Cobra Opinion
 

As I have said before I am looking into purchasing a cobra kit. I have been looking at a few manufactureres. I know that ERA, Superformance are pretty high end kits. I was wondering about lonestar or JBL. Are these manufactuerers well known and put out a good product?

I am biased of course, but Lone Star builds a very nice Cobra kit. Great people to work with too.

The Jbl is more go-cart than cobra. Would make an awesome track car.

I received my Lone Star 4/12/02 as a turnkey.

I have been 100% pleased with it. If I were to do it again, I
would .

The customer support after the sale is very impressive !
FORD,GM,etc. could learn from them.

Lonestar is a low to mid pack quality car that has an extended wheelbase and uses a Live Axle(mustang 8.8 or 9" Ford) with Mustang II type front suspension. Other cars that are similar are the Classic Roadster (96" wb). I would say the A&C, B&B and FFR are in a similar price range and use similar suspensions. The midstates and Shell Valley are similar but maybe a little more expensive.

The JBL is a very Hi-Tech chassis with a modified Cobra Body slipped over the chassis. This is for the guy that likes a race type suspension and is not looking to replicate a Cobra.

If you want a IRS type car you need to step up to the folowing
High end: ERA, Shelby & Superformance(everyone knows these)

Mid Pack: Unique(very good value), Hunter(low cost for quality components) , EM(if they get back in business) Backdraft(great alternative to the guy who wants a Superformance but can live with a few minor detail changes for a $10k savings) or a FFR IRS(great handling car but has a few quirks in the body like perky butt and non lined hood and trunk)

Low end
Street Beasts(just based on their past life as C&C or whatever they called themselves. The cars are actually pretty good if you ever get one with all the parts)

That is about all the ones I have laid my hands on or researched myself

Disclaimer
All opinions are mine and others may differ.

aumoore ,

I noticed you didn't say a word about Hunter. Where would you place Hunter? I know where I would...

BTW there are NO mustang II parts on my car, and except for the engine block and crankshaft (need to be pre-emission here in TX to avoid emission testing) all parts are brand new. If I wanted an IRS they would be more than happy to sell me a Mustang Cobra R IRS adapted to their chassis.

A Little Defensive Aren't We?
 

Ft. Worth Cobra,

Read the post before you get too defensive:

"Mid Pack: Unique(very good value), Hunter(low cost for quality components) , EM(if they get back in business) Backdraft(great alternative to the guy who wants a Superformance but can live with a few minor detail changes for a $10k savings) or a FFR IRS(great handling car but has a few quirks in the body like perky butt and non lined hood and trunk)"

Dave Lowell:3DSMILE:

I would also place Midstates and Shell Valley high up in the Midgrade grouping.

Cheers
Jim

Greetings Thorin

I missed the part about Hunter. Nine hours in the Texas heat working on the car will do that to you...

Just trying to set the record straight. And yes, I do get a bit defensive when someone is making statements of fact (the little "opinion" disclaimer don't mean nothing) when they obviously don't know what they are talking about.%/

This is the one that really gets me:
Street Beasts(just based on their past life as C&C or whatever they called themselves. The cars are actually pretty
good:confused:

STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM STREET BEASTS !!!!!

Go to Cobracountry.com for an UNBIASED opinion.

Hi Dave, (cowtowncobra)

A go-cart tyically does not have suspension. Go-carts rely on chassis flex to maintain proper tire geometry.

The JBL has a fairly stiff chassis that allows the suspension to ultilize proper camber curves and the resulting dynamics.

Therefore, the JBL does not truly qualify as a go-cart. (It would be nice if the JBL was as fast as a shifter cart, but no way.)

Aumoore,

The JBL body actually is not a modified Cobra body. It was made from my CAD lofting drawings. (It really would have been easier and cheaper to modify a existing body!!!)

The point was to make a roadster that captured the essense of the Cobra era/Roadster shape.

In other words, if I had been the designer for AC in those days, the JBL is what it would have looked like.

(My taste has always been somewhat suspect.)

Also, please note: The JBL is not a replica!!!!!!!!

It is a JBL!

In other words, it is real.

Richard,

Your suspension is a work of art, looking at pictures of it is better than,,,,,,well, almost. I'm glad to see someone thinking "outside the box". :)