so how much do you really drive your cobra

[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