Brock Yates at the Monteray historics....
 

...... said what a beautiful, and accurate(?) car the Superformance coupe was. On speed vision!

That should be good for some more babble.

Question Richard Hudgins, tisk tisk;)

Rick

Sorry to start your rainy Monday out like this Ron,

Fini,
;)

It's time to end this discussion.........mine is the best cobra out there bar none !!!! Why? Because it's the only one I own! It's the only cobra that puta a smile on my face every time I step on the gas!
Larry:)

,Al,Rick, Dan, Ernie, (add name),etc...

Eric: You are silly. :JEKYLHYDE Of course SAI uses some off the self parts like Trigos, Smiths etc. You know what I meant. I need not elaborate.

While SPF continues to make better and better cars (according to you anyway) and SAI continues to make the same old car you have lost sight that thats the beauty of it. They make the car just like it was. Thats the differnce. One is a Cobra the other a car using more modern components and design, whether for claimed performance improvement (which I don't buy) or ease of manufacure with a look a like Cobra shell on it.

Thats the difference regardless of which you want to argue is "better".

Special K: Good post. Even someone not experienced in chasis fabrication can easily see which of the two chasis is the more elaborate and time consuming to build. Just open your eyes.

:rolleyes: ;)

I find myself agreeing more and more with Evan. Why does everyone seem to degrade other's car. Shelby was the original and it was and is still a darn good design. Point is, educate your self on the different designs' strengths and weaknesses, evaluate the intangibles like a CSX s/n and such and then, make your decision and be happy with it.

Each car is great to its owner which is how it should be.

Regards,

Keith

While the SAI chassis is clearly more complex than many others Richards (JBL) observation of the manufacturing process was not lost on me.

With "jigs" and the assembly process being well organized the time differential between one brand or another would be minimal.

Now for the "home builder" makeing his own frame from scratch the SAI frame would indeed be considerably more complex and time consuming.

Ernie

I too agree with Evan, SAI's claim to fame is that is an exact reproduction- and that's pretty cool- like entering a time warp if you will. If that's what you want, then SAI's the only place to get it. If you want something more "modern" then you have other options.

But putting that aside, who really cares which frame is better/stronger? If peope were arguing about safety issues, I could see why it would be worth discussing, but as far as reaching the performance limitations of any one of these designs, the fact of the matter is 99% of us will never drive our cars to the point where it makes any difference. If you are in that 1% where it makes a difference, then I'm sure you've come to your own conclusions about which is best and you're probably not arguing about it here.

Mike/Keith: Good posts. Makes perfect sense. I've been saying the same thing for a long time now.

Ernie: While both chasis are welded in jigs it clearly appears the CSX chasis would be the more time consuming to construct and build.

I would expect GM to say their cars are better than Ford. HOW they say that and the words they use when it comes from a "corporate level" is everything! That same chit chat when it comes from an "owner" level is little more than my car is better than yours, it carries little "weight".

There HAVE been some comments made by Cobra "dealers" (vocal miniority?) on this thread and other threads RECENTLY who are CLEARLY makeing bold and deragatory comments concerning OTHER manufacturers.

There is no need to "read between the lines" on some of the statements that HAVE been made. I found them offensive and they left me somewhat bitter. I see these "dealers" as being on a corporate level, whether they are or not, that IS my perception of it.

Ernie

Both the CSX2000 frame and CSX3000/4000 frames use round tube. But, the CSX3000/4000 frame is more complex, more expensive to build because of the suspension set up. One of the Kirkham boys stated in the past that the 427SC roller is more expensive than the 289 Roller, because of the frame.

It was a while ago, maybe a year or so.

Not silly, "original"
 

Evan,

I'm just the type of guy that looks at a point of view, and says "why?". I am having some fun with these hate posts, and generally poking fun at everyone, while learning about everyones interests.

You know, if having the best car meant having a correct looking body, and the original maker involved, we would all be driving Model T replicas! :JEKYLHYDE Now THAT would be silly! :p

Would make an interesting DVSF I bet! :LOL: You imagine Hersh driving all the way at 30 mph? :eek:

By the way, you complimented Keith for agreeing with you :JEKYLHYDE **) %/ Now that is silly.

