Wifes Question
 

I have been looking for almost 2 years now.. Finally got the wife to drive to Seattle to see in person. She has always understood me and my toys. I have a Harley and boat. Today she ask me to post this question.

What would you do if you need a new fence / roof or AC for your house would you spend 70K on a new SPF.

I'll try and post some pictures later. I don't know if you answers will help or hurt :)

Rick

Forget the house. Live in the Cobra. :LOL:

I would venture to say that if you need a new roof, A/C and a new fence, the Cobra isn't the right choice for you at the moment. Unless you can fit them all in, which would mean buying a used SPF and get your house fixed too.

Sell the boat, build a fence, buy a couple of buckets, and go naked indoors. Plenty of money left over for an SPF.

The mother of my son used to say, "We get more money next month, what's the problem?"

That was pretty much her stock answer whenever SHE wanted anything.

Let's see. You need a roof. If you can't afford a roof because you bought Cobra, then you're in deep weeds. :)

Fences are optional and AC isn't life or death...unless you live somewhere where it is life or death.

Let's see, shelter (roof and A/C) trumps everything but food. Land transportation sure trumps water transportation unless you live on an island. Looks like the boat needs to go. A fence is way back there somewhere on the priority list unless it's protecting children. Did I mention I've never had a good experience on a boat? There sure are some great, low mile SPF's out there in the low $40k range, leaving room for all of the above.

However old you are now - if you dont do it now , ----

will you look back on yourself in 10 years and say you were glad you didnt get a cobra>? , -- nope,- I didnt think so.

Building the cobras has been the single most rewarding chapter of my automotive adventure to date.

First , the car stuff. -
I have created a car from component parts. -- generated a living thing from boxes.
experienced personal expression of car freedom without cutting up 44 year old sheet metal.
Drive a car that continues to teach me that I need to respect the power available.
Remember that and all the sophistication in how its operated involves "human software" as opposed to my BMW which is a transportation appliance.

Now the personal ;
The wife loves the car and loves to go for rides ( even on Christmas eve)
you will meet new friends and go on great drives
cheaper than a therapist
people will stop you in traffic and ask questions
cooler than a corvette (even an old corvette) just ask Rodknock. -- :)
Your mother inlaw who drives a 1993 ZR1 will think you are a cool-dude.
Your Freinds with Ferraris and astons will will think you are a schmuck as your tune-ups are an FL-1A, some oil and 8 off the shelf plugs. --and you can sit in traffic.
your friends will introduce you as " the guy with the cobra".

Finances - make sure the roof is good, and get yourself an SPF.
--aaaand you CAN do it for under 70K.

Steve

I'm not very experienced at owning Cobras (got my first Cobra 2 days ago!). I'm much more experienced with marriages and divorces at the ripe age of 57. Something I did learn about Cobra ownership in my search for the right one: When the Cobra is sold, it is usually because the spouse did not like it or the family started to grow. You absolutely will not enjoy your Cobra if your spouse didn't want it. By her saying fix these things before you spend $70k on a fantastic car, she is speaking in wifey talk to tell you to not buy the Cobra. I suggest you NOT buy a $70k SPF, it won't be as pretty as you think. Compromise, fix everything she wants and buy a cheaper Cobra. If you buy your $70k Cobra, within 2 years you will be selling your Cobra for $50k because you will be getting a divorce or your wife has made you miserable enough to concede to her way. I'm not a professional counselor, but I've been to enough counseling sessions to learn how women talk.

I say get the fence, AC and roof. And a $40K+ previously owned Superformance Cobra. All for less than $70K.

Everyone is happy.

Think you won't be happy with the previously owned Superformance? I suspect you will be.

Look, I had to make a couple of compromises to make everyone happy too. My wife said she wouldn't get in the car if I got sidepipes. So I got the street/roadster version. Turns out it wasn't the "compromise" I thought anyway. I ended up prefering the car without pipes. You never know.

Jack

If you can't pay ALL your Bills + keep EVERYTHING in good repair + pay CASH for the Cobra = You Can't afford it

Solid advice right there Fred!

That $70k for an SPF stops me in my tracks. Absolutely beautiful examples go for under $50k all the time. $70k is fabulously-finished ERA and very low Kirkham territory.

Shop more and get the Cobra, the fence AND the roof...

Yep, and then Mr. Mustang shows up with his carpetbag and buys your car for 60% of what you paid for it.:D

More than one used Kirkham has changed hands for UNDER $70K. If I recall a member here got his around $60K.

$70 for an SPF, even loaded, is.... well I won't go there. :)

Flip (HI Cobra) got his Kirkham for $68,000 on eBay, which to the best of my recollection is the lowest a Kirkham has sold for, at least publicly. IMHO that was cheap and I almost bid on it. A Kirkham 289 FIA was sold for around $72,000-75,000 last year, but it had been previously repaired (small).

There's an alloy CSX for $95K out there too. $70K is too much for an SPF in this market.

You could have stopped 70% of the way through that sentence and still have been spot-on correct.:cool:

What does an SPF roller go for now?

It has already been said here in various ways, but...

If you can't easily pay cash for a toy don't buy it.

Mark

Speaking of SPFs...
 

Somebody told me yesterday (because of an ERA thread on the original "Silent Travel" door latches) that SPFs use a fabbed refrigerator latch on their doors with a fake piece stuck on top to fool people. Is this true? Or was my friend pulling my leg on that one?:confused: