Were Original Cobras Considered Kit Cars Way Back When?

[AL427SBF]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

...
Fourth, Onyx doesn't even read his own posts.

I'll take that bet, he reads 'em over and over and over. You ever see the name dropping by onyx - people, places, cars, events? The World's Most Interesting Man doesn't hold a candle to this guy ... traveling the world over on our behalf, no doubt in a salesman's cheap searsucker suit, we should feel blessed

[Nedsel]

Guess you'd have to go back and figure out if Allards, Facel-Vegas, Jensens, Sunbeam Tigers, Monteverdes, TVRs, and the like were considered "kit-cars." Quick answer - NO, they were not. A European car using an American V8 did not connote anything beyond a manufacturer choosing to source a power plant outside of what the manufacturer could supply internally.

[REAL 1]

Originally Posted by Nedsel

Guess you'd have to go back and figure out if Allards, Facel-Vegas, Jensens, Sunbeam Tigers, Monteverdes, TVRs, and the like were considered "kit-cars." Quick answer - NO, they were not. A European car using an American V8 did not connote anything beyond a manufacturer choosing to source a power plant outside of what the manufacturer could supply internally.

Hmmm, not so fast Ned. Difference is the companies you mention manufactured their chassis and bodies. No?

Shelby did not manufacture any part of the Cobra. He assembled components purchased from others and shipped completed units to Ford dealers. Kit? Debatable.

[Nedsel]

BS. It's not debatable, unless you have a hidden agenda in your back pocket. Oh, I forgot - you do! According to your logic, my '66 AC 289 would not be a kit car, because it was manufactured by the same company that built the chassis and body, while any Shelby Cobra would somehow fail your litmus test. What you forget is that, like Jamo suggested earlier, there were lots of factory "specials" back then. And if a company like Shelby American wanted to buy an existing automobile, such as the AC Ace, and make modifications - including a larger engine - they did so. This usually involved renaming the resulting creation. By your (il-)logic, given the fact that Shelby American did not manufacture the Mustang, I guess you would argue that the Shelby GT-350/ GT 500 is also a kit-car.

[NewYorkGuy]

yep, some people turn this forum into personal attacks.

[Jamo]

Originally Posted by NewYorkGuy

yep, some people turn this forum into personal attacks.

...and some folks ought to take a break.

[REAL 1]

Originally Posted by NewYorkGuy

yep, some people turn this forum into personal attacks.

Right again.just wait until the worlds largest " non biased" Cobra site picks up steam.