now what do I do with a king cobra???

DrSmith · Sep 4, 2005

It sits in my garage, a king cobra project car. My kids are thrilled, my wife is...I don't know what. Get ready for a ton of questions from me. First off: Where do I get a 78 parts car? Second: What do I do first? The car is running, but in pieces, I need to get it ready for the body shop.
What have I started? If it helps, I'm in Portland, Maine
Doc

Eos · Sep 5, 2005

You can search ebay, here, mustang traders, salvages, pastures for parts cars. lol It doesnt have to be a specific 78. You can also request parts in the parts section. I would start with putting the car back together. lol

innocentfool · Sep 5, 2005

there are great resources here, assemble the car, get it ready for paint, dont ignore your wife and enjoy!

Mstng2 · Sep 6, 2005

First off define "in pieces". Depending on what type of restoration you want to do you absolutley want it in pieces to do the paint. So 1st things first what is your goal with the car??
A) DAILY DRIVER = put it together paint it, do interior, drive it.
B) NICE SUNDAY DRIVER = pull motor, pull everything off the body that can be pulled, trim, mirrors, weatherstripping, bezels, lights, badging, strip body completly, fix any rust, repaint, (3 coat base clear paint system is nice) reassemble, replace all interior, rebuild motor, replace motor/trans. Drive and oooh la la!
C) TRAILER QUEEN = Everthing above + rotisserie restoration, which is everything UNDER the car as well as above. This is the BIG $$$$ OPTION... lol

DrSmith · Sep 6, 2005

thanks for your replies. This is a car I want to have for my son. As he is 3, I have time to get this together, I am just overwhelmed at the moment. What I want to do is get the body work done, then keep it mechanically sound. The car running, but the only seat inside is the passenger, which is bolted to the drivers side. I took the kids around the neighborhood (they were thrilled), one of them sat on a milk crate. The dash is in the car, that is it, all else is stripped. I am goind to start looking for a parts car, I'd like to have some spare items. Also I will need the front spoiler, I have all other parts. the guy who sold me the car has a custom restored cobra that is just awesome, a real work of art. I am going to take my time with this car, I just needed to hear what was the best thing go do first. As I look into the engine bay, there is some rust, so I was wondering if I should pull the engine and have the bay painted when I had the rest of the body done. That seems to be the sensible thing. If I can figure out how to post pictures, I'll get some up on the site. My buyers remorse is reinforcing my right choice of buying an 06. I figure I'll have the best of both worlds, one to drive and one to work on and not need roadworthy for a while.
Oh, just an aside, my daughter wanted to know what HER mustang was going to look like! We took her buy the dealership and showed her an 05 v6! I figure in 12 years, I will be able to buy one "cheap".
Sorry for the ramble,
Doc

JonDawg · Sep 6, 2005

DrSmith said:
thanks for your replies. This is a car I want to have for my son. As he is 3, I have time to get this together

Sure, you got lots of time, but Id start stockpiling gas now if you want to afford it by the time he can drive it.

77sleeper · Sep 6, 2005

DrSmith said:
thanks for your replies. This is a car I want to have for my son. As he is 3, I have time to get this together,

I bought mine in '92 and it still is nowhere near done

cobra_2_76 · Sep 8, 2005

DrSmith said:
thanks for your replies. This is a car I want to have for my son. As he is 3, I have time to get this together, I am just overwhelmed at the moment. What I want to do is get the body work done, then keep it mechanically sound. The car running, but the only seat inside is the passenger, which is bolted to the drivers side. I took the kids around the neighborhood (they were thrilled), one of them sat on a milk crate. The dash is in the car, that is it, all else is stripped. I am goind to start looking for a parts car, I'd like to have some spare items. Also I will need the front spoiler, I have all other parts. the guy who sold me the car has a custom restored cobra that is just awesome, a real work of art. I am going to take my time with this car, I just needed to hear what was the best thing go do first. As I look into the engine bay, there is some rust, so I was wondering if I should pull the engine and have the bay painted when I had the rest of the body done. That seems to be the sensible thing. If I can figure out how to post pictures, I'll get some up on the site. My buyers remorse is reinforcing my right choice of buying an 06. I figure I'll have the best of both worlds, one to drive and one to work on and not need roadworthy for a while.
Oh, just an aside, my daughter wanted to know what HER mustang was going to look like! We took her buy the dealership and showed her an 05 v6! I figure in 12 years, I will be able to buy one "cheap".
Sorry for the ramble,
Doc

You need to decide what you want to do to it. Do you like the King's stock? Do you want a show car only, car you can drive and show, or just drive around.

Would you be happy with 139 HP, or have do you want MORE?

The list goes on to stopping power, what kind of tires and wheels you like, how far to go with the interrior.

Once you get that figured out then get ready to start and we can make suggestions on what to do first.

Dave

Putter · Sep 8, 2005

Congrats!!
Hope you have fun with it.
I just bought a 78 for my daughter, but she is 16 so the pressure is on for me. Keep us posted and get those pics up soon.

1badII · Sep 9, 2005

77sleeper said:
I bought mine in '92 and it still is nowhere near done

Didn't you just sell yours?

77sleeper · Sep 9, 2005

nope it is keeping my garage from floating off into outerspace

DrSmith · Sep 10, 2005

I want to keep this car mostly stock, but I won't quibble. I am happy with the horsepower, as it will be for my son. I have an 06 on order, so I'll be happy with that! I am going to look at another king cobra, it is minus drive train, so I may swap, if that will save me a ton of restoration. I just got all the parts and interior of the car, he had quite a few spare parts with it. I will keep you all posted, I am still not sure where I will go with this, my next post may be about sealing the engine up for proper storage.
thanks for all your support,
Doc

now what do I do with a king cobra???

DrSmith

Member

Eos

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

innocentfool

Mstng2

DrSmith

Member

JonDawg

Mstng2 supplied me with my pair

77sleeper

GO BUCS!

cobra_2_76

Putter

New Member

1badII

Member

77sleeper

GO BUCS!

DrSmith

Member

Similar threads

now what do I do with a king cobra???

Member

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

Member

Mstng2 supplied me with my pair

GO BUCS!

New Member

Member

GO BUCS!

Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency