Need purchasing advice
 

Hey guys! This is my first post here. I've always loved the Shelby Cobras and I've decided it's high time to fulfill my dream. I'm a Shelby fanatic all the way. I'm currently driving a Shelbyized Maverick Grabber. It's a neat car but not what I really desire. It shows nicely and runs high 6's in the 8th and is a lot of fun but it's still not a Cobra.
My big question for you guys is strictly about opinions. I have never owned or even driven a Cobra. I'm not even sure I'll still want one after I drive it but I really don't think that's going to happen. Everyone has an opinion which kit they think is best. I most likely can't afford the best car out there but I would really like to know what you guys think would be the #1, #2, and #3 Cobra kits on the market in that order. I'm getting ready to go look at a Factory Five car as soon as the guy gives me a call. I've also noticed there are an awful lot of Cobras on eBay and a lot of them seem to be very reasonably priced. If I start looking at cars on the Internet I would like to look past the poorly built cars and go straight to the better ones. I do manage a body shop for a living and I'm very capable of working on the body if needed but I've heard of nightmare cars and I really don't want to get into one of those. So please guys, if you don't mind, give me your opinions on the better cars and also the ones I need to stay clear of.
Thanks...and hope to be here often! :)

Backdraft, ERA, Superformance.....not in any particular order.

What are your planned uses and. Urgent like?

You need to provide more information. Are you a slave to originality or more in the street rod or custom category? Do you want IRS or is a straight axle OK? Do you want a real kit where you do nearly everything or are you wanting a partially assembled car or roller? What do you intend to do with the car primarily? What is your budget range?

With this information you will get a lot more useful and targeted advice.

Dan

my opinion is simple after I did tons of research and talking to many.

My entire write up is at this link Mark's Build - Unique Forums and why I chose what I did. See the "General Preperation for the Build".

Net net is Unique Motorcars for the Cobra and B2 Motorsports for the engine and drive train.

You'll have no 2nd thoughts.

Good Luck,
Mark

I'm going to chime in as a kit shopper, too.

I read the Unique build manual available on-line and then purchased and read the FFR build manual. The Unique build manual that I saw didn't seem to go into as much depth. I undertand they make great replicas, I just wonder how much a new owner might be left to his own devices on a build, by comparison to an FFR build with the larger community out there.

All of the above questions and answers are good but if you live where you can go look at some Cobras I would suggest that you do that. The problem with buying from ebay and places like that is pictures can look great but the person who built the car may have junk underneath for suspension and such. As for the best kits which may be out of your price range I don't think you can beat the Shelby or Kirkham Cobras. However ERA, Superformance, and I think Factory Five can be built to just about as good as the others. They will just never have the name that the Shelbys and Kirkhams do. The cars are basically as good as the person that built them. Some are great and others aren't to good. So I wouldn't worry so much about the brand as I would being able to look at the car and see how well it is built and if it has the things that you would want. Remember, the people that build these cars build them to suite what they want and like and it may not be the same things you want or like.

Ron :)

1. Kirkham/Shelby
2. ERA
3. Hurricane

That's my three in order.
Larry

You need to break out factory built rollers versus home built kits. Rollers are consistent quality and components, very easy to compare. Home builts are all over the map. For every great home built, there are many poorly built ones, and a lot that never get finished. More research is required when buying a home built, you need to interview the builder as much as the car.

I couldn't imagine building one and I am cable. Who wants to deal with some of the dumbest people on the planet? Not to mention quality has gone out the window. You will hear statements like "we never seen that before"' , parts people that couldn't obtain a GED, paint and body people giving reasons why they will not be responsible. I went through three polished waterpumps, then the one that did work I had to enlarge the sheive hole because they had the mounting boss .100 on to far and it wobbled. All the wonderful phone techs will help you out. If if you buy fully assembled and running you will have plent to do

I agree with Larry as far as cobra kit cars. The question is..do you want to build it yourself? Do you want it to be authentic ( body, engine placement etc.)? Do you want a factory job like Backdraft or SPF made in a foreign country..or do you really care?
Factory cars cost more upfront and you will get a little more back when you sell them, and have consistent quality, but they're not anything close to authentic replicas.
They are all good and tons of fun...go for whatever turns you on.
Bill

Been lurking here awhile, but this is my first post. I'm pretty active on couple other forums. I went through this same debate about three years ago, and just would echo several of the comments already made because they were important when I was deciding.

