• For all members (past, current, and new)

    THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING TO GET THIS CLUB OFF THE STARTING LINE !!!

    To begin your membership with Gateway Cobra Club please submit your vital information to our club registrar/Treasurer: Paul Proefrock

    Please include your:

    Name, address, phone numbers (work, home, cell) e-mail, etc. Also, tell us about your Cobra (make, model, year, colors, engine, options, stage of build, etc.), where you bought it, any other particulars. Also include other vehicles, birthdays, your occupation & company, and any other details about you and you significant others. BTW - this info will not be posted on-line (EVER). It's just for us - to make the club better. We will eventually create a database for internal club use only.

    We will begin collecting dues soon to enable the activities that we have planned for the year - so stay tuned for that.

    FINALLY - get involved. Attend the meetings, schedule some cruises, and have some fun. We want to make this club fun (for the whole family). We're small (for now) but we're going to make a big noise here in St. Louis. In the end - this club will only be as good as our members participation.

    Thanks for joining us - see you in the fast lane!

Greetings from Farmington...

Kerry & Kathy

Kerry & Kathy

Member #007
Location
Fredericktown, Farmington and Viburnum MO
First Name
Kerry
Last Name
Owen
Kathy and I are Proud owners of FFR #6401 living in both Farmington and Viburnum MO.

Kathy and I are both retired. I retired five years ago as a Manufacturing Engineer from the Aerospace Industry. I have also worked in industry as a CNC programmer and Journeyman Toolroom Machinist.

In the 1970’s and 80’s I owned Owen McDowell Performance Center in Maplewood MO where I built racing motorcycles and motorcycle engines for professional drag racers. I also rode and campaigned a Kawasaki FunnyBike in IDBA running a best of 8.39 sec @ 162 mph in the ¼ mile on gasoline…24 years ago.

I am a licensed private pilot and am also building a Zenith 601XL two-place experimental category aircraft.

Our Cobra is a MK3 FFR picked up at the factory in December of 2007. Our car has a 4.6 DOHC Engine with new 4R70W automatic and IRS from a 95 Mark VIII Lincoln. Wheels are 17x 9 Argent Bullets Front and 17 x 10.5 Argent Bullet Rears. Tires are Sumitomo HTR Series Three. 255 fronts and 275 rears.

Car is in temporary storage at our Farm shop near Viburnum MO until the garage in our new house is finished and ready for the car to be transferred.

We both look forward to participating in local events once the car is finished.

Any other builders near Farmington?

Kerry and Kathy
 
WELCOME aboard Kerry & Kathy

Hey Kerry & Kathy: Happy 2 have U aboard. :) Having U guys aboard will give us an opportunity 2 do some cruisin together in SE Mo. with UR guidance. :cool: Look forward 2 meeting U. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet lookn ride. :D BTW luv UR signature. :cool: Dave/Matthew 10:16
 
Kerry and Kathy:

Welcome aboard! Did I read right - you picked up your Mk. 3 in December and it is already on the road! Why did ya take so long???? Wow!

My Mk 3.1 arrives this coming saturday, and I will be happy if it is the road by 2010...

Did you have to do anything with your DOHC engine that you used from the donor? I'm curious were one would go to have these engines worked on. I'm either doing a crate SOHC or if I can get my fingers on a DOHC mod engine will go that route...but all the ones I can find have 70k or more miles, and are much more than I can get a 'new' crate SOHC. Tough decision...

Anyway, greetings again and welcome!

Scott
 
NO....Car is not finished....

Matt and Scott....

No...the car is far from finished. Sorry for the confusion.

The avatar is what we hope the car will look look when done.

The car is still on the trailer at the farm as it was picked up at FFR.

Until the new garage is completed and equipped it will remain there temporarily. Once the garage is finished then we likely will have an "unload" beer and brat party here at the house to transfer the car into it's new home.

Presently, I have been collecting all needed parts. The basement of the new house looks like a FFR mini warehouse.

Scott...I am using a '95 Lincoln Mark VIII for a donor but also have two additional DOHC engines including a 98 Cobra 4.6. You can get into a DOHC very inexpensively. Refer to some of my posts on the FFR forum regarding use of the '93-'96 Lincoln Mark VIII as a donor. It is a very viable option that has caught on with a lot of builders. A complete DOHC donor with less than 75K miles can be found for less than $1,000 with DOHC and IRS. I paid substantially less for mine.

Also don't be worried about newer F.I. engines with 70-80K miles. Sequential or timed fuel injection avoids washing the cylinder walls with excess fuel that resulted in accelerated cylinder / piston / ring wear on older carburetor equiped engines.

Plus the aluminum DOHC modular blocks have centrifugally cast ductile iron liners that are substantially harder than the G3000 cast iron used in traditional cast iron blocks. The net result is that cylinder and piston wear is dramatically reduced on the newer aluminum FI engines allowing dramatically improved engine durability.

With some simple checks you will have excellent service from a DOHC short block that has as much as 125K.

