so how much do you really drive your cobra

[rms427]

The last few years I'm averaging just over 1,000 miles per year. The amount you drive depends a lot on the weather and your age. When I got my car I was in my 20's and I drove it as my everyday car. This was in Southern California. In 4 years I put about 48,000 miles on it. We drove it 1,400 miles on our honeymoon. Now, there is no way my wife will go 1,400 miles in the Cobra. A couple of years ago we took it on a Club Cobra event and drove about 800 miles in a long weekend. The 350 mile trip home was in 90 plus degree weather and my wife was in bad shape by the time we got home. She said no more long trips in the Cobra unless the weather is cool or we stop often. I also find it harder to take the heat now than I did almost 40 years ago.

Another factor is what other cars you have to drive and how fun/comfortable they are. If your cobra is your only fun car then you are going to drive it more than someone that has a number of SUVs to choose from. SUV (Stupid Useless Vehicle) is my wifes term for cars that are not strictly for transportation. By the way the Cobra community has a lot of great activities that help make owning a cobra fun.

[thudmaster]

I now have 5k more miles on my cobra than I have on my 2003 Expedition. Hmm, now which is my daily driver?

[CobraDan]

Most cobras are driven very little each year and a lot of collector insurance companies even set the limits on how many miles can be driven in a year. By reading some posts here at club cobra you will find some people who drive many miles in their cobra each year, but they are few. You said you are going to build your cobra and many have done so and some find their pleasure in doing just that and as soon as they finish they are off building another new cobra. Many more have purchased used and totally completed cobras but most have bought brand new turn key minus cars and then also had an engine and transmission of choice installed. This is defiantly a hobby where you can build the car your way. Getting back to your question out of about 40 local members of the Deeper South Cobra Club (a smaller division of the Deep South Cobra Club) and at least 10 names removed out of the original 50 because they have moved on and sold their cars we have less than 5- 10 who normally run with us in the winter non rainy season here in south Florida for our monthly outing weekend.

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by olddog

So ask yourself a harder question. Do you have the mind over ego capability to drive such a car safely? It would be bad to leave a widow to finish raising a young child. Worse to leave a child with no parents at all. Near impossible to live with killing a child.

As fun as these cars are, many have died over the years. Do you have the wisedom to swallow your pride and realize your not capable of consistently pushing the car to its limits?

It never leaves your mind (at least, not mine). And that built-in "rev limiter" probably keeps me from doing stupid stuff. Yeah, accidents do happen and that's why I keep $1.65mm in life insurance...I'm worth more dead.

But seriously, I don't track the car right now for the reasons you stated. For me it's mostly local cruising, some highway and the occasional "BWAAAAPP!" through 1st and 2nd...heck, if I stay in second too long I'm already in ticket territory. I do know of a person that recently suffered a hang-gliding accident. He's probably never going to walk again and his family is basically screwed financially. Life is full of calculated risks...you can't steal second if you keep your feet on first.

All the best,

-Dean

[mrp_e]

maybe my situation will help too. i have two kids, 6 and 4. i only have access to the car on weekend, and we've had it for about 5 weeks. i'm approaching 1,100 miles already. like chris, i'll take any excuse to take it out (as a matter of fact, i also did a corn on the cob run on sunday). the only hinderance is rain. otherwise, if it's nice out sat or sun, the cobra is out!

the two seater thing is a bummer for my wife. first two weeks of ownership we had the kids in day camp so got to run around a lot together. but she has no interest in driving it herself alone. yet.

[fsstnotch]

It's good to hear the experiences of those with kids. I'm a very mature driver, probably stems from growing up around high power cars I guess. I have other toys to really beat on (sand rail, wheelers, snowmobiles). I'm less afraid of me doing something to cause an accident as I am the woman putting on her makeup or talking on the phone and rearending me! I know a guy from lateral-g that had his $120,000 68 camaro rearended the first week it was finished. The guy driving the truck was "taking a drink" and didn't realize traffic had stopped ahead of him. Cause over 25k in damage, no injuries. But that was a fully caged race car! I would seriously hat to know what would happen if the same thing happened and the car was a cobra. That truck would have gone through the fiberglass like butter! i guess it just comes down to giving yourself plenty of room and staying alert!

Josh

[Lowell W]

Josh,

Evidently you're getting paid enough to consider the compensation well worth the time and effort for what you're doing; even so: Thanks for spending your time and risking your neck so that all of us can have the option to drive these cars if we choose.

I've had my car since the end of 2002. It sat for a year in 2004-2005, waiting for a new motor and three months this year waiting for custom axles. In this part of the country, Cobra driving season starts in April and ends in November.

I now have 23,000 miles on the car, for an average of about 6-7,000 miles per year. I seldom just take it out for a joyride but if we're going for a weekend trip and the weather's nice, we'll take the Cobra. Or I'll use it as an excuse to go visit any of several friends who live 100-150 miles away. On Sunday I drove up to the EAA show in Oshkosh, about 3 hours away, spent an hour or two and drove home. If I go to a Cobra event, I drive the Cobra.

Now that's not to say you have to drive your car every day to enjoy it. Some guys only drive a few miles a year and probably have as much fun with their cars as I do with mine (Nah...I doubt it...) but I've wanted one of these cars since I was 15 years old and have had plenty of time to reflect on what it would be like to drive a noisy, cramped, hot, overpowered little car. When I left on a week long Rt. 66 trip from Illinois to New Mexico in April of 2003, I figured this was the acid test: by the time the trip was over either I'd love the car or hate it. By the time I got back, I LOVED it!

There's no reason why a carefully built Cobra can't be as reliable as any other car from the mid-60's. It's not a Miata or a BMW Z4 but if you build it with a reasonable motor and approach it as you would a completely restored 1960's sportscar (a Corvette, for example), you should have no disappointments if you keep it properly maintained. Oh yeah...and build it with a heater and a top!

Thanks and good luck,

Lowell

[Randy Rosenberg]

I try to get out almost every weekend, however sometimes life gets in the way. My SPF just turned over 14k on a wonderful 9 day trip with my wife. We drove over 1000 miles to visit 4 national parks and a castle. We only drove 1/2 days, but we drove every day, and it was first time in 5 years that I was able to spend so much one-on-one time with my wife, and we did it cruising CA in a Cobra - gotta love it. Lately, the kids are not old enough to leave home alone, and their grandparents are aging enough to not be able to take them for long weekends. So, lately I've been just cruising on weekends when I can. This summer, we finally figured out how to get both kids into different summer programs at the same time - this gave us the 9 days to cruise CA.

I just drive my Cobra like I would any motorcycle, since there's not much more protection...

Regards,
Randy R...

[Want1Bad]

Living is Carlsbad CA (San Diego area) and driving my Cobra as a daily driver. The guy who said to think of the Cobra as a 4-wheeled motorcycle got it right. Like riding a bike, if you make the commitment to ride it, then you can ride it a lot. I put over 10K miles on in a single year! Aside from ongoing maintenance issues, I don't see that changing.