least been able to make a start:

First up are the drive shafts (which also double as the upper rear 'wishbones'). These are each a 3-piece affair with universal joints connecting each section




Next up, the front uprights. When I originally disassembled these, the stub shafts were quite badly worn at the wheel bearing locations, so new ones were purchased



The front hubs get new bearings and seals along with replacement dust shields for good measure



Finally, for this update, the front upper wishbones. I have chosen to go with polyurethane bushes to replace the original rubber items from Jaguar. There is some contention on the use of these on the Cobra Club forum, but the majority of people use them, so I figure its a good starting point and it is not too onerous to replace them after the vehicle is up and running (if that ever happens!)




Tuesday 8 May 2012

Stoneleigh 2012

Taking a break from the build (not that I have a lot from which to take a break!) I took a trip to one of the biggest kit car shows of the year. It gave me a good opportunity to look around a large number of other people's Cobras to get a better feel for some of the detail options and overall look that can be achieved starting with substantially the same shape.


There were also a few other vehicles that caught my eye. Maybe one day...