FFR Cobra Kit

[Denemator]

I am seriously considering a FFR MK II Roadster, to build it