Why Sell?

[Bill Bess]

After reading all the comments, I just got to say something.

[b]Things that made me love my cobra:[/B
]1. I'm old and fell in love with the cobra when they first started running
around Holywood, Ca. in the sixties.
2. The history of Shelby.
3. The cars rermarkable performance.
4. It's beautiful and ageless style.
5. The uniqueness of the car...bad ass and good lookin.
6. The Smiles that you get from jealous folks when they see your cobra.
7. My wife loves the thing and always wants to go with me.
8. Most of all...it is just way too much FUN.

I could go on forever about this thing.

[charlandk]

The only difficult part of owning my cobra is having to watch the daily weather report before deciding to take it to work. Hate to have it sit in the parking lot out side my office window and watch it get rained on. The heat doesnt bother me nor does the noise. I have a heater and soft top for the really cool days which for me will expand the driving season significantly living in New England. Absolutely love, love, love my car. I spent most of my study hall time in high school reading about and looking at pictures of these cars in any mags and books I could find. I told myself that I would own one some day and that passion never went away so when I got divorced I got it for a gift to myself for putting up with the ex's **** for 21 years. My kids are out of school and I deserved it.

You cant go wrong with Jay and Brian at Vinatage. They are good guys. You will experience some minor issues the first year with it but they were great with helping me sort through my minor issues. Brian really knows his stuff when it comes to these cars. There are lots of really nice cobra replicas out there but If I were to do it again, I would have no issues with getting another Backdraft. Take your time and really put a lot of thought into what you want and how you want it set up. I rushed into mine a bit and there are things that I am changing now. It was like Christmas for me. I couldnt wait to get my gift.

[Rick Weber]

Dunno if anyone mentioned it but: sometimes the small amount of mileage is due to the fact that the specialty insurance one has limits the amount mileage one can put on the beast each year. And then there is the WEATHER, limiting the number of months in the year that one dares drive such a car!!! Anyone got tank treads for mine?

Rick

[lnfletcher]

The only reason I delayed buying one was the money. I knew I wanted one, no question. I had never seen one in person, much less drove one before I visited the manufacturer.
The first one I drove was mine in go cart fashion!
My original plan was to build it, drive it for a little while and then sell it to build another.
Now I know that it will be the last car I own.
My wife loves to go with me to dinner, Starbucks for coffee, ice cream, or a "drive" to look at new neighborhoods, and I drive it like an old lady when she's in the car. (I think that's what keeps her happy)
One of the guys I went cruising with one time said, "I'm the coolest guy when I'm driving my cobra", but I don't think that's what makes me like it so much.
Mine is not "JUNK", it has not left me stranded, (yet) and I feel comfortable driving 100's of miles away from home. (Always carrying my cell phone) I have not been snake bitten but my wife and son has. The worst I have gotten is a 3rd degree sun burn on a LONG cruise on a very hot summer day. (No sun screen or hat)
I'd do it again today if I could, and I probably will.
My daughter tells me not ever to sell mine every time she rides in it. She doesn't have to worry.
If you are trying to decide because your not sure you want one, don't buy it!
If you are unsure because you think you don't need to spend the money, buy it! It's gonna get spent on something! Just make sure you can afford it.
If you can't afford one built, (like me) then build it as you can afford it.

[kobrabytes]

Funny, on most of my hobbies the building of the project tends to be the satisfying part. With the Cobra I was pleasantly surprised to find that the excitement didn't end there. I love this car! It has been the most amazing toy I've ever owned. I drive it to the tune of about 6k per year, and that's a fairly short window. In fact, I get irritated now when I have to work on it. Not because of the work, it's just the time off the road. These cars are made to drive, and I have the patina all over a polished Kirkham to prove it.

The analogy about the stone on a stick is so very true. A Cobra is HOT, LOUD, STINKY, and about the most fun one can have that is legal... (mostly) They are not for everyone. 55% would not tolerate the gas consumption,
30% the lack of creature comforts, and 14.9999 everything else. It's the .0001% that can "tame" one of these beasts.

I've never looked back on the money spent. At this point I can't even conceive of parting with my Cobra. The friends I've made and the memories I have accumulated are worth one thousand times what I have in my build.

Just like many of the comments above:

I still feel a pit in my stomach when I crank over an engine that produces 700HP in a vehicle that has more in common with a go cart than a car. The crowds of onlookers is cool. It is fun to "make someones day" by letting them take a picture, or even sit in the drivers seat for a pose! Looking back I could have never imagined how interesting and enjoyable this journey could have been, and it continues...

len

[digginfool]

I went to a shop today where they are installing a Ford Coyote into a BDR TD. The car was up on a lift and it gave me a great opportunity to view the quality construction. The Coyote looks outstanding in the engine compartment! Obviously, not the bling the Roush has but it looked like they made that engine for that car. When I got back in front of my computer, did a quick search on this site about the Coyote and found a YouTube video. The engine sounds really sweet. I'm wondering how it would sound with the Ford Racing supercharger sitting on top (642 hp, 550 lb-ft torque) and whether I could squeeze it all under a stock hood. I can only imagine how nice it would be to have the rheostatic-like power delivery of a modern muscle motor compared to the tempermental peaky power of a cammed carbureted motor.

[JoeT]

I'm married with 2 kids under 10. There is something every weekend- soccer, cheerleading, karate, something. . .

Add to that there is only 2 seats. You have a great weather day and want to go for a family ride, 2 have to stay home. My wife loves the car, my oldest daughter Loves the car, my youngest likes the motorcycle much more than the car.

