All of the above, plus the fact that you live in Iowa, would make Hurricane a slam-dunk choice, if I were in your shoes...

I can't think of a single, solid technical reason why you would be better off paying transportation on another company's kit - The cash you'll save on shipping will pay for half of your paint job, or maybe your wheels and tires... :cool:

Ya, "outlier," that's a nice way putting it. My friends and family typically use more unsavory terms to describe me. :LOL:

Isn't there an old joke about BMW's and porcupines? :LOL:

That's what great about CrossFit, "we" can scale a program for anyone. I've even seen "old as dirt" and "big gut" kinda folks in the Box. However, it always comes down to one word. Commitment. ;)

Back to Hurricane. Good looking Cobra. Great choice from what I've seen and heard. But it's "a road less-traveled" for some unknown (to me) reason. Make sure you're able to drive a few Cobras. You wouldn't be the first to buy one and then quickly sell it because it wasn't the car you thought it would be. Most people skip this step and just buy the Z06 Corvette.

If we're talking about technical reasons, then Patrick would argue that the ERA comes with an extensive factory assembly manual. Aluminum? Then Kirkham/CSX.

BTW, I've transported several cars over the past years, and transportation cost from coast-to-coast is about $1,000-$1,500. That may buy you the blue and white paint, but that's about it. However, having the factory that makes your Cobra replica nearby is a significant advantage. No doubt. I wish Kirkham wasn't in UT. I'd be visiting them all the time, if they were closer.

Yep, and Patrick would be right.:cool: The ERA blows them all away in that regard....;)

In late September, 2016, The best quote I could get to move a "starting and driving" car from St Louis to Phoenix, in a fully enclosed hauler, was $1800 ...

The next time I need a car transported, I'm going to be calling on you to book my waybill for me, hahaha

Every shipper asked me: "is it a kit car?" and "does it have an engine?" - They all wanted to jack the transport rate up another 500-600 bucks if the car was a non-running roller.

My best quote to get a bare fiberglass Mr Bruce body from Pittsburgh to Phoenix was $1200

Fair points about the aluminum body...

Is it worth it to pay the extra shipping on an ERA kit, versus a Hurricane or a Unique? To an ERA owner, I guess it could be... but not to me...

to each, his own. There really are no right or wrong answers to any of this - Everybody makes their final decision based on the criteria that are most important to them...

I wouldn't need ERA's detailed assembly bible to put one of these cars together, so the extra shipping expense from CT would influence my personal decision more heavily than the value of the assembly manual.

I've used this broker at least 3 times in the past few years. I haven't had a problem yet and they book enclosed or open. I've done both.

Angels Moving Autos

I know my engine-less Kirkham was less than a $1,000 from UT to CA, but that was back in 2007-2008. That company went out of business, but was an advertiser here.

Patrick LOVES his ERA assembly manual. He opines about it all the time. He won't leave home without it. :LOL:

200 pages of pure gold. And I've been harping for a decade now on why other manufacturers can't produce a detailed service manual. All the "real car" manufacturers do. Even KMS started writing one, and then gave up when it was about half way done. To do a really quality job on a service manual, you pretty much need a mechanical engineer, who is tech savvy, that is dedicated to doing nothing but it -- and that's just too expensive.

However, while not a service manual, there's this 300-page +/- book, which the Kirkham's put together when they built the Billet Cobra for Larry Ellison. It's online here:

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_00.pdf

Yes, but after you've read it once, or maybe twice, and gotten tired of seeing it on your coffee table, then you wish you had a plain ol' service manual.:D

Is ERA's manual online? The Kirkham manual is. So, just print it out and you'll have a complete "plain ol' assembly manual of the Kirkham Cobra.

Just stop saying the Kirkham's never completed a manual. They did. :p

Yes, there's an entire secret "Owners Only" section of the site. Tons of stuff, tips, manuals, pics, write-ups, and even insights in to how Nancy P. keeps getting elected. You know, the whole enchilada. :LOL:

The Kirkham's are more of an "open source" or "transparent" company. No secret handshake type stuff from UT.

FYI, Nancy isn't my Congressional Representative. Mine is Anna and she keeps getting elected too. ;)

Anna Nicole Smith? Dang, I didn't know she was still even alive.:JEKYLHYDE

She was spotted topless on a pontoon boat down here with JFK and Don Aronow just the other day.

We'd get along, then.

Both my best friends are Crossfit chicks. One is a serious Crossfitter and the other is married to an owner. I did it for a couple years, discovered I had two broken vertebrate and decided my "commitment" didn't involve dying/being quadded out, because 70% of the exercises involve my spondylosis. I cannot even safely use a rowing machine. I can get nearly as much juice for the squeeze through exercises that do not, so cost/benefit went to traditional weight training. That, and I'm pretty anti-social normally, and the cheering and encouragement and attention really turns me off. But for people without potential spinal issues, Crossfit is the heat.

Hurricane doesn't do anywhere near as much self-promotion as Factory Five, ERA and it isn't at the price point level as Superformance, plus it transferred ownership not that long ago, plus they had an intermediate owner who didn't make a car. Plus there is the whole, "factory in the most rural part of Iowa" thing.

BTW, NW Iowa has pretty low wages, yet people there are very highly educated, skilled and possess an unreal work ethic. This is kind of a "perfect storm" for something like a Cobra replica company.

I grew up racing solid frame, chain driven carts and Series I Mustangs on dirt. At work, I drive something equally uncomfortable, often armored, and usually with guns on it. When I'm stateside, I daily drive a 67 Mustang convertible with a very stiff suspension, and it just isn't "enough" to scratch my itch. I'm afraid I'd fall asleep in a modern performance car. ;)

My wife is getting tired of being a geographical war widow. I am an adrenaline junkie. This car will be my replacement therapy because at 53, I've been doing this crap for 35 years, and I need to pay some attention to her.

I'm hoping my cobra build will be too hot in the summer, too cold any other time, too loud, hard riding and dangerous under power and in corners. Hopefully I won't be disappointed.... ;)

OK then. No future questions about heated seats, tops, cup holders, A/C, PS, stereo, etc. :)

As Buzz said earlier, Dean Lampe builds the best, at least a couple of RCR GT40's, 289 FIA Kirkham and a Hurricane. Do a search on his Hurricane build and that should give you a helluva lot of info on their Cobra.

Cobras already come with stereo, don't they? Twin pipes spreading FE goodness. :cool:

Will do, forthwith. Thanks for the tip!

With two broken vertebrae, you might want to try getting into and out of a cobra before purchasing one. Not sure how much your range of motion is limited. They are not the easiest thing to get into and out of. You do not need to be a gymnast, but they do sit low and are a little cramped inside.

As I was reading your post regarding you being an adrenaline junkie, it made me thin that you are a prime candidate for vintage racing. After a race I am on an adrenaline high for about three days. However, before you considered going that route I would download the medical form for a vintage racing organization, such as SVRA, and take it to your physician to see if they would sign off on it given the two fractured vertebrae.

Good luck in your quest.

just to add to the discussion:

I will be 56 years old in 4 weeks, and I've been a crossfitter for 4 years and never felt better in my life.

Athlete: Bobby Worley | CrossFit Games

http://worleyworld.com/images/advoca...poster_325.jpg

oh, and I'm also building a Hurricane Cobra ;)

Your post reminded me of a thread of a few months ago, where a CC member (Luke427) that started a thread about driving his Cobra with a bad back and asking us whether it was time to sell it or find a way to modify his Cobra so he could continue to use it:

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/all-...ny-advice.html

The OP should read this thread, assuming his back is in similar condition.