access to door hinges, wheel rubbing and badges

[vic]

Hello everyone,

There are two main points i really need some help with:

1) While driving the sumo and going through potholes it seems that the driver side, rear wheel is rubbing against the wheel arch. The suspension should be setup according to the manual. Did this happen to any of you? If yes what did you do about it.

2) After painting the car and putting in the carpet, i have gone to put in the doors again only to find that it is almost impossible to access the hinges to align the doors again. The carpet is glued on so is there any way to get around this or do you i really have to take out part of the carpet again?

i was also wondering if any of you with chevy powered cobras have put on the 427 powered by FORD badge. Are there any altenatives to this.... I have a chevy 350.

Thanks in advance to all of you

Victor

[Keith S]

Vic, I assume the body is mounted squarely on the chassis?
Did you get the springs & shocks from Pilgrim? I did and had this problem but on the n/s only with a passenger. Pilgrim supplied me uprated rear springs usually used with the chevy engine (mine was a Rover V, but i still had to wind the springs up fairly high.
Yes you will have to remove the carpet at the side of the footwell, this is a beast of a job to do at the best of times. I assume the screen is on, not essential to fit this before the carpet but probably easier.

[vic]

well the car is basically ready. just fit the doors again and finish up the dashboard. i got all the parts from pilgrim so they should be ok. I have chevy springs for the chevy engine, however would it make a difference since i am talking about the rear springs?

To make the suspension travel less high i would need to tighten the spring not loosen it. Is this correct?

Regarding the hinges, has anyone thought of using velcro or something similar in this part of the carpet?

Pulling the carpet out is going to be a pain.

Regards

Vic

[dingocooke]

Try these

http://www.cobraspares.com/badges.htm

or fit a ford....

[Keith S]

The more powerfull engine will cause the back of the car to drop under hard acceleration, thats why the stronger rear springs are needed.
These will stiffen the suspension and make the car less prone to bottoming out over bumps.
To raise the suspension tighten the rings on the shock absorber, the car will sit higher. I had to have mine fairly high. Also have you adjusted the shock absorber settings correctly? Pilgrim will be able to give you a basic number of turns for your setup, you can then experiment from that to get the damping how you want it for the sort of roads you drive on.The setting will vary according to the make of shock absorbers. I think Pilgrim used to supply Koni oil filled, I changed mine for Gaz ones.
There will be a world of difference between the setting for a track day on a nice smooth surface compared to the cr*p road surfaces we have here in Kent for example.
I don't see why you would want to use velcro on the carpet as once you have got the hinges adjusted correctly you won't need access again.
I think that anyone who has built a kit car would back me up in saying that before you fit anything you have to stop and think what you will need to fit afterwards. This is especially the case with something that cannot be simply unbolted.
Yes pulling the carpet out is going to be a pain and you may well ruin it I'm afraid, but I think if you speak to Pilgrim (if they supplied it) they should be able to replace the damaged bits.
Here's a pic of mine to help with the ride height

[vic]

Thank you guys. You have been very helpfull. The main reason for wanting velcro or something similar is because, that is the way i have gone through all the build. I have modified most of the stuff i got from pilgrim and any part of the car is actually accessible without any problems (inc. radiator). All through the build i have tried to find ways of making it easier for me to fix stuff up should something happen in the future. The body can actually come off and back on to its exact position in half an hour obviously after removing anything holding it down... roll bars etc.

i will think thoroughly how to go about this and let you all know. At the moment i am considering cutting off the carpet together with the fibreglass and make it into a panel that it can go off and on whenever i need to access the hinges. Besides making this job easier, what happens if after all the potholes in a couple of years i have to set the gaps on the doors again?

As soon as i finish the car, i want to make a list of all the mods i made and post it on the forum. Hopefully not everyone will have to go through the same headaches.

Regards

Vic

[Noel]

Originally Posted by Keith S

The more powerfull engine will cause the back of the car to drop under hard acceleration, thats why the stronger rear springs are needed.
These will stiffen the suspension and make the car less prone to bottoming out over bumps.
To raise the suspension tighten the rings on the shock absorber, the car will sit higher. I had to have mine fairly high. Also have you adjusted the shock absorber settings correctly? Pilgrim will be able to give you a basic number of turns for your setup, you can then experiment from that to get the damping how you want it for the sort of roads you drive on.The setting will vary according to the make of shock absorbers. I think Pilgrim used to supply Koni oil filled, I changed mine for Gaz ones.
There will be a world of difference between the setting for a track day on a nice smooth surface compared to the cr*p road surfaces we have here in Kent for example.
I don't see why you would want to use velcro on the carpet as once you have got the hinges adjusted correctly you won't need access again.
I think that anyone who has built a kit car would back me up in saying that before you fit anything you have to stop and think what you will need to fit afterwards. This is especially the case with something that cannot be simply unbolted.
Yes pulling the carpet out is going to be a pain and you may well ruin it I'm afraid, but I think if you speak to Pilgrim (if they supplied it) they should be able to replace the damaged bits.
Here's a pic of mine to help with the ride height

There is a lot to be said for 15 inch wheels.............nice:thumb: