Cobra Make, Engine: Superformance 156, ex Paxton 351, now a 392 Ford Racing Stroker
Posts: 1,666
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excaliber, wow, must be quite a few of those new south african shelbys in hawaii, eh > so, they look pretty good do they. your first hand inspection of a variety of them shows the fiberglass body work to be great, eh ? trim / fit and finish too ? havent seen one here in michigan yet, but anxiously look forward to inspecting one. hey, excal, that new one could be a fine product, but how can so many folks who aint never seen one yet praise what they are , before they are ? the first ones out will have been gone over with a fine tooth comb by the factory/dealers to ensure the test of scrutiny from the other owners, csx and other brands alike...i want to see examples of their delivery timing and the quality of the cars off the boat after say serial number 50 or so, when normal production standards without hand picked examples are shown. but, sure nice to have so many in hawaii because i am sure you would not tout an air car not seen yet...i think the new 2005 mustang out in a couple of years rate right up there wiht the best you can buy ! no question in my mind. aint seen one yet but the pictures looked great, so that counts right ? at any rate, i wish them well, either in malta, the rock in a pond, or south africa....competition keeps everyone on their toes.
now, without another flame war of one brand vs another, and back to the original question of mr snake'd...these cars are hobby cars. like country clubs and yacht clubs. like those spare time avenues of expression, these cars cost money to own. they are not investments, some will do better than others will in resale. the value of one serial number/brand vs another remains to be seen over the long term. there are many fine representations on the market and most folks will swear theirs is better than anyone elses. ya takes your pick and ya takes your chances. in the meantime, you can APPRECIATE whatever ya get with every turn, throttle twitch, thumbs up , or exhaust rap. inspect them all and go with your heart and budget, but look at real cars as examples not promises not yet examined. my $02 worth and a rare expression of cynicism on my part.
Last edited by Bill Wells; 10-19-2003 at 02:45 AM..
I don't think that anyone can really predict with certainty what kind of appreciation or depreciation the new Shelby cars will have.
It is my OPINION that Cobra that is sold through Carroll Shelby will probably hold it's value better than any other kind of Cobra.
Bill Wells-
Why didn't you give Tout the same slam you gave Ernie? It seems to me that Tout has probably seen as many of them as Ernie has. Was it because Tout was being critical of Shelby's product and Ernie was being complimentary?
mr. dalton
please do your homework. yes the "csx 4000 sa" cars are made in south africa ( i'm surprised "sai" said nothing of this during your meeting with them, then again i'm not at all ), hence the "sa" after the "csx" number. the true south african cars have a fiberglass body and can be upgraded to a carbon body that's made in the U.S.A., my suggestion to you is keep the GT500. it will be worth far more money in the future than the cobra.
I have confidence in SAI and HAVE seen the pictures of the new SAI CAV car. I have listened to the opinons of those who have seen the car themselves.
I fully stand by my OPINION that they are a top quality car. I would not hesitate to put my money down on one right now.
I really have no clue where Tout is coming from. Thats HIS opinion and I'm sure a large number of SPF owners dealers (who have an ax to gind) will be happy to agree with him. I CERTAINLY don't!
Cobra Make, Engine: Former Owner/Builder of KMP142 427 Sideoiler, Tunnel Wedge, Aluminum heads, etc.
Posts: 702
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Had the opportunity to view the new South African Cobra yesterday at the Unique Performance show, and was generally impressed. They definitely got the body pretty much spot on, the stance is right and the shape is beautiful. The frame appears accurate and exhibits nice workmanship. Paint and bodywork looked good, and the interior generally seemed well fitted. Electricals appear throughly contemporary and well done.
Some detail issues:
The underside of the hood, rather than finished smooth, was finished off with a glossy black, extremely rough surface, almost like an undercoat.
The rear bulkhead is flat, with the suitcase bulge not present.
The footboxes were black gelcoat, not white as the originals.
The car I saw featured poorly executed heat insulation on those footboxes, but this could be improved upon very easily.
The electrics, as mentioned earlier, are different than the originals or the current 3000/4000 series cars which generally duplicated the set ups used in the '60's, and while they do not look authentic, will probably prove more reliable.
Assuming these features continue on throughout production, I don't think owners of current 4000 series 'glass cars need be that concerned. There are production and material compromises that obviously had to be made to meet the new price, and while "purists" may be disappointed, they don't detract from the general look and feel of the car. With the hood closed, it will be hard to tell the difference.
On balance, it appears to be a very nice car. I personally would like to see some details changed, such as the footbox color and the underside finishes, but have to admit that if I were back in the market, this car as it stands for the price would be very hard to resist.
I did see the new CAV car in Reno. I don't know if it is representative of the others to come from CAV. If it is, it is a great car.
I looked it over very closely. Very critically. After all we are talking about a $40,000 car here.
I agree I would like to see the production cars with numbers 30 or 50 stamped on them. Not just the prototype, or the show car.
If they are like the one I saw, Bill, I suggest you may consider selling the SPF and lining up for one of these.
Tout, where did you see the new CSX car?
If Shelby did not mention anything about the fiberglass car being made in South Africa, it is very possible they were showing you the ones that are NOT manufactured in South Africa. During my last visit to Shelby all cars on display, and in production were the cars that are manufactured in Las Vegas facility. There was not a CAV car to be seen anywhere.
I got to see both the CSX and CAV cars side by side at the vintage races in San Diego. The CAV car was pretty nice. The fiberglass didn't have a "rolled edge" under the fender. The rep said this was to be fixed in the production models.
I'm sticking with ERA. They are rare and will keep their value just the same. Turk won't admit it, but he liked his ERA better than his CSX !
__________________
"There are 10 types of people out there....the ones that understand binary and the zeros that don't."
TURK
Two different needs were satisfied by two different cars.
1-Need to have a great car from great bunch of people.
2-Need to have a car with some Historical significance.
Cobra Make, Engine: Aluminum SPF #SPA0001 ,round tube frame, with a shelby 484 CID AL engine,68 GT 500 KR , 4 spd with factory air
Posts: 135
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Ex, are you saying all al and glass Shelbys are finished product direct from the factory or are they sold to dealers to finish and can they differ from dealer to dealer ?
I also viewed the car in Reno, I am with Bud. The SA CSX cars have some color issues with the details but as I understand it they will be changed (footbox, hood).
- Bill you are amazing, you need to take a deep breath and relax. SPF will have competition in the market, will it make things harder on them YES. Is this a bad thing no. Enjoy your car and stop bashing SAI, it makes you and the rest of the SPF owners look bad.
Allan
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A happy SAI customer
Cobra Make & Engine: Continuation Series Shelby Cobra, CSX 7034 the most accurately detailed Continuation Cobra to original specification since the demise of CSX 4027.
Cobra Make, Engine: Aluminum SPF #SPA0001 ,round tube frame, with a shelby 484 CID AL engine,68 GT 500 KR , 4 spd with factory air
Posts: 135
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no question about how good certian dealers are, some even know the cars better than Shelby.Are the new glass cars finished or do they too go to dealers to finish,paint etc?
Cobra Make, Engine: Aluminum SPF #SPA0001 ,round tube frame, with a shelby 484 CID AL engine,68 GT 500 KR , 4 spd with factory air
Posts: 135
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If I owned a CSX4000, Id be pissed off,this has to effect the value of all glass cars made to this point.In fact Id be checking the backside of my VIN to see if it reads MADE IN CHINA,anything so Carol can make a buck.Why do you think SAAC had such a problem with this same thing, could they call these cars original and have their Real Cobras drop in value?No,hence "continuation", are these CAV cars now continuation of a continuation?I guess were all now related SPF ,SAI ,whos next?
If ALL the dealers know the cars better than Shelby, what difference would it make if they were finished by which dealer?
Apparently they would be better than anything you could get from Shelby?
Is it me, or is it getting silly? We used to have some REAL opposition to Shelby in the past. Some REAL and serious concerns. I have been known to air them out at times myself.
I hope I didn't sound as frivolous when I was barking "foul"!
We are attacking a car most haven't seen, and those who saw the car think it is plenty good, now we are questioning if it would differ from dealer to dealer.
I thought we had established that they were ALL going to be built in South Africa, like SPFs are built.
They would either be all good or bad,. Wouldn't you say?
In the past there was not many questions asked about the variations of the Las Vegas glass cars. No one said anything about dealers then. Now that the new model is coming back from South Africa from a single source, there are all kinds of questions. None too positive either.
The owners of SPF cars and many others have a lot to be proud of in their cars. If the new Shelby is a better car, guess what? Your manufacturer will make your car better too. It is called competition. It is good.
It has done miracles to US autos in the last 10 years or so. We have Japanese to thank for that. They haven't missed a beat in the process themselves either.
Same scenario will play out with smaller numbers.
If the car is bad, and fails to satisfy the market it will be gone and that will be a shame for the rest of us. The other manufacturers wouldn't have to worry about a newcomer.
Tout,
So what if it does? If I had bought one of these for investment purposes I would worry about it. I didn't.
The value of these types of cars go up and down more violently due to other reasons. Economy for one. Inflation and recession for two and three.
It was long before I got involved with Cobras, I guess there was a time some of the CSX3XXX and CSX2000 cars were bringing far more than they are today. That all changed. I doubt it they went from $450,000 to $275,000 because Shelby or someone else made a few more replicas and flooded the market.
The new entries are absorbed by the new drivers/owners.
As long as the interst and the passion for this car stays where it is, there will be room in it for all new comers. Market will decide which ones should stay and which ones should go.
If people thought the market can only absorb an finite number of Cobras any given year then some will get panicky and start worrying for nothing..
Example:
if collectively 1000 Cobras were sold a year and they were broken down as follows:
50% MANUF. A
39% MANUF. B
05% MANUF. C
03% MANUF. D
02% MANUF. E
01% MANUF. F
and the numbers added up to 1000.
Then some new manufacturer or one of the existing ones came in the market place with new car that was perfect and cost only $3000.00 with a motor and a tranny in it, they would corner the market. Wouldn't they?
The total sold that year would be a hell of a lot more than 1000.
They wouldn't just move the percent meter around but they would bring new money, new owners to the market and probably compete with the boat and motorcycle dollars.
I guess this is a long way about saying, all Cobra Manufacturers collectively haven't scratched the surface yet.They are too busy fighting one another.
Let's celebrate the new comers, (as long as they deliver a good car like they promise) rather than chastise them.
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