Where to buy a kit ?

[Cg1]

Hello all. I'm new to this forum, just googled ya's this morning - I'm interested in building a cobra and at the earliest possible stages. Wondering in your opinions what would be the best place to buy a kit from. That said let me attempt to preemptively answer some questions;


I'm located in the north east portion of PA.
I think I want a big block (not sure)
Budget is undefined - real bad guesses:
22k kit
10k engine
Trans 2k ?
Rear, wheels/tires ?

I looked at some web sites, I was really interested in the vacation build on the Lone Star web site but they do not offer that any longer. I have worked on cars and engines before but this will be challenging for me. I have pulled engines and rebuilt tops - will look to buy a turn key crate.

Realistically, working weekends would I build the kit over 6 months ?

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, I will begin going through old threads next. What are the hidden costs ? Need to prep the wife. Paint, title etc.

Thanks all.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by Cg1

Hello all. I'm new to this forum, just googled ya's this morning - I'm interested in building a cobra and at the earliest possible stages. Wondering in your opinions what would be the best place to buy a kit from. That said let me attempt to preemptively answer some questions;


I'm located in the north east portion of PA.
I think I want a big block (not sure)
Budget is undefined - real bad guesses:
22k kit
10k engine
Trans 2k ?
Rear, wheels/tires ?

I looked at some web sites, I was really interested in the vacation build on the Lone Star web site but they do not offer that any longer. I have worked on cars and engines before but this will be challenging for me. I have pulled engines and rebuilt tops - will look to buy a turn key crate.

Realistically, working weekends would I build the kit over 6 months ?

I'm sure I'm missing a lot, I will begin going through old threads next. What are the hidden costs ? Need to prep the wife. Paint, title etc.

Thanks all.

With your projected budget, Factory Five is going to be your best bang for the buck.

PA title process is easy.
Hidden costs-UPGRADES vs your original build ideas
Can it be built in 6 months, easily
Costs, again depends on your wants and needs.

Where in NE PA are you located?



Bill S.

[Cg1]

Hi Bill. Thank you for the response. I looked at factory five, lone star and some others. All seemed to be about 20k on the kit and requiring the same additional parts. Why does factory five stand out in your opinion? Just curious. I found some negative comments about that kit but did not come across any negativity on lone star. Since they seemed comparable I was leaning towards lone star.

I'm in bucks county just north of Philly.

I'll go back and look at the factory five kits again, it's been a little while now.

[Ron61]

I agree with what Bill said. We have several on our site that are building or have built Factory Fives and they all like them very well. Also you can always upgrade some of the things if you don't care for what comes in the kit. Prices have really gone up over the past few years and the best Cobras IMHO are the Kirkhams and Shelbys, but they are way out of your projected budget. And no matter what kit you get, figure on spending some more than you had expected. As for engines if you want a good big block by Kieth Craft or one of the other builders, you are on the low end of cost there. Good luck with your hunt and I hope that you find what you like.

Ron

[kevins2]

Hi CG1,

I'm in the West Chester area, just west of Philly and have an ERA build in progress. Not one of the brands you're looking at but if you'd like to see a car in progress you're welcome to come by.

Regards,

Kevin

[Bill Bess]

If your looking for a great package that includes everything (rear end/brakes/interior etc.) and perfect body shape and very high quality and service at a great price, check out Hurricane. They're close to you and are fine people to work with.

Good Luck, Bill Bess (Hurricane owner)

[Clois Harlan]

I would second Bill Bess on the Hurricanne selection. I know Mike and Steve and they are top quality individuals that stress the importance of their customer. They build a great car and will take care of you during and after the build process. My friend Dean Lampe had one of the most beautiful Cobra's I have ever seen and it was a Hurricane. Extremely well designed and they use top quality components. My second choice at that price point would be either FFR or for a little more money a Backdraft.


Clois Harlan

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by Cg1

Hi Bill. Thank you for the response. I looked at factory five, lone star and some others. All seemed to be about 20k on the kit and requiring the same additional parts. Why does factory five stand out in your opinion? Just curious. I found some negative comments about that kit but did not come across any negativity on lone star. Since they seemed comparable I was leaning towards lone star.

I'm in bucks county just north of Philly.

I'll go back and look at the factory five kits again, it's been a little while now.

95% of the negatives you will find about the Factory Five cars are several years, and several generations back from their current offering. The new MK IV is a wonderfully designed (drastically redesigned from earlier FFR roadster offerings) and laid out kit, you would be hard pressed to compare them from the earlier versions to now. personally, I have owned 17 FFR's to date (yes, it's a disease ), will own more down the road when I get bored with my current ERA project........

Originally Posted by Bill Bess

If your looking for a great package that includes everything (rear end/brakes/interior etc.) and perfect body shape and very high quality and service at a great price, check out Hurricane. They're close to you and are fine people to work with.

Good Luck, Bill Bess (Hurricane owner)

I will second this, they do build a quality car, but not a lot of them on the road nearby to view, which has always seemed to be the issue with me remembering that they are around

Bill S.

