Welcome

Welcome to my Cobra Replica build blog.
Please contact me if you would like to know more detail as i progress."CR3514@live.com.au"
Regards
Dave

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Bonnet Locks

Had the Bonnet and Boot Latch kit sitting patiently for many years,
I bought from Classic Revival at a time when Ian was intending to sell up his business.
The boot latch has a custom bracket which I thought at the time might be prudent to buy given the business may not have continued. Fortunately it ended in the capable hands of Daniel Steer, a previous employee of Ian Denner's and respected car restorer and fabricated in his own right.


This is one of the pair of Bonnet Handle and Latch Cams.
Its the oval base type, since purchasing these, I have also seen round base options.

The kit comes complete with Cams, Gaskets, and Stainless screws, which i replaced with Stainless 4mm Button Head Cap Screws.




This is the landing  on the body shell that the Bonnet Lock Cam protrudes through.
The Cam is off centre to the shaft so as the handle shaft turns to lock position, the Cam goes under the edge of the hole to lock the bonnet in position.
First step was to centre a hole in the landing and project some centre lines out to the body for transferring on to the closed bonnet. This will give me the overlapping hole centre line through the bonnet and landing



You can see in this pic that the Handle Shaft and Cam are on angle to the relatively level Landing on the Body and  the Bonnet Inner Panel.
This angle offsets the hole in the bonnet by 5mm to the centre of the Cam or 16.5mm to the centre of the Landing Hole.













Based on the 5mm offset, a new hole centre was marked and through drilled with 19mm hole saw parallel to the bonnet curvature.








Drilled an undersized 52mm hole for hole saw in the landing big enough for the Cam to go through but not quite final size in case a bit of finessing was required.

Note'
While the hole is centred in the landing, the shaft for the Handle is offset 11.5mm. towards the inside of the car









Under side of the Bonnet with Latch Holes.











Mounted the Handle.












Bonnet underside.
In this pic you can see an afterthought.
Nothing stops the handle from rotating through 360 degrees other than friction of the Cam against the body when locking, so i designed and printed an ABS plastic base plate for the underside of the handle mount that has a 3/4 boss on it and a Key that fits around the shaft and in between the boss walls to allow only a quarter turn.
Lock - UnLock.





You can see the Base and the Key in this pic along with aluminium flange and dress ring to go through the Landing and finish off the hole and protect the final paint.










Flange and dress ring installed.
After checking the Cam alignment through the hole, I used a flap sander on the drill to bring the hole diameter out to 55mm for the flange to fit through.








From the underside, you can see the angle the shaft and Cam enter the Landing hole.

This pic is the unlocked position.









In this pic, the Cam has rotated to the Locked position with the angled Cam face up against the bottom of the hole flange.


Friday, April 12, 2019

Dash Brace and Brake Bias Adjuster Mounting

After mounting the dash in for gauge location layout, I found the aluminium panel unsupported at the bottom and more flexible than I liked, so I've made up a brace that looks like the original tube brace from behind the dash to the tunnel.

On this tube brace, I've welded a bracket that the dash return lip on the bottom screws to that now stiffens it up and stops any flexing and vibration.

I also made up and welded another bracket to the tube brace for mounting 2 USB ports, 1 for the ECU and the other for Power or Media back to the radio in the boot area and a position for the Remote Brake Bias Adjuster.


Top of the Brace mounts to the dash bow.













The bottom of the tubes have 8mm studs that protrude through the tunnel and fixed from the underside.










Brace installed with Brake Bias Adjuster Knob and USB port mounted after a sandblast and Black Powder Coat by Best Coatings in Dandenong South.