289 and 427 street versions

[jolsen42]

Well I've built both, and loved them both. But between the two, my favorite is the slabside. It's the look of the original Cobra, and while the 427 is more muscular looking, I love the refined almost delicate look of the original 289 . Delicate until you step on the gas. I built a 289 to hi-po specs and while it's not as powerful as the 427, It's managable horsepower, easily doing 0-60 4.5 sec times. Here are some comparison pics.

427



289



John O

[avanti-176]

Not to take over the thread, but, John, you wouldn't happen to have the supplier and part number for the weather stripping you used for the 289 hood??

Now back to our regularly scheduled subject....

[1985 CCX]

Best use of the car is the question.......

For street:
You want:
top
side curtains
pump gas
Rotatable tires - 289
comfort
able to hold conversations with guest
Most of all in my book, you will not have 25 other cars at a car show that look like you.

That is what led me to mine............... Hertz gold, 289 comp with LeMans character.. The only one like it in NH for sure.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by 1985 CCX

Best use of the car is the question.......

For street:
You want:
top
side curtains
pump gas
Rotatable tires - 289
comfort
able to hold conversations with guest
Most of all in my book, you will not have 25 other cars at a car show that look like you.

That is what led me to mine............... Hertz gold, 289 comp with LeMans character.. The only one like it in NH for sure.

What's ironic is that I attended a local car show this past weekend and the ONLY Cobra there was a 289 ERA. Go figure.

I wanted something "unique" too, so I went with a polished aluminum Cobra. So, we all have our varying definitions of what is considered "unique."

There are definitely less 289's out there, but that's probably for a couple reasons. One, they're only now being made in larger numbers by ERA, SPF, CSX and KMP. Two, I believe the 289's appeal to a smaller audience, which may or may not be an issue for resale. As an example, Kirkham has been offering both 289 and 427 models for a very long time and the 427/SC outsells them all by a large margin.

And you can certainly build a "driver" 427 Cobra. Bernie (BMK), from the Australian Cobra group, has a Kirkham with a 468 FE and something like 1,000,000 miles (an exaggeration, but it's alot of miles/km's, maybe 15,000 in 2 years). With proper selection of parts, an FE can be a very nice driver.

Again, ERA makes a wonderful Cobra. It's whatever appeals to you and marks most of, or all, the boxes on your list.

[jolsen42]

I sent you a private message with info.

John O

Originally Posted by avanti-176

Not to take over the thread, but, John, you wouldn't happen to have the supplier and part number for the weather stripping you used for the 289 hood??

Now back to our regularly scheduled subject....

[mos289]

Always had a 427 Cobra on my dream car list growing up...but then I grew up and realized I am more of a low key guy and a fan of classic Brit roadsters so choice was easy for me - slabside.

Now my only hurdle is getting it titled and inspected (still working through the NJ bureaucracy and regs). May need to go to some unorthodoxed solutions but will post when I know more.