Average Age?

[racer24]

Will be 50 in Nov. Cobra will be done in Dec
just in time for all the snow and ice in Illinois. I don't know about a mid life crisis ,but I had been divorced a few years earlier and I have always loved Mustangs(3) over the years . Shelby mustangs were awesome and the COBRA to good to imagine. I was actually going to wait 3 years for a new kit when I came upon this CMC cobra that needed restored or finished to make it street worthy. The engine sold it , a 351 cleveland that sounds real sweet.
If I had been married I probably would not have spent the money for the COBRA . I have since remarried and my lovely wife says she is glad I bought it because BABY as she calls it a very special part of our lives. Great Lady, and the money has never been a issue as long as the BABY will look good. The speed of it scares her , but I am living out a dream that should give us many years of FUN together. Mid life crisis
don't think so.

Rich
racer24

HELLO, YOUNGSTERS: I GUESS THAT IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR ME TO CLAIM THE "OLD FARTS" AWARD.
I'LL BE 66 IN DECEMBER. THAT'S ON THE OUTSIDE -- AND ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE. ON THE INSIDE -- WHERE IT COUNTS -- I'M JUST GOING ON THIRTY. I'VE BEEN IN MY MID-LIFE CRISIS FOR JUST ABOUT 40 YEARS NOW - AND LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT. I'VE LOVED CARS ALL MY LIFE AND BEGAN RACING "JUNKERS" ON SATURDAYS AT "TWIN CITIES SPEEDWAY" BETWEEN SHERMAN & DENISON TEXAS. NOTHING LIKE RUNNING A JUNK YARD SPECIAL ON THE OLD TEXAS FLAT TRACKS IN THE DUST, DIRT & MUD. MAN WOULD I EVER LOVE TO DO THAT AGAIN. I WAS IN THE AIR FORCE THEN AND WE HAD TO RACE UNDER "ASSUMED" NAMES BECAUSE IT WAS A COURTS MARTIAL OFFENSE AT THE TIME TO PLACE THE GOVERNMENTS INVESTMENT AT RISK.
THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY RACING DAYS WAS GETTING TO RACE AN AUSTIN-HEALEYS (BN2L) AT EAGLE MOUNTAIN LAKE IN FT. WORTH (IT'S PROBABLY A CONDO NOW) FOR A FEW SEASONS. HAD THE PLEASURE OF HAVING MY DOORS BLOWN OFF BY MR. SHELBY WHO WAS DRIVING FERRARIS AT THE TIME. ONLY THREE THINGS KEPT ME FROM MAKING IT TO THE BIG TIME. I WAS TOO YOUNG, TO0 STUPID AND TOO AGGRESSIVE. DARN NEAR TERMINATED MY FLYING CAREER BACK THEN.
SAW MY FIRST COBRA - A RED 427 SC AT KOONS FORD IN FALLS CHURCH, VA IN 1966. (PRICE TAG READ $7800.00). I WAS A SENIOR CO-PILOT ON THE AIRLINE AT THE TIME BUT MY EX-WIFE TALKED ME OUT OF BUYING IT. 2ND SON ON THE WAY.
SEVERAL YEARS LATER WE SAW AN IDENTICAL CAR AT THE SAAC MEET IN HERSHEY, PA. ($40,000.00) I WAS FLYING CAPTAIN BY THEN BUT DARN IF SHE DIDN'T TALK ME OUT OF IT AGAIN (NEW HOUSE THIS TIME). (ANYBODY STILL WONDERING WHY SHE'S MY EX-WIFE??). I BECAME HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH AUSTIN-HEALEYS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. SOLD ALL THREE OF THEM WHEN I BOUGHT MY FIRST COBRA THREE YEARS AGO. A BLACK EXCALIBUR WITH A 5.0 HO ENGINE. NICE CAR AND A REAL "CRUISER" - I STILL HAVE IT. SIX MONTHS AGO I ACQUIRED AN ERA 427 WITH A VERY EXCITABLE 427 SIDE-OILER UNDER THE HOOD. WOW!!! THIS ONES A REAL "BRUISER". HAVING TWO OF THEM ALLOWS ME TO STILL HAVE ONE TO DRIVE WHILE I'M WORKING ON THE OTHER ONE.
I BOUGHT THE FIRST ONE ABOUT THE TIME THAT THE "MEDICS" TOLD ME NOT TO BUY ANY "GREEN BANANAS". THEY GAVE ME 12 MONTHS +/-, SO I BOUGHT A COBRA AND TOLD THEM THAT NOW I COULDN'T AFFORD TO PAY THEIR BILLS. SO -- THEY GAVE ME ANOTHER 12 MONTHS +/-. SO I BOUGHT ANOTHER COBRA. GUESS WHAT - ANOTHER 12 +/-. I'M LOOKING FOR A GT-40 NOW. THIS SCARES THE HECK OUT OF ALL OF THEM. IT MEANS THAT NOW I'LL PROBABLY OUTLAST ALL OF THEM.
YOU YOUNGER GUYS HAVE GOT THE RIGHT IDEA. BUY THE COBRA EARLY AND ENJOY IT MUCH LONGER.
Y'ALL HAVE A REALLY GREAT DAY NOW, YA HEAH?? YOU ARE THE GREATEST.
BLACKJACK #21

