SAAC Forum

The coil spring saddle with rubber bushing also has holes in it for rubber pads. The GT350 has no holes or pads in the saddle. I assume that this is correct and original. Do you guys have any thoughts on what to do now?

Trying to attach a picture.

This is such detailed and insightful information, thanks again so much to the experts for their input. Indeed where rust is starting the cancerous invasion the partial surviving factory coatings have to be removed and surfaces cleaned. The rust must obviously be removed, cleaned and neutralized and I can then get on with duplicating factory coatings applied in the correct order and places.
I am dropping the rest of the front suspension out so I can get good access to the inside of the front fenders. That is exactly what the situation is right now, the top of a slippery slope. It looks like you guys will be able to help me with when to say when.

Serious preservation question here. Under the wheel wells, in this case the right front, the factory finishes can be seen. An interesting observation to me is that the front subframe is galvanised. The underside has the red lead primer, what do they call that stuff? With a coating of rubberized undercoating. The undercoating is thick and liberally applied, it has become brittle and cracked over the years. Some had already fallen off in chunks, other pieces I lifted off with a fingernail. To my question finally, some of the exposed metal behind it is bright and shiny and looks new, other parts like the corner have held moisture behind the cracked underseal and rusted more heavily. What would you do to preserve it as the time capsule that it is? I'm going to try for a picture.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xCwkHw2gRJbX7znV8

That is what I'm seeing like the control arm and idler arm bushings they are molded rubber bushes with steel sleeves. It is important with this style they are tightened up at ride height, steering centered etc. The bushing gets clamped into place by the bolt and is spring-loaded by the rubber back to its normal position.

I believe the 3255 and 3259 are the same on float bowl gaskets. I have had to use a Mopar gasket on my 3255 with the little bump out on one edge and different block-offs. They are different gaskets to a 4150.

The car here has the larger spare hold-down disc for the Magnum 500's with no holes in it. That inner fender indent for the spare is factory but someone with a hammer has pounded the indent out.

Thanks all for your input. The car owner has specified it be the original spec parts used. I tried the approach of unbolting all the original suspension and bolting on new, improved, aftermarket parts but we are going correct original with selective and minimal restoration. The spring perches don't have any rubber or traces of rubber on the perches or on the springs. Should they be metal on metal with a 350?

I am going over the underside of 6S2371 to make it drive like a new-condition 56-year-old sport car. It is a very original, great shape, low mileage car with a touch over 21k miles.
The car is in such good original condition I am being very selective about what, how, and how much to refurbish.
I'm going to have plenty of questions as I go through this car and very much appreciate the expertise here. I can just keep updating this thread or post my observations and questions under separate posts.
I have the front suspension apart right now. The biggest source of play in the steering was the idler arm bushing. I got a replacement SilentBloc from Virginia Classic Mustang and have since figured out why the replacement idler arms are sold as assemblies. That's a tough part to replace but it's in there! Just need to center the steering before tightening it up.
It also has a nominal amount of play in the steering box. I have a rebuild kit here but it looks like an adjustment will take care of that. Good article on it herehttp://www.stangerssite.com/adjustment.html
I went to replace the front shock rubber mounts and cannot find them, even harder to find are the parts in rubber. The upper shock bushing on there now is a piece of radiator hose. I got some gas Monroe shocks from O'Reilly's that I will probably throw out after stealing the rubber mount washers and bushings out of them.
My most recent dilemma is the front spring perches. I can't find replacement bushings that aren't improved and updated as bearings or polyurethane.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Does the right rear inner fender have an indent to accommodate the spare tire mounting? It looks like I have one in this car car but it has been hammered back out.

There are several differences between HST and HiTech cars. The height or depth of the front of the gas tank is one. Bolt-on front bumper mount tubes is another.

Sam told me when the Hudson starts getting "filled up" with stolen vehicles they dredge it. The Cobra was pulled out with an excavator which put a couple of holes and bends in it. Sam was called in to identify it as a local Ford mechanic. There is a funny story about him buying the wreck, how much he paid and how much he told the missus he paid. It has been a real labor of love for him over more years than anyone spent restoring any Cobra I believe. Good guy, great car.

Here we have a very good usable set of American racing magnesium torq thrust five spoke wheels and tires for an original 289 Shelby Cobra. These are as removed from a very original 289 car that has worn them for many years. Check the pictures and you'll see it has the bolted in center adapters to fit the splined hubs. If you need the whole package ready to attach to your car we have knock off spinner nuts available separately. Wheels and splines are all in good original condition and ready to show or go. The tires could be left on to protect the rims for shipping or removed for shipping wheels only at buyers cost. Also listed on E bay item number:142978298328 starting bid is $4000.

Al good to see you on here, I'm guessing you still have yours? Rodney car is looking good, that color looks very similar to 3015.

I agree with Shelbylover the Avons perform proportionately to their price. They are a soft compound radial tire that handles grips and works well on a Cobra. I would advise you to have a good wheel alignment on the car as because they are soft they will wear really fast if they're not pointing in the right direction. I have collected some info and added my own notes and experience on wheel alignment specs if anyone needs it. I like the Billboards too but they are a light weight bias ply old school race tire. I recommend a lot of caster with them to help with the hunting and darting they tend to do. I have also found the Billboards are more inclined to flat spot if they are older. An easy way to deal with that is roll the car back a foot one week roll it forward two the next so it doesn't sit on one spot. Of course even better is drive it a couple of times a week 

I have 4772 rebuilt and rebodied after the first owner took an exciting ride. He wasn't wearing shoulder straps luckily for him as he managed to get inside the car as it flattened the roll bar and screen. That certainly saved his life as wearing them would have held him up in harms way. I won't let a passenger, with no roll bar on their side, wear shoulder straps for that reason. Check your battery tray mounting if it's behind the passenger seat. I have seen them screwed to fiberglass floors without even a fender washer behind them never mind a plate or frame mount. The batteries came loose and knocked him out. While we are talking about roll bars the originals had the rear brace mount attached with six 1/4" screws in to nut serts. That meant the trunk tube was a lot stronger as it wasn't drilled all the way through with large by huge fasteners. The oversized through bolts then get over tightened crushing the tube making it even weaker. As for chroming a welded fabricated roll bar look up hydrogen embrittlement. Another thing original comp cars used was the bracket that ties the long unsupported leg of the roll bar hoop in to the frame. That makes them a lot stronger. http://actoncobra.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=186 Shoulder straps are relative to shoulder height and also angle to your spine. I have found a good height for us guys that have shorter legs and longer bodies than the other half can install a belt bar just under the rear cowl and it is a good height and angle. On the 4000/6000 cars with the rear hoop that can be a good height for wrapping shoulder straps. PSA over for the night, take a look at your cars and see if they suffer any of these issues.