Meatball thread

[twobjshelbys]

Regarding purchase advice: At a minimum get a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) by someone qualified to evaluate Cobra builds. There are a few here that could do that. I'm not talking about someone nearby that can just go and look at it to verify it is real and isn't a crumpled mass but someone that can truly inspect the car for quality of build and operation (that means driving it!)

Second, I would encourage you to accompany the inspector if at all possible if it is a car that you would buy if the inspector passes it.

It's much better to spend money on a trip than get a car that is a bust.

Again, good luck!

[patrickt]

Detroit Bill -- go here: Compare car profiles and you can see the different side profiles of various cars. Personally, I think the look from behind is even more telling.

[rodneym]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Detroit Bill -- go here: Compare car profiles and you can see the different side profiles of various cars.

I havent seen that page in a while. Some of those pictures are misleading.
They all need to be taken from the same height, distance and smack dab in the middle of the car, not to mention similar ride heights.

The ERA and CSX's are taken pretty good but the rest.... The above mentioned issues made the Kirkham look weird by comparo, too.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by rodneym

I havent seen that page in a while. Some of those pictures are misleading.
They all need to be taken from the same height, distance and smack dab in the middle of the car, not to mention similar ride heights.

The ERA and CSX's are taken pretty good but the rest.... The above mentioned issues made the Kirkham look weird by comparo, too.

The intent behind that page is to simply raise the awareness of the viewer as to the differences between manufacturers. If a prospective buyer comes away from that page saying to himself "maybe I should actually see these cars in person before I buy" then it has achieved its goal. I know ERA has an uncomfortable wait time, but what about Kirkham? I know they technically don't do "turnkey cars," but how long does it take to get as much done as they will possibly do?

[rodneym]

Originally Posted by patrickt

The intent behind that page is to simply raise the awareness of the viewer as to the differences between manufacturers. If a prospective buyer comes away from that page saying to himself "maybe I should actually see these cars in person before I buy" then it has achieved its goal. I know ERA has an uncomfortable wait time, but what about Kirkham? I know they technically don't do "turnkey cars," but how long does it take to get as much done as they will possibly do?

I must disagree with you on that first statement. I believe the 'intent' was to say, "look at how accurate we got the shape". Nothing wrong with that, ERA deserves it...but, I noticed that other pics were taken from dissimilar angles and that makes some of them look downright unflattering - the Kirkham in particular (I take offense to that one ). I mean, how can you argue with the Kirkham shape? But from a low slung pic of an ERA - compared to a 'tall' pic of a Kirkham, one might ass-ume the ERA is more (fill in blank).

The good folks at ERA have proven themselves to be talented, business friendly craftsmen. It's just that the comparo is, shall we say, snake oil? Leading the witness, as you say?

As far as the wait time, I'm not sure what your point was. Maybe you were commenting on another post?

[patrickt]

Note on that page that Bob invites the submission of better photos.... Regarding the wait time, the real down-side of getting an ERA turnkey is that it takes a year to do so. I have no idea what you would have to do now to get a turnkey CSX car made to your specs. I was just curious if you call up KMS and said "how long will it take for you to build a 427 car to my specs" will I see the car in six months, nine months, or a year? I think you can pretty much land an SPF in a week to ten days....

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

The intent behind that page is to simply raise the awareness of the viewer as to the differences between manufacturers. If a prospective buyer comes away from that page saying to himself "maybe I should actually see these cars in person before I buy" then it has achieved its goal. I know ERA has an uncomfortable wait time, but what about Kirkham? I know they technically don't do "turnkey cars," but how long does it take to get as much done as they will possibly do?

Generally, I believe the Kirkham wait time is about 4-6 months, but with the production of the Coupe, I think their Cobra wait time has increased to 9-12 months. However, I'm sure someone will correct me, if I'm wrong.

As for the profile pics, I say "meh." There are some front, rear and side views of the Shelby and ERA that don't look correct to me. Plus, when was the last time that page was changed to reflect the bodies made today by each company, not from 10 years ago.

[bwcobra15]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Detroit Bill -- go here: Compare car profiles and you can see the different side profiles of various cars. Personally, I think the look from behind is even more telling.

That page does need updating. The Hurricane doesn't show the updated, more original-looking roll bar in the later first-generation cars, and the link to Hurricane Motorsports - 427 Roadsters is broken.