Average Age?

[Ivan Delman]

Heck...I hadn't recently thought about age until this subject came up. I was 72 in August and take delivery of my SPF2450 in March. The car is setup as a cruiser.

Our first trip will be to Canada then down to Louisiana then back across country to the West Coast then North to home.

The reason for getting a Cobra is the same story as most...Made a list of things to accomplish many years ago and recently the list needed revision (Who thought after racing for 40 years I'd still be around!)

Actually, it was my wife who suggested, "I've been hearing about you wanting a MKIII for more years than I can remember. Alright, already...Get one!"

Thanks, Arlene and Happy Birthday! (New Year's day)

[Lyonmt]

I can't believe this thread has been going for eight years!?!?!? Holy crap!
THis has to be longest running thread in the history of message boards!

[408stroker]

I am 50 now and my car will be up and going in time for the big Cobra bash in nevada in may. I too have always dreamed of my cobra but money was an issue in my younger years, although my garage alway had something fun to drive ( austin healeys, mg's, etc) Now I head over to the shop and watch as my car takes shape, (it's so beautiful I'm going to pass out with the first rock chip) I named the car "Family Affair" as i am the luckiest father-in-law in the world. You see my son-in-law owns Pacific Roadster in Oregon and produces his own cobra replica's as well as custom street rods and boats. So not only am i proud of my car, but even prouder that it is truly a family affair

[Mr Monster]

Well, I guess I'll throw my hat in. Being 38 I'm one of the youngsters. My wife asked me last year what I wanted for my 38th bday and I replied by saying an AC Cobra. She said, and I quote, "Then get one." To which I said, "It's just not that easy to do." Well, here it is seven months later coupled with a lot of research and it's in my garage. Eight months ago I had little to no knowledge about them and now I'm the neighborhood expert, which isn't saying much. Even my car buddies that I've known for years tell me how they never thought I was a car guy and now I have turned into on. My wife's motto is "Why put things off tomorrow, tomorrow may never come." I've got pretty much the same motto with the exception of -- "as long as you can afford today." Basically I've got one, cool wife (and a Cobra).

[tmareina]

I'm 60 and almost bought an original NEW in 1967. Should-a would-a could-a. I was just a dumb 20 year old then. The price was 7,248 out the door, tax and license included. I still kick myself everytime I think about it.

Tom

[Dwight]

I mustered out of the Army in Nov of '69. The first thing I did was to order a new luxury car for $4000. A Cobra for $7000 was a lot of money!
Dwight

[stevehaygood]

I saw my first real Cobra when I was a teenager. A girl I knew had a next-door-neighbor who SCAA raced a 289. It was Viking Blue. Also I went to summer school one year and one of the local Ford dealer's kids in Houston had one, also a 289. Never saw anymore until I went overseas to London, UK to work and live in 1989. I saw a kit car cobra one morning while going to work near Hyde Park Corner. Later that week I saw a kit car magazine and got hooked. I learned how the "kit car industry started in Great Britain", and visited almost all the active Cobra manufacturers while i was there before returning to the US in 1996.
In 2000 I bought a body from B&B. I taught myself how to MIG weld and have been working off and on on my Cobra ever since. I have had 2 Carpal Tunnel surgeries, 2 complete knee replacements, 1 right hip replacement, and 2 abdominal surgeries. Last year i was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and Radial Neuropathy due to Agent Orange exposure when I was in the Marines in Viet Nam. I am now waiting on disability from the VA. So it has been a start and stop proposition from the get-go. I am 58 now, but I still have something to look forward to... One of these days it will be finished!!...Vrooommm!!!

[Danr55]

I pick up my car in 8 days. Right now I'm 61 going on 19. I believe that is when I decided I really wanted a Cobra.

[GlynMeek]

I love this thread!

I am a 57 year old Englishman, living in these United States for the past 27 years, and proud of my adopted citizenship from some 15 years ago! I love this country, am proud of it, and (in spite of relatively recent 'bad press'!) of its place in the world as a beacon of liberty and democracy!

I have ALWAYS been a car freak, and with an English heritage, grew up around XKEs (E types to me), Lotus 7s, Aston Martins and Morgans. My father got me started on sportscars when he bought a Triumph Spitfire when I was 15, and I have never looked back. I have owned MG Midgets, MGBs, Datsun 280Zs, Mitsubishi 2000s, Porsche 928s and, for the past 10 years, a variety of Porsche 911s.

I have been successful (i.e. LUCKY) in the high tech world of business, and fortunate that today, my sensible, family-oriented, safe (?), 4-wheel-drive, daily-driver is actually a Porsche 911 Turbo ...BUT I am JUST finishing a Lonestar Cobra in Metallic Jaguar British Racing Green with Porsche Wimbledon Green stripes (hey guys, what do you want??? I was 'English' for 42 years, I still have SOME loyalties to the old country...LOL), and am the proudest of new owners!

The AC Cobra has ALWAYS been the quintessential sportscar for me. I love EVERYTHING about these cars. The sheer 'essence' of the car is inexplicable and unmatched by anything else, NO MATTER THE COST!

You can admire the elegance and glamor of Ferrari, the quality and drivability of Porsche, the sexuality of Lamborghini, the American muscle of the magnificent Corvette, but you can NEVER, EVER match the 'essence' of a Cobra!

If you EVER have to explain to anyone why you like these perfect sportscars, then please don't even try. Walk away, shaking your head sadly and empathising with the poor individual who asked the question in the first place, because ANYONE who even has to ask the question "why do you like Cobras so much?", will NEVER, EVER understand the answer!