[bret a ewing]

If you don't feel like building one, Bill may have some options for you.

[Bryan Anderson]

Please take a look at *B&B Manufacturing - :::: - Feel the Thunder - :::: - Hotrods from Kit to Turn Key - :::: we offer base kits from 5800 up to a complete kit with everything but drive train tires and wheels for 17,000 please feel free to give me a call and I would be happy to talk to you about your options.

Bryan
B&B mfg

[DanEC]

The additional pieces and work quickly eat up a lot of expense - wheels, tires, shifters, exhaust, body work, paint, misc accessories, etc. A lot of what kit you should buy is dependent on what your interests are and how you intend to use the car. If you get hung up on being a purist and decide to pursue originality in form and function to the ultimate - you are going to need to look a select few, fairly expensive fabricators. If you are more into a custom or hot rod approach with the Cobra body style and not hung up on origiinality then you have a lot more choices. If you want to compete the car on the track then that may direct your seach in another direction.

If you can fill in some particulars on your interests these guys can give you a lot of advice.

[itstock]

A finished and very lightly used Backdraft is also within reach of your budget if you aren't completely convinced about building your own car.

I'm sure it's possible, but working "weekends" for 6 months is probably not going to get you a finished FF. Would you be doing the paint and body work? Donor build or new parts? Engine? There are lots of factors which could seriously screw with a timeline of 6 months, plus another month for the inspection/registration process.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by itstock

A finished and very lightly used Backdraft is also within reach of your budget if you aren't completely convinced about building your own car.

I'm sure it's possible, but working "weekends" for 6 months is probably not going to get you a finished FF. Would you be doing the paint and body work? Donor build or new parts? Engine? There are lots of factors which could seriously screw with a timeline of 6 months, plus another month for the inspection/registration process.

I agree, 6 months just isn't feasible IMO. It's rare someone just gets a paint job completed in a shop in 6 months anymore. If you do all the work completely yourself including body and paint, you will have to put in 40 hours a week, every week on it probably.

[Clois Harlan]

My first Cobra was picked up from the mfg in Jan 2000 and I had it on the road painted and sorted out By mid April 2000. At that time I was commuting between Oklahoma City and Tulsa 5 days a week and only working on it on nights and weekends. My kit was a complete STAGE I, meaning I assembled most everything on it. These kits are not difficult if you don't make them so. I have also built two FFR kits and they are as straight forward as it comes, and they even provide a build manual. Common sense goes a long way when building a Kit of any kind.

[Dwight]

I was visiting the Weavers at Unique Motorsports in Gadsden Alabama a few weeks ago. They have two customer's cars for sale from Pa. One a 406 and the other a 408 Winsdor.

$45,000 each. Well worth looking at. I have pictures and will try to post them.

Both have soft tops. They look like show car but Allen said they drove them down from Pa.

Dwight

[Dwight]

I know the OP ask about a kit but these two are beautiful and a bargain at $45,000. They have been driven and sorted out.






Dwight

[Cg1]

Originally Posted by DanEC

The additional pieces and work quickly eat up a lot of expense - wheels, tires, shifters, exhaust, body work, paint, misc accessories, etc. A lot of what kit you should buy is dependent on what your interests are and how you intend to use the car. If you get hung up on being a purist and decide to pursue originality in form and function to the ultimate - you are going to need to look a select few, fairly expensive fabricators. If you are more into a custom or hot rod approach with the Cobra body style and not hung up on origiinality then you have a lot more choices. If you want to compete the car on the track then that may direct your seach in another direction.

If you can fill in some particulars on your interests these guys can give you a lot of advice.

Just reading through quickly and will respond again tonight. I am not a purist. I just finished my 1968 convertible corvette and I built a beast of a 350 running straight side pipes. This car has been my weekend warrior for a while - I will be selling it off to buy the cobra kit. Its just that I have more and more questions. Like what to upgrade, what to buy and when to buy it really. Which kit offers the best support and which has the most detailed hand holding type directions. stuff like that really

[Three Peaks]

Originally Posted by Cg1

Just reading through quickly and will respond again tonight. I am not a purist. I just finished my 1968 convertible corvette and I built a beast of a 350 running straight side pipes. This car has been my weekend warrior for a while - I will be selling it off to buy the cobra kit. Its just that I have more and more questions. Like what to upgrade, what to buy and when to buy it really. Which kit offers the best support and which has the most detailed hand holding type directions. stuff like that really

With that criteria, the Factory Five is the way to go. You can build, modify, and get aftermarket parts for just about any conceivable portion of the build due to the enormous after market cottage industry selling parts for these and the other forum ffcars.com is the biggest support network you'll find anywhere.
You can get any question answered on their forum in just a matter of minutes most of the time- less if you acquaint yourself with the search function- and these guys love to help guys with their build. Be forewarned, they will also help you spend your money on great upgrades.

It will be up to you how close you stick to the original build as far as budget and build schedule.

Bob