[Rik]

Well as this topic is having the Cobraclub record I cant stay out anymore..
I am 37, living in the Netherlands, fairly new to this club and enjoying it very much as you learn a lot from all these experiences.
Since 6 years I am the happy Owners of a fake snake and even happier when I drive with it. Here on this side of the ocean the car is as famous as in the States so the responses are the same, only difference is that we have only a handfull of replica's and maybe one or two originals.
People easily think its an original and who am I to take them out of their dreams.
Keep up the postings

bye, Rik

[Sheppard]

Hey,

I'm 49 now I'm hoping to pick-up my Cobra before December so that I can be 48 next year...I've been planning and scheming for years...my son tells me its time to join him at 25....

Jay

[mikiec]

52
FFR2290 will be on the road mid December. Have wanted on since 1964 when I saw my first slab side at a weekend race. Saw my first 427 in 65 at a ford dealership and was hooked on that style.

Almost purchased one of Brian Angliss' cars back in 84....lost job...

Finally got one 5 weeks ago.

Mike

[excelguru]

Okay, okay... this thread has been here so long that even I have to post a reply. And I don't even own one yet.

I'm an underpaid, overworked, 29-year-old mechanical engineer, but I don't (yet) own a Cobra so I'm not sure if my age can be considered for the average.

It all started one cold November day when I retrieved the mail from my Southern Tech mailbox (now called Southern Polytechnical State University - yuck). That's when I found the December 1991 issue of Car and Driver Magazine. I still have that magazine in mint condition. I have read it about 14 or 15 times (seriously).

I've already visited Unique and I still have to plan a trip to ERA sometime soon (AFTER the winter - it's too cold up there for THIS Georgia boy).

My wife is very understanding. But that may change since she has never actually HEARD just how LOUD one of those big-blocks can be. LOL!

excelguru

P.S. Anyone in South Carolina need a good mechanical engineer with a Cobra fetish? My wife and I will be moving to Camden soon. Email me.

[dennis j]

first cobra , an aroura at 44, three years later, a 427 cobra (contemporary) at 54 now and still have it with 7 pounds of money invested.

[JimsGems]

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Hey Guys, it's not how old we are, it's how well cured! Actually, I'm 53 and my lovely wife...are you crazy? I'm not just that stupid. I had a 1964 289 "Slab Side" as a gift on graduation, I loved it, I sold it while I was recovering from wounds suffered in Vietnam, love the vietnam vets act! But I now have a Superformance 427S/C currently on order. Well it only took 30 years, but thats fine, I did it myself, with condiderable blessings. Not too bad. Love you all. James

[rowbow]

My desire for a Cobra goes back to the early 60's when I read the 1st Cobra writeup in Hot Rod. After years of raising a (2)sons (one is college basketball coach & one is an engineer) keeping them supplied with cars. A couple years ago I stumbled across some Cobra information on the net, and that renewed my thirst. Last Nov. a buddy & I attended a Factory Five workshop in K. C. What an inspiration. I was biding my time & watching all Cobras for sale sites on the net. I was figuring on ordering me a kit a little bit before I retired & by the time it got in I could start on it. But sometimes fate steps in & things open up. I found a nice completed car in my home state (no dmv problems)within my price range. Picked it up 59 years and 8 months after I came into this world. I am now almost one happy camper, too much cold & snow. But look out come spring.

[Cobra65]

Scott S, awesome thread! You guys and gals are something else. What a fine group of folks who love machinery with an intestinal rumble capable of pasting your eyeballs on the back of your skull.

Do I have frontal lobe problems or are most of us middle aged? AARRGGGHHhhhhh!!!

[Flyin_Freddie]

Okay..I have seen this thread several times in the past, but resisted the temptation to read everything because it was just too long. Boy, was I WRONG! Here's my story...