1. Try to see as many as you can in person. Talk to the owner/builders if possible. Picture are nice, but nothing like seeing in person. Of course rides are good too. Not very likely anyone is going to let you drive theirs though.

2. Decide about the intended use. Makes a huge difference whether you want a street cruiser, track car, auto-x, etc. Also makes a difference how authentic you want it to be, as mentioned.

3. Separate the list between factory build "kits" (e.g. rollers) and kits that are from the ground up (e.g. Factory Five and others). Big difference in effort. Some want to build the whole thing (I loved it) but others don't want anything to do with it, or maybe shouldn't try.

4. Finally, especially for a full kit car, don't buy without seeing in person. Again, pictures just don't work. I've seen some amazing builds that would rival any factory built car, if not better due to the craftsmanship and attention to detail. I've seen others (many I'm afraid) that are pretty rough and amateur. You really need to see in person to separate.

With these answers, you'll be able to narrow down the list and make the best choice. I built a Factory Five and love the result. But that's not the right choice for many.

Most important question is - what is your budget??

From there the guys will be narrow it down. $10k plus or minus can and will make a big difference

If you don't like open rough roadsters loud and smelly without A/C --- the cobra is not your choice.

I promise you, a ride around the block - even as a passenger - if that not makes you build/buy/own one the Cobra is not for you...on the other hand ones snake bitten - ask the boys here what that means ---- you will sit in the garage and glare at that car until your butt reminds you you sit for a long time on the same spot ahahaha

Go to the London Cobra Show in two weeks and there you will find a car from virtually every manufacturer. Talk to the owners of the cars and watch the cars in action as they negotiate Mid-Ohio Raceway, Main Street burnouts, and the autocross. Then, visit the row of manufacturers on the courthouse square on Saturday and see what you can learn there. Many of your questions should then have answers.

This is great. Just the kind of input I'm looking for. I've got some selling to do but will wind up with about $25k to put towards a car. I'm not so sure I want to build one from ground up but I would have no problems removing the body and making any mods I deem necessary. I'm not so concerned about complete authenticity as I an being able to get in it and driving on weekends and to shows...maybe even 300-400 mile trips. I like high performance but I'm not looking for something to take racing or ultimate horsepower. I attend some events where there is a lot of slow cruising in heavy traffic so I'm not even against running an automatic, although I might consider using a manual looking shifter setup just for appearance. (just random thoughts here)
I understand about the eBay cars since you dont know how it was built. If I see something interesting I may contact you guys to see if anybody knows the car and can give some input. Hopefully I can get some good pics of the car being built. That would always be nice. Color doesn't matter that much as that's how I make my living. What I'm picking up mostly from you guys here is the frame and how well it's built. I've seen some cars listed with donor car frames. Not so sure if that's good or bad. I'm guessing a built frame would be more appealing to the eye.
I definitely need to go drive one or two to make sure this is right for me. Maybe I'll get a call soon on the Fac 5 car. Only about 40 miles from me.
Keep the suggestions coming and if I have any questions I'll certainly be asking away.
Thanks a lot guys.

I personally haven't seen anything with a complete donor frame. What you're probably seeing are designs that list donor frame components, e.g. suspension parts, rear axles, engines, trans, etc. Examples include BMW, Jaguar, Ford Mustang, Corvette, etc. But the mainline brands mentioned here all have their own custom frame around these components. Sometimes they are donor (e.g. used) but many times also new components from those brands.

Your budget is going to limit your selection to only a few options, e.g. something started but not finished, already completed basic build, etc. Nothing wrong with that. Just be patient. There are some good deals out there. New of any brand is probably out of reach.

I feel sure they were just talking about sub frames or something. I saw Corvette frames mentioned in a couple of ads but these cars also had Chevy engines which I have no interest in at all. A Cobra just loses something when you start doing that...in my opinion. I'm not trying to get anything started there. :rolleyes:
One particular car I was drooling over and it sold for $24,500 is this one from eBay. It has a real 427 side oiler and looks impressive to me anyway: Replica/Kit Makes : Cobra 427SC Replica/Kit Makes : Cobra 427SC | eBay
It's too late now but does anybody know anything about it? Based off what you see, do you think this was a good deal?

