Progress Thread Cobra II Resurrection

[welder4956]

Hello all. I've been a member here since 2003, but have not posted very often. We have a white/blue 1976 Cobra II that we bought in 1978 and are the second owner. The first owner was PHD Leasing in Los Angeles who had leased it to a magazine publisher for the first 2 years. My wife had always wanted a Charley's Angels Cobra II car and would never get rid of it. We drove it as a daily driver from 1978 thru the late 1990's and even pulled a 5 x 8 U-Haul trailer from San Diego, CA to Augusta, GA when I got out of the Navy in 1982. We finally parked it in the garage when the transmission started leaking and slipping pretty bad, and it has been there ever since.

I retired at the end of 2022, so my project has been to get the car back to a reliable driving car. Not looking to make it a show car, but just get it repainted and replace the worn driveline and suspension. Here's what it looked like when we finally parked it:

And here's where it is today:

I had to cut out the passenger floor pan and replace it due to leaks from the cowl area:

I'm working on cleaning up the engine compartment and front fender wells right now while the suspension is out. I had tried to replace the battery tray back in 1985 using a 110 volt AC stick welder and had wound up covering the mess with body filler so I could get it back on the road. So first up was removing the body filler and welding/patching up the gaps and holes.

I have a reman 1995 302 long block and Hughes rebuilt C-4 trans ready to go back in as soon as I finish cleaning up the engine compartment:

 

[extra_stout]

thanks for sharing this story. Seems like a very good basis.

 

[welder4956]

Some of the other things I've done so far are to rebuild a 8" traction lock and install 3:55 gears, and source a new driveshaft and yoke:

I also welded in a pair of Stumpy's subframe connectors and fabricated some traction bars:

 

[welder4956]

Front suspension parts are ready to install once the wheelwells are repainted:

 

[2Blue2]

Heck yeah!
This is headed the right way.

Carry on we want more!

 

[Noobz347]

This is going to be an awesome build.

 

[welder4956]

Haven't got much done the last couple of weeks due to travel. I did get a few hours today, so I removed the motor mount brackets, sand blasted and primed them.

Then I removed the air conditioner vacuum canister in the passenger fenderwell and sandblasted it. It was looking good till I did the bottom side. I may just weld a new bottom on and use it anyway since it won't be seen. A new replacement is over $100.

 

[welder4956]

Looks like the '71-'73 canister is the same, but $101 plus shipping is still too steep.

https://www.classicautoair.com/shop...g-cougar-a-c-vacuum-canister-reservoir/?gQT=2

 

[Noobz347]

100 for a coffee can!

 

[welder4956]

I made an attempt to repair my rotted out A/C vacuum canister, but I think it's too far gone. I cut and fitted a piece of 16 gauge sheet that I had available to replace the bottom, then removed the mounting bracket and the rusted out bottom:

Then I noticed holes in the top and around the bottom rim:

I was able to remove the check valve assembly on top in case I can find something to replace the rest of the canister, but there is a formed lip on the hole for an O-ring seal:

I searched around some more and found one that looks like it will work and should not corrode. I'm going to order one and give it a try.

 

[Noobz347]

What size is the can? Quart? Gallon?

 

[welder4956]

The can is 4-1/4" outside diameter x 3-1/2" tall. I suppose I could find something similar at the grocery, but it needs to fit the bracket and still needs the correct size hole drilled with a formed lip for the O-ring seal. The one I posted above has a mounting bracket that may work with the existing mounting holes.

 

[Noobz347]

You could actually do without the lip and seal the one-way valve directly to the top of the can. No O-ring required.


Use the Black RTV that comes in the "Cheese Wiz" can (Ultra Black, I think it's called).
You could attach the bracket to the new can any 1 of a 100 different ways.

Even something like this that is similar in size to what you have:

https://www.amazon.com/Empty-Quart-Paint-Unlined-Metal/dp/B015Y9OY4Y?sr=8-7

 

[welder4956]

Well, I took a shot at welding up the holes in the rotten coffee can. Looking OK so far, but I still need to weld the new bottom in. I welded the holes with TIG brazing with the machine set on AC with the balance set to cleaning and using silicon bronze wire. I still melted thru in a few areas where it was corroded badly but was able to bridge the holes. After welding the top and sides I coated the inside with POR-15. I'll have to wait for it to dry before I can weld the bottom.

 

[2Blue2]

TIG brazing with the machine set on AC with the balance set to cleaning and using silicon bronze wire.

I Like the fancy welding, i mean brazing ,and am pretty fond of POR15.
Stay on it! Good Progress!

 

[welder4956]

The POR-15 was cured good this morning, so I started TIG brazing the new bottom on the canister. It was going good till I ran out of argon and can't get more till Monday. It will have to wait till then.

 

[welder4956]

Finished welding the rotten soup can yesterday after changing out the argon bottle. Then coated the outside with POR-15.

 

[welder4956]

Spent a couple of days repairing a cracked corner on the rear spoiler. It looks like it was repaired previously with bondo by the original owner early in its life. We bought the car in Feb. 1978, so the car was only 2 years old at that point. I removed all the bondo with a sanding pad on a die grinder, then stitched the corner back on with hot staples. I used a piece of wire mesh to reinforce the hole, covered the back side of the opening with masking tape, and patched it with epoxy filler,

Still have more sanding to do, but it's looking a whole lot better.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

Good job bringing that back from the dead.

 

[welder4956]

Spent a couple of days repairing a cracked corner on the rear spoiler. It looks like it was repaired previously with bondo by the original owner early in its life. We bought the car in Feb. 1978, so the car was only 2 years old at that point. I removed all the bondo with a sanding pad on a die grinder, then stitched the corner back on with hot staples. I used a piece of wire mesh to reinforce the hole, covered the back side of the opening with masking tape, and patched it with epoxy filler,

Still have more sanding to do, but it's looking a whole lot better. I also repaired one stud base that was broken and beefed up a couple that were starting to split. I no longer need this one.

If anyone is in need of a center section for a rear spoiler, send me a PM. I no longer need this one. It also has a broken stud repaired and a couple of others beefed up with epoxy.