[bobcowan]

Take a deep breath and step away from the check book. There are lots of kits out there, and lots of configurations. It can quickly get very confusing if you don't have a plan. This is not like buying a classic Mustang or Camaro, where' they all started out essentially the same. Put 50 Cobras together in one place, and none of them will be alike under the skin.

Before looking at specific cars, you need to narrow your search down a little. The first real question is, exactly which Cobra do you want? Street, FIA, early small block, 427SC? They're all Cobras, and they're all available.

The second question is, how important is originality? Some replicas are a spot on duplicate of an original car. And some are not. Some are way off, and some are pretty close.

Then you have to start looking at what you want in a car. Some kits like the FFR can use stock Ford parts. That makes repairs easy. Some kits use more exotic parts, like a Jag rear. That can sometimes make repairs a little more difficult. Som kits have IRS as an option, and some don't.

I would Start by listing your absolute requirments, and your preferred options. Then contact the kit makers that meet your requirements and get their info packets. Once you've decided on a couple of kits you like, you can start shopping for what you want.

Also, you might consider having a pro builder put one together to your specs. A bit more expensive, but if you have special desires it's easy to accomodate.