Finally bought one...HI

[Master]

Nice looking Unique! Watch out for that phil (pgermond) he asks alot of questions because he retired early and is independently wealthy.

[pgermond]

(lol) Oh that "Master" retire early, yes..... independent, you bet your a$$..... wealthy.... it's all a matter of perspective.

Now that we have that out of the way - what are the details surrounding your car, which by the way, looks really nice. I'm still kicking myself for not going red.... or maybe black!!!

btw - it's a helphul bunch here, so if you have questions - don't hesitate.

[brfutbrian]

dave, your car looks outstanding. i think theres 5 members on this forum from connecticut. where are you located? the best place to run into connecticut unique owners is in alabama during the second week of may. once in a while i`ll run into one at mark`s in east granby on monday nights. its about a 300 to 400 car show (on a good night). check it out if youve never been to it.


brent, still havent seen your car, even though its only less than 10 miles from me. i have heard its still intact.

later, brian

[davids2toys]

Just ratteling your cage a little, they want to know all about your car, who built it, what type is it 289 or 427 etc.
Welcome to the Unique Crew. Jerry

The builders name was John Miller...anybody know him?

[davids2toys]

dave, your car looks outstanding. i think theres 5 members on this forum from connecticut. where are you located? the best place to run into connecticut unique owners is in alabama during the second week of may. once in a while i`ll run into one at mark`s in east granby on monday nights. its about a 300 to 400 car show (on a good night). check it out if youve never been to it.


brent, still havent seen your car, even though its only less than 10 miles from me. i have heard its still intact.

later, brian

Alabama, sorry, I don't get it?
I am in Southbury CT, Granby is a little far for a cruise nite for me, there are plenty near me, maybe one of these days though

[brfutbrian]

dave, the weavers have a get together called homecoming during the second weekend of may. havent missed one since i built my car in 2001. theres two other members from connecticut that have driven thier cars to every homecoming the weavers have ever had (13).
later, brian

[davids2toys]

(lol) Oh that "Master" retire early, yes..... independent, you bet your a$$..... wealthy.... it's all a matter of perspective.

Now that we have that out of the way - what are the details surrounding your car, which by the way, looks really nice. I'm still kicking myself for not going red.... or maybe black!!!

btw - it's a helphul bunch here, so if you have questions - don't hesitate.

thanks a lot...I have many questions actually.
It appears to have the wrong size tires on the back. It has 255 60 15, on the 11 wide compomotive wheel, I have been told I should go with a 295 50 15 on the rears,,,any opinoions?
Also trying to sort out the brake bias, back brakes are locking up when applied hard, fronts are not, and car is not stopping like it should.Also make the brake pedal closer to the floor
I want to do valve cover gaskets, change to a 180 degreee thermostat(car is running at about 155 when moving right along, that is to cold in my opinion), flush out the entire cooling system of all the dexcool, and replace it with "prestone all make". Figure out the heat and defrost controls. I got a tonneuo cover with the car, but it was never installed, I'm thinking about it!
I have a clunking/creaking in the back occasionally when taking a turn, it may just be stuff in the trunk.also want to check U-joints.
I want to grease the whole car..any precautions I should know about.
Thanks in advance for any advice given....Dave

How about some good books and how to's on my car???

[pgermond]

Absolutely - 295x50x15's on the rear.

Do a search on the brake bias.... or better yet get a remote brake bias that mounts under the dash and do your adjustments on the fly - http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...ote+brake+bias

I don't know what you have for an engine, but if it's an FE it needs to be a 180 thermostat at minimum http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...ght=thermostat

I just run H2O and a little Prestone for coolant... nothing fancy. I have a SPAL puller that does wonders keeping things from getting too hot (do a search on "SPAL" - lots of info). Examples -
http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...highlight=spal
http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...highlight=spal

If you have the posi/power locker rear end the clunking/creaking issue is addressed here - http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...=anti+friction

The car should have indentations where the toneau pins screw in. Call Alan for advice on what and what not do when installing the pins.

Books?!? You don't need no stinking books!!!.... you have this whole Unique family available to answer your questions! Actually, I bought an ERA manual when I built my car, which was some help.

[davids2toys]

Absolutely - 295x50x15's on the rear.

Do a search on the brake bias.... or better yet get a remote brake bias that mounts under the dash and do your adjustments on the fly - http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...ote+brake+bias

I don't know what you have for an engine, but if it's an FE it needs to be a 180 thermostat at minimum http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...ght=thermostat

I just run H2O and a little Prestone for coolant... nothing fancy. I have a SPAL puller that does wonders keeping things from getting too hot (do a search on "SPAL" - lots of info). Examples -
http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...highlight=spal
http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...highlight=spal

If you have the posi/power locker rear end the clunking/creaking issue is addressed here - http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/sh...=anti+friction

The car should have indentations where the toneau pins screw in. Call Alan for advice on what and what not do when installing the pins.

Books?!? You don't need no stinking books!!!.... you have this whole Unique family available to answer your questions! Actually, I bought an ERA manual when I built my car, which was some help.

Thanks a lot Phil, looks like I have a little research to do, but unfortunately it will be a few days before I will be able to dio anything.
I dont know about a posi locker...I do have a JAG rear with 354's, and it is POSI. also, have aFE / 428
See My Sig

[davids2toys]

Thanks a lot Phil, looks like I have a little research to do, but unfortunately it will be a few days before I will be able to dio anything.
I dont know about a posi locker...I do have a JAG rear with 354's, and it is POSI. also, have aFE / 428
See My Sig

The posi thread link is not working

[nolastyankee]

Regarding the clunk in the rear end, there is a very important thread to read (several actually, one by bittentoo, one by casaleenie, one by buzz) about breaking bolts that hold the rear suspension pivots onto the differential. It's unlikely that this is the problem, however, this is a topic that every Unique owner should be aware of and monitoring. There are a few fasteners on these cars that are critical safety components...That's definitely one of them!

[davids2toys]

Regarding the clunk in the rear end, there is a very important thread to read (several actually, one by bittentoo, one by casaleenie, one by buzz) about breaking bolts that hold the rear suspension pivots onto the differential. It's unlikely that this is the problem, however, this is a topic that every Unique owner should be aware of and monitoring. There are a few fasteners on these cars that are critical safety components...That's definitely one of them!

Very interesting, do you have any links to these threads?

[nolastyankee]

David,
Try the search tool with the keywords "broken bolt" and look for the threads from the users I referenced above. All three came back when I ran the seach this afternoon.

[davids2toys]

David,
Try the search tool with the keywords "broken bolt" and look for the threads from the users I referenced above. All three came back when I ran the seach this afternoon.

I did it and it worked good, that first thgread is scary, but ran out of time...I will get back to it tomorrow...Thanks

[clayfoushee]

David, this has been a rare issue with this type of Jaguar rear-end on all of the many types of replicas that use them. Cars that are driven very hard (and I mean very hard) are more susceptible.

If you'd ever spent any time around Bittentoo, you'd understand what it means to thoroughly thrash a car.

[davids2toys]

Well, once I get this linkage thing out of the way and I can kick in the 4 barrels fully...Let the thrashing begin...LOL!

[davids2toys]

So what does he do anyway?