Quote:
Originally Posted by nkb
I haven't thrown in the towel yet. Continuing my education. Went to the Cobra Experience - a must see if you can make it. Spoke with Drew Serb as well as several Cobra replica owners in attendance.
I have no news that the registration snafu here in California has been cleared up yet. Local SPF/CSX dealer here says he expects it to get straightened out. Question is if and when?
For the 289 (slabside) I think I have narrowed it down to SPF and ERA.
Pros for the SPF:
- Delivery time (including paint) is about 7 months.
- More correct chassis and suspension
Cons:
- Marginally more expensive (but depends on how much to paint the ERA)
- Delivered as a roller {pro and con). Seems to cause some CA BAR referees to rule the SPF as not a kit - potentially disqualified for smog exempt registration. TBD
Pros for the ERA:
- Peter seems to be great guy. Would be enjoyable to work with.
- More flexibility on the degree of completeness of assembly as delivered. Opportunity to do more of the work myself. May assist in the CA registration, clearly qualifying it as a kit.
Cons for the ERA:
- Delivery time 14 months. And then paint (another 12 weeks as per Peter). But could paint locally, later. Could leave unpainted for the CA registration - would help the case that it is a kit?
- Chassis and suspension, while apparently well engineered, does not attempt to be original. Wondering about the inboard rear brakes being a headache.
- Have to pay for shipping from East to West Coast.
I ruled out the Kirkham, as way too expensive - now around $250K. And the cost of the Shelby fiberglass CSX as not worth it (to me) with the significant bump over the SPF.
In the meantime I have not driven a Cobra in 50 years (CSX). Makes sense to test drive an SPF or ERA first before placing an order. Hopefully a 289.
And I continue to monitor the registration environment here in California.
Hopefully, I anticipate pulling the trigger on this by the end of the year. |
I have owned both cars ERA and CSX (427s) I can tell you from 1st hand experience:
I got my HT/SPF CSX car from Denbeste, Bill is a great guy and was very helpful on the sale of the car but that's where his customer service stops. Bill directed me to call Hillbank for service issues and parts. The customer service from Hillbank (CSX and SPF dealer) is the worst I have ever dealt with EVER.
I often called David Kirkham for help on issues I had with my CSX car as the kirkham car and the GLASS CSX car are very similar (except the glass body) David Kirkham is just like Peter P in terms of customer service. A++
ERA is the exact Opposite, Peter is the best in the business. he has help me over the 17 years I owned the car and even to this day...
I cant say anything about the slabside cars as I have owned 427 cars, but one thing I can say is the SPF 427 and the CSX GLASS HT/SPF cars are completely different. I am not saying one is better than the other, I am simply stating they are different cars completely.
in terms of the quality of the roller:
The Era car was perfect everything was bolt on...
The CSX Car had several issues that needed to be repaired, some done in the south Africa factory and most of the issues like the wrong hardware being installed in the drive train and the electrical/gauges being wired wrong were done by Hillbank or whoever they hired to do the installation. Needless to say it took me a lot of time to fix all the issues with the car. But at the end of the day its a top shelf car... The ERA was perfect from day one.
But if holding value is an issue you cant go wrong with either the ERA, SPF or the CSX.