Which kit? question#6793241

[Sniper]

Ok so i went and talked to the guys at Replica Motor Company this arvo
turns out they also deal with Westfield SportsCars out of the UK.

After over an hour of discussing with Kim it apprears that a westfield SEW is a better first kit car ie. sub 30k for parts vs. 55k+ for the cobra parts, 150 hours vs. 600 hours.

160-200hp in a 650kg car should still be plenty of fun

if all goes well, sell the westfields and hopefully not lose money on the cost of parts and then tackle the Cobra and then one day a Gt40 or Dayton Coupe

what do you guys think?

cheers

Nik

[400TT]

To me the westfield just does not have the appeal of a Cobra. Even the appeal of a cheap Cobra.

Wouldn't be much easier to build than a Cobra.

Westfield would certainly be cheaper, when looking at the same quality.


You could build a 30K Cobra following this guide:
If you used lexus V8, auto, radiator etc etc from front cut.
Don't paint it immediately. Get them to do a gelcoat body in a suitable final colour, black is a great choice. Then get some stick on roundels with numbers for it, etc etc and it will look ok. Gelcoat polishes up really well. My brothers Cobra is done like this and it looks quite good.
Got for a race interior. Grab some 2nd hand seats and panel the interior and dash, it can look quite effective and is cheap to do.
Hit the swap meets for parts, big savings here.
Use 2nd hand wheels/tyres.
Even with wiring harness, you could pick up a couple of old harnesses and make one suitable harness out of it. We did that on our first Cobra, no electrical problems in 9 years of driving.
Spend the money on proper windscreen and suitable outside accessories: roll bar, side vents, quick jacks, badges, mirrors etc.

You would definitely be below $30k. I reckon below $25k if you really hit swap meets hard.

Eventually you could pretty it up, add nice wheels etc etc.

This is how I would go.

You also would not have to stick with an auto, you could drop in an old Supra 5 speed. These will handle the power of a standard Lexus in something light like a Cobra.

All the time is in the finishing off, fiddly stuff. The mechanical stuff is the quick, easy & fun part.

The last Harrison I built with my brother came in at $30k initially. It wasn't painted and didn't have a pretty interior, but had about $5k extra spent on it that wasn't necessary for a road car.