[PJ10]

I am 44 and have built 6 Cobras. Just gets better all the time!

[cakeman13]

Waited 63 years got mine.

[63mercury]

I'm 62 and gathering the materials to build my Cobra, have loved them since I first saw a REAL one sitting next to a 427 '67 vette at a local drive-in in the late 60's.Fell in love with it but money and family were always first, now retired and figure it's time. I enjoy my 63 Mercury but a Cobra would be much more fun.

[Cobra #3170]

I am 66 and will have owned my Cobra for 42 years in November. I picked it up from Shelby American at LAX in November of 1965 and have enjoyed it ever since. When I picked up my car I was able to meet Ken Miles, Ed Leslie and Phil Remington so it was quite a thrill. The car has only 10,000 (very hard) miles on it because I have been trailering it since 1968. I broke a half shaft at an out of town autocross and had to change the U-joint with a hammer and sockets using the original scissors jack to get under the car with a flash light. I made up my mind to never drive to an event after that! The car has had a number of engines over the years in the frustrating and elusive quest for FE horsepower. In my younger days I raced formula Atlantic in SCCA national races but never found them anywhere near as scary as the Cobra was on a road course.
The original engine, transmission, rear end and suspension are boxed and stored in case I ever move it back to original configuration. The current engine is a 498 CID Shelby block with FAST EFI and Blue Thunder Stage II heads, a Moldex crank and Carrillo rods. I use a NASCAR Jerrico 4-speed with a Detroit locker equipped Jag rear end.

[Brian F.]

Wow, very old/long thread. Got mine when I was 27 and am currently 28. Neat, I feel so young... now, if I could just get my hair back...

[fsstnotch]

WOW, it is a very long thread!

I am 24, will be picking up my hurricane kit in November or June of next year. So I will either be 24 or 25. (I'm in Iraq, I'll be on vacation in Nov and will return home in June next year) I'm just not sure I want to buy the kit in November and leave it sit till June when I come back. I'll have everything waiting for me in June, it'll just be a matter of getting settled into our new house and oputting the kit together. It should be a spring '09 debut! Can't wait!

[will butterwort]

fsstnotch for your service.Be 63 in Nov. ,looked at pictures--read racing stories ,and picked cotton---the car,only a dream for me, only wealthier folk could have a car that was only a dream for a little fella in a alabama cotton field back in those days.Vietnam with the army was a promotion, and thanks everybody for the GI bill,sure helped this country boy, now I drive one,awesome car of a boys dream.Will-alabama

[Velvet Hammer]

I built my Cobra at age 21. I'm 30 now. I sold a nice 67 Camaro in fear of dumping $25K with ideas of doing a rest-mod to it. So I sold it and bought the Cobra thinking I could spend less. I was wrong!

[Cobracrat]

The Grand old man C.S. is 84 he still has a youthful enthusiasam for his cars,

[aspenbubba]

Well , I have some time this morning. I'm closer to 65 than 64 and I bought my BDR#334 last October without doing any research. Impulsive? You bet. But, I had a history with the Cobras from the early '60's.I used to hang around the race car tracks in the early days of SCCA racing (Marlboro. Vineland. Cumberland , Watkins Glen ,Elkhart Lake crewing for Group 44) and developed some friendships with two Cobra owners racers Bob Brown of Hicksville , L.I. and John Snyder of Silver Spring , Md.

I ended up at Bridgehampton in 63 or 64 working on the Cobras in the same garage that Carroll Shelby and the race team kept their cars. I met Gurney, Miles and McDonald along with the man himself that wekend.

Kept seeing originals throughout that decade and then got into other stuff like raising a family and racing sailboats in the 70-80s'. Prior to buying my Cobra I started going to a few local car shows and saw some originals with the original owner. I visited an aquaintences' private collection several years ago and was told that the Cobra he had was an original. The owner wasn't there so I was not able to get an accurate history of the car but next Friday I will again visit the collection with the owner giving me a personal tour. I know the right questions to ask and I will find about the car and his two GT-40s (new) .Then I started noticing the recreations and found that they were affordable. Taking an afternoon drive in the country last summer I was talking to my friend about a Cobra and then saw one on a trailer. She didn't see it in time and at the next intersection there was another one. Saw one on the interstate 15 minutes later and I couldn't believe it. Three Cobras in less than a half hour A sign from God? Maybe.

Several weeks later I was driving through the small village of Potomac , Md.and looked at the small exotic and classic car dealer there as I always did and I saw two Cobras for sale . I did a U-turn and inspected the cars and decided to finally buy one if I could get the right deal from the sub-dealer (Vintage motorsports was the original dealer) . I was prepared to go to Conn. as I did not get the deal I wanted originally but after two weeks of putting it together I finally took delivery of the titanium w/black stripes car that I originally saw. I love my car but it ONLY has a 351 W producing 375HP and I want more . Looking to purchase a 427 Side Oiler (NOS) and then I will decide which car to put it in ,An ERA 427 S/C or a Superformance GT-40 MK.II painted in heritage colors.

[SKINNEDR]

Well in my case I have been dreaming of a Cobra since I was 21 years old and today I'm 49.
I purchased and had delivery of my cobra in March of this year.
The BDR #471.
I have a 351 Windsor that puts out 467 HP. It is a beast.......
That is enough for me. More car than I could ever wish for.
I'm a happy man who has achieved his dream of owning a good reproduction race car.

Dexter Skinner