Club Cobra is now 10 years old! Oh, and Happy New Year!

[Buzz]

Happy new year Brent and wishes for a full, speedy recovery. There are a special few people in the world who go about quietly doing what they do for the purest and simplest of reasons, hardly realizing the profound and positive impact that they have on the lives of so many other people.

The ripple effect of your work has reached across the continent and around the world, directly and indirectly touching the lives of thousands of people in so many ways, ranging from the realization of a Cobra dream, to the sharing of charity and comfort and soul saving support networks with words of wisdom, condolence and life-changing advice in times of crisis and misadventure.

You may never have intended to, but you became a gatherer of souls in a sense - pulling together an unlikely, diverse multitude of people who may otherwise never have met, shared thoughts and experiences and above all, become friends. My photo below with Gashole John Simpson officially opening diplomatic relations with St. Lucia.

Thank you.

(and Computerworks, Turk*, and the other big Armenian fellow who helps out around here sometimes... can't remember his name...)

* Gone but not forgotten

[stush]

Brent,

Congratulations and many thanks for enhancing the lives of so many through club cobra. A great site to learn about cobras, find out about what is going on regionally and nationally, and all around keep us connected to the car we love.

Stu

[BFBurk]

Brent;
Great site. I visit everyday but post infrequently. I've had my ERA Cobra for almost 16 years and visiting your site keeps me interested in the Cobra.

If you have a question about your Cobra, just post it here and you will get a lot of helpful answers.

Keep up the good work!
Bruce

[MaxK]

Brent,
Happy ten years, and I wish you a speedy recovery!

I've mostly been gathering information from your site. I clearly need to give back as I am able. I'll make that a resolution for this year. I hardly know what I'm doing with this post. Sorry in advance if it doesn't work right.

Thanks for being here!!
Max K.

[Stan Mitchell]

Brent,

Thanks for spending so much time and effort keeping this going. I joined in Feb. 1999, just as I purchased my Superformance #346. As many know, a divorce caused the loss of my dream car in 2000.....

The knowledge and camaraderie of this board benefits us all. Hoping for a great 2009 for you and all the members, and still saving my pennies for another Superformance.

Stan

[hey,littlecobra]

Please share below your favorite threads or pictures or history or whatever you feel pertinent.

I have zillions of wonderful memories with CC, but two that stand out especially.

*The first one is the from the very first time i ever 'donned a helmet and suit' and did my first track day experience with Texas Driving Experience at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson! Wow what an experience! I had had the Cobra about 6 months, and was ready to try the track.


*The second one is from the unforgettable and truly life changing experience of 'wearing **** Smith's pants' on the dragstrip in Tulsa, at Mid-America Ford/Shelby Meet. I know most of you know the story, and although it might just appear as another good deed by our dear departed Mr. Smith, it touched me in away many of you never realized. He 'was' (is- in spirit) the true definition of a gentleman, a friend, a Cobra enthusiast to us all. Having the honor of getting to know this man in such a way, if only for a short time, is a blessing and privilege I will always cherish.


There are tons of stories i wrote and pictures posted relaying over the years the unbelievable experiences I've been able to share with many of you.
Several TCC spring meets, Mid America meets, London, Run n Gun, and local meets, cruises, toy drives and special events.

Who would have thought a woman such as myself, with an ordinary life and ordinary experiences, would have such an extraordinary adventure because of this 'cute little car'?
Gary Morris, Jay Nordstrom, and so many others. Salt of the Earth kind of guys that I've met through the benefit of CC. Thank you, Brent, for providing us with this great great playspace to talk with, learn from and enjoy each others' fellowship. It's been a great 10 (nearly 5 for me!) years.

get well soon, and btw, I did actually meet you in '04 in Austin.

sorry it's so lengthy!
kristen

pss. sorry it bleeped out Mr. Smith's name.

[Moto One]

First: Brent may your recover go smooth and you are back in the drivers seat soon.

Second: I'v only been here a short time, lurking, learning, and sharing only a few times.

What would I like to see on the sit? Travel Log, were those who take there Cobra on road trips (and not the down to the local hang out, but the cross country trips.

There is a great trust of knowledge here in this site, for the new and old.

Happy New Year to all.

Mark.

[trularin]

Dang, there have been some good pictures.



Comes to mind.

And



Are just a few of the great memories as a result of CC.

