Looks incredible Joel. Wiring is just spot on.
Ah, I had a yellow '67 MGB. Fun is the best word to describe that car.
Jesper,
Thanks my friend for those most kind words. It’s always greatly appreciated.
Joel
Greg,
That’s outstanding for sure. For me, 1966-68 were the zenith years for the MGBs. The cars were literally the most solid of the long run. My only complaint from day 1 of super tuning the suspension for street/track was the God awful dampers. No shocks that could be exchanged for stiffer ones or softer ones depending on the type of competition time trial. I had to literally drain the oil out of them, then add a different weight oil and pump the link till all the air was out, and that pumping was a killer for sure. Needless to say that stopped fairly quickly, as I had an extra pre-setup set of dampers at the ready.
That 1800cc engine with a custom tuned header and Abarth exhaust is still something that I can hear late at night.
Joel
I remember putting an 8 track in mine. I had to mount the player on a piece of wood to isolate it from the body. I them had to reverse the wiring for the player. My door had a rattle in it so iI opened the door panel and found a belt of about a hundred rounds of blank ammunition.
Scored! 
Bonus
Greg,
That’s gotta be a record with the Ammo belt for sure. 
I never was into 8 tracks but since the B’s only came with an AM radio and I couldn’t afford a full AM/FM stereo radio, I bought an ad on FM tuner and mounted it right under the dash by the AM radio.
Joel
Finally was able to get a little bench time in over the last week as my brother has taken a turn for the worse and is back in the hospital.
Time to focus on the the interior of the Cobra, which is about as basic bare bones that Shelby could get as saving weight was the main focus.
1st up was the two really basic type of seats found in the sports cars back in the 1960s. As with most of the kits from that era, the seats didn’t have a back to them, relying instead on the interior tub to hide that issue.
You can easily see in the above photos that the open back is plainly visible. My 1st option was the tried and true sheet plastic glued to the back, but in these seats the bottom of the seat sticks out past the back making that a non-option. So I went with Apoxie Sculpt 2 part epoxy that I smoothed with a wet finger so that when dry only final sanding was necessary.
Then I primed the tub and both seats with Gunze 1500 Black primer thinned 1:1 with Mr 400 Leveler Thinner. The next session I left the tub as is since it’s pretty darn close to the flat black that is the correct color. I air brushed the seats with Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black, then the following day rubbed it out with my finger for a slightly deeper sheen.
Finally, I assembled the basic lap belts that was used in the Shelby Cobras from spares I had from a PE sheet and Black ribbon. Here’s the seats dry fitted in the tub.
I started to work on the tires as well by cleaning up the centerline seams, and then digging out of my spare decals 4 Goodyear decals that actually have the right curve for the the front and rear tires. When dried I applied another gloss coat to help blend in the decals with Pledge. Still to come is a little bit of weathering and then an overall coat of Dullcoat.
As always, thanks for stopping by and checking out my build to date. It’s always greatly appreciated.
Joel
1 Like
Hey Joel!
Sorry to hear of your brother’s health issues! Hope for a speedy recovery!
Progress at the bench is always a good remedy for the soul… 
Russell,
Thanks so much for your most kind words. Unfortunately, my brother’s battle with cancer is just starting. Being a Willstein, he’ll put up one hell of a fight for sure.
Joel
1 Like
So sorry to hear that, Joel. I hope your brother has a strong will to fight that disease. My mum survived bowel cancer in her late 70’s.
My thoughts are with him and you for sure! Never give up!
So sorry Joel, Best of luck to him. Thoughts and prayers from my wife (a 25 year cancer survivor) and I.
Torsten & Dave,
Thanks so much for your support. It’s really greatly appreciated. Yesterday the hospital stopped all visitations due to the pandemic, So now we can’t even visit him. I’m sure it’s even harder on him not having anyone visit for who knows how long.
Joel
Truly sorry to hear about your brother’s condition Joel, it’s tough at any time (having been through it with my father a couple of years back), but with the current restrictions the mental pain of not having support around you is terrible. I’m hoping for a positive turnaround really soon mate.
Awesome progress on the Cobra as well, it’s looking great!
Cheers, D
D
Thanks for the support as we can really use it right now. I truly appreciate it.
As for the Cobra, slowly but surely it’s getting closer to the final lap.
Joel
Finally, time for another Cobra update. My focus switched over to the interior, which in the Cobra isn’t much, and as bare basic as Shelby could get it. After all, the car was designed for the track, not the street, and every pound saved meant a quicker, faster, car.
Basically, the entire interior is Matt Black with the Dash the typical semi gloss Black that many of the British sport cars had back in the 60s such as my MGB. The steering wheel was aluminum with a wood rim and that was carried over to the Cobras. Seats were basic black leather, and the seatbelts were also plain Jane Black.
Then I dry fitted the interior into the body just to make sure it fit. I still need to check the fit of the chassis with the interior tub in just to make sure that there’s no surprises lurking down the road.
Joel
3 Likes
Beautiful wotk Joel. The different shades and sheen levels on the black really look good, and excellent detailing as always.
Cheers, D
Looks amazing Joel. Sharp looking dash.
Beautiful as always Joel - I’ve always admired your paint work and this one is no exception.
D, Jasper, & my Good Buddy Richard,
Thanks guys for your really positive comments. They all mean quite a lot to me.
Joel