Researching Kits

[Thoroughbred]

I am new to this and am looking for a replica that won't take years, an engineering degree and a couple of bank accounts to finish. Any advice on Shell Valley, Unique, or Factory Five? I think I have narrowed it down to these. I have a 351 Cleveland. Any thoughts or ideas will be welcome.

Thanks,
Gordon

[YerDugliness]

I was at the Shell Valley factory before it changed hands, seemed like a first class operation. Their product at that time was a sort of "combo" including the best of the MidStates replica and the Shell Valley replica. What I liked about it was that it was pretty complete as shipped, and the one piece "tub" made the build easier.

Unique would be my choice from among the three.....I know from talking to the Weavers that they support the Cleveland engine choice (my favorite!!). I really like their FIA model.....lean and mean!

While I was at first a F5R fan, the paneling sort of turned me off. If you want a track car, though, their space frame design has quite a lot going for it. It might be the least expensive of the three, particularly if you use the "donor" route, but maybe not, depending on the condition of your donor. A low mileage donor might be a good choice, but in the end you get a F5R chassis with a bunch of used Mustang components on it. They make a "no donor" model, which obviously would most likely not include such things as ECU, engine/transmission/differential, but would probably include the suspension pieces and many other items you would harvest from the donor Mustang. Another negative I found to the donor route is that while you may think you can sell the leftover body parts for cash, it is only a reality if somebody wants them, and in the meantime you have what the city code enforcement department will likely consider a "junker" sitting in your driveway (?) or, perhaps worse yet, your yard or garage. Can't sell the body parts? Expect to pay to have a salvage yard haul it away for you.

Depends on how much work you want to do and all that paneling the F5R model requires sounds like a LOT of work to me. In the end, I KNOW from having seen the product that the Unique is a first class piece.....if it were me, that's the way I'd go.

Cheers from Dugly

[fordracing65]

The factory 5 in my opnion has one of the best chassis in the industry, plus they really know there stuff. They are race car drivers and understand horsepower in a cobra.

[Bill Bess]

I would consider many things when choosing a kit.
1. Body accuracy.
2. Frame design (how safe & strong is it?).
3. Completeness of kit (how much stuff do I need to complete it).
4. Quality of the manufacture.
5. Kit price range ( balance all the varibles)
6. Value of car for resale purposes.

The kits you've selected are good ones, but I would suggest you look at Hurricane. Hurricane was the kit I choose after two years of reseach. I've been very satisfied and had no problems...it's been a very reliable cobra.

Chose the one that "trips your trigger". Best of luck, Bill

[redmt]

Hurricane was where I was headed before I found my Contemporary. They seemed to have it together very well without the issues of poor communication and parts back orders. The search feature of previous threads on various cars will help you make up your mind.

[MOTORHEAD]

Gordon;
Where are you located and what is your budget ?
Ted

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by Bill Bess

I would consider many things when choosing a kit.
1. Body accuracy.
2. Frame design (how safe & strong is it?).
3. Completeness of kit (how much stuff do I need to complete it).
4. Quality of the manufacture.
5. Kit price range ( balance all the varibles)
6. Value of car for resale purposes.

Very well put Bill. I wish someone would buy my #6 so I could build one of the new Hurricanes. Of course, it might help if I stopped driving it and actually put some effort into trying to sell it.

[mreid]

All three are good choices, but the order depends on what you want to do with it. If racing is your number 1 priority, then Factory Five would be the best of these three. If originality of body, then Unique. Personally, I like Unique or FFR in that order, but Unique is probably the better choice for a 351C build. You can make either work, though.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do and how you are progressing!

[rustyBob]

Gordon heres what i can tell you.....i have a Midstates (2001) and i love it, its as solid a car as you will ever find....
as for your choices above ,Unique will be a little spendy but well worth the money....as for Factory 5 and Shell Valley i would pick the Shell Valley because i like the body shape better than the Factory 5...now with that being said the Shell Valley car is a combo of the Midstates and Shell Valley cars and they have been selling that particular car since 2007 and what you will get is a Midstates body (with some minor changes) on a Shell Valley frame..if i where going to buy one now i would request the Midstates four link rear setup over the Shell Valley setup (jmo) as for the Factory 5 cars i dont like the body shape and it has to many seams and i also dont like all the aluminum pannels....now there are a couple of manufacturers you didnt mention like B&b, Lone Star,A&C,Hurricane so i think you need to do more research (jmo)..good luck on your search and keep us posted....

