West Coast Cobra
 

I had a question on the value of the cars. I've come across two completed cars lately. One built in 1998 and the owner wants 48,000 with 2000 miles on it, and the other a 1996 which they want 32,000. What was the cost of the kit in 1998, also have there been any improvements in the car from 1998 to present? Structurally the car seems to be the safest I've seen, but it is also hefty at 3200lb. Thanks

there is nothing safe about these cars. but that is why they are fun

Dan, the link supplies nothing useful to my question.
Stuart, car looks structurally alot better then my other Cobra

http://www.cobrakit.com/Chassis/chassis.htm

Better link....with some details on the chassis construction..pretty Solid from what I see...........I like the side rails and door construction......

If I remember correctly, the kit was approximately $21,000 back around 1996 which is when I purchased my West Coast Cobra. That was for basically a complete unassembled vehicle minus, engine, trans, paint, wheels, tires and side exhaust. Back than, it was available in phases so that you could pay as assembly progressed. Don’t know if that’s still an option or not. However, keep in mind that it’s easy to add another $20K to finish the car even if you build your own engine and do the painting yourself which is what I do. You need to take that into consideration when looking at the asking price of the vehicles you looked at.

Regarding changes, the most important one in my mind to look at is the suspension. Four wheel coil over with disc brakes was about a $1500 option back then and I believe it is now standard equipment. Do either of these cars have the coil over suspension? Other than that, to the best of my knowledge, most of the other changes are mainly cosmetic or minor in nature.

Gary

Hayabusa,
Thanks for the valuable information, I will check the suspension set ups. Also how rough were the kits as far as needed finishing, door alignment and over all quality. I heard some complaints about the wiring system they used and that the independent suspension need a pan bar for stability. Rear ends were from the T-bird is that correct. Thanks, Dave

Dave,

As with any kit, there’s a lot of work to be done. However, overall, I thought the quality of this Cobra kit was excellent. I won’t go into what I felt were the strong points but I can say that I didn’t have any issues with the wiring so I’m not sure what you have heard regarding the wiring. With that being said, there are a few areas that in my opinion, could use some refining. The door fit (as you mentioned) was not even close to what it should be. It took me many hours of work to get them right. The problem is that no matter how hard I tried to adjust the alignment, it just wasn’t meant to be. I even tried a different door thinking maybe I got a bad one but it was no better. In the end, I had to do a substantial amount of body work to get them right. Maybe “out of the box” door fit has improved but if not, plan on spending a lot of your time or money getting it right. Also, in my opinion, the fuel cell that I received with my kit was not up to the standards of the car or the vehicles potential performance. It’s a ok fuel cell but in my opinion, not suitable for this application. It wouldn’t fit without cutting the floor which left you the option of either leaving that part of the trunk floor open to the road or glassing in a new section! To me, those two options were just fixing the symptom and not the real problem with the fuel cell. In addition, I felt that there was no way to adequately attach the filler connection so I ended up designing a replacement aluminum fuel cell to resolve those issues. Other than those issues mentioned, any other issues were minor and the car goes together very well.

The West Coast Cobra uses a Ford 9 inch rear end which for the most part is bullet proof. I installed a limited slip carrier and although a 9 inch might not be as exotic as IRS setup, it works extremely well and I wouldn’t change anything about it. I hope this information helps you out.

Gary