The Red Car

[mooreken]

Tom dropped off his Cobra today. While I had a good time with "show and tell" in my garage I think he was a little nervous with the process. But I can under stand..Its a lot like remodeling the kitchen, things start to look real bad before the get better.

While I did find an unexpected issue or two the repair should go well and be even stronger than before.
Pictures to follow.

[BlackSnake]

Ken, I have popcorn and beer and I'm settling in to follow along... ..]

[Tom Wells]

Ken,

Thanks for the updates - it makes the waiting game a little easier!

Mike,

You have the popcorn. I'll have the single-malt :-ss

Tom

[BlackSnake]

Tom,

Single malt hardly goes with popcorn...single malt and rib-eyes, now you're talkin'...what time should I be over? :-)

[mooreken]

Tom, I found the source of the "white stuff" you found on the floor.

Your glass body is laminated While it does has quite a thick layer of glass, under the glass is spray foam, for lack of a better term. Then a thin layer of glass.

It's this foam that blew up and fell on the floor.
This is the unexpected item I mentioned the other day. Chasing the foam back to an undamaged point and then building the space back up with cloth and mat was today's objective. One thing for sure. It will be much stronger after I'm finished.

More photos tomorrow.

[Tom Wells]

Ken,

Thanks for the update.

Wonder why they did that? Lighter weight? I hope it doesn't make your work too much more difficult!

Parts continue to arrive. I had to send the overriders back - they had mild steel plates welded inside for mounting instead of stainless, I guess so they could rust. Reordered from Factory Five who says theirs are all stainless. Still haven't located the door ferrules for the side curtains but will continue to chase them tomorrow.

Off to the St. Johns river today for some nature photography with Kay.

Then some "shine up" hours for the parts that go back on like the side vents, rear bumper, windshield etc etc etc

Tom

[mooreken]

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The sharp jagged edge is a give away. the pealing part I picked up with my finger nail.

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I'm making good progress on the Cobra. All the loose pieces have been reattached and nearly all the mat and cloth work is completed.
the right side of the car has the last application of hard material on it. From here it is mostly sculpturing of the compound curves (good thing guys like curves).
I've left a section in the middle to use for a guide as to the height and curve of the panel. When I get the right half the way I like it I will grind it down some and put a coat of glass and resin over it to remove any cracks that might be in the section.

The corners of the grill opening are getting pretty close. Those areas don't except power tools very well so that is done by hand....I do try to make "motor noises" while I'm sanding and that helps a little.

Tom, I found something that your painter might need to know. The clear coat has very poor adhesion over the red. The most likely reason is that the last painter waited too long after painting the red to do the white and then the clear. There is a firm time limit on how long the base color can sit before clear is applied. I have attached a picture that shows the pealing area.

Enjoy the Photos.

[Tom Wells]

Ken,

Thanks for the update. I think your analysis of the clear coat explains a lot about the overall less-appealing nature of this paint job vs the original one.

Looks like you are making amazing progress so far considering the damage and the defects.

I'll see if I can start tomorrow on cleaning up the parts that go back on. I ordered the "all-stainless" front overriders from Factory Five yesterday. I still haven't found the door ferrules, but continuing to look...

Tom

[mooreken]

Still moving along on the repairs.
I have the right side of the grill/radiator opening ready for primer. The lift side is still a bit of a work in progress but it has come a long way.
I hope to have it ready to prep for priming tomorrow....depending on how things block out.

[mooreken]

Made good progress today. First coat of Poly primer/sealer. Ill give it a good sanding and another coat. That should about rap it up.
Ken
Tom, The first picture is of the undamaged center section of the radiator opening. I kept running into repair cloth here and there. It could be from piecing together the body in the mold but I think there was damage done before you got the body. No real big deal just thought you might want to know.