Questions???

[ront49]

I joined the Forum because of the wide variety of experience and knowledge available concerning Cobra's. I have a few questions to help narrow down my purchase choices...I'm 6' tall however have short legs and a long torso. When I sat in a Cobra, my field of vision was right at the top of the windshield. Is this an issue with all Cobra's or does the body type, manufacturer, seat(s) make a significant difference. I know there are some big guy's out there driving Cobra's and would like to hear from you about and seating issues. Next question will bring up some different opinions concerning power. I probably won't be able to afford a 427 although that would be my first choice just because I love power and speed so question is: would I regret getting a 289, 302? Maybe somewhere in between like a 351? I'm selling, or would trade a 1936 Chevy Street Rod so my price range is around $40-45K. This is a very driveable Show car that has won just about everywhere I've taken it. Available with it is a Orca Pod trailer I haul my chairs, canopy, etc..at an additional $2K. Any info or interest would be appreciated. Thanks, Ron 870-688-1635,

[Ron61]

That is a very nice car that you have for sale. As for your engine choice I would say get what you want and don't worry about all of the people that are going to tell you it is wrong. A 302 can make a lot of power and I have both a big block and a 351 which I used when I was racing as I like the small block for road racing. And you can easily get 600 horsepower out of a stroked 351. If you drag race then the big block would be an advantage, but if you just want the Cobra for fun and driving Then any of the mentioned engines would do very well. I have owned about every type of Ford engine and the 427 tunnel port was the worst one for anything but all out racing that I ever had. If you do want the big block look at some 428s as you can find them easier and cheaper than a 427 and they can make just as much power.

Ron

[DanEC]

There is a lot of variation in seating amongst all the replicas. I'm 6'-2" and built my ERA without seat tracks and somewhat reduced seat foam and I'm pretty much looking through the upper half of the windshield, well below the top frame. I could actually stand to go up just a bit.

On engine type - some replica manufacture's gravitate towards certain engines. ERAs are usually built with FE motors. FFR are usually built with small blocks. Unique, SPF, Hurricane, etc are commonly built both ways. An FFR can accommodate a BB as well. There are few that build a big block and yearn for a SB unless they want to build a 289 replica. But it's an individual issue that you have to decide for yourself. Sometimes a cleaned up and rebuilt junkyard 390 is a good compromise.

Nice 36 Chevy you have. Good luck.

[olddog]

A good 289 can make 450 Hp, but it will have to spin over 7000 rpm to do it, NA. It would be an ill mannered street engine.

You wouldn't need nearly as radical engine if you stroked a 302 to 347. It still has to be on the radical side to get 450 Hp by 6000 rpm.

Stroke a 351 up towards 400 cid and now it starts getting easier to make power and not be too radical. By an aftermarket 4.125 bore block stroke it to 4" and you have a nice 427 cid that can make plenty of power and still have nice street manors, but that block is going to increase the price shy of $3K by the time you do the machining.

Or go with a FE. You can stroke a 390 out to about 440 ish cid. If you happened to have that block you would be in the same price range as building an aftermarket 351 stroker.

For even more money you can build the all out 427 side oiler. There are aftermarket FE Side Oiler blocks in both cast iron and aluminum. It is common to stroke them out to 482 cid. I believe there are some over bore blocks that allow over 500 cid. A lot of pros and cons to these various blocks. Once you get into these, who built it means a lot. Your going to be in the $12K-$20K range for these engines.

The least expensive big inch Ford that can make huge power is the 385 series 429/460. They will fit in a Cobra, but they look like it would take some skills (shoe horns and magic mirrors) to fit one in there. Not much room to work on it. I hear there are few intakes air cleaner combos that will clear the hood. I have seen several and road in one stroked to 532 cid. Awesome does not come close to describing it.

If you are looking for a used completed Cobra, there are a lot of small blocks around. I would say about as many 351 strokers as 302 variants. You will likely see a fair amount of FE based engines, but few true Side Oilers. Be aware that there are fake Side Oilers out there. You will likely see more 385 series engines than true original Side Oilers.

