Anyone know going price for...
 

I have always wanted a cobra and think I found one I can afford! Does anyone know if a 65 ac shelby recreation with a 289 ford motor for $23,000 is a good deal? I tried to do research but usually find the 427 's ( which are about $40-$50,000.) Would I have problems if I wanted to sell down the road, as this motor dosen't seem to be a popular choice in the replicas. Any help would be much appreciated. I really want to own a cobra, but make a good investment at the same time.

Details, a lot more details are required before anyone will be willing to make a guess at the value. When was it built? Mileage? Condition? Which kit was used? etc, etc.

Some people consider the 289 to be much more desirable than the 427 S/C.

Wayne

What make is the kit? Very important, and a 289 motor can be extremely desirable if it is in a 289 FIA car, and is done right. A 427 body style and 289 FIA body style will cost the same new from a builder, then the engine choice becomes something that can go all over the place both for the 427 car (using a 302, 351 stroker of some sort, ie, 402, 408, 427, or going with an FE big block motor) as for the 289 body, most will use either a 289 or a 302 of some sort (331 or 347 stroker) or a 351 (straight with nice heads or stroked). There are a lot of combinations. Provide more information and guys will chime in. Good luck with your research. Rickd

sorry for the lack of info, Thanks for all the input and questions! I contacted the seller; The car has 3500 miles, a ford 9" rear and all ford suspension, interior is excellent cond, good gel coat exterior( no stress cracks or chips) , built byLa exotics/ B&B in 93. seller is not original owner, was titled as a 65 mustang and recently as a 2000 cobra. The car's k frame will take a 427 or 302 motor, it has the bumper kit, the knock off of the original wheels , and a deeper foot well. The car is an automatic not a 4 speed.

Do you know of anyone near enough to the car who is familiar with these cars that you could have take a close look at it. Pictures and an owners statements about how good the car is are not reliable all the time. What shape is the motor in and is it a 289 HiPo or a regular 289? How has the car been treated? Raced, or just driven as a driver. The automatic transmission might hurt a little if you plan to sell it but when we had 8 cobras here, five of them had automatics and they all sold well. Can you get some pictures and post them so the people here can see the car?

Ron ;)

Thanks for the help, I will try to post some pics. To answer some of your questions the car was never raced, just kept as a show car and driven. The engine is a stock 289. It does look real clean, I have talked to the seller quite a bit and any info I ask for from him he does seem real knowledgeable about the car, he has only owned it for 2or 3 years though. I would prefer that he was the original owner, but he seems to be a honest and decent guy, sometimes you just get a feeling if someone is out to take you or not. My biggest problem is I have always collected Muscle cars, there are no replica companies to deal with there, just clones as we call them. This is all new to me with all the companies producing more and more cobras. I understand from research that B&B is not the Best, but not the worst either, they seem to be in the middle with a quality product for a decent price. Any feed back on that? I think I will pull the trigger soon on this car. I am excited about owning a cobra. At $23 from everyone's opionion on this car and from doing some research I don't think I can get hurt on it. My thinking here is a new kit from B&B is $27 plus engine, trans,& wheels. If I'm wrong on that tell me! I will post back with what I end up doing and definitly with pics of the car.

I think that the manufacturers credibility is mostly important for the person building the car. Once all the parts are assembled ,like the one you are looking at it really does'nt matter anymore. Most parts are interchangable with a few mods ,maybe. So at that price it sounds like a deal to me. Why not have an independant facility inspect the car for you??
John

Good investment? Cobra's are not an investment, unless they are real and you have that level of spare funds. Turn it around, if you had the car for sale how many potential buyers would be out there looking for exactly what you have? There is always the high end - Superperformance, Kickman, ERA and a few others with 'stuff' that matches as close as possible, if not better, the 'stuff' that was used when Cobra's were built through Ford. The closer you get, the more valuable the car, almost regardless of the manufacturer of the body - but a good name one helps with the sale.

In my view, any Cobra that was not put together with stuff that's close to original is just another kit car. I saw one a few years ago with a chevrolet engine - I cannot image being on the selling end of that car.

If the car is clean and tight, passes a mechanics check out, and feels good to you, you should be safe buying it. $23k is on the low end for these, the
automatic tranny doesn't help. If you keep it clean, add a few goodies,
especially a 4 or 5 speed, you should be ok to get at least most of your $ out
of it. These aren't investments, just cool toys to be enjoyed. If you buy it
and have fun for a while then want to sell and move up, it shouldn't be a
problem. Good luck.

Where is it at? At $23K I might buy it. Don't let anyone kid you the B&B is a very good kit and you should expect to get most of your money back if you choose to sell it after two or three years. It is all about the Marketing and the options.

Clois Harlan

It sounds like an OK buy at $23K, of course my opinion could change dramatically if I actually saw the car! The auto trans is a big factor in the low price, along with the 9" (instead of IRS) and the small block engine. ALL THOUGH,if it really is a 289 that would be interesting. I'd be suspicious of claims it's a 289, more likely a 302. Bear in mind the current owner could be a really nice and really sincere guy as it concerns the build and history. He could also be sincerely mistaken.