Newbie Seeking Advise - Cobra on a budget

[Jaydee]

I flirt with danger everyday, and sometimes she lets me skydive.
JD

[Donunder]

Hey Greg ... are you still with us?

Your thread sorta got waylaid there for a while. Happens sometimes on this forum, but we get there eventually, sometimes.

I know you're in NSW but are you close to Sydney? If so your best bet before you make any decisions or outlay any cash is to get along to a Sydney club meeting and have a look at the cars and chat with the guys. There are several kits you could use as a starting point or as some have already mentioned, you could consider a previously owned one. I'd be a bit wary of "unfinished projects" unless you have someone very experienced go over it with you, and you are confident in your own ability to rescue it and take it to completion.

You've already been in contact with Treeve I assume, so you've some idea of the legalities and compliancing side of things. If you embark on a build, you should establish a working relationship with him to ensure your progress is in the right direction. A good engineer is like gold.

Lastly, (you listening Spooky?) I would suggest you contact Warren at Absolute Pace (warren@absolutepace.com strangely enough) for an information package on their product. I realise this may appear outside your budget from what you've said but as others have mentioned, very few of us have the money up front for the whole package. It may be that you purchase whatever level of starter kit you want and then enjoy the build over a year or two -- it all depends on your ability, whether you do in fact enjoy building as a factor of ownership. and of course garage/workshop space and an understanding other half, if applicable. But in any case I would recommend that after reading the AP literature, you get yourself up here for a good squizz at the AP operation on the Goldy.

Once you've talked to the Sydney guys, had a look at what's on offer there, decided whether you want to build from new buy secondhand or rescue a stalled project, checked anything you're unsure about with Treeve, perhaps contacted Neil Streeting in Sydney who has built several Cobras for customers, emailed Wazza, got the goss on the APs, maybe been in touch with the Melbourne club to see what's going on down there,and finally taken a trip up here to Godzone to look over the AP establishment ..... phew, after you've done all that! ... then you're in a position to decide where to next.

Buy an existing car, have a new one built by the factory or someone like Neil or Scott Hampson (Venom) up here in Brisbane, or build one yourself. It all depends on what YOU want to do. Good luck with whatever road you take and remember there are always plenty of people in the clubs who are happy to help with advice and suggestions.

[gcarm]

Hi Don,

I'm still here. Got 8 replies and it seemed to stall for a while...then took off again !!!

Lots of advise in between.....scratching my head even more now

had a look at one of the unfinished projects on ebay....a very early DRB kit. Had some questions DRB could probably answer..but I'll give it a go here first...seems to be a lot of knowledgeable Cobra builders on this forum.

those early DRB kits....any issues getting compliance ? Will it have the proper engineering reports on the chassis, etc, tortional tests and all that stuff ??
what about engine choices....will it take a Boss engine (I'm gessing not because DRB have a model called a Boss Cobra that only came out in 2006).
If not, is a turbo Barra engine a viable choice ?
Also, its a '92 kit....don't know why it hasn't been completed yet ??? and will rust be a problem ???

Cheers,
Greg
PS> when is the next Sydney club meeting, and do I need an invite or do I just show up ?

[gcarm]

Dave,

Sort of know what you are talking about. I rebuilt a damaged TK Barina a few years back. I had to replace the ECU, and I found I needed to replace quite a few modules as they all talk to each other over the CAN bus.

I think from memory I needed to swap out the ECU, the secuirty module around the ignition switch (that reads the RFID chip in the key), the immobiliser module and one other module.

Cheers,
Greg

[Treeve]

Turbo Barra as in XR6 motor? or as in the SOHC 5.4 barra V8 motor?

As a word of advice, I'd be steering away from turbos on this kind of car for a couple of reasons. Driveability is a fair place to start, but also resale, and finally how your sidepipes look without the 4-1 visible is another reason.

The SOHC Barra v8 isn't that great a motor when compared with the DOHC motors, but these need a lot of space. Unless it's free it's probably not worth it.

