[Mark S]

Hello everyone,



Well I am now happy to be part of the Cobra Club , having just purchased my first AC Cobra replica, which is even more awesome than I thought.



I got it through an estate, it had been neglected for the last 3 years in the Cape Town damp so there is a bit of corrosion but it’s not too bad. All the vehicle needs is a lot of TLC.



It was parked in a garage with a concrete roof, which leaked the water dripped onto the body work – leaving some substance that leeched out of the concrete. I have tried acid and alkaline based solvents to get it off but with no luck – any ideas.



I will eventually repaint the car and need ideas for a paint scheme – preferably not a dark colour as the sun is very strong here in summer. Is there anywhere on the net I can go to get ideas?



I drove the car up from Cape Town to Gaborone (1600km) last week and enjoyed most of the drive, but the sun was a killer especially through Karroo. It handles well on a good surface but some of the roads are traveled by heavy trucks that leave longituninal ruts in the road, this caused the car to be very skittish at speeds above 120kph, is there something in the setup that would reduce this? It has the Jag rear suspension but I have no idea what is in the front.



The indicators and hooter also do not work – I took it to an auto electrician before I left and was informed that the whole switching mechanism was broken and needed to be replaced, but he was not sure from what vehicle it came – to me it looks like a Ford Cortina or some other British Ford design – anyone know?



Can one purchase a soft top for the car?



Any advice would be appreciated.



Regards



Mark