new at this
 

hi, my name is sean. i raced motorcycles for a few years, so i now a little about engines, but not enough to build a cobra from a kit. right now i am looking at buying a turnkey venom 427 from team-c-racing.com. i was just wondering what you guys thought about the best buy for a turnkey car. currently my budget is about 38k. thanks

Why not buy a used one? The KEY to that is:

Who built it?
Was it built right?

With a recognized builder question number is easy.

My self I prefer a used one with a few miles on it, that the way the "bugs" are worked out. Or a new one from a builder who will stand behind it until the "bugs" are worked out.

Ernie

certainly that thought crossed my mind, but then i like the idea of the one year warrantyoffered by team-c for those "bugs", and the comfort of knowing that some neophyte with a few sockets and a crescent didn't put the car together with ziptyes. i think buying new might be better for us, unless a good deal comes alongthe owner gives us a guarentee on his workmanship(but how often will that happen?)

Sean

Did I see you today at the Trailer sales office off of Pacheco Blvd in Martinez. If you are, Welcome to the Club. You will be able to get, any and all and then some, information on our favorite mode of transportation.

Lew

no lew i live in colorado, and thanks for the welcome

Many builders offer a warranty, some on new OR used Cobras. You would need to buy from a quality "dealer" to get a "reliable" warranty.

I assume the "warranty" your talking about is for "parts"? It is unlikely the Cobra will be shipped back to the dealer (back east in the case of Team-C) to have said "parts" installed.

With that in mind, your virtually unlimited in WHERE you could buy your new (or used) Cobra! "Hunter" is in Florida (among others), DV (Classic Roadsters II) is in Ohio, JBL (among others) is in Calif, all are quality builders and that covers the USA coast to coast and in the middle! There are many many more quality builders than just those named above from whom you can get a warranty!!!

As far as I know Team-C is a quality builder, never heard anything bad about them at least. They got any "used" ones for sale that come with a warranty?? I bet DV or Don Scott do!

Ernie

Sounds like you got yourself all up into a hurry cowboy! Slow down & do some research. There are a number of reputable manufacturers out there, all with very different cars. Take your time!!! In the end you will get the right car for you even if it means saving a few more bucks(time). It will be worth it to have the right car in the end!:cool:

With 38K as a budget you can get one heck of a car in the used car market.. You can tweak it to put you mark on it and still be way ahead... Do a fellow Cobra owner a favor and buy his car...

well, i'm a good year from having the money for a cobra. you have a point with the warranty. just trying to get adice on the mistakes you guys might have made so i can save some money on repairs by making a bad move

A "warranty" is only as good as...
 

The honor of the man behind it. Be careful and listen to those with experience with each manufacturer. Also consider taking your time and learning as much as possible from the plentiful personal experiences contained in the archives from this club... use the search feature..... choose carefully and enjoy your snake when you get it...

well, i'm looking for a weekend warrior type car, i'm concerned with reliability more than power, seeing as how we'll be driving through the colorado rockies a lot. so one of the lower 300hp cars still offers impressive power to weight and from what my limited knowledge and research has led me to believe is that they are pretty reliable in contrast to some of the 550hp stroked monsters out there.(naturally that all relies on who built it in the first place, but thats all relative)

sean842,

If i can be of any value i researched for almost 2 years before i made up my mind. I must have bored the hell out of my CC friends with my questions and endless e-mails.

As i had no time to build a Cobra i went for a pre owned SPF with only 350 miles on the clock.

There are some really good pre owned cobras for sale on this site.

Good luck.

Let us know how you get on.

Skippy.

thanks for the help guys, getting a killer spf or era with a few miles on it sounds like a good way to get a great car for a lot less than buying new.

,,,,not that I've seen a used SPF or ERA for under $40K lately, but it's possible!

Ernie

i could happen, maybe it's got a lawn mower engine rigged up to each wheel, but heres to american enginuety!

Keep your eyes open. There are some good deals out there now & then. I also spent over 2 years researching before I dove in. It was more money driven but I'm glad now it happened that way. I'll never regret my choice :cool:

Hi,

You didn't mention what part of Colorado you live in but we have an active Cobra club in the greater Colorado area - Mile Hi Cobra Club. Check out our web site at milehicobraclub.commilehicobraclub.com. There are a few cars listed there that you might want to investigate as you move towards your purchase. You missed the club in Aspen over the weekend but we have another drive planned for the end of August. Check the web site for details. Aslo, please feel free to call me at 303-979-4977 if you want to talk Cobras!

Gary Patrick
Vice President - Mile Hi Cobra Club

With $38k you've got plenty of choices. Backdraft has a shared history with 427 Venom. Maybe someone can explain what the differences are. Other choices are B&B, Classic, Everett-Morrison, Lone Star, Midstates, Shell Valley, and Unique, among others. You could have a Hunter or FFR or Pacific Roadster with new parts.

Which is best? That depends on what you want. My advice is to research thoroughly.

Colorado maintainence and builder
 

Sean, you are so right in getting a reliable Cobra rather than too high of a performance car! Too much compression and you hunt for high Octane gas forever!

We are S & S Automotive on Iliff Ave in Denver. We maintain many of Mile High Cobra Club members cars. We are a distributor and builder of Unique Motorcars' Cobras. www.uniquemotorcars.com

We like using new Ford 302 crate motors. Its plenty of motor for a 2400 lb car and with the lighter motor it gives you a 50/50 weight ratio so handling is like a slotcar for Colorado Highways. Further more, using new parts instead of donor car parts there are less headaches chasing down a failed part.

We supplied a Unique brand Cobra rolling chassis to "Dr Dan" in Black Forest, Colorado. With a little help from us he built his own car and to his 302 he added a great looking Fuel Injection system by Grand Lake, Colorado based Momar Fuel Injection systems (www.momarefi.com) It looks like Quad Webers, but is tuned with a laptop! And of course with our roads from 5,000 to 14,000 Mount Evans performance is never compromised.


Our greatest asset is Carl Wade. Carl has been building Cobras and GT40's for over 20 years. He was the key builder for Hardey Motors of California in the 70's and 80's.
Carl has been working with Dave Cimbura of Momar Injection directly and knows better than anyone about this new EFI system built by Momar!

With that said we have the "Superman of Cobra builders"...injected...or not! And your best Colorado connection for Cobra work!

ColoradoCobras,,,,,nice post. Not to over the top (you know like an Ad), just good facts on your business.

Welcome to the Club.

Ernie