[Rickd]

Dallas, I highly recommend that as part of your research you burn some frequent flyer miles and get an airline ticket to Hartford, Ct., then drive over to New Britain, Ct. and visit the ERA replica car company. They normaly have 15 or so cars in the finish shop - a few 289 FIA cars, a bunch of 427's, and at their other assembly shop - the unbelievable GT40. I've had a cobra photo on the wall since '63. Always loved the 289 cobra body - to me IT IS the cobra - period. ERA's 289 is a dead on, 100% visually accurate body, cockpit, engine compartment, and trunk - spare tire spot and all. It is a work of art. Their chassis - in my opinion - is THE strongest and best designed in the business. The only car better = Kirkham, aluminum body, unparrallelled engineering. I would rank them Kirkham, ERA, Superformance - as the top 3 - with very very reliable quality. Backdraft is also a very good option from a reliable builder with a presence in the market for support. After that there are a lot of alternatives - some outstanding cars - and the final product really depends on WHO built the individual car that was purchased, most commonly, in a kit form with "donor" or no donor parts etc etc. There are builders - like Levy Racing - who will build you either a roadster or a Coupe - to your specs. They build a lot of Factory Five Racing cars for customers, and are real pros. They race cars and can build a street or race capable car. With ERA you could buy used, buy a turnkey from ERA (takes 8 - 12 months), or have a builder receive the ERA chassis (as a roller - custom rear, brakes, and all installed) and finish the car for you. I opted for an ERA 289 FIA turnkey (it was my second cobra). If you have the chance visit Kirkham's factory in Utah. It would be painful to leave without a car however when you see them 'in their environment being built'. Same with ERA - they know what they are doing - have a full time engineer - and build a fine car. Enjoy the research!!