What's the deal with Slabside pricing and availability?

[LMH]

Originally Posted by peterpjb

i read that thread a bit diagonal and i understand your sensitivities, especially when the same old arguments come from a newbie.

but let me explain my newbie-status

i am not yet an owner of a cobra but i hope i will be soon (not easy to decide and not easy to find the right one)

i am involved in (european) classic cars for about 30 years and i think i know a little about that stuff.

i rebooted my special cobra interest only a few month ago, so i am far away from beeing a cobra specialist but i think i have a little overview meanwhile,

i started my cobra interest while searching for an ac ace, missed a very cool offer for a 2.6 ace ruddspeed and stated that the "normal" ace and ace bristol are quite expensive nowadays , (in 1999 i rejected an offer to change my '61 alfa giulietta spider 1/1 to an ace bristol )

beside that i am not a collector but looking for fun while driving
so i thought hardly any ac ace or 356 speedster would be more fun to drive than my giulietta because they all have quite the same power

the logical conclusion is the same drawn 50 years ago: ace with much more power = cobra

but in my opinion a cobra is a complete other thing than the most european collectables;
it is a kit car from the beginning, the cobra is not a specific car like a jaguar, ferrari, or a porsche, but it is a manufacturing-concept
that concept is even strengthened while using it since 50 years

i would never ever think about driving a porsche 356 speedster replica but i am thinking about driving a quality cobra (289) rebuilt, because its the original manufacturing-concept

i am a fan of craftsmanship and therefore i am opting for an alubody but probably i will not spend a 100 grands extra for another vinplate

Kirkham 289 model with a differential is right about $100,000. You'll need drivetrain from there. Be forewarned, 289 stuff is very expensive and hard to come by if you're into originality.
Larry