Viper Engines For Cobra's, Yes Or No!!!

[richsd]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

There are only a handful of engines I would personally consider 'appropriate' for a replica build, just my opinion you understand. The Viper V-10 is one such engine, perhaps because of it's connections through various people to the Cobra world.

Other interesting motor swaps that are pleasing to MY eye would be a Jaguar V-12 in a Cobra, no particular history there however, except an English connection.

A handful of engines appropriate for a relica build and this includes a Viper V-10 engine? Maybe for a kit car build that uses a body that resembles a Cobra. For a "replica" that actually "replicates" a Cobra the handful would be a 427 Ford, 428 Ford, 289 Ford, and maybe a few other Ford options if you want to stretch your imagination a bit.

It is strange to say that a "Viper V-10 is one such appropriate engine, perhaps because of it's connections through various people to the Cobra world" but that "a Jaguar V-12 has no particular history". Neither of these options have any history associated to a Cobra.

For your selection, it all depends on the purpose of your build. If you are intending to build a kit car that has a Cobra shaped body then it makes no difference what engine you use. Use whatever engine you like. If you are intending to build a replica that actually replicates the Cobra then you should be looking only at a FE engine.

In regards to resale value, as others have mentioned, that depends on the buyer. Some will not care what motor is in the car because they are looking for a kit car and some will only consider a car with an original type engine because they are looking for an accurate replica. For those that will settle for something that was not used in an original Cobra, the overall quality of the work is going to play a large role in the resale value regardless of what engine you have selected.

I would also say that it depends on what you are doing with the rest of the car. If you are focusing on originality on the rest of the car why would you screw that up with a motor that was never in a Cobra. If the rest of the car has limited attention to originality then a non-original motor will fit with that theme just fine.