Using Car Kit to build a Cobra

[john chesnut]

Hi Mike, Welcome to the wonderful world of KIT CARS. I agree with Glyn. It's alot of fun to build your own car. More fun if you can take your time! And the feeling that you get when you drive it is irreplaceable. There are some great kits out there. In my opinion the first thing you need to do is determine what you want from your Cobra. I think that kits fall basically into three catagories.
- Kits that try to replicate the original car as close as possible
- Kits that use readily available parts, usually Mustang, to create a Cobra that is a good performer and looks the part.
- Those that try to build the highest performance car with the Cobra look.

Do you want a live axle rear or independent? Do you want to put it on a track? How much do you want to spend? The list of questions goes on and on. Not one kit is right for every one. Once you define what you want then you can narrow your search.
Just my two cents. Have fun, John

[63mercury]

I too am fastenated by the Cobra and decided to start my build from scratch, researching all the available info on Club Cobra, my experiance in building hot rods and rebuilding wrecks for myself is very useful. I like others in the scratch build forum get much enjoyment from this approach, just another view. Carl

[MisuT]

It's obvious that I need to start a long long research.
The first basic ideeas are :

- build a replica (I don't want a mirror copy of the original since it would cost a lot I presume) - I have to decide between fiber glass and aluminium body, etc.;

- I don't want to put it on a track, I just want to use it on the roads;

- engine: now this is a challange...I might go for a new one and ready to be deployed since we don't have the expertize to assemble it piece by piece, have over 300 hp and good torque . I really want to go for a carburated engine (for the sound ). But there are so many other variables...

- suspensions: also many options available...use one of the top brands and should accomodate Romanian roads (which are quite bad unfortunately), so most likely I will go for an independent rear suspension system, but as I know this is harder to accomodate in the chassis;

- I don't want to exceed 35k $ for this project and I want to make it in timely steps (due to budget and know-how constrains). I want to finish it in maximum two years.
Seems like I will need good project management

I know...It's like I'm saying: "I want to build a car so I need 4 wheels a frame, an engine and a body" but...I have to start from somewhere, so fist I wanted to know which are the most professional kit car producers who can also provide strong guidance and support so I can ease my pain .

Thanks for the initiation John ;-)

Mike