Chapter 7 - Rand McNally, Sam Walton, and Carroll

[nolastyankee]

Mike,
Thanks for the compliments. I know about hand controls, in fact I have them on my other vehicles including a '66 Mustang. I just use a hand brake and it doesn't visually impact the car since it mounts down below the column and tight to the dash. Not sure if I will need it on the Cobra. I'm thinking not since I will have the luxury of setting up the pedal placement.

As for the automatic, we are toying with two different ideas. The original Cobras were available with a C-4 and standard shifter just like the photo on the first page of this thread. The other option (the one I am leaning towards) is to use a Lokar street rod shifter with a manual handle grafted onto it. This will allow placement of the shifter in the same location as the original manual and it uses the same handle and boot. Even better, Baumann engineering makes a electronic tranny control that is fully PC programmable and can be operated with external buttons...This means paddle shifters! I know this is not standard Cobra technology, but it allows lightning fast shifts with fingertip control...If it has to be a slushbox, that's the ticket!

Unique 9122 - 289 FIA Cobra - The Legendary "Spence" Car

[Mike Geddes]

Hi again Yankee.
I have a B&M cable operated shifter on mine.
The one in the pic. that you posted is kinda raised and half round on
top.
I did away with that part of the kit so that the shift handle is all that comes thru the tunnel....I then made a leather boot and attached it to the tunnel with a chrome ring.
Anyone looking at the car has no idea it's an automatic.
I loked at those Lokar shifters..they are pretty neat....but I estimated they would put the lever too far back on the tunnel.
I'm presently running an AOD in the Cobra....The C4 seemed like it was working too hard at highway speeds.
With the AOD I'm turning about 1600-1700 RPM at 70MPH+.
Mike

Mike Geddes

[excelguru]

NLY - Your attitude and outlook on life should serve as a goal for the rest of us. Good for you.

A friend of mine back in GA is (now think about this for a moment) a one-armed roofer. That's right, he's a ROOFER. With one arm! He did some roof leak repair for me. And get this, he can shoot pool like a sum-bich! He has a terrific sense of humor. If he's loosing at pool, he'll say things like, "how does it feel to beat a one-armed man at pool?" Then after he really starts playing (and subsequently kicks your butt), he'll joke with you some more, "Man, you lost a game of pool to a one-armed man!" LOL. He's a riot. Lost his arm to a telephone pole guy wire after his motorcycle left the asphault.

Great writing style, BTW. Looking forward to more Spence-mobile installments, now more than ever!

Keith
Unique Motorcars
Southern Automotive
Bruce Bunn (the painter)

My Photo Album