I'm 51, but still act like I'm 18 - or so my wife and friends say! (Just wish some things still worked like I was 18 again ) In 1966, while a Junior in High School, my Dad said he was going to buy me a car when I graduated High School, since I would need one to go off to college. Cool, I thought, let's go see what I want. Thus began a never ending series of trips all around the Memphis area to various car dealers to see the features of everything they had to offer.

Finally, in November of '66, I was making one of my weekend visits to the dealers and there it was. On Hull-Dobbs Ford showroom floor. A 1966 427 S/C Shelby Cobra. It was white with blue stripes, as I recall, and they had it all cordoned off so no one could get close to touch it. It was tilted up on an angle on the right side, so passers by could see it plainly from the street. Even though my Dad was a "GM Man", I was taken by it's rakish profile...hell, it only had two seats! How's a guy supposed to pursue that single thing we all wanted when we were 16 with only TWO seats? Never mind the testosterone overload, just LOOK at this car! It was enough to raise the hormonal level all by itself!

But then came the realization that even in my wildest fantasies of 16 year old girls and the like, my parents would NEVER spring for the $6,682.00 that was on the window sticker on the right side of the windshield. Hell, I had a better chance at Ann-Margret than that damn Cobra!

When I graduated, I received the keys to a 1967 Chevy Camaro, 327 2-barrel (Thank you!), with a 3-speed manual in the console. Power nothin', but still a nice ride for a 17 year-old. I was thankful and drove it for three years; wrecked it several times, but had it repaired each time. Never got back to the Cobra, but after getting married in 1973, fell back in love with English cars and began a love-hate relationship with various old English iron: a Bug-eyed Sprite, a Healy 3000, an MGB-GT, culmanating with a E-type Jaguar that was a real gem! How I loved that car...but, hated it all at the same time.

Finally sold the English iron and bought a new Porsche 944 in 1984. Sold that one and bought a new '85 Porsche 911 Carrera that I kept for 15 years. This is the car I sold to buy my SPF...

Five or so years ago, a friend of mine and I began to talk of building two Cobra kits side-by-side. We talked about it for weeks, but reluctantly gave it up after realizing that we really didn't have the time to spend on such a project(s). But, in our searching for kits, prices and options, we came across Superformance cars. Wow, we thought, these were indeed the ultimate, but failed to get any pricing information because we figured we just couldn't afford anything like this.

Then earlier this year, I saw a Cobra around Memphis. I don't know which kit it was, don't know who owned it, or anything about it. But, it awakened the urge to go check on the kit cars again. When I got back to the office, I started some web searching for Cobras and was overwhelmed with the amount of information available through the web. When I got home that night, I probably visited 20 different websites devoted to Cobras. I came across the Superformance website again, and this time decided to call someone and ask for a brochure and procing information. It didn't take long after that until I found ClubCobra.com. Within a few weeks, I had decided to sell my beloved Porsche and pursue a Superformance Cobra.

Had SEVERAL discussions with the wide during these times! After our annual visit to our financial planner, I realized that our investments and our financial picture was pretty darn good. We had paid off our house in the past year, my retirement was funded, we had no outstanding bills - in fact, didn't owe anyone anything. We had just had twin boys (after 26 years of marriage!), and we were working an aggressive plan to fund their college education. Everything was on track, in fact, we were ahead of our plan! So, I figured in five years, when the boys started private school, I may not be able to afford a new Cobra...but, if I already HAD one, maintaining it would be cheaper than buying a new one then. After a lot of explaining our financial condition, my logic in purchasing one now, and some rather heated discussions with the boss, it finally came down to "Look, I'm going to buy this car. You can frown and be perverse about it, or accept it silently, or be enthusiastic along with me. But, I'm going to buy this car, either with your consent, or not. What can I do to help you be okay with this?"

The upshot of this long story is I sold my Porsche within 3 weeks after calling two friends who had said they would be interested in buying it if I were to ever sell it. I never placed an ad anywhere - it sold by word-of-mouth. I had two different buyers actually bidding on my car! I wound up getting enough so my depreciation on the Porsche ended up being $52.8888 per month for 15 years! Cheap fun to say the least. I ordered my SPF within two weeks of selling the Porsche.

Finally...34 years after seeing my first Cobra, I own one! I hope to interest my twin boys in all things automotive. They've already sat down in #770. Drew just looked around a few moments, then reached for the steering wheel and laughed. Will (The Wild Man ) immediately smiled and reached for the wheel and the cockpit edge. I think he was trying to hang his little left arm over the edge and look cool. They show GREAT potential...!

Ahhhhhhhh, yesssssss. Life is goooooooooood!

Happy Christmas, my friends!

