[ItBites]

Slick,

I understand you prefer a more original appearing Cobra. Fine.

However, you are dead wrong about seeing the end of an era. You are also wrong about what this hobby used to be about. You apparently have not been around this hobby long enough to talk about what it used to be about.

In the more distant past, more percent of kit cars (forget this new high-and-mighty, self important title of "replica" - that is certainly not the way the hobby used to be - I know, I was here) were chevy powered, more used mustang II suspensions, etc... I can tell you that today, it is much easier to come closer to original in so many ways, and many folks do just that. In fact, Ron's Kirkham that you point to as a better example wasn't built in 1990, it was built much more recently.

You also point to the current market shunning of chevy powered Cobras as evidence that the hobby has been diluted and will not accept these atrocities. I have to tell you that in the past (the way the hobby actually used to be) chevy engines were much less shunned. Frankly, the hobby used to be much more tolerant of off-brand powerplants. It is only in the recent few years the hobby has become so intolerant, so if you want to go back to the era you said is coming to an end, you need to embrace off-mark powerplants and stop your whining. You do not get to re-write the way the hobby used to be - you weren't there to know.

I think you can find way more "original" appearing cars today than ever in the past. Next time you want to wax nostalgic about how things USED to be, maybe get yourself in the way-back machine and find out how things in the hoddy used to be, because your assertions are completely wrong in this case.

More replicas today are closer to "original" than ever before.