Treeve

[spookypt]

There's quite a few sub $50k cars on carsales now. There's even an Evans for $35k. Quite a bit to choose from and I'd say most would be negotiable.

There's always different lines of thought on which way to go but just do your research, go to a few mtgs and talk to some owners and make a choice that best suits you.

Spookypt

[itempany]

Hi Greg
I have a DRB which would be much the same as the early kit you saw. Mine is late 1999/2000 kit but still prior to the Boss kit. Most of the early kits have windsor based motors. I am not sure but even the 351 block might be too wide for the chassis/body clearance. But some one might elaborate on that. I have a 302 with a T5 trans going to a shortened ford 9" back end. You can get into enough trouble with that setup.Originally I was looking to build a kit and went to Absolute Pace and Craig showed me around.....and was very impressed with the build, manufacturing and finish on their kits. But the lure of driving a cobra sooner than later won me over. Check if anyone in the clubs are selling a cobra as you would be less likely to buy a lemon, you would think. I saw mine advertised on the Qld Cobra Club Facebook page and purchased it in Nov 2013.Some of the cobras on carsales were there back in 2013. Not saying they are no good but make sure if you look at any, find out how long they been advertised for. Good to see you are posting on here as there are some knowledgable people available for answering any of your questions and with a mass of practicle experience.
Good hunting
Ian

[boxhead]

Cheapest way is generally to capitalize on someone elses loss by purchasing a partial built car.
Then buying an older completed car can save dollars, not many manage to build them for less than resale value (although market is heading south as far as used Cobras go, prices seem cheaper than a few years ago).
Building from a new kit, as others have said, most of us purchased the kit, then assembled it as money and parts became available. I always viewed my car as a "toy" rather than a must have, so only bought stuff when i truly had the money spare.
From my kit purchase to compliance inspection was almost 6 years, so as long as you have patience then it can be done without being a burdon.
A longer build time also gives you a chance to hunt and find the bargains, I purchased a few parts from other builders as they upgraded there own cars, I also am very hands on and did all my car apart from side pipes and main body electrical harness.
My build is far from a "pretty car" but it is what I wanted to build.
I am at a hair over $40k as my car sits.
(Here is a pic as I love seeing my car)

[gcarm]

Ian,

Thanks for the advice. After reading yours and previous posts on this forum, it seems I could be take a risk buying one of those uncompleted projects off ebay. Not only would you be limited by engine choice, but chances are the correct engineering data would not be available which could end up costing heaps to get things like torsional chassis testing done.

Boxhead, really encouraged to read your reply. You car looks fantastic. Amazing you could achieve this result for just over $40K!! How did you find Classic Revival in terms of supporting your build ? What engine, running gear,etc did you end up choosing ?

Greg

[750hp]

Greg, there's something you need to know about Boxhead. He's one of those guys who has the ability to do everything himself. He also has the biggest shed in the world, every piece of machinery known to man, the mindset to complete what he wants to achieve, he's well connected locally for parts, and didn't have to re-do his build significantly because he kept to the plan and had focus (and didn't make mistakes). The labour costs saved by him doing everything himself and not spending lots on paint would add up to a lot.

So basically, Boxhead was able to complete a build at a cost us mere mortals could only dream of achieving.

He also has an impressive collection of GT40 cars. Oh wait, I mean RT40 cars. Ah well, a man can't be perfect

[dave295]

Boxhead

SIX YEARS to build!!!

That must be a record for someone from the land of Not Today, Nor Tommorrow.

As for the racing dot number (62), does that bear any relationship to the number of CLP Chief Ministers we've had in the last year or two??

Cheers
Dave

[justcobra]

Originally Posted by d488y2

Welcome to the Forum.
There's a couple of un finished projects on Ebay.
AC Cobra RMC Series 3 Project in Kilmore, VIC | eBay

AC Cobra | eBay

or this one looks ok and it's ready to go
AC Cobra Swap Trade TO Value 60K in Traralgon, VIC | eBay

The Ac Cobra RMC series 3 project is mine.