[kobrabob]

I'm 46. Married to a friend that I admire. 2 great kids from 1st marriage ages 27 & 24. Been a Shelby Cobra fan since I was 16.
Great forum. Brent does a magnificent job.
Bob

[Climber]

Like most of you, I am still 18, but total 46 birthdays. I've been a car guy all my life and fell in love with a Shelby Cobra when I was 11 or 12. Life being what it is, I only recently reached that station in life when I felt I could spend the cash on my dream. It was not a mid-life crisis; it was the fulfillment of what I'd yearned for over 3 decades ago. So, I did my homework, studied all the kits, considered the investment of time and money - and bought my Superformance in October 1999. I haven't looked back yet and believe I bought the best car on the market. Oh, and it's blindingly fast and corners better under power than any car I've ever driven.

[RallyCobra]

I'm 15 yrs old and I have a Cobra dream.I personnaly want a 350 GT.That'd be cool...

[4RE KLR]

Wow, what a cool thread . I could not remember if I had made a post to this or not , so I went back and looked.

You won't believe what I found .

I am a year older now than I was when I made the original post.

Anyway, how about an UPDATE ????

NOW 39, Still married to my best friend, Carrie and still heve two little ones Shelby and Chris.

SEE YA when I am 40.

Ferrari Killer
Steven E Parks

[Cobra2]

Art Colley wrote this on this thread almost two years 1700 members ago.


I hope this thread never ends.

Some of the stories here are the best, hearwarming, and enjoyable look into our
collective personality. Me, I'm feeling younger all the time.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE (that enough?)

I would hope some of you guys (and girl(s)) would visit my "Cars For Kids
Volunteer Network" site at www.cobra65.org and put some of these stories in
the feedback page. They would do a lot to jumpstart my new (non forum-Club
Cobra is it) site!

This is really great stuff!

Regards, Art in Baton Rouge

[Jack Zupan]

I'm 55 and have had my Cobra for over three years. I actually saw a 427 in a Ford dealer's showroom in late '66 or early '67 and had the money but really needed a daily driver so got a GTX instead, which I drove for 13 years by the way. Got married young, had three kids and was in school for ages. Read an article about Cobra kits in Car and Driver or Road & Track in the early '80's and started dreaming. There were several more magazine articles in the early '90's that kept me dreaming about building and owning one of these cars. But I was a single dad chasing a career and could no more afford a Cobra than than the man in the moon. By the middle '90's, the kids were launched and I realized I could probably afford one of these beasts. By then I decided to buy one built, at least for starters, before I got too old to enjoy it.

Jack

[This message has been edited by Jack Zupan (edited 12-31-2000).]

[Cobra20646]

Me?.... 57 years young When the last of the kids either left the nest or got married or both... the better half and I gave each other the "high five" on the front porch as we watched the last one disappear down the road. Then we got together and decided to spoil the living s**t out of each other. So a few months ago we both took a look at a pre-owned Unique. It was in need of some work, but we both liked it and plunked down a deposit. It's been in the garage now and we have both enjoyed fixing the car up. Haven't driven it far..... just in the driveway She's titled but not tagged yet. It WILL be ready by spring. Have always dreamed of the day I could own one of these cars..... Ahhhhh .. life is great!!!
Take care - Jim Harding - La Plata, MD

[Stephen A. Thomas]

Like most of my Club friends, I'm over the hill at 51, but feel like 17 whenever I'm behind the wheel of my dream car. I've been in love with the Cobra ever since I was a kid playing around with slot cars. Owned several Cobra-bodied slots in my time. Got married. Buoilt a life, which was taken from me on Dec. 23, 1994, 8:05 PM by a truck driver on his way home for Christmas. My life, to say the least, was shattered. My wfe was killed and I was untouched. God works in mysteroius ways. Some yaers later, I was driving homw and a thought struck my mind, I don't know from where it came but the word/picture 'Cobra' was blazened on my grey-matter.

After endless nights of thought, I searched the web and found several web-sites on Cobras. Several more months of thought and I finally bought a finished FFR. I've had the car for 1.5 summers now, and I can't live without it. Unless you own one you just don't 'get it' as they say. There is just something about cruising down the road, KNOWING that everyone is looking at you, thumbsups, shouts, the works. Being the center of attraction I quess. Well, that's all. Happy New Year guys and gals.\


Ssssssssssssstephen

Hello, I feel like a little kid reading the ages of my fellow Cobra owners. I am 18, and have just begun building my Cobra. It is a Contemporary, and I already have an FE engine for it. I'm planning on buying a toploader, and can't wait till I finish it.

(A side note, I am financing it entirely by myself)