I have no plans to sell, it's payed for, insurance is cheap enough, and I get enough enjoyment that it's worth keeping around (but it's only driven about 3000 miles a year)

all that said, I find myself currently searching a "family" fun car. . . something with a convertible, 4 seats, heat and ac

[PNJSNAK]

It is the year 2000.
The kids were all gone from the nest.
The wife wanted us to get a "go to get ice cream convertible"
I saw an add for Factory Five in a Car and Driver magazine in a customers lobby.
I tore it out of the magazine ad and asked what she thought.
Do you think you could build it?
Let's look at a Miata, BMW Z3, Porshe, or maybe a Corvettte.
I said I have an engineering degree and I am some what mechanical.
I think I can do it and get it on the road for around 25k.
She said "Okay, if you think you can do it".
A challange!
Looked at FF and a customer suggested A & C.
Visited their plant in Buffalo and liked what I saw.
Wife said Okay! 10 months after I got the frame, on the road.
Never knew about CC or FF5 website until half way thru the build.
We have over 40k in the car over the years and always changing something and love to get in, start it up, go for a ride or to the local car show. Won (3) best of show "Modified" over the years.
It never gets old, the power, the sound, the heat off the pipes, the looks you get from everyone.
I never regretted the decision. I loved the look of these cars since I first saw the pic of Dan Gurney on the high banks of Daytona in a Car and Driver magazine in 1964.
Good Luck with your decision. Bye the way I'm 61.
Jim

[madmaxx]

Just like most things in life you make you money when you buy not when you sell. You look hard enough you can score a BDR for low to mid 30's or an SPF low 40's or a very very early chassis for high 30's. Either way once these cars hit the aforementioned number the depreciation game is over. The aforementioned may not have stroked small blocks by KC or Roush but you will still smoke anything on the road. If in doubt but have to have one by a low priced one then when you find you cannot live without, go for what you want. Either way you wont be out more than $3-$5K.

[Dwight]

I did a search and did not find Hal's original post but I did find 392Cobra's post.

Hal drove a SPF and the last I heard had about 100,000 miles on it. Lots of 1/4 mile pasts, road racing and flying mile.
He is a story teller. He could write about something as simple as driving to the store and make very, very entertaining. I love his stories.

Dwight
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++
Here is a piece written by Hal Copple a few years ago.
The man could write.

I wish he would write somemore.
Fred


"Driving a Cobra Replica

"If you want to just gas and go, and never have to worry about replacing an alternator, or snugging down the header bolts, or getting a wet leg driving in a rainstorm, or learning how to set your carb float level, or driving in traffic on a warm winter day with "winter gas" in the tank, get a Corvette. "

With a Cobra Replica you have to remind yourself that you are driving a hand made race car on the street. There is no compromise for anything other than pure speed. These cars are brutal and unforgiving, with all the refinement of a medieval battle ax. Like being in a relationship with an exotic dancer, you can never take anything for granted. These cars don't have millions of miles of testing refinement before you get yours. For any trip longer than an hour, you need earplugs, and goggles, and carry Advil and eye drops. You will need to learn to "read" the clouds for rain in your path, and have experience in unwrapping your frozen fingers from the MotoLita. You will experience lady passengers "wetting" the passenger seat when you merge into traffic from an on ramp, and then nearly burn their calf getting out of the car.

You will have all the invisibility of a burning Hindenburg, and flee from underground parking lots when uncountable car alarms are screaming your departure. When you shop, you will remind yourself that these cars get more attention than a dead body in a parking lot.

With a power to weight ratio better than almost every super car, you will find your 1/4 mile times traction rather than power limited. On the other hand, when you stage, out of the corner of your helmet's visor you will see almost the entire audience lining up at the fence, most with cameras up. If you track on a road course with a Porsche club, owners of expensive German machines will come to the fence to watch you power out in smoking oversteer. You won't even try to start your engine in the garage, but push it out onto the driveway, else your loyal watch dog will croak from the exhaust fumes. If you idle next to other "sports" cars at a traffic light, by the green, their girlfriend will be coughing green phlegm into her hanky, yelling at her date to just go! When you refuel, you might as well prop the "bonnet" open, because you are going to have to show your motor to just about every other guy there. When you order your wings at Hooters, your waitress will whisper in your ear "take me for a ride." When you stop at the red light, the girl in the convertible next to you will invite you to "take my top off too."

When you slowly pass a troop of Harley riders, they will look over and give you thumbs up. When you want to ease out into traffic, other cars will immediately pause to let you go ahead of them. When your engine has its hot, crackling, intimidating exhaust side pipe aimed right at the flank of the GTO, or the Z28, your exhaust pulsation's slowly unscrewing his lug nuts, the other car will remain motionless, as if the slightest quiver of his car will cause your car to stomp it dead. When you leave it open in a parking lot, and come back to find your sunglasses and cell phone still sitting on the tunnel, it is because your car has sullenly warned those who came over to admire it "touch me and I will rise up here and kill you dead."

When you put that tiny silver key into the ignition, and begin your start countdown, your car will whisper "take me for granted, and I will kill you."

When other drivers just hop in and snap up their belts while backing out of their parking space, you will still have two more minutes before you even get all the Simpsons properly on and snugged down. Pulling up in a Cobra Replica is like landing an F4U at an ultralite convention.

In summary, very, very few drivers want this kind of attention, or can tolerate all that a formidable Cobra Replica demands. These cars are intolerant mistresses.

But remember, there will come a day when you have to hang up your car keys for the last time. And perhaps you want to say then "I did it."
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