Thanks for that reply Rob.
It's interesting but hardly surprising that T buckets have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Trying to crystal ball the future, and bearing in mind your comments about the horsepower to weight restrictions that killed off the T buckets, is it not too big a stretch to envisage that some way down the track -- hopefully a long long way -- we may face the same blanket ban? With lighter and lighter bodies and chassis being built, and with engine builders now able to turn out big numbers for not a lot of money.... well, who knows? Your point that a Cobra may well be strong light and safe and completed to a high standard will count for nought to a junior pen pusher in his office cubicle who can't see past a proscribed formula in an ADR manual.
With the bureaucrats ever keen to crack down on anything that doesn't conform to their grey boring box mentality, I fear for the future of ICVs in this country. Rob you've certainly paid your dues with your experience with your engineer and the RTA. I have a lot of respect for Treeve's expertise in this area too, and reading between the lines of his post it seems to me there is the very real chance that future Cobras will all have to be factory built to ensure compliance, thus denying enjoyment and satisfaction to those who wish to tackle the build themselves.
We can only hope that, without a body such as the National Street Rod Federation to protect
our interests in the future, Cobra manufacturers will be allowed to continue to build cars that will retain the magic of our cars of today, and not be forced by legislation into producing some watered down pale imitation. Prius Cobra anyone?
