What options that are very useful and worth the cash
 

Although it would be easy to just click them all off I can't afford that so which do you guys recomend?

I'm not a Kirkham owner but someday I will be!
Anyway, I've done this already in dreamland. You need to decide on what finish the body will have and figure that into your order. If your going to paint it, then filed is ok but if you want brushed or polished, ad that now. Also have the cut outs done for the sidepipes.
I would ad wheel-well protection, the headers/sidepipes and the Kirkham differential set up. It's very nice!
I would upgrade the brakes but that's just me. I would also opt for wool carpet and install it myself but nylon looks nice too. ( I like wool!)
Anyway, that's how I would order it.
HTH,
Larry

I would opt out of the aluminum diff. and use a rebuilt Jag unit and save 4000 bucks. I have the aluminum unit and it is nice but I cannot see it so who cares. I would also let a pro do your carpet, it will look better than installing theirs. That is one area that I feel Kirkham is not up to industry standard and there is no reason not to be, as it would be easy to have the carpet made to fit easily since all the cars are the same inside wise. SPF and ERA seem to have no problem providing excellent carpet. The cutouts are easy to do yourself with the template. Headers and sidepipes-yes. Reg size gas tank is more than enough.

ENTDOC,
How did you cut your downpipe holes? The downpipes are worth the $1,500?

they fit and that is nice. I used the Kirkham template and a high speed air saw--20 minutes later it is done,no big deal

I would pick up the phone and talk with David K directly. He was pretty straight forward about what options really enhanced the car and the driving experience and what just sounded cool on paper. Also, maybe you can work out an option package discount like you can with other car manufacturers.

Agree on the approach for the body. If you are going to paint the car no need to go with a brushed or polished body. But if you want the car painted correctly be prepared to have a decent amount of labor taking the car apart for paint and then put back together.

Disagree on the sidepipe cutouts. The way Kirkham does this is not correct so I had it done separately by my restoration shop. An original car has unequal cutouts on each side of the car. I am not sure if this is how the Kirkhams will do it but I do know that they do not roll the edges. A proper sidepipe cutout has a rolled edge instead of the cut edge finish and if you want this done properly you must have it done elsewhere. This was a functional feature on original cars to give the cutout proper strength. If the aluminum is cut without rolling the area will be weak and susceptible to wind damage. For originality and function I would recommend not just cutting a hole in the body.

Great point. David will definitely work with you to determine what set of options make sense for you given your plans for the car. He won't try to sell you something that you don't need. Just don't let him tell you that it is normal to paint a car at the end of the process. To properly paint a car you must paint it before assembly which means you should disassemble the roller before paint.

Try Taking a Different Approach
 

Ng8264723 -- You might think about taking a different approach to the options you choose. I say this because a lot of owners of "premium Cobras" eventually end up wanting everything on their car and, if you're going to invest in a Kirkham, there's a good chance you might fall in to that category. Instead of looking at costs, and balancing dollars against dollars, try looking at the difficulty of upgrading to that option at a later date and invest now in the options that are the most difficult to upgrade to in the future. Tops, side curtains, mahogany Moto-Lita wheels, are "easy upgrades" compared to rears, brakes/hubs/pin drives, and the like. If you look at it that way, you might make a different decision and you won't be boxed in as much later on down the road when you're saying "Dang, I really wish I had spent that extra two grand on _______, because it'll be a real PITA to put it in now."

KMS?

I must say, out of the gate, that your volume of questions to this forum indicates to me that this is car #1 for you? You seem to have picked a great top of the line car and are trying to save pennies along the way. I hope to have a KMS, as do we all, someday however none of these cars are cheap to build. Maybe you should consider buying a running car at a reasonable price first. That way you will form your own needs while owning and enjoying one at the same time. Once you have done that you can sell the car you bought a couple seasons down the road. What the heck, buy a KMS already running. Learn what it is you want different and sell it then build. Word to the wise, most KMS cars I've seen for sale will cost you more to build than the asking price of a runner.

Everyone is right, you need to know what you want since it is a PITA after the build. Remember = These will always cost more than you think! Always.....:JEKYLHYDE

Best of luck!
Jeff

Yeah it does seem a bit off that you are looking at a Kirkham but trying to find ways to save pennies. No matter what you do you will blow past your budget. I would give definite consideration to Jeff's suggestion of finding a running car that you can buy. Kirkham or other. If you can find a Kirkham for sale, you will definitley be able to buy it for less than it cost to build it. You will just have a bit of a search to find someone that wants to sell it.

Also, Patrick, FYI - Original wheels were not made of mahogany as the current reproductions by Moto-Lita. The Moto-Lita reproduction wheel is very nice although many belive that this was the way that the originals were made and this is not the case.

I personally don't see anything dichotomous in wanting a Kirkham and trying to stay within a buget. I have a great car, and feel I got a pretty dang good deal by keeping my eys open, picking up parts when I felt I could get a good deal (didn't always work :)), doing some work myself, and prioritizing options.

Just because you can blow $100K on a car doesn't mean that you should. Personally, I feel BETTER about my car knowing that I got a pretty good deal putting it together the way I did. Just leaves more money for other things.

In reality, I'd say that most of the time you can buy a low miliage car for less than you can build one. But that's only MOST of the time, not all.

So there you have it, build your Kirkham, and save your pennies. Then laugh all the way to the bank (whilst riding in your new Cobra).:)

I personally don't think I'm trying to save pennies. I'm just not trying to waste money on not needed things. If you simply check off every option it quickly adds thousands possibly $10,000 or twice that much. If It's not needed I don't want them. Also they charge $5,000 to assemble the car. I don't want them to assemble the car. I can do that myself. I have built many different cars. I just never built a kit car. Currently I have a 1970 SCJ stang and 1967 Cougar witha 2 X 3 frame 12 point cage Jaguar front k-member and a vette rear. I fabricated the whole car. I also have a 2003 Cobra and a 1990 stang twinturbo (in the build phase). It is to replace my last twin turbo stang that got stolen and never recovered. So as i said the build for me is easy I have a 30 X 40 shop with a lift and pretty much everything to restore a car including a rotisserie.

Well to determine if it is needed or not you need to define the purpose of your car. To me, the purpose is to build a car that is as close to the original as possible. If this is your purpose then I would recommend comparing the oringal car to the Kirkham roller and then selecting the options that align with the original and not selecting the options that do not align with the original. You would then also need to deselect many of the standard Kirkham items since they are not as original such as gauges. Of course if your purpose is something other than a quest for originality then you will have a different answer to the question. Bottom line, what is the purpose? Originality, function, budget, speed, some combination? You are the only one who knows this and without understanding the thinking behind your plan we really can't guide you to the right options. I think the understanding was that you were looking for recommendations since you could not afford all of them. Whether I could afford all of them or not I chose to go without many of them. No reason to get a polished body if my purpose was originality.

Best of luck with the build. It sounds like you are more than prepared to build the car. Since you are equiped to do the build yourself maybe you can do the sidepipe cutouts yourself and get it done properly.

function, budget, speed
Those three words you picked somes it up. I guess the options I will choose are more for function. I just didn't think of putting it that way. I don't want to spend $1,000 for something that looks original. I don't care. IF for example one of you guys said I spent $1,000 for this and don't use it I wouldn't buy it. I just want a fun car to drive and do some amateur racing iwth. I have never raced but I have a friend who belongs to an autocross club where he races near me. I thought it would be a lot of fun with the cobra. I'm going for the brushed body so I have low maintenace no chips and don't have to worry about painting it That look is nice to me but definately not original

Rich has great advice and is also a great resource. He knows the value of a KMS and the cost to build it right. Function-budget-speed? KMS is the best choice but keep in mind the rules and regulations of todays track requirements. You might need full roll cage etc for the class you plan to race? For racing all you need is the base car, a powerful plant, and a strong trans. See this car: http://www.cobracountry.com/cobra4sa...tech/home.html
A KMS set up like this ride would be double the cash outlay. Remember Cobras are fast but still a handfull and nothing like cars of this era.
Best of luck in your adventure.
Jeff

Actually the track requirments at this particular location are not that severe . My friend races a focus with a stock interior. It has a blower and is quite fast for what it is

Makes sense. I understand what you are shooting for. The track should be a ton of fun. I race quite often but in another car. I do not have plans to race the Cobra but I am sure it would be a ton of fun.

Here are a few suggestions regarding options. The following are items I think you should NOT get given the purpose of your car and your ability to perform your own work.

Stainless frame ($5,000) - Useless for your needs, show car stuff, not original, not needed for track
Stainless Roll bar ($600) - No need for this unless you like the stainless look
42 gallon fuel tank ($2,250) - Only needed if going for original car. You don't want this much fuel in the car for track sessions anyway. Too much weight for track unless you are planning on doing some very long sessions.
Wheel foam installed ($600) - This is a must but something you can do yourself
Cut outs for side pipes ($500) - As I mentioned before, you can do this yourself. Either by simply cutting the holes as Kirkham does or if you want to do it right, roll the edges.
No need for most or all of the billet aluminum stuff either.

You probably will want stuff like brake scoops, a halon system, 6 point harnesses, seat tracks. The way I see it when I go through the options that probably make sense for you I come up with about $50k for a roller but I selected no options for engine, transmission, or suspensoin parts as I do not know what your plans are in this area.

Best of luck.

Assolutely amazing amount of advice in the last couple of pages.

My suggestion is simply this: Get off your ass and go to Provo.

I went through the website chscklist and came up with $49,500. We must of checked off the same options. I will be running a 427 CO with edelbock alum heads a 428 crank and a toploader. I already have the engine and tranny.
thanks for the advice
chris

Jamo is right
 

Buy a plane ticket and go to Provo and see what you are buying or at least look at a Kirkham car on a lift so you can see for yourself what each option is. When you look at the price list you question the value of each option. Richsd gave good advise that I agree with, but its your money and your car. I bought almost every option and like what I recieved and have no regrets at all. When you look at the parts the Kirkhams supply in person you will feel more comfortable with the prices. Personally I think they charge very fair prices for everything based on the quality. You may want to reconsider the roller. This is one option that is grossly underpriced. Just do it, you won't regret it. M Murphy