[EM65Cobra]

Mark IV, 1795, Jim, Blas - I'm glad to hear of another happy Olthoff customer. I am still trying to figure out the pros/cons of SPF, BDR and FFR and the builders seem to specialize so it may also come down to the builder I like best that's also not very far away.

I do like what you and 1795 said about getting straight advice from a builder and not just saying yes if it doesn't make sense. That is what I want and would appreciate. That and getting down to the final decisions on what things affect other things. To many decisions are interelated so it is a bit confusing and I'm finding I don't know enough to even know what all the options are. So having a professional shop guide me will be key and is part of my decision making process. That includes the final engine, drive train, suspension, tires and wheels selections.

I've seen most of what I want to do on one car or another so none of what I want is actually new or to far out of the box, it's just that I don't think I'd find what I'm looking for in the open re-sale market so I'm figuring I'm going to have to have it built. But if I came across a car that was nearly perfect and the things that weren't perfect were easy enough to change I'd certainly consider buying a finished car and then having those items tweaked.

TwoBJShelbys - I was leaning towards a BDR but now after some conversations with folks via PM's and here I'm now also considering SPF and FFR. Since the BDR post was in a BDR community thread I assumed folks that love/own FFR's or SPF's wouldn't necessarily see that post. I want to get the opinions of owners of SPF and FFR folks also.

But with that siad, I've seen some sweet looking cobras with coyote engines that are fancier than normal and many show cars with coyote. I didn't say I want to win shows, I just want it to have more wow factor than the norm as far as looks.

Thanks Jim Vander Wall - sounds similar to me in that I want both a track car that is streetable but I'm more 90% steet use with some track days. Since I've Autocrossed in a 911 back in the 90's I've wanted to get back into that more and doing track days as well. But I don't see me getting into full "wheel to wheel racing" on track so I'll sacrifice some options that will make it not streetable still. I'd definetly be more interested in a single full width chrome roll bar if I can get it and it still fits under the tops. I've added LED headlights with Halo to my V1 cobra and love em. I'll definetly have modern lights in both the front/rear.

I'm 6' so I figure length isn't a major issue for either company. The BDR seemed to have a wider tunnel which caused the seat to angle over more but also had plenty of leg room. I didn't feel I needed the drop footbox in the BDR.

BDR standard seat was two narrow (and I'm not really that big so it surprised me) so I'd have to use their wide seat for comfort.

Olddog, yes, I agree that tires and chassis is more important for AutoX but I want to start doing more track days which is why I want the stout engine also.

Mark IV - yes, I'm not going for the accurate look but more of Resto-Mod/Modern look.

Three Peaks - the advantage I'm seeing with BDR and SPF is the rolling chassis but I suppose if I have a good compentent builder that's not a huge issue. FFR kit is cheaper than the rolling chassis but then I have to pay the shop to put it together. But with that said, any known recommended shops in the mid-atlantic areas that are FFR experts that could help me compare apples (FFR) to oranges (the other guys)?

NYGuy - LOL, cracked me up. Two of my best car buddies are corvette guys and there are always good jabs going back and forth. Nothing against corvettes but I just love the look of the cobra and community of Cobra owners. They fit my personality as compared to new vett guys :-) AND, the wife loves Cobras over new vetts for much the same reasons. But I'd take a gen 1 corvette anyday and may one day own both the cobra and a corvette. But for now it's all Cobra!!!

DanEC - thanks for watching my 6. Yep, just trying to get the 3rd one perfect (if there is such a thing).

I appreciate the dialog and help guys.

Thanks, Brian