Personally I would care more about what the car was and how it is built than the engine family. The engine family is secondary to me. They all can be built to make decent power. They can be replaced or rebuilt and there are good builders on this site that can help with that. There are not a lot of people who specialize in fixing poorly built frames, steering, and suspension.

[olddog]

I will make a point, at the risk of ruffling feathers. This is not an absolute factual thing, but there is a trend. Some kit manufacturers used to put literature out leading people to believe they could buy there least expensive kit and a wore out Mustang and make a great Cobra for cheap. So people got the idea that they could just chuck a 150K mile drive train out of a worn out Mustang into a kit. I have seen in print that miles does not matter because these cars typically only get drove a few thousand miles a year. Since the Cobra is lighter the Mustang brakes are more than adequate. Well this is true to some degree.

So the trend. People who were trying to build a Cobra on the cheap tended to use the Mustang 5.0 drive train. That's not to say all Cobra's with a 5.0 block were poorly built. Mine personally has a 5.0 block. Not one part on my Cobra was a used part (everything was new or rebuilt). However if you are looking at a Cobra and all the parts look like they came off of a Mustang, realize what you are looking at.

Now that said even if every part was taken off of a Mustang and nothing was rebuilt, it may still be a decent car depending on the Mustang that was parted out. Just realize what it is and what you are looking out for.

When they use suspension parts off of the Mustang, Kit manufactures claimed Ford new more than their competition's Kit. Personally my opinion is that Ford was designing a family/sport car and building it as cheap as they could. When these cars are used as high performance race cars, those parts are not designed for that. That said there are huge differences in these cars.

Apologizes to all who were offended.

[mikeinatlanta]

Originally Posted by olddog

I will make a point, at the risk of ruffling feathers. This is not an absolute factual thing, but there is a trend. Some kit manufacturers used to put literature out leading people to believe they could buy there least expensive kit and a wore out Mustang and make a great Cobra for cheap. So people got the idea that they could just chuck a 150K mile drive train out of a worn out Mustang into a kit. I have seen in print that miles does not matter because these cars typically only get drove a few thousand miles a year. Since the Cobra is lighter the Mustang brakes are more than adequate. Well this is true to some degree.

So the trend. People who were trying to build a Cobra on the cheap tended to use the Mustang 5.0 drive train. That's not to say all Cobra's with a 5.0 block were poorly built. Mine personally has a 5.0 block. Not one part on my Cobra was a used part (everything was new or rebuilt). However if you are looking at a Cobra and all the parts look like they came off of a Mustang, realize what you are looking at.

Now that said even if every part was taken off of a Mustang and nothing was rebuilt, it may still be a decent car depending on the Mustang that was parted out. Just realize what it is and what you are looking out for.

When they use suspension parts off of the Mustang, Kit manufactures claimed Ford new more than their competition's Kit. Personally my opinion is that Ford was designing a family/sport car and building it as cheap as they could. When these cars are used as high performance race cars, those parts are not designed for that. That said there are huge differences in these cars.

Apologizes to all who were offended.

I'm offended. I think you may have overstated what FFR said just a bit, but still facts is facts.

I'll risk offending a bit too. If buying a car that is built by manufacturer you are buying a pretty much known quantity and stable pricing based on engine choice. If buying an FFR you can get an incredible deal or a POS. The POS cars drive down the prices of the nice ones making for a great deal if you know what to look for. ALWAYS bring in an expert before buying any of these cars.

[olddog]

My memory is no longer perfect. What I wrote was a compilation of more than one company, which is why I would not name one company.

I have seen FFR cars that were superbly built. There is nothing wrong with the brand. I have seen very good brands built poorly. It is the builder not the company, that usually makes the difference.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by olddog

I have seen FFR cars that were superbly built. There is nothing wrong with the brand. I have seen very good brands built poorly. It is the builder not the company, that usually makes the difference.

I totally concur. I saw some cars that had the fiberglass mesh tape showing through the paint. I've seen others that were superb.

Which reminds me, I would not suggest that a fiberglass Cobra be your first experience with finishing fiberglass.