I AM AVERAGING 300 LOOKERS EVERY DAY ON EBAY.

Low ball offers have been automatically rejected and they simple do not appreciate the replacement costs especially with the downward movement of the Aussie dollar.

Ok clubcobra members and newbies make me a intelligent offer.

[justcobra]

[quote=Rob. Smith;1338471]That RMC in a previous post looks pretty good....there's some good stuff in that package.
My RMC cost 22 grand so there's a big start there. I'm afraid your buget might "escalate"a little. I stopped counting at $50 grand. By the way those Trigo wheels are worth heaps more than he claims.[/QUOTE

Thanks for the feedback and your are absolutely correct the TRIGO wheels are worth heaps.

I had some interest on the wheels and I will not separate and they come with the car.

With the plunging Aussie Dollar it is suggested to all newbies put pen to paper and cost this item as well as the other items in the ad. Expect to pay 40 per cent more!
.

[albanycobra]

That DRB for 11k on ebay seems good value. Would make a great cheapie for someone.

[justcobra]

I would stay away from torana based cobras or cobras built around toyota crown chassis! The resale value seems to be poor.

JAGUAR BASED COBRAS ARE PREFERABLE ALTHOUGH I MIGHT BE BIASED..

I had a guy from Bendigo Victoria who regretted in buying a cobra kit with a crown chassis(after he saw my ad.) and was interested in going down the Jaguar avenue.This gentleman was a qualified welder and wanted details of jaguar front end.

I went through this same path and it was only through my research and talking to a well cobra forum Qld. member as well as sourcing the internet one could compile a reasonable file on Cobra chassis's.

From photos you can scale things and get approriate angles.



.

[750hp]

Greg, in case you haven't searched through the Aussie forum for the same type of question you asked, I'd advise you to. There are guys with Torana based suspension who are running lap times at various tracks that would make your head spin. Sure, they're great drivers, but it's proof of the Torana suspension working very effectively. I wouldn't discount them. I have a Cobra with Jag suspension, and it's old technology just like the Torana stuff.

[albanycobra]

I wouldnt have a problem with a Torana frontend in a Cobra....Radial Tuned Suspension Mate.....Also I didnt think the DRB Cobra was Crown based, I could be wrong.
I drove Bernies old Cobra that had a solid axle 9inch in the rear and a Torana front suspension of sorts. It drove great.

Actually the last Cobra I owned was a Jag based car and it was a major PITA when i had to rebuild the diff and set up rear wheel bearings.... Dont get me wrong I love them all...

[justcobra]

The DRb and RMC cobras have overhang problems in the sill areas and frankly speaking it looks unsightly.

It is quite evident in the DRB cobra advertised in ebay.

You got couple choices :
!. Live with it,or,
2. Modify it to remove the extension in the bottom portion of the sill.

In my RMC I had to modify the chassis so as it sits behind the sill and is not seen . Apparently this is a quite acceptable in carrying out this mod.

[boxhead]

The 62 is just a race number I have had on all my cars.
It started as it was the number on my stepfathers race cars. He ran the number as his birth date (6th Feb).

Regarding NT politics, well that is a joke that really isnt very funny, How dumb is that William fella, then Adam goes and makes him deputy, bunch of jackasses.

Originally Posted by dave295

Boxhead

SIX YEARS to build!!!

That must be a record for someone from the land of Not Today, Nor Tommorrow.

As for the racing dot number (62), does that bear any relationship to the number of CLP Chief Ministers we've had in the last year or two??

Cheers
Dave

[David Hodgson]

Originally Posted by boxhead

He ran the number as his birth date (6th Feb).

get outta here - that's my birthday!

and Bob Marley, Babe Ruth, Ronnie Reagan Axl Rose, Zsa Zsa Gabor to name a few