[badrich]

I've tried to hold myself back, but I just have to put in my two bits worth. I am one of those strange people who have owned and loved both Fords and Chevvies. I've owned four Plastic Chevrolets and my current daily driver is an '87 (with Z-51 bone crusher suspension) that I bought new. It still looks and runs great after turning 210K miles this year. The new Z06 is a far superior Corvette, but instead of buying one I opted for my Contemporary. I love my "new" Ford and went out of my way to find one as "correct" as I could. I fudged a little by getting the Shelby motor, but I figured it was close enough. No GM parts anyway.

In my hot rod days we modified [usually old Fords] by doing almost anything to make them go (and look) faster. Including removing anything with weight and stuffing in Oldsmobile (Gasp!) and then small block Chevvie engines. So I guess I can see why some folks would consider getting a cheap Corvette, like a C-4 (forget the C-3) and perhaps putting a cheap Cobra body on it. Decent performance at a low price. But if it were me, I'd look for a light weight '57 Corvette aftermarket body, keeping averything GM, and then perhaps go looking for a cheapie Cobra to blow off. To me, this would be a much cooler machine. And it wouldn't look funny (sorry, but 96" wheelbase Cobras just don't look right) and then sell it someday and get a "real" Cobra. In my autocross days I loved beating Cobras (occasionally) with my old Stingray, and I look forward to beating Corvettes with my "new" Ford. Life is good! ; ) Rich