Newbie question re buying a cobra replica

[indianamoon]

Been wanting one of these for years. Actually ever since my dad talked me out of buying an original 427 cobra in the early 70's for the astronomical sum of $3500. Anyway, enough crying in my beer.....

Been looking at a number of replicas, kinda bottom feeding, as I want one for a daily driver (spent many years driving TR3's and early Healey's so pretzel ingress/egress, lack of a proper heater, rough ride, constant tweaking, female chastisement, are all no problem). Looking for one that doesn't have gobs of horsepower and isn't in showroom condition, that might keep me from driving it in potentially inclement weather.

That being said, some of the specimens that I have looked at are older, have been thru a few owners, and the history of the cars may have been lost. Some owners do not even know whose body and frame, build books/sheets have been lost, tops, side curtains (I live in northern indiana and we get lots of lake effect rain from Lake Michigan) and tonneau's may be missing.

The question is, should I worry about these things? Can this information be dug up somewhere, somehow? How will I know what brake pads to put on the 25 year old car that I am likely to end up with?

Links to previous threads, advice, encouragement, ideas, and your favorite chili recipe are all appreciated.

Thanx in advance,

Pat