WIND WINGS “Cobra Style”
posted by: andy burger, january 19, 2024
“Dad would have been 99 today”
an addition you don't think you'll
need but then never live without...
Adding wind wings to a dune buggy – to the purist – changes the lines of the intent of the buggy design and style of the 60’s. However, these are subjective comments only. Its not until you ride in a buggy with proper wind wings that you notice a HUGE difference in the wind in the buggy drivers/passenger area “or lack thereof” – its also a nice to have a quieter inside, for better music acoustics and/or to have a conversation or two when riding with a passenger.
My goal to adapt/design these “off the shelf” wind wings was two fold; 1. properly create a solution that worked well with the overall design of the buggy and provide wind dampening, and 2. also make them as easy as I could to mass produce or build these for others with just a little bit of tweaking. So after the 6th set I’ve made, I wanted to share to everyone the “how to” and “where to acquire the stuff” to do it yourself. Enjoy and keep fishing.
Wind Wings Parts List: Shelby Cobra Style
About $200 total hardware for a set of these wings:
- Cobra Wings (NO COBRA BRANDING): (approx. 16.5” tall 6” at widest point) https://www.ebay.com/itm/225584841241
- Cobra Wings SS Hardware: https://www.csxparts.com/p-877-windshield-wind-wing-hardware-kit.aspx
- Quantity 4 – MANX Mirror Mounts, Aluminum. M10 – 1.25 Thread (standard). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H42QZ56/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 or call ACME at: (717) 774-9450
- Quantity 4 – SS Thread Reducers M10 1.25 to M8 1.25: https://www.ebay.com/itm/325581982032?var=514617356894
- Quantity 4 – M8-1.25 x 18mm Button Head Socket Cap Screws, SS Allen Drive, 5-piece order. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BPX4NL5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
The thread reducers are CRITICAL – they come from China though and will take the longest to receive, but they are a tad too long, you’ll need to use a Dremel and cut about 2 to 3mm (or 2 or 3 threads) from the bottom of them, so they fit within the thickness of the MANX Mount not sticking out of the top or bottom.
Another critical modification is that you need to drill out the small hole in the Cobra wing mount to M8 Size to have the screw go through the mounting portion into the MANX windshield mount with the thread reduced to M8, use Loctite as well on the reducer and on the screw into the reducer. They shouldn’t loosen and are not needed for adjustment.
Drilling the hole to M8 size is the task – if you have a vice, make sure the inner teeth are rubber coated/protected/or thick taped so to not scratch the Cobra SS Mount to hold securely when drilling out. The drill needs to go through that existing hole to make larger to M8 size so the button head screw can go through.
Nothing is truly plug and play or off the shelf when adding things to a dune buggy. Just about everything requires some modification to adapt. I tried to make this easy with home tools that anyone could attempt. Good Luck and/or send me a note if you have any questions.
about this dune buggy
What you are seeing is a dune buggy known as a Zarkov. “What is a Zarkov”? Well, that’s easy. Dr. Hans Zarkov (aka Joseph Wheeler) from West Virginia, is arguably one of the best fabricators, fiberglass-men, paint, and mechanics to ever build a dune buggy. This one-of-a-kind buggy was Number 5 (commissioned in 2012) in Joe’s buggy build history. And to this day, 20 other Zarkov’s are in existence.
