A couple of questions...

[braemar]

Originally Posted by Blue Cobra

Consider a suggestion to research turn-key (meaning drivable day-1) Cobra options. If your price conscious especially research Cobras where there is a "donor" newish Mustang under the Cobra fiberglass shell. If money is no option then get the $120k Super Snake with crate motor, new racing suspension and drivetrain, and hang on! If your thinking about building your own, be forewarned is a daunting task for even the most experienced car person, and many loose interest along the way, ending with the selling of their project for a dime on every dollar spent.

Undertand that a typical "roller" home-built Cobra will typically be a new Cobra built from old parts collected from junk yards, enthusiasts, collectors and even new 3rd party parts suppliers ($$$). Some of these home-built Cobras can be downright dangerous as the person had no idea what they were doing; or less than adequate budget to do it right and cut-corners along the way leaving a steaming Cobra PoS. Consider that when old parts break, most of us rip it apart and creatively rebuild it because many of these parts are not really sold 1:1 at O'Reilly's Auto Parts just down the street. It can take some creativity to get things up and working again when they break. I went to high school in the late 70's and was in Auto Shop all through High School, so consider myself a lucky Cobra owner in knowing how to work on old 1950-1980 cars soup to nuts.

So if gassing and going is your gig, and your like many with less than deep pockets full of money; I suspect you may be less that happy with the end user experience associated with maintaing a new car built from old parts. Even if you have deep pockets to pay for Cobra care-n-feeding of the engine, drivetrain, cooling, and electrical issues, finding someone experienced, or even be willing to work on your car, that you trust to work on you baby can offer yet another challenge to say the least.

You have come to the right place to tap on experience, but be aware that we Cobra owners when asked for an opinion love to rant and profess more than you can ever imagine. You will love the attention you get in your Cobra, and the certainly exhilaration from driving a 500+ HP 2500lb snake is impressive, so do not get discouraged, just do your purchasing with some forward looking considerations for who you are and what you want (like BAsque1 notes above) and how much time you have, and what you can do with your precious time in this wonderful place we call life.

My 2-Peso's
BC

OK...I know I should have been a bit more informative...so

1. Budget is around $65K
2. Will not race
3. Engine around 450 - 550 hp
4. Turnkey from ??? Backdraft...hopefully they know what they are doing
5. Maintenance does not bother me, provided I can find someone to do it..
6. Look forward to all advice...whatever it is

Of course I'll have a ton of questions...but little by little