Eric :MECOOL:

I will say this and no more,,Woods428,since were talking value for the dollar,the only way to test it is keep tab of what you invest,sell in 5 years +/- , subtract the investment from the sale price and count whats left,I doubt any one here would say the sai wont come out on top,this is like the harley versus who ever argument,but one point remains clear,NO ONE will ever build a copy of a 1978 yamaha,or for that matter a 99 spf,,thats all I need to decide,even thought they are both great cars. Tk

Ok, I'll say it then

Just for the sake of discussion, lets say the over saturated Cobra market sees an across the board loss in value of 10% at some point in the near future.

If you paid $50.000 for your UNREAL Cobra then you would end up loosing $5.000
if you paid $120.000 for your REAL Cobra you may be down $12.000

Smeone may like to point out that an SAI product would somehow be immune to this type of fiscal malady, but my experience with high end specialty items is, they appreciate more quickly and depreciate even quicker.

No one I know likes loosing money, even throwing dice at 03:00 in vegas .......you know the odds are'nt too good.....but the drinks are free and the servers are pretty...you pay to play.....!

KK

Re: Not silly, "original"
 

Asp,
I'd like to compliment you on your great post. Makes perfect sense. I've been saying the same thing for a long time now.:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
:MECOOL:

I wish I hadnt gotten into this,,I gotta stop taking it out in the forum when my wife Piss** me off,,lol
I didnt understand your post Karl,What I was wondering is when all the dust settles,and the economy being up or down,dosent matter for the sake of comparison,how the guy who has over 50 in a brand x car,{those I already see offered for sale in the 30's}will fare compared to a guy who has say 50 to 55 in a decent sai car{less than 1000 total mfg},be it south african or not,,to me its a no brainer.
Not that I think thats all there is ,I agree in buying to enjoy ,but I didnt bring up the argument,no matter who says what,or how great anyones car is,a Colt is still a Colt,a Harley is still a Harley,a Shelby Cobra is still a Shelby Cobra,{in public eyes},and Coke is still the real thing.
No matter how good or bad the economy,or how many replicas there are ,there will always be some young guy on a roll with a few bucks to blow on a dream toy,my guess is he will buy something that says shelby first,and for more money,actually I bet 50k on it.I think a 55k shelby now,will bring more in 10 years,I doubt that can be said for anything else.
There have been built less than 700 cars counting the originals,as you said the market is pretty saturated with other makes,Tk

Misfit,
Let's hope you are right.
If you are, the ownership of a Cobra will be that much more fun.
If you are wrong, you will still have a blast during the depreciation years. You won't feel a thing.

TURK

I agree Turk,,and thats not why I bought it,,but it is part of how I justified doing what I already wanted to do,the way I see it,just like buying a dog,for a few bucks more you get the paperwork,have to wait and see if the dog is any better than the one from the pound,haha,I have just realized for some reason I like making odd comparisions,,have a great day,,Tk

Misfit: I forgot to say - Congrats on your Shelby! Enjoy it.

For me there is a definiite thrill driving a Shelby Cobra. A blast from the past so to speak.

First thing comes to mind, that if anyone is "really" serious about making an investment, one would tend to put their money elsewhere than in a replica of any nature. A $20,000 or so older mustang would be a safer haven for your investment dollars than most replicas of any type. However, when buying a replica primarily for personal satisfaction, there are clearly some that may hold their price better than others. That's all you can shoot for and hope for the best in the end.

Second thing that's obvious, is that the resale market is governed solely by those that are selling them, not the buyers. If no one will let even the barest of replicas's sell for nothing less than an outrageously high $40,000, then that is what the market bears, and what they are "Worth." On the other hand, if the best of the best alloy masterpiece goes for a ridiculously low $29,000, then that is what they are now "worth" despite of their actual value. Desparate sellers really drive the market down and create a precident for lower buyer expectations in those sales that follow. Of course, it takes quite a few sales in those ranges to "curve" the market either way, but it doesn't take long, especially with the influence and wide expanse of the electronic media..

So, if you want to stablize the market, don't look at the buyer, but to the sellers that ultimately set the price.

/Randall