Journal: August 2002

	Choose Your Month Pick a Month June, 99 July, 99 August, 99 September, 99 October, 99 November, 99 December, 99 January, 00 February, 00 March, 00 April, 00 May, 00 June, 00 July, 00 August 00 September 00 October 00 November 00 December 00 January 01 February 01 March 01 April 01 May 01 June 01 July 01 August 01 December 01 February 02 May 02 August 02 January 03 Final Entry

  Monday 8/26/2002, Fast forward three months from my last journal entry. The car is done and after living with it for three months and 2300 miles about all I can come up with to say is that I love this car! I have been driving it every chance I get and it is without a doubt the the most fun I have ever had on four wheels.

I'll just pick up where I left off in May and hit the high points of what has been happening.

From the end of May until mid June I waited and waited for my VIN plate to come in. I also finished up some things like the defroster vents, windwings and visors during this time. In the process of installing the duct work for the defrosters I trimmed the terminals on the water temperature gauge and managed to destroy it. I made a post on the CobraForum and Mike Bushey came through and delivered a replacement to me at Spring Fling. So a BIG thanks goes out to Mike!

After waiting three weeks I got the word from the Ohio State Patrol that my VIN plates were in. So on Friday June 14th I took the car on it's first real drive to the inspection station so they could attach the plates. It was about 100 miles round trip and other than twitchy steering from my eyeball alignment it ran flawlessly (Everything worked and nothing important fell off). Ohio gives you a "get out of jail free card" that lets you drive to the inspection station but despite passing three of Ohio's Finest, no one seemed to care that it didn't have plates. When I got back from the inspection I took all their paperwork to the local Title Office and got the title. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to get to the License Bureau to get the plates. This was probably for the best because when I got home I checked the title against the VIN plates and found that they substituted a 5 for an S and a 1 for an I on the title. So this meant another trip to the title office on Monday then finally a trip to the License bureau where I ordered my custom plate. Over the years building this thing I had come up with a short list of favorite plates. I went with SLYTHRN (as in a slithering snake). While I was jumping through hoops getting the title and plates the Cobra was at the best alignment shop in the area for a much needed alignment. This made a huge difference in the way the car handled and took it from scary to fun.

So Monday June 17 2002 was the big day. I finally had a street legal Cobra, and just in time for the Double Venom Spring Fling in Columbus Ohio that weekend.

SPRING FLING: The weather for Spring Fling was beautiful but hotter than hell. Ninety five degree heat combined with high humidity and stop and go traffic made for a long ride to Columbus. My wife was a trooper and kept smiling but it wasn't the best initiation to the Cobra. Once we hit the motels in Columbus it was obvious we were in the right place. There were well over two hundred Cobras of every color and configuration. If there were ever a Cobra heaven this was is it. After a short rest at the motel we were off to the Cruise-in at the Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant. About the time we pulled in my $26 water pump from Advanced Auto started squealing. This combined with my non functional temperature gauge had me worried but it turned out the pump was working, just embarrassingly noisy. I found a local garage to repair it Saturday for an outrageous price but it was better than changing it in the motel parking lot. By the time they were done most of the Spring Fling activities in London Ohio were winding down so we never did make it to the best part of the Fling. It sounds like it was a hoot but a lot of folks opted out of the drag racing that evening due to the heat, That meant that there were a bunch of cars and people back at the motels so we got to do some mingling. Sunday at the Fling was a great day at Lake Choctaw where we got to do some more mingling and check out all the cars. Through out the day there were auctions, great food, boat rides and there was the ever present scream of Cobras on the Dyno. Ed Combs and crew truly did the impossible and put on an event that was better than the original. Thanks Ed!

The rest of the summer has been great. Luckily the weather has cooperated so I've been able to drive the car a lot. It really makes the ride home from work much more enjoyable and I've discovered a bunch of twisty back roads to get the most out of the trip. I've taken the Cobra to a couple of local cruise-ins and it never fails to draw a crowd. People just seem to love Cobra's. It's pretty much like a car show where ever I take it.