No, I certainly don't expect to get anything close to new. But there does seem to be an abundance of these cars for sale and very few of them selling. Anyway, I still have to get the funds together and I will certainly be patient. I appreciate the input from you guys.
Thanks,
Ray

I made a list of items that I wanted my cobra to have and developed a very detail inspection check list/score sheet and bill-of-sale before I started searching for a cobra. It didn't matter to me how long it took me to find a Cobra that satisfied me and one that had a fair price that fit my budget. When calling about Cobras for sale, I used the inspection sheet to ask questions and took detail notes of each call. I used a 1/2 inch three ring binder to keep all my prospect cobras and notes organized.

I started searching for a Cobra late July and purchased my FFR Cobra last Sept. All I can suggest is take your time and do your home work. Make a list of prospect Cobras then call them. I sorted my down to 21 Cobras out of 100s and purchased the 5th one I inspected because it score very high. I flew to Florida to inspect the Cobra I purchased; the airfare was small investment compare to what I was spending. Again it didn't matter to me whether it took a month or a year.

Some Websites I used
427 Cobra Country--Ford AC Cobra replica manufacturers SUPER-SITE
CarsOnline.com: Shelby Cars For Sale

Good Luck...

For $25k,

You’d be limited to buying a used car. But that’s not bad since few of these cobras have over 20K miles on them. Building a new one is usually more money than buying a slightly used one that someone already built for you.

For $25k, the only brand that usually comes up in the 20s, used, would be a FFR, and likely would not have a period correct motor – it would probably have Mustang based 5.0FI. ERA, Backdraft, Superformance, Kirkham, and Shelby are usually much more.

There are some trends within the brands:

Shelby’s – very expensive with new Shelby American aluminum 427s (aluminum or fiberglass body). Priced over 100k used.

Kirkham – very exotic and beautiful, but not really authentic as far as a 60s cobra. They usually have polished aluminum bodies with no paint, and exotic new Shelby motors. Price at over 80K for used.

ERA – Very authentic and usually have period correct motors (427 side oilers and 428FE) Fit and finish look perfect inside and out. ERA lets the buyers customize many of the details you can’t see because their customer use the cars for different thing. You can choose upgraded racing brakes, cooling, components, stainless pipes, anti sway bars, rear end, etc. They are build to order and the owners tend to be pretty picky about authenticity. They production volume on ERA is lower than Superformance and FFR. ERA used prices tend to be 50-70k.

Superformance – Very authentic and consistent on the outside but the engines are all over the map. Because Superformance only builds rollers, there are very few options, which is good and bad. The body and interiors are nice, but they all come pretty much the same. Many of their customers put 351W motors in them, mostly souped up considerably. And some have authentic 427s or even new Shelby 247s. However, my research indicates that ERA supplies a better engineered car with greater attention to details and the individual customer requirements. The ERA site has masses of information about their cars and how they differ from the competitors. This is what I have. Yes, I’m bias. There I said it. Superformance used prices tend to be 45-65k.

Backdraft and Shell Valley I don’t know much about these but it appears that they are nice but the builders don’t tend to care much about authenticity. Many of them have bizarre interiors with modern seats, dash etc, and strange roll bars, that for me, ruins any sense of authenticity. I’d at least like for a passer buy to briefly question if my cobra is real, but these brands usually have a dead giveaway. Prices tend to be 40-60k used

FFR –These are all over the map. Many have sloppy looking, or just plain bizarre interiors, seats, and the engine bays usually look all wrong. They rarely have a period correct motor, real knock off wheels, etc. and the subtle details just look off. Many people added modern looking 17 inch rims, strange rollbars, etc. I’d give these lower marks on fit and finish, strange colors, etc. I am generalizing. Some look perfect but some of them don’t “sit” right. If you spend some time on cobracountry.com, looking at all the for sale listings, you’ll see these trends. However, there are many nice FFRs out there and they are fine performers, and importantly are more affordable. I would avoid buying one that is build off a mustang donor car if you can. Prices tend to be 25-45k used.

I’m sure I must have opened up a firestorm on this one.


I would highly suggest trying to drive two different brands. Try to forget about the motor and pay attention to how the rest of the car rides.


BTW that ebay with 427 center oiler (not nearly as desirable as a side oiler), appears to be a very good deal. But the interior looks kind of cheaply done and the engine bay looks so so. Good deal for someone though. But I would never buy a used car of ebay without seeing it. Especially a kit!

ERA427,

Any comments on the offerings from Unique? I've been thinking about building a cobra and Unique is local to me (~1hr away) so I'm curious if you have any knowledge about the quality of their offering.