Saw this Cobra for sale. What is it? Good deal?
 

Aloha everyone. I'm from Hawaii and I'm new to the forum and to Cobras. I've always wanted one, it's my dream car. This Cobra came up for sale here (I want a blue one, though), and I was looking for some of your advice.

The seller doesn't know the manufacturer of the kit, other than it was built in 1992. It has a 302 motor bored out to 306. It runs, as the seller drove 1 hour from the other side of the island with this car. My friend who looked at it briefly for me said it sounds good, but the interior needs to be replaced and the engine bay needs cleaning.

The seller is asking $15,000

Is this a good deal? Can you identify the make? What do I need to look out for?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/...8188a7c6_z.jpg

Thanks

There are about a million threads on this site on how to buy a used Cobra. Take some time to read a few. Start with Mr. Mustang's "how to buy a used Cobra" thread.

There are so many different manufacturers of Cobra replicas, and so many variables when it comes to a used car, that my advice would be to 1) educate yourself about the different brands and 2) take your time finding the right car.

You should also check out the "for sale" section on this forum as well as www.cobracountry.com for a large selection of cars.

Good luck in your hunt.

The price of this Cobra is less than most basic kits. If you're on a strict budget and this car runs well and is legal, it may be a good first Cobra. You must drive it though, and see for yourself if you can live with it. Paint & interior can be replaced later. This car is an entry-level car at best. If your budget is more flexible, you can look until you find the one you just gotta have. Most well sorted Cobras go for more than 40k. Good luck.

Note he's in Hawaii and this is local, so is easily accessible.

What kit is it?

Is the car missing the side pipes or are they just black and not showing up in the picture?

The roll bar also has just the hoop without the back support bar.

There's actually some funky back support on the roll bar. Enlarge the picture to see it.

Interior needs replacing? No big deal, go to NAPA, buy some universal auto carpet and a razor knife and get to work. Piece of cake. Have a local upholster make you a shift cover boot (that cost me $25 on Oahu). Steering wheel funky? Pep Boys can handle that. Seats look funny? Pick up some seat covers while your there.

$15,000 is going to be VERY hard to beat price wise and it runs! Go for it. DO NOT start dumping money into the car!!!! DO use NAPA, Pep Boys, etc. and keep the expense at rock bottom. Drive the car for awhile, see if you like Cobra's, not everybody does. For some, for various reasons, they just don't work out. When it's time to sell you stand an excellent chance of getting your money back, if you haven't gone nuts and spent a small fortune "restoring it". Heck with that, a rattle can of paint, some duct tape, a little elbow grease and your in!

Now get the money and go buy the car. I did!! I bought my first Cobra (low budget deal) out of Hilo, shipped it to Oahu. Loved the car, it was cheap, it was entry level and it let me know that me and Cobras are compatible. So I sold it (at a nice profit to boot) and now own a more accurate Cobra that I enjoy a ton. But you have to start somewhere first.

I can't tell, from looking at it what it might be, but the price is right, so who cares! :)

$15K and it runs, and stops, you will not find a better deal. Not to mention it is in Hawaii

Thanks for the replies guys. I found the guy's classified ad in the paper:

I like the "/offer" part :-)

I've been keeping my eye on CobraCountry.com for YEARS... and I expect a Cobra to go for around $45K so I was kinda surprised to see this for $15K. I don't know if 302-351 heads and a 4-speed posi are good to have or not, but as someone mentioned, maybe this would be a good 1st Cobra.

302 and 4 speed is a good call. One reason the price is low, from experience, is in Hawaii you have an extremely limited market for re-sale. Selling on the mainland is tough because it's so difficult for someone to see the car. Selling on the islands is tough because almost everybody that is interested already has a one. It small kine place yeah... Plenty people already know the car. Be prepared for, "Hey, wasn't that Kimo's ride before?" :) Man, I got that a LOT with mine, seems like EVERYBODY knew da car. I felt like a step child at a car show, like I had robbed "Kimo" of his car. :)

Ha! Yeah, especially in Kona with such a small population. Everybody knows everybody's business. The Cobra is in Ocean View, down south closer to Hilo side. The paint in the photo looks like doo-doo, the owner probably kept it outside.

I've sent a text msg to the owner with a few questions and to call me back. I'm not really in a position right now to buy the car without liquidating some investments so I don't know if the timing is right for me right now (I'm stuck with 3 homes, two are upside down, and I'm scraping by). But I have some other investments which I could liquidate if I want this Cobra. The timing of this makes it tough, I was in a better position 2 years ago (weren't we all!?!)

I was noticing that the position of the gas cap lid and the shape of the side vents and the style of front bumper might help identify it. I've noticed that some Cobra replicas have the gas cap on the fender, some on the rear deck, and that some side vents are rectangular and some are like a skewed rectangle (parallelogram). Again, I'm very new to this, so excuse my ignorance.

I just spoke with my friend who checked it out this morning.

There are no side-pipes installed, but the owner has the kit. If I install the kit, I'd have to replace the headers.
The alternator went bad, but it's been replaced.
Some of the fittings and brackets in the engine compartment should probably be replaced.
There aren't any visible leaks.
There aren't any dents or cracks in the body.
The car was parked in the car-port under the house (many homes in Hawaii are post-and-pier, people parks their cars under the house or use the space for storage).

The owner is an older guy who did car body-work for a profession, who doesn't want to have to go back to work so he's selling his cars. He has 2 other classic cars to sell too.

Headers and side pipes could run upwards of a $1,000, not a deal killer but "eyes wide open" sort of thing. Bear in mind the exisiting side pipes may or may not fit the new headers.

Brackets, alternator, fittings, etc. etc. yeah, thats par for the course.

I bought a used Cobra replica for $18,200. It was originally listed for sale at $26,000. With the basic kits running around $20K for a "non-donor" model, getting a vehicle already equipped with a drivetrain, painted, tires and wheels, etc. represents an incredible savings at my price point, much less at yours.

So far all I have spent to improve my Cobra replics is $150 for bumperettes for the rear bumper and about $120 for a new K&N X-Stream filter assembly. I drive it as a daily driver and get around 25 mpg on the highway, probably close to 22 mpg in town as long as I keep my right foot under control.

Sounds like a real deal to me.....oh, yeah, my interior is OK except that it needs new carpet, too....a project for the winter, I think!

Cheers from Dugly :cool:

Maybe just being nosey, but I'd like to see some close ups of the inside door hinges, the hood fitting etc. Just like to try and I.D. the kit ;) Not that I have anything to do with selling a Cobra in Hawaii. As said many times, an awful lot would have to be wrong before buying it at 15K!

DV