The SN65 project car

[Blk03SVTCobra]

***EDIT***

Originally posted by SN65
As far as color, you must have missed the post above (the one showing the polished aluminum gas cap). The 03 was red.

But what color WILL it be when it's done? Mystichrome? Comp Orange? Screaming Yellow? Black? (the best choice, of course)....
***EDIT***

Originally posted by SN65
We should have the answer in Jan 05.

Dang! You guys work fast!

Thanks for answering my questions. This should look pretty darn good and if it really is about 2400lbs when it's all said and done.... That car is gonna MOVE!!! (about a 6.1538lb-to-1HP ratio, which is freakin incredible!! Better than a Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR!!!)

Good work... Keep us updated with pics!!

 

[OH3Cobra]

What an undertaking! Very cool.

 

[Corner-Carver]

One word:
SWEET!

 

[SN65]

Originally posted by Blk03SVTCobra
[B
But what color WILL it be when it's done? Mystichrome? Comp Orange? Screaming Yellow? Black? (the best choice, of course)....

SNIP... [/B]

It will be painted with a new paint system from PPG that will give the car the apperance of polished aluminium. The gas cap above was painted with this new system. All the exterior panels including the wrap around flanges, will be painted this color giving the car the apperance of being fabricated of polished aluminum.

We will have to lay down at least three coats of primer (blocking between each coat. One coat of sealer. Two coats of black (this paint needs to go over a black base coat). Then we wet sand the entire car. Then you can apply the five coats of polished aluminum paint. After that it will take three to four coats of clear.

For this to work, we will be blocking and wet sanding our butts off. BUT... the results should be breathtaking. It should look just like one of the 428 aluminum bodied Cobras when complete.

Wish me luck, I will need it

 

[Brandon @ MD]

Dude that is some trick stuff you are working on. What power range are you planning on being in when it is done? With that light weight and the power these engines can make will make for a sick sick combo.

 

[SN65]

Hi All,

If I have not already mentioned it, everyone is welcome to stop by the body shop and see it in person.

The work is being done at:

Julian's Collision Center
3985 Commerce Drive
St Charles, IL 60174

They do everything from show cars, concorse restorations, modifications, etc...

Just tell them Bob sent you. They just may let you in. Afterward, we can stop for a beer and have some fun. :beer:

 

[SN65]

Originally posted by Brandon @ MD
Dude that is some trick stuff you are working on. What power range are you planning on being in when it is done? With that light weight and the power these engines can make will make for a sick sick combo.

Hi Brandon,

Well... I am not really sure, but I can tell you that we are seriously looking at either a Whipple or Kenny Bell upgrade along with the other mods required.

Nuff said...

 

[Brandon @ MD]

That will be awesome, I think a polished 2.4 KB under the hood would be a awesome combo, maybe do the Crower stage III cams to give it some muscle car sound now that would be a sweet car.

 

[SN65]

Hi All,

I just finished the revisions to the AutoCadd files. I will print them out in the morning, test fit tem all together, make any adjustments and sent the files off to the laser table.

I should have parts by next week.

SN65

 

[mustangbrad]

Hey SN65, I just followed your link here from stangnet. What hood do you plan to use? Are you going with the new interior, or are you going with a "retro" look?

 

[The Pun]

Looks bitchen, I work and Naperville and would like to check it out one of these days. Let me know when I can drop by.

Check out www.chicagosvt.com for local SVT shows and stuff. It would be great to see this car at some of our shows next spring.

Jeff

 

[Sally 5.0!]

That's gunna be badass.

 

[J15BIG]

Sick!:rockon:

 

[SN65]

Originally posted by mustangbrad
Hey SN65, I just followed your link here from stangnet. What hood do you plan to use? Are you going with the new interior, or are you going with a "retro" look?

Hi MustangBrad,

I plan on making every effort to use the unmodified stock 65 hood. I have seen 65's where the blown 4.6 fit without modification, but I am not sure where my motor will mount in relation to theirs.

As for the interior, I am going to use the 03 dash, center console and seats. While this in-and-of-itself will require major modifications to the dash and the car, we are doing it this way for a number of reasons (not the least of which involves the interior wiring). We have roughly positioned the 03 dash in the 65 and it actually looks very nice. Also, using the 03 dash gives us all the modern safety features (air bags, collapsible steering column, internal bracing, etc...). The rest of the interior will be all 65, but...

I am going to have the rear FRP surround and the doors covered in leather to match the seats. All the "plastic" pieces will be "died" to match the 03 colors. We are going to delete the rear seats and cover the package tray with carpet to match that in the 03. We are considering the installation of a roll bar, but are currently undecided. When complete, we want the entire interior to look seamless. We are attempting to make the 03 dash look as if it were made specifically for this car.

On that note, we are also undecided as to the proper installation of speakers. There is no "obvious" solution to this question. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

SN65

 

[cito]

This is an awesome project. This is a Rides-level project.

Had you thought of just moving the front wheels forward ala the FR500 mustang of a few years back instead of moving the shock towers? Think they used a custom double-A-arm suspension, and it seems that it lengthened the wheel base near seven inches, but I could be wrong.

It would almost be worth the trip to Illinois to check it out. I'll look for it on the front of some magazines in say, what, March or April of 2005? :beer:

 

[Blk03SVTCobra]

Originally posted by SN65
On that note, we are also undecided as to the proper installation of speakers. There is no "obvious" solution to this question. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

SN65

Well, if I'm understanding you correctly, you want to make this car basically an '03 Cobra with a '65 exterior. So, if you're keeping most of the interior to match the '03, why not use the stock locations for the '03's speakers? What problems are you running into in terms of placement of the speakers in the stock '03 locations? I don't have a very good idea as to how the interior of the car has changed, so I can't comment that well on where you should put the speakers... Got any interior shots at or near the stock '03 locations for the speakers?

Speakers or not, this is still a pretty awesome undertaking and I doubt it will turn out anything less than stunning.... Keep us updated!! :beer:

 

[SN65]

Originally posted by cito
This is an awesome project. This is a Rides-level project.

Had you thought of just moving the front wheels forward ala the FR500 mustang of a few years back instead of moving the shock towers? Think they used a custom double-A-arm suspension, and it seems that it lengthened the wheel base near seven inches, but I could be wrong.

It would almost be worth the trip to Illinois to check it out. I'll look for it on the front of some magazines in say, what, March or April of 2005? :beer:

Hi Cito,

Rides-level project...
Stop it (he says as a tear comes to his eye)...
You’re going to make me blush...

You are correct, relocation with the double A arm suspension would have been easier (to date, I have drilled out so many spot welds that I literally wake up in the middle of the night screaming). But hey, I really wanted to maintain a "factory" appearance. I personally dislike the "flat panel with rolled bead" effect that adorns most of the current, custom fabricated street rods. When you look at our finished chassis, you should be hard pressed to figure what was done at the factory verses by us; at least, that is our goal.

 

[SN65]

Originally posted by Blk03SVTCobra
Well, if I'm understanding you correctly, you want to make this car basically an '03 Cobra with a '65 exterior. So, if you're keeping most of the interior to match the '03, why not use the stock locations for the '03's speakers? What problems are you running into in terms of placement of the speakers in the stock '03 locations? I don't have a very good idea as to how the interior of the car has changed, so I can't comment that well on where you should put the speakers... Got any interior shots at or near the stock '03 locations for the speakers?

Speakers or not, this is still a pretty awesome undertaking and I doubt it will turn out anything less than stunning.... Keep us updated!! :beer:

Hi BLK03,

"…basically an '03 Cobra with a '65 exterior"... Well... Yes and no.

The interior is going to have to be a mix of the two. I will be using the 03 dash, center console and seats. The rest will be 65. So, imagine trying to integrate the new system into the 65 interior and you will see my predicament.

 

[Blk03SVTCobra]

Originally posted by SN65
Hi BLK03,

"…basically an '03 Cobra with a '65 exterior"... Well... Yes and no.

The interior is going to have to be a mix of the two. I will be using the 03 dash, center console and seats. The rest will be 65. So, imagine trying to integrate the new system into the 65 interior and you will see my predicament.

Never actually been inside a '65. Where are the speaker locations (if any)? How many are there? How big are they?

I could probably help better if you posted a good picture of the interior and/or stock '65 speaker locations, so I know what we're talking about. I want to help if I can, in any way...

Originally posted by SN65
...imagine trying to integrate the new system into the 65 interior and you will see my predicament...

It can be done!! :-D

Anything to get this project done quicker!! :-D I want to see the finished product! :beer:

 

[SN65]

Originally posted by Blk03SVTCobra
Never actually been inside a '65. Where are the speaker locations (if any)? How many are there? How big are they?

I could probably help better if you posted a good picture of the interior and/or stock '65 speaker locations, so I know what we're talking about. I want to help if I can, in any way...

It can be done!! :-D

Anything to get this project done quicker!! :-D I want to see the finished product! :beer:

Well... The stock location for the AM radio speaker is in the middle of the dash where the dash meets the front window.

Thats it. :-(

All the speakers are going to have to be hidden somehow.

i can locate all the amps and a pair of tube subwoofers under the rear shelf that will replace the rear seats. I can locate a tweeter in the door where the window hand crank used to be (I will be eliminating the crank and using electric windows). I was thinking that I could fabricate some "6 inch Pods" (I can bucher some speeker/kick panels for the pods, but maybe there is a better idea out there) that can be located at the lower front of the doors. I guess I could fabricate something similar for the rear speekers.

I was going to atempt to utilize the factory stereo, but I understand that these are hard if not imposible to customize. Maybe I should sell the entire unit on e-bay and pick up a much nicer packaged system. Somthing with nicely balanced tweeter, mids, subwoofer... maybe a retractable DVD player and GPS system???

I am having trouble making up my mind on this one. If you have a workable suggestion I am more than willing to listen.

HELP!!!

SN65