New name for "Replicas"

[OnyxRider]

Originally Posted by HealeyRick

I'm probably going to hate myself for offering an opinion here, since I don't own a Cobra or Cobra replica, but since I've been a guest on CC for five years, I'll stick my neck out. To most of the car guy/girl world, if it looks like a Cobra, it's a "Cobra". There are bad "Cobras" (like a Cobra body on a Miata) out there and good "Cobras" (like a Kirkham). And,as much as you'd prefer to think otherwise, most anything built after 1968 that generally looks like a Cobra to most car folks and the general public is a "kit Cobra" As someone said, a tissue is a "Kleenex", a photocopy is a "Xerox" and a cola is a "Coke". If someone makes something that looks like a Cobra, it's a "Cobra". If someone asks, "Is it real?" they mean whether it was put together by Shelby prior to 1968. Anything that wasn't assembled prior to 1968 is something else. Call it whatever you want. A recreation, tribute, reissue, replica, continuation, authorized reproduction, etc, it's not what folks mean when they ask whether it's real.

If the folks in Venice didn't put it together before 1968, it's not a "real" Cobra. Ouch! Whatever and whenever and whomever screwed it together after then affects only what it's worth. A continuation may be worth more than a Kirkham, which may be worth more than a Factory Five, which may be worth more than something Billy Joe Bob threw together in the backyard.

But what I truly don't get is this squabbling that I've witnessed since I've been here. Whatever "Cobra" you drive is probably a better car than 95% of the driving public gets behind the wheel of. When you drive down the street, people point and smile and car guys/gals wish they owned one. Geez, just drive the damn things and enjoy what you've got.

I was holding my breath reading your post waiting for a SAAC definition quote.

[HealeyRick]

Originally Posted by OnyxRider

I was holding my breath reading your post waiting for a SAAC definition quote.

If you need SAAC, Merriam-Webster or a Juris Doctorate to tell you what a "Cobra" is, you have no business driving one.

[dallas_]

C'mon Rick, you telling me that none of the Healy purists ever gave you grief over the fact that you ruined a perfectly good Healy by stuffing a SBF in one?

[hinoonaz]

Just when Rick has everyones ear, Dallas puts a perspective in place. I love it. Keepa goinggggg!

[HealeyRick]

Originally Posted by dallas_

C'mon Rick, you telling me that none of the Healy purists ever gave you grief over the fact that you ruined a perfectly good Healy by stuffing a SBF in one?

In the Healey world, my car is known as a "modified Healey" or, more popularly a "Nasty Boy". And yeah, we get grief from some of the purists. But it seems to have decreased over the years and if they complain too much we give them a ride, pin their shoulders to the seatback during acceleration and that shuts them up. But even though it's modified, my car is still a Healey. There are some replica Healeys out there in fiberglass, but they are mostly called by their replica names. like "Sebrings" rather than being termed Healeys.

My point here is that there are damn few original (built by Shelby before 1968) Cobra owners that post here. Everyone else has got a replica, continuation, tribute, etc. of some kind or another. Just accept it and move on. Some are better than the original Cobra, some are just as good, and some are terrible. Some are faithful recreations while others are mere approximations. So evaluate them for what they are without regard to what they are called.

If you want to see who has got the "best" Cobra, get them all together and find out which one accelerates quickest from 0-60 mph, and 0-100-0 (I vaguely remember that figure), does a fast lap in a road course, best top end and best 1/4 mi. Isn't that the true test of a Cobra, not all this other window dressing?

But to me as an interested observer, this never-ending squabbling over opinions of what's "best" is just silly. I get it. As car guys, it's what we do. As a Healey concours judge, I've been involved in plenty of the same inane conversations.

So at the end, enjoy the car you drive without dumping on the other guy's car. They are all pretty damn good and pissing other folks off isn't making them any happier and likely not you either.