[Scott M Jackson]

Thanks Brent, I'm sure you're malady is related to all that aluminum ingestion but just think "your ET's will be 1.5 pounds lighter". Way to go. A good new year to you and all of us. Cheers.

Scott

[Silverback51]

Congratulations on creating a world class Cobra site.

Happy Birthday to CC, and hope you have a short recovery.

Thank you.

[Velox]

Thanks Brent for Club Cobra! Hope you have a very speedy recovery and Happy New Year to everyone at Club Cobra

[petek]

Wow, 10 years already?!?! How time flies!

I can't help but wonder how many Cobras were built or bought because of this site, how many friendships started, how many events saw dramatic increases in attendance because this site got the word out, how many charities saw their coffers boosted, and how many people simply had fun all because of this site!

Happy New Year all (and good health to you Brent)!

[peterv]

Hi Brent,

All the best for getting better soon and on the road again.

As you said, the site has international following. I chair the Cape Cobra Club, with just over 70 members in the Cape Town, South Africa, area. We have stunning roads around the Cape, and thanks to the great long summers, can get out quite a bit. As Baz suggested higher up, if anyone is travelling this way, give me a shout.

Have a look at www.capecobra.blogspot.com for some of the cars.

Regards,

Peter

[72 Mach]

Hi Brent and thanks for keeping CC online for us this past ten years. Although I haven't logged in for quite sometime, I still stop by from time to time to see what is going on.

This time last year I was recovering from the crash I had in my old car, SPF 799 so I know what being in the hospital is like. I wish you a speedy recovery and good health for the this new year.

I have since purchased another Cobra and took it on a RT 66 trip this past summer. It was nice to be back in a Cobra and to be able to travel across the country. I am a lucky man indeed.

Eddy K

[tchrome]

have a speedy recovery and keep up the great work that you do. the site has been an inspiration to me and has helped me in so many ways. the response i have gotten from all of the members and the imformation and links posted have been the best. god bless and happy new year!!

tony

[Skip Snowden]

Thanks so much for putting all this together. I have only been involved for about 3 years, but those 3 have flown by! Happy New Year and hope you have a speedy recovery. Come on down to Texas again this year. It promises to be even better this year. Skip

[289fia_cobra]

Bret, happy 10th anniversary of the site, Happy New Year to you and your family, and make SURE they don't nick the liver when removing the gall bladder.

10 years ago, I was depressed. I had organized a folder full of literature back in 1997 from Contemporary, ERA, Factory Five and a couple of kit car magazines, hoping that when I turned 40 in 98', I'd be building or buying a replica. But I was then purchasing a VW instead because of baby #2. Ironically, my oldest daughter had the honor in naming her sister and picked "Shelby".

Sometime around 98' - 2000, I think I found this site but lurked more than posted since I wasn't sure "when" I could pursue my passion. By 2003, the wish was answered. I purchased a Factory Five MKIII Roadster kit optioned with IRS and body cut-outs. I started to post more here in the "Bay Area Cobra " section (San Francisco Bay Area) and started to attend many of the weekly breakfasts, trying to gather up some information on what I was building.

Today, I've been on some great rides with my wife. 2008 marked the first time I took the roadster, aka SNKVNNM, from the Bay Area to Los Angeles ( FFR Huntington Beach Bash), and to Lake Tahoe with the Bay Area Cobra Club. I put in 3,000 miles this year and made what I consider some of the best group of friends I've ever met. My wife had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. And I thank you Bret, for making this medium that enabled us to have such friends. Here's to another 10 years!

[LREYBURN]

Brent:

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. The Community (a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists) that you have created is a big part of a lot of lives. I've found this site about 4 years ago and my life has changed because of all of the great people that I've met. Thank you and have a great and healthy New Year.

[RedBarchetta]

Thank you for CC, Brent. Wishing you a speedy recovery and wishing everyone a safe 2009!

-Dean

[HighPlainsDrifter]

A HUGE Thank You !
We've had so many thousands of miles and smiles with the cobra guys and gals and hope for many more adventures through the heat, snow,rain and good times.
Trips we remember;
- Whisler run
- Chuckanut drive, many times
-Historic races, Seattle
- Boise,ID run
Oregon redwood run
Oregon camping trip, 2 weeks
California winery run
WSCB Reno, 2 times
The cobra would not have been as much fun without the club guys, wish it was here before while I was building the car.
Perry.