[littlewave]

If I had to do it over, Shell Valley. Call them talk to Dana, good people!

[YerDugliness]

If the Hurricane were in the mix, that would certainly change my preference.

IMHO, the Hurricane is an incredibly well built kit at a great price.

If you're interested, there are a couple of Hurricane forums, one developed when the kit was being produced near Kansas City, MO:

http://www.hurricane-motorsports.com.../yabb2/YaBB.pl

Here's a second site, started by an indidual while the Hurricane business was in limbo. It was designed for owners only, but there is a "prospective owner" membership that gives limited posting priveleges:

http://www.hm-cobra.org/smf_forum/index.php'

One added extra regarding the first forum mentioned.....once you become a Hurricane owner, you're granted access to "The Dark Side" of the forum, which IS reserved for owners only. I'm led to believe that more information regarding building the product is located therein, which could be of great benefit if you encounter a problem building one.

Have you given Hurricane any consideration, Gordon? If not, I highly recommend you do so!

Cheers from Dugly

[elmariachi]

The owner's side of the Hurricane forum has details on probably 50+ builds, and no stone is left unturned with regard to how to address build items. Your opening sentence is relevant here. The Hurricane body mold has been refined and perfected by Bowie Manufacturing (Hurricane's parent) in an attempt to all but remove the body prep work needed to move to prime and paint. This alone will knock hundreds of dollars and many hours off of your build compared to other cars.

[Don]

Attend the Carlisle PA Kit Car show, a number of vendors will be exhibiting, May 20 to 22:

http://www.carlisleevents.com/ce/events/import/

[blykins]

I will vouch for the guys at Shell Valley.....great product and great service.

[bfitz241]

FWIW I put a 351C in a FFR. Can't reach #8 plug from the top, you have to go from the bottom. Figure custom headers in your budget. I wouldn't do it again. I'd use a 302. My experience.

[Thoroughbred]

Thanks for all of your input. I think I am leaning towards Unique for many reasons like quality, ease of build and support for Clevelands. I am still intrigued by Shell Valley, as I have heard many good things about them. I have spoken to Dana and have one of their build manuals. This is where I am not sure if this is too complex of a build. Some of it seems straight forward and some of it seems confusing. Is it is just the manual that makes it seem this way? Is it actually easier when the parts are in front of you? Some parts of the manual talk about some welding and fabrication that may be beyond my skills. Any of you that have built a Shell Valley please chime in. Any of you that have built a Unique chime in too.

Gordon

[rustyBob]

Gordon dont get freaked out over this its not as hard as you might think...
i cant speak as to how hard or easy it is to do a Unique Cobra.....
Shell Valley Cobras come pre assembled...at least as a roller...you can
have them do what you dont feel comfortable doing yourself and the price
of the kit will reflect that....they will install all of the suspension and hang
the body with the doors,hood,and trunk lid and you can install all the latches,
lights wireing, and other things...i dont think they still require glass work or welding
anymore but if you want to change things thats up to you...good luck and keep us posted

[blykins]

Originally Posted by Thoroughbred

Thanks for all of your input. I think I am leaning towards Unique for many reasons like quality, ease of build and support for Clevelands. I am still intrigued by Shell Valley, as I have heard many good things about them. I have spoken to Dana and have one of their build manuals. This is where I am not sure if this is too complex of a build. Some of it seems straight forward and some of it seems confusing. Is it is just the manual that makes it seem this way? Is it actually easier when the parts are in front of you? Some parts of the manual talk about some welding and fabrication that may be beyond my skills. Any of you that have built a Shell Valley please chime in. Any of you that have built a Unique chime in too.

Gordon

It's not as intimidating as what you think. The Shell Valley cars are well designed and pretty easy to assemble.

They have updated a lot of things since I bought my first one back in 2003. There is going to be an IRS option, the dash panel is now removable, etc.

Of course Unique is a very good brand as well and the Weavers will absolutely treat you right.