Trailer Needed Chicago to London

[Jack Wojack]

I just finished my car but I'm not ready for a 5 hour road trip until I road test it a little further.

I would like to rent or somehow get my hands on an Aluminum trailer so I can get to London on the 22nd. I say aluminum because I have a 2001 Blazer as a tow vehicle and I don't want to blow it up.

Any suggestions?

Jack

[cobradawg]

I don't think the Blazer has enough weight or power for the job. If it's an automatic, a trans.cooler would sure help. How about trailor brakes?
I use a 05 trailblazer to pull my cobra. I have a trans cooler and trailor brakes and I am on the light side of pulling vehicles.

[rich grsc]

U-haul

[Jack Wojack]

I have a call in to my local U- Haul dealer.

I am confident the Blazer with the ZR2 package (Wide Stance) that I have available will do OK towing across the flats of IL, IN & Ohio. I just drove the route as recently as last week and the only elevation changes are the exit ramps. I expect the trailer to have brakes.

Jack

[edwardb]

U-Haul is very particular about the tow vehicle for their car hauler trailer. You can go to their website and put in the vehicle information for the tow vehicle as well as what you're towing (Ford Cobra is an available choice) and it will tell you whether they'll rent to you or not. Ask me how I know about this.

U-Haul: Equipment specs

[Jack Wojack]

Ed, Per U-Haul I am Golden.

Thanks

Jack

[Joe]

You've got two weeks to test!! Subscribe to AAA or similar towing service, pack a bag of tools, duct tape, wire and an ohm meter and DRIVE IT!

But yeah, the U-Haul auto trailers work pretty good. See you at LCS!

[abdw-wcw]

Originally Posted by Jack Wojack

I just finished my car but I'm not ready for a 5 hour road trip until I road test it a little further.

I would like to rent or somehow get my hands on an Aluminum trailer so I can get to London on the 22nd. I say aluminum because I have a 2001 Blazer as a tow vehicle and I don't want to blow it up.

Any suggestions?

Jack

I was in the same boat last year. I finished the car in early June. It hadn't proven itself so i rented a trailer from a place by Ohare airport. I'll try to find the place tomorrow and pm you.

As for this year.....I now have 4,000 miles on the car and I'm driving it to ohio this year.

Craig

[timmil]

Craig:

I'm near O'Hare and would be interested in that trailer rental information as well.

Thanks!
- Tim

[Jack Wojack]

Craig, Joe ...I will see you at London. I made reservations at the Hampton Inn last night arriving Thursday.

My carburetor is running rich and I am trying to get it in to a dyno shop/carb tuner near me as soon as he can fit me in.

I will order a car cover today...hope I can get it in time.





Jack

[PSB]

Wow! Nice car! Look forward to seeing it at the show!

Pete

[Cheapsnake]

Not sure how a 2001 Trailblazer compares to a 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor (3.8l V6), but I hauled a C*bra back from TN last fall on a U-Haul trailer. The whole towing package met U-Haul's specs and we made it OK, but the mountains really made me sweat and made funny smells from my tranny. You should be OK, but keep it under 100.

Wish I were joining you at LCS. Drove there (700+ miles) 3 years ago, got drenched and had a blast.

Tom

[Jack Wojack]

The Drenched part is what concerns me.

Jack

[Frank Messina]

Love that interior Jack. Wish I had tan.
Frank

[Dan Babb]

Awesome interior...matching door panels would finish it off nicely. Maybe you can find a matching vinyl color and send it off to Herb to use for a set.

[Joe]

Very nice car Jack. How did you increase the radius of the edge /corners of the tranny tunnel?

[Jack Wojack]

Tanks Guys for your kind words. After 5 + years I could use them.

I have maybe 3/4 hide of leather for the door panels...those are Corinthian leather seats my friend...with seat heaters. OK Maybe not Corinthian it came from Georgia but it is very supple. The carpeting is a German Velour wool blend. I am leaning toward door pockets similar to what is on the original Cobra...still need to develop the design for maneuverability.

I bought a FFR Kit because of the way the trans tunnel was constructed with the Aluminum over the tubing. What bothered me most about Cobra kit cars was the obnoxiously large trans tunnel (IMHO). I cut it out…moved the top rail in 1 – ¼ on a side and used 1 inch round tubing. That was my first Mod.

Jack

[Someday I Suppose]

Jack, great looking car for sure, the interior is beautiful. I saw you mention getting a car cover, I would caution you not to tow it with a cover on if thats what you were thinking, the buffeting of the wind will marr the paint for sure. You could try some of that road warrior or road wrap protection on it though if you wanted, it won't keep it dry if you get caught in the rain, but would help with stones and such.

Also, those U_Haul trailers have surge brakes which work pretty well, but take some time to get used to. Basically the way they work is when you step on the brakes the trailer surges forward which applies the brakes on the trailer. But I found everytime I let off the gas the trailer would surge, apply the brakes, and the drag the tow vehicle a bit. Annoying, but good to know what it is and how it works.

