GT40, about to make the leap!!

[rpm015]

I’ve had one of those powdercoating kits for years, they work well not as durable as industrial coating but as with many things it’s all in the preparation, everything must be scrupulously clean and degreased, I found when trying to do longer lengths with a heat gun I couldn’t get an even enough heat through the whole length to work properly

[427jlc]

Well you never know!! No, I am happy it will be fine. Seamless tube is widely used and probably on a lot of kit car manufacturers cars too!

Okay no worries, when you're smashing 180mph down the Mulsanne straight, whatever you do, don't think about my post!!!

BTW - Powder coating looks awesome!!! Really enjoying this thread and really appreciate you keeping it going with regular updates.

Lee

[ChrisP]

I think my days of 180mph are long past. 160mph maybe!!! Funny, when I get the cobra speed up, I always think about the various brackets and mountings I've made, particularly the steering rack, it keeps my speeds sensible!!!!

[philbrad73]

Regarding the powder coating oven, anything that will contain the heat will do. I used a tall steel locker with a hole cut in the side at the bottom and buttered my space heat to it, use a bbq temp gauge in the door. Easily gets to temperature for the powder coating for larger parts.

CDS tube is used in roll cages, as long as you have a good wall thickness, the welding is usually always the weakest part.

[ChrisP]

Regarding the powder coating oven, anything that will contain the heat will do. I used a tall steel locker with a hole cut in the side at the bottom and buttered my space heat to it, use a bbq temp gauge in the door. Easily gets to temperature for the powder coating for larger parts.

CDS tube is used in roll cages, as long as you have a good wall thickness, the welding is usually always the weakest part.

Just picked up a Lab Oven for £100 on EBay!! Looks to be a good bit of kit. Large and heavy! Will be much easier having that in the workshop (and warmer in winter!)
Now I have the cobra back together perhaps I can get back to the GT40
PS if anyone want to come and powder coat bits, no problem!! That can be arranged.

[ChrisP]

And here is the lab oven! I can get a 19 inch wheel in there (Could also do a massive turkey at Xmas but won't!) so the world of powder coating is now my oyster! I shall resist posting too many pictures of my coating frenzy but you can imagine what is going to happen now!! Exciting.
By the way, if anyone wants to come and do some of their brackets or whatever, that could be arranged. I'll be making up a spraying/curing frame to make it all easier, hang the work on the frame, apply powder, put frame and work in oven, bake! Simple!

[ChrisP]

And having got the cobra ready for the wedding tomorrow (what a week to rip the bloody front off the car!) I have managed to find an hour to play with the GT40. The cobra looks OK by the way, not as good as the top half but it will do for now. I should be getting some decent film of the cobra as the lad who is getting married is an accomplished videographer (he did the royal video of Kate, William and Family last year) which will be nice. He has had 'cobra driving training' courtesy of my son. So hopefully no more body repairs!

I have been searching for GT40 headlights. The original Marchal types are dammed hard to find. Also expensive and it seems mostly for LHD cars. I spent an awful lot of time looking for something to fit the bill. I could always buy a pair from a GT40 supplier but they are big bucks. So instead I have opted for a pair of tractor headlights! Well it dawned on me that a lot of tractors have rectangular lights and that was the look I wanted. I think they are actually the same unit as an early MR2. I couldn't find any quite big enough to match the original specification but got some that will look reasonable I think. They dip the right way at least.



It's upside down in the pic! I made an aluminium frame and fixed that to the rear of the light (see below) to allow me to mount and adjust them.





I think I will weld a large washer on the head of the fixing bolts and glass them in behind the headlight area. That way I can then adjust the bolts with springs on to get the alignment right. To do that I will have to cut an access panel in the front of the wheel arch - this has to be done anyway to get in to fix the light, replace bulbs and also to fix the plates for the front clip hinges. The glass of the headlight simply passes through a 'tight cut' hole to shine forwards. That whole area gets painted matt black.

These headlights had no sidelights so I have drilled and put them in this afternoon





I will be replacing the H4 bulbs with ClassicCarLED's, same as my cobra.