Been busy

The last ten days have been busy and so the lack of new posts. Friends and family have had some illness and setbacks so lots of competition for spare time. Work also became the usual demand, but as expected, getting through the first week back from time off has gotten things smoothed out.

After getting the kit and getting some inventory ideas, I realized that there are a heck of alot of things that need to be ordered and done.

So, more online surfing and reading and now I am waiting on more stuff. My plan is to get portions of the vehicle done in sequence. My main goal right now is to work on suspension, steering and brakes. I already know about 100% more than what I knew three weeks ago, which isn't saying much. I now know where the control arms go, the spindles and hubs and shocks go (sort of). I also finally understand the difference between a four link and a three link suspension. Inevitably, that means spending more money.

So far I have ordered front Koni shocks, rear lower control arms, a rear end complete assembly, brake kits for front and back and a steering rack. This is in addition to the backordered stuff that is still to come from Factory Five. I also provisionally installed the rear panhard bars in preparation for the arrival of the rear Koni shocks and the remainder of the suspension.

Getting to go to the Post Office daily to pick up stuff. Like Christmas everyday.

Holidays almost over

Well, time certainly passes quickly and the holidays are almost over and its back to the real world. I have had some progress on the build, but I wouldn't really call it building. As Steve from the Alberta Cobra Club pointed out, the assembly manual is more of a rough guide rather than an in-depth, step by step instructional manual. Alex and I did an inventory, and I was amused to realize that many of the words on the packing list had no meaning in my mind. Although well described, I really don't know what some of the things look like, so I have to assume that some things are present in the many ziploc bags that are in the many boxes.

Nevertheless, I have been working away at learning and figuring things out. The Internet and the FFCobra website have been invaluable. What did we do before the internet? I suspect that many people just gave up, or didn't even start a project like this. Maybe they were smart.

My big job for the next few weeks is to source more parts. I have been to Princess Auto to buy tools and such twice this week, been to Sears to pick up other tools, been to Home Depot to pick up a fluorescent ceiling light since the garage was too dark for my aging eyes and been to Canadian Tire to look over more tools. I guess this is all part of the "fun" and keeps the brain focused so that the unhappy thoughts of real life don't intrude too deeply into one's consciousness.

Well, in regards to actually building, I pulled off the aluminum sheeting after pre-marking the chassis locations, and started assembling the ball joints and the front upper control arms. I provisionally fastened them to the chassis. Who knew this was what keeps the steering working on a car. I was a little worried when the Mk3build.com site indicated that if these ball joints loosen and fail this could be "extremely dangerous". This perked me up and made me think that I should probably test fit many times and keep a record of all of those things that need to be "torqued" and locked.

Oh, need to get a torque wrench. The one I bought on Wednesday doesn't go up to the required torque value. And so it goes on...