Me... A Texas Hopeful kit builder

[Ricky Bobby]

Hello all, been lurking a few weeks but figured it is time to join as I have a few questions I will be posting shortly. The intent of this post is to provide my intentions/drivers for hopefully my future cobra. I will then think this into my signature so anyone can refer to this post to understand my back ground.

My Experience
This will be my first build. My mechanical experience is limited to my High School days of breaking stuff on my truck and then figuring out how to fix it. I have replaced complete rear ends, transmission and dropped motors in. However, I never tuned a motor or a carb. EFI and electronics scare me when they are on cars.

The drivers of my build
I got the green light from my wife to build a cobra because it could be something I can do with my kids. So purchasing one is not in the cards, beside I like to do things myself where I have the capability to do so rather than pay someone else to do it.

However, I recognize that I do not have the patience nor the skills to fabricate or do body work. I was never one that could color inside the lines and don't like the idea of working a plastic body that if you F it up that you need a entire new body. So I'm not looking for a kit that requires me to fab or do body work. For this reason I think Factory Five may not be an option for me.

I also don't want to spend a year or longer on the build. Again, I think I will lose patience and may lose the interest of my kids at that point. I'm in the Army Reserves so I lose a weekend a month and Saturdays are usually soccer games so I have 3 days a month to give 8-10hrs a day to the build. Again, I think this pushes Factory Five out of my short list.

I expect to have all of December off so hope to use this time to get a jump start on the build. Thus, the kit needs to be ready for me to pick-up the week of Thanksgiving. Thus, I don't have a year to conduct research and learn. In fact, based on some lead times I have been quoted I only weeks to come to a decision on a vendor. I don't plan to pull the trigger unless I'm 100% comfortable with the decision. I hope this forum will help me uncover blinds pots and learn how to set-up the build for as much success as I can.

I have not had a hobby in a long time. I wanted to find a hobby that will keep me at home and hopefully does not take away from family time. Thus, I selected to build a Cobra and the wife agreed with me. If I find this enjoyable then I can see moving on to other potential kits or keep tuning/upgrading the Cobra maybe for racing or to try and win bling at car shows.

I won't go into why a Cobra because I think we all share the same general infatuation of the car and building or purchasing a replica is the only way for us to get our hands on one.

My build Philosophy
I don't plan to build a 100% period correct car. I will choose functionality, fit and $$ over period correctness but if all else is equal then I will go with period correct. However, I do respect that this was a Ford car (even though I grew up on Bow-Ties) that I can not drop a Chevy engine into this car. Additionally, I just think a Coyote type Engine just doesn't look right in the car even though I recognize it may have less issues than the older Carb engines. I go back to my $$ and function for the engine, I big block is not a must have. The engine will be selected based on a 400-450HP/Torque for price and reliability. Currently, I plan to buy a complete motor dyno and tuned.

I'm not building the car to race, though maybe it is something I will try, the car will be driven as little as good weather allows or as much as my kids and wife say "Hey lets go in the Cobra" mid-day in July in Houston.

Like any car I expect that I will not receive 100% ROI but this is just like my pool and my family sure enjoys it. So it is worth it for me.

What I hope to get and provide to the Forum
I hope to get the facts from the wealth of experience here so I can base my decision on. If you want to provide me your opinion on what I should do or select then I will set up a go fund me site for you to send money to with your opinions. Then I will gladly consider your opinion.

I was surprised that there are not sticky post for all the hot topics a nub may have. I have participated in similar forums like this that had sticky's with link to discussions, website etc that a nub could get general basic information quickly without having to search. Searching doesn't always yield best results because great facts/info may be buried a thread in a unrelated topic. So maybe this is something I can help with since I will be looking for and collecting information as a nub.

Closing
This is probably longer than most intro but if I post something and you wonder why I'm going a particular direction the hopefully this post will give you insight as to why.

As I said I do have some questions I need help on from the group and will be posting those soon. Look forward to the discussions during my initiation of building the cobra and becoming a member once I finish and drive it to a coffee/lunch or a show.

Time to Shake.... and Bake