I visited Premier Cobras

[mattr762]

I visited Premier Cobras in Kansas City this weekend. I took plenty of pictures seen here.

Here is my review of Premier Cobras:
The People – I meet with Bob Lockett and Chuck Nickloy. They are both really super nice and were very patient with all my newbie questions. They took the time to explain everything to me. During my 5 hours there I felt totally comfortable and would to go back to visit them.

What I saw – There were plenty of Cobras to look at. And one thing I though was great was seeing a Premier, Kirkham, Pegasus and a Shelby side by side. There were several aluminum bodies for me to see, they had Premier powered coated frames for me to inspect, and anything else you can think of. Being able to see what is under the cobra skin is just amazing. I used to think what was under the skin was no big deal, but I've changed my tune. There was a (name removed) Cobra there that really scared me. Its quality, fit and finish was no where near a Premier and it just felt a lot cheaper. I know, I know, there is a Cobra for every budget and you get what you pay for but from what I’ve seen so far it would be smarter to save your money a little longer and buy a better replica.

The Car – Premier’s replica is top notch quality. It’s definitely up there with Kirkham and Shelby and a step up from Superformance and BackDraft from what I’ve seen. I’m not dogging the later two, I would own either one, but fit and finish was excellent instead of just good on the Premier. The frame looks original at first glance but after studying it a little you might notice the front and back of the frames are beefed up quite a bit for safety. The Power coat on the frame looked great and very shiny. I’m no welding expert but they look solid to me. The Premier body feels thick and the inside of the wheel wells have a nice lip to them.

Comfort – They have developed a new “original styled” seat that is very, very comfortable. Another comfort feature is the foot wells. They dropped them about 3 inches (lower) so your legs don’t stick straight out. It would be obvious on a finished car from the outside if you ordered it without side pipes, but the dropped floor is well hidden as long as you get side pipes.

The Ride – I rode in 2 Premier Cobras while I was there. The silver 289 Kirkham hybrid was insane and very load at WOT! It has a Supercharged 4.6L producing 550hp. Anyone having more HP than that is just asking for a one-way trip to the graveyard. Having that much HP in a 2200lbs car is just crazy! FUN, but crazy! Needless to say, I’d be happy with 300-400hp. The other Premier Cobra I rode in was a mild 428 that had a nice rumble. The soft top and side windows were on which I think made a big difference in sound. It was not loud at all. This car was not complete so there were still some minor flaws on it that need some attention, but overall still a great ride.

Bob started up a CSX4000 for me and it sounded awesome. They rebuild the engine and at idle you could hear every cylinder fire. Very, very nice rumble.

I think my visit there did more harm than good though. I realize I need to increase my budget and I still have no idea what engine I want. Also the more I look at Cobras the more original I want it to look.

Sorry for the long post, I just had a lot I had to get out of my head.

Matt