Well, the big box arrived on Christmas Eve. I got a call from the Freight company on December 23 saying that the kit had arrived. It was getting late in the day and I tried AAA Towing to see if they could pickup and deliver. Unfortunately, all of their lift trucks were busy or the drivers were off for the next few days. What was I to do? The crate weights approximately 2500 pounds and is about 14 feet long. Not something you could put in the back of the Honda Civic. Did I have friends with big vehicles? Did I know someone with a trailer....then it dawned on me the only reason I was using AAA Towing was because they were recommended. Maybe another company could do it. Sure enough, A1 towing accommodated the schedule and was able to pickup the next morning.
Wow, do you think I could sleep that night. Again, it reminded me so much of the anticipation of Christmas, and I woke up every few hours with visions of AC Cobras dancing in my head.
Finally, the day arrived, and like a father waiting for a newborn, I was distracted and waiting for the delivery. Fortunately, the driver was excellent and go to the house ahead of schedule. With a deft touch, he was able to nudge this huge box into the garage with relative ease. Oh, did I mention it is a huge box.
So, a huge box in the garage, and no idea of what to do except start pulling nails. Having sent out the word that the box was coming, Steve and Ash from the Cobra club with their willing friend and visitor Tracy arrived and promptly assisted with de-boxing the vehicle. My good friend Ken came to lend some muscle both physical and emotional. Oh, so beautiful even in its unfinished state (the Cobra's not Ken). The body is athletic but manageable in size and pleasing in proportion. Securely packed in the crate, the chassis was chained to a bed of 2x6 boards arranged over 16 foot 4x4 posts. A better boat dock has not been seen before or since.
The unpacking was facilitated by Steve and Ash, and more importantly, they took some smashing pictures that preview the coming oodles and oodles of pleasure and fun that is about to occur. Have a look at FFCobra.com and search for "Christmas arrived early in Calgary".
More unpacking and then the truth suddenly struck me. This is a motor vehicle with many, many, many parts. Just getting to the point of unpacking, sorting and cataloging the parts is a considerable task, and that is before taking up a socket wrench in earnest. What have I done??
I spent a great deal of Christmas day building a body buck for the shell of the vehicle so that this could be stored separately. This was done between meals and family events during the day.
After getting the body on the buck, Ken, who was helping, pointed out a defect in the fibreglass in the right door region. Wow, how quickly the euphoria evaporates. I think we stretched the body or something and the fibreglass cracked. Oh boy, I haven't had the kit for more than two days, and I already have a booboo. Being a fairly (very) obsessive compulsive sort of guy, I could see that likelihood of achieving a flaw free build dissolve in front of my eyes. Of course, the logical brain in me knows that this will only be the first of very many "challenges" in the future. I guess I asked for it, and I guess I even paid for the pain/pleasure of doing something that has signficant uncertainty in regards to a successful outcome.
Only one way to go...forward... with anticipation.
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