Newbie & Classic Roadster (first post)

[Davekmd]

Nebie DaveK here from Maryland. I’ve been bitten pretty hard lately with the Cobra bug. I was bit some time ago, recovered, and had two Caymans… the Caymans are gone (and so are the MX-5s). This time the bite wasn’t superficial and so it’s dug in… Yes I know the car will not be as seamless as a modern sports car… no need to remind me of that. I still change the oil in my CRV and have my old engine stand, so I know how to work on cars…

I’ve been looking (online) for several months now (Cobras and Ford engines in general) and have a general lay of the land. I joined CC a few weeks ago. Just recently I found a Classic Roadster for sale and started additional research. The car in question is a 2003 vintage with a 6” door stretch. I’ve seen a number of posts on Classic Roadsters including the sale and move to Canada.

My question concerns the CR ‘adaptation’ of lengthening the car. (I’m not even sure if the stretch was the ‘trademark’ for CR or this was a one up stretched CR). I’m assuming this was achieve by stretching the wheelbase (which I personally think is a good thing). I’m really not into the authenticity side of Cobras. I like the look of the car (always have), it’s heritage, and performance potential, even among modern cars. For those who’ve owned a CR and ‘normal’ wheel-based Cobra like FFR, can you weigh in on the car’s dynamics? The CR I’m looking at appears to be ‘original’ to 2003 specification with 9” solid axle. Also as a kit what is the general feeling regarding fit/finish/quality? And finally, anything else you can pass along for me as a potential owner would be greatly appreciated. (I’m not a tall/big person, barely 5’8”…

To that end, any Cobra I get will only be a week-end car. My budget is 35-40K and so I'm not even considering any high-end cars Maybe one day I'll build one, but for now I think I'd like to find a nice example, sorted out that I can drive. Maybe-maybe I’ll do a/some strictly fun track day(s) but for the most part it’ll be short weekend drives with occasional hooliganism/silliness. I have no desire to “show” the car.. (now BSing over ONE beer and a good cigar, well that’s a different matter!).


Thanks in advance. DaveK