All the best

-Scott

[abdw-wcw]

Originally Posted by timmil

Craig:

I'm near O'Hare and would be interested in that trailer rental information as well.

Thanks!
- Tim

The place was Ehrhardt's Trailer Sales in Des Plaines. Phone 888-849-0689. They primarily sell stuff but have some rentals too. We rented a practically brand new enclosed car hauler. It was very nice.

I'm going to start looking for hotels tonight or tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. Unfortunately it's bring your child to work day on Thursday. (not 'unfortunate' about the event- it will be a blast and my daughter is very excited about it) but that means I can't leave for Ohio until about 5pm Thursday. I really want to be there Friday to do one of the organized cruises.

See you all there.
Craig

[Jack Wojack]

Thanks Scott on the brake tutorial, it is appreciated. The car cover is for when I get to my destination; I have already heard about paint being duffed down to fiberglass by towing with a car cover on the vehicle.

I called Ehrhardt's he is going to check on what he has that may work and get back to me.

I'M GETTING EXCITED!

I have been to London 3 times getting ideas and motivation, it is something that everyone should do at least once. This will be my first time in my Cobra.

Jack

[nickm1024]

Originally Posted by Jack Wojack

The Drenched part is what concerns me.

Jack

Drove over to Michigan for the power tour last week. 4 hours in the rain. It dried out.

[Jack Wojack]

Nick I still think you're all wet.

Jack

[timmil]

Originally Posted by abdw-wcw

The place was Ehrhardt's Trailer Sales in Des Plaines. Phone 888-849-0689. They primarily sell stuff but have some rentals too. We rented a practically brand new enclosed car hauler. It was very nice.

I'm going to start looking for hotels tonight or tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. Unfortunately it's bring your child to work day on Thursday. (not 'unfortunate' about the event- it will be a blast and my daughter is very excited about it) but that means I can't leave for Ohio until about 5pm Thursday. I really want to be there Friday to do one of the organized cruises.

See you all there.
Craig

Craig,

Thanks for the tailor info. I can't make it to London, but having an alternative to uhaul is always nice.

Jack:

All I can say is wow, beautiful car. Very nicely done.

Tim

[CCRsAC]

Had the pleasure of meeting Jack at the Geneva, IL cruise night today and I have to say, his car is even better looking in person, which I didn't think possible. My wife and I showed up late and it was packed, so we had to drive around a while to find a place to park. We're there every week, so we know quite a few of the regulars and at least half a dozen friends told me I had to check out the beautiful black Factory Five.

Thanks for a few great ideas to add to my build, including the outstanding carpet and the inner panels at in front of the F-panels.

[convincor]

Originally Posted by Jack Wojack

Tanks Guys for your kind words. After 5 + years I could use them.

I have maybe 3/4 hide of leather for the door panels...those are Corinthian leather seats my friend...with seat heaters. OK Maybe not Corinthian it came from Georgia but it is very supple. The carpeting is a German Velour wool blend. I am leaning toward door pockets similar to what is on the original Cobra...still need to develop the design for maneuverability.

Jack

I did a aluminum backer, covered with carpet(bound edges), then leather pouch alone bottom. There's a door panel file in my photobucket if you want to see more.
Awesome build Jack!!

[Jack Wojack]

Chris, flattery will get you everywhere…I’ve been locked-up in my garage way too long building this beast and now that I am on the road I like getting out and meeting with some great car guys like yourself. I found the solution for making my floor mats in Geneva: use ribbed tool box drawer liner for the backer.

Convincor, you Raised the Bar for me and I incorporated a lot of things that you did in my build: starting with re-configuring the heater so it would fit between the firewall and dash.

I’ve mocked up an aluminum backer for door pockets out of poster board that will allow me to do door pockets similar to the original and what you have. I want to hide the fasteners and I think I can do that by putting them on the Return Plain/edge where the inner fiberglass door panel comes out from the door skin. That edge is a little shallow on the bottom but I figure I can build it up by fastening a little aluminum angle to the door first and that will give me something to fasten the backer to.

Convincor, here’s a couple more pics. for you…I need to do a graduation post but I’m having too much fun driving this thing. I still need to hang those rear side pipe mounts and finish dialing in the carb so I can take it out on the Autobahn CC in Joliet for some driving lessons before we lose this summer.






Jack

[convincor]

Nice! Looks like you got the firewall as far forward as I did. This just came up on another thread on how far you can go with a small block vs FE due to positioning in the chassis.
Id say I can be done..
Couple other things I noticed .. throttle linkage, no cable... Roll bar grommets. Most I think can take the time to get a nice fit, or fix the hole that's to big... Nice job..
Got me wanting to do another... and just payed a visit to mine at the new owners couple weeks back...
It's all good... has a good home..