How did you decide?

[Coupe Devil]

How did you decide which kit was best for you. I am well aware it will be a few years (sometime in the next 10 I hope ) before I get to start on my Cobra. There are a few other things I want to get out of the way before I start this build like credit card debt, student loans etc etc. I feel I have the knowledge to build a ground up car but how did you guys decide which kit was for you. Did you use a kit that required a donar car such as a late model mustang or did you use a kit and piece the rest of the car together... I think I have a very fun car to drive in the Mustang I have now but if I were building a Cobra there are a few things from the current car I would NOT want to transfer over.. Almost seems like starting from scratch may be the best so that you get exactly what you want..

Thoughts, opinions...

Thanks
Bradley Jones

[snakebitekit]

I have been pondering a Cobra build for so may years many of the jerks in the business went out of business due in a large part to Cobra Country. First visit Cobra country get the "Cobra Manual". This will give you some excellent advice in what to look for, what to expect and what to watch out for; next find a local club and talk to the various owners with different makes, great info available here. Remember most owners love their cars to death and each one is going to protect their "builder" as evidenced by this site.

Buy what you can afford and build the car for you. It will be yours, you may not want a perfect "replica" or you might want to; you may not want a 4 spd, Ford or God forbid want an automatic Build it for you and no one else.

This site combined with Cobra Country will give you a wealth of information. As you can see from my title page I have selected an ERA. This is not to say the others are not good or bad. My reserach, desires, my capability in affording and or building was all in consideration.

Most of all have fun and enjoy the choices you have to make, because once you've made the choice the other choices become fun, hard, always changing
and will be happening until it becomes part of the Cobra.

Dennis

[bobcowan]

Unfortunatly, budget is often the major deciding factor. Some kits are just more expensive than others.

Next is how much of the build do you want to do yourself. A Superformance is a great car, and requires almost no building at all. The Factory Five is also a great car, but requires a lot of building.

How much part hunting you want to do should be considered. Kit's like Shell Valley or FFR's basic kit require a fair amount of shopping and parts selection. I like that. But FFR now sells a kit that's very complete. So does Unique.

What kind of car you want is also important. I know, you're thinking, "I want a Cobra". But not all Cobra's are the same. Some body shapes are differant than original. And some mechanicals are differant. Some cars (like the FFR) it's difficult to put in an FE motor. If you want a spot on reproduction that looks like an original FIA car, your choices are very limited.

Finally - but most improtantly - what do you want to do with the car? If open track days and autocrossing are the plan, make sure you pick a chassis that can handle it. If NASA TT or ST1 are the plan, you might reconsider your choice of body styles.

I chose FFR for a lot of reasons. For me, it is the perfect choice.

[Tallguy]

One thing not metioned is to visit as many manufacturer's shops as you can to see first hand what you are buying. Over the past 2 months, I have visited 6 manufacturers and attended Run-n-Gun for a day, and have learned more than I could searching the net.


Mark

[Coupe Devil]

I do truly enjoy working on cars, toys.. so I know I want a kit that allows me to do a large amount of shopping as well as the building myself. I do plan on waiting a while to start a build so I have A LOT of time to research. The Cobra has always been a dream of mine and I WILL have one some day.

[bobcowan]

Since you live in KY, the last thing you do before making the final decision, is attend the Kit Car Nationals in Carlisle. You get a chance to talk to all the reps and put your hands on all the products. All in one day. Made the choice real easy.

[LHoboken]

Coupe Devil, I see that you are in Ky. so make a point of attending the London (Oh)Cobra Show next summer and you will see every type of kit made there. You get to ask all the owners what they think of them and how hard it was to build. It is one of the largest gatherings of Cobra replicas anywhere. We were really disappointed in the Kit Car Nationals in Carlisle, but we are looking at Daytona Coupe replicas

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Coupe Devil

I am well aware it will be a few years ... before I get to start on my Cobra...

Well in that case ERA is your best choice. By that time your name is sure to have risen to the top of the waiting list.

[Brian F.]

Budget is definitely a consideration. Krikham if budget is huge! If you like to build and want to make a custom car, FFR, Hurricane, Shell Valley, etc. My FFR does not use donor parts (all new) and I was still able to maintain my budget. Was able to customize as well. If not looking to build, Superformance and others offer finished cars less engine/tranny.

[Silverback51]

I started looking into the cars in 1998. Did about a year of research and looked at different cars when I ran across them at shows and talked to the owners if I could find them.

At first I was going to go with an ERA kit. Then two things happened. I seen a Superformance, and I also realized that I really did not have the time to dedicate to building a car from the ground up with the kit.

I also looked at the Kirkham, but there were things that I preferred about the Superformance that made me lean that way.

[bran3b]

Don't forget the customer support. We chose the Midstates partly because Bob gave us the feeling that no matter what happened, Midstates would be there for us, and they were. Since then Shell Valley and Midstates combined and Bob has left the company, but support has still been perfect.

[xlr8or]

1. do you want to build yourself or buy it as a roller?
2. what is your budget? Based on #1 which co.'s fall in your budget?
3. visit a few of those companies.
4. which of those companies offer more of what you want?
5. place your order or check the market for used cars that match your budget and have the options you want.

[jwd]

I researched Cobras off and on for 15 years. I talked to owners/builders of every type that is or was available (alot of companys have gone belly up). I looked at alot that were in every stage of being built. There was always something about every kit that I didn't like (sometimes many things). I definately wanted a kit, not a roller. About a year and a half ago, I heard of a company that had recently started up and was getting good publicity. I talked to several builders that had one and had also built other brands of kits. They convinced me to go look at one in person. I was sold right away. Complete kit, best quality body I've seen, non donor and incredible factory support not only on the phone but through their owners forum as well.
Decide exactly what features are important to you and do LOTS of reasearch.

[Coupe Devil]

Originally Posted by xlr8or

1. do you want to build yourself or buy it as a roller?

I definitely want to build.

Originally Posted by xlr8or

2. what is your budget? Based on #1 which co.'s fall in your budget?

I would like to purchase a kit, use my donor car and spend no more than 10,xxx dollars. I in NO way will be financing any bit of this. I don't understand financing money to pay for a "toy" I figure that quite a large percentage of the build can be done using the kit and my donor car. I do not really have a time frame in mind either...If I order a kit and it takes me 3-4 years to complete it after receiving the kit thats fine...

Originally Posted by xlr8or

3. visit a few of those companies.

I am moving to South Carolina in December where I will be starting a new career / new life and hope to live there for quite some time. In a few years start visiting companies..

Originally Posted by xlr8or

4. which of those companies offer more of what you want?

From what I have seen. The research I have done over the past years before joining here, I like the Factory Five kits. I am not wanting to build a race car. I want to build an "all around' car. Something I can drive in pretty weather. Maybe go play at a test and tune night at the drag strip as well as maybe some parking lot auto cross.. MAYBE even some open track stuff later on..Mostly the car will be for cruising, some shows, friday night jaunts to the Dairy Queen etc.

Originally Posted by xlr8or

5. place your order or check the market for used cars that match your budget and have the options you want.

I don't have a problem buying a kit someone has purchased and maybe lost interest in ( I cant imagine that happens much ) and did not finish. Something along those lines is ok with me. I do NOT want to buy a kit that is ready minus motor trans and rear end. Thats just not me. I enjoy building cars as much if not more than driving them.

[jwd]

Hurricane Motorsports.

[Coupe Devil]

Hahaha In the original post I asked who built yours then seen you had a Hurricane.. I went back to edit my original post. Guess you were to quick for me..