Arntz-Butlers or Butlers---how do they stack up?

[decooney]

Fred, just for some feedback...
I've driven two Butlers, (one I wanted to buy way back, and a friend's car recently), and I like them alot. I am comparing to Unique's and ERAs, and have yet to drive a SuperF, but know of them fairly well. A first driving impression of the Butler is it sits low from the outside and sitting within it, with great ground clearance too; go figure. The car's weight seems to almost pivot from the center when driving it, maybe because of the engine sitting back so far, but yet there is still leg room. One Butler I drove had a 351W, and the other had a small block Chevy just like Ron Butler intended it. It seems Rob Butler engineered a purpose built car with this Cobra, and with good reason. There are articles comparing the 350 Chevy Traco Engineering Bulter built car with the original 427 Cobra that make for interesting reading for comparison and debate by many. I like Ford's in Cobras, but the Butler does well with a SBC in it too - a secret combo to some. One thing to mention about my friend's current Butler car is the incredible leg room. The foot boxes are very deep, and the adjustable pedals are nice. The chassis is incredible. It's worth looking at it underneath, with the big X brace under there and all. Check for MGB front suspension or coilover setups, and hopefully some sort of upgrade to Alden's or some other adjustable coilover setup. My buddies car has the Jag/IRS in the rear as typical, and it has BBS racing wheels on it with 15x10 in the front and 15x12 in the rear - meats! His car has a nice THICK fiberglass body and the rear wheel wells were reflared with a wide-hip look that made the car look more correct in comparison to other Butler/Arntz I've seen with no rear flare to it. Also, some of the bodies were bonded to the chassis, which makes it a solid car too. If you don't mind a little wrenching to get a used Butler sorted out (if needed) to me the base foundation of the car is really good, and they are fun to drive. It could be very fast on the track as well if set up correctly, but fun on the street too. I like Uniques, ERAs, SuperF's and others as well. I heard G&K Motorsports (the Co. Ron sold to) is no longer, but there are a few good used ones out there... I believe the Butler/Arntz is really worth considering too if the price is right, IMHO. Good Luck. Duane