In the mid 70's I worked at the TRW Ramco Piston Ring plant on Manchester Rd. and later built Japanese aluminum block / cast liner racing engines for many years and know first hand how durable and long wearing engines of this construction can be. In my own case, I will initially be using a Mark VIII DOHC with 64K miles to get the car on the road. At some point much later I may build a 4.6 DOHC blueprinted /modified engine for increased performance, but a used long block properly checked will work fine. Many of these engines will still show original honing cross hatch marks on the cylinder walls after 100K miles....

I would hope to have the car on the street by this time next year, but a recent heart attack, two 70% blockages in one heart artery and a stent installed in my heart last Monday have changed some of the priorities in my life recently....:(

Kerry & Kathy
 
I sure hope you get better from your recent heart attack. I know my grandfather had a couple of those - and he recovered pretty well (this was in the 80's). He was still able to do the things he loved up until the day he died (unfortunatly it was another stroke/heart attack that got him) - but he was in his late 70's when he went.

You sound like you know your engines. I wish I had a fraction of that knowledge. I too am a private pilot and once upon a time was looking a scratch building a compostie 4 place canard/pusher...but money, space, and a wife who said build a car first and prove to me it will work before you try an airplane has put that off for a while. A co-worker of mine in 99 bought a FFR Mk. 1 and I helped him unload and do some various early build items, when I got the bug for one of these projects. It's taken another 9 years to be in the position myself to do this project - and I want to do it right the first time. I'm getting a Complete Kit, with the 3 link upgrade axle, so I will stick with that and leave the IRS for another time. Not sure if you can upgrade to this later or if it has to be built into the frame when the kit is ordered? I was hoping to do all of my build as a non donor all new construction. Just the thought of having to mess with an old donor car with missing items or something worn out is not in the cards. Attempted to complete a late 80's CMC 1929 Mercedes SSK Roadster a few years ago that was a donor build. In the end most of the donor items had to be replaced with new stuff...so why not just skip the grease, grim, and go to the end result of new anyway?

But alas, the engine...my co-worker who built that FFR also had a 98 Cobra, with the 4.6L DOHC engine. Oh my gosh, what a sound, and in the mustang that thing would pull all day long and snap your head in a heartbeat. I can only imagine this in the Cobra weighing 1k less...

Hope I can bounce questions and ideas off of you for engines!

Good Luck,

Scotty
 
STL-Scott said:
You sound like you know your engines. I wish I had a fraction of that knowledge... Hope I can bounce questions and ideas off of you for engines!
Scotty
Click to expand...

Scotty,

If you haven't read this information before, it may answer a few questions about the DOHC.

http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172890

http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172893

http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172891

http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175777

http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174444


Actually, the DOHC can be less costly to use in a FFR than a SOHC and make more power in the process...

HTH

Kerry
 
Hey Kerry,

Great to hear from you again. I know it won't be easy for you but slow down a little for a bit and take care good of yourself so we can all enjoy your (and Kathy's) company in the not too distant future.

Tom
 
TOM KEISER said:
Hey Kerry,

Great to hear from you again. I know it won't be easy for you but slow down a little for a bit and take care good of yourself so we can all enjoy your (and Kathy's) company in the not too distant future.

Tom
Click to expand...

Hi Tom...

Yes I'm trying to slow up a little but now we have all the more reason to live life to the fullest. A reality check like this recent one makes you realize you don't know how many days you have left...so you try to live every one to the max.

Kathy and I are trying to make progress on the car but a lack of energy due to the heart problems makes it a challenge. The good news is that the stent has helped to restore some of the lost energy and Kathy even notes that I have better color now and more quickness in my step.

We are looking forward to London and Run-n-gun even though we will have to attend on the bike this year.

We want to get this car done while we both have time left to enjoy it.

BTW...if you and any of the other Cobra owners are looking for a GREAT tour route a little further South than what you normally drive...."have I got a road for you"....

Kerry & Kathy
 
Hi Kerry,
Welcome aboard!! Looking forward to seeing you and Kathy again. Sorry to hear about the heart. Sounds like you must have taken care of your security issues out at the farm to feel comfortable enough to leave your car out there. That's good news. Take care of yourself!!

Mike
 
Mike DeGuire said:
Hi Kerry,
Welcome aboard!! Looking forward to seeing you and Kathy again. Sorry to hear about the heart. Sounds like you must have taken care of your security issues out at the farm to feel comfortable enough to leave your car out there. That's good news. Take care of yourself!!

Mike
Click to expand...


Hi Mike,

Looks like we will see you again at Scotts "birthday party" Sunday...!

The farm still has it's special security issues but the car is under the watchful eye of a neighbor at his place until the new garage is ready. It's undercover and in a well protected location until then.

Kerry and Kathy
 
Just bringing this to the top. Kerry's introduction in 2008. Thought some may be interested.
 
Also, from another thread, Kerry's Plans:

FFR #6401

95 Lincoln Mark VIII Donor

4.6 DOHC

4R70W Automatic / paddle shifters / Precison Industries 2800 Stall / "J" Mod

3.73 IRS Posi

17 x 9 / 17 x 10.5 Antracite Bullets w. Sumitomo HTRZ III

Hope to have finished by May 2009
 
A picture I found of he and Kathy when they unloaded the kit at his house.
 

Attachments

  • kerrykathyRoadster.jpg
    kerrykathyRoadster.jpg
    66.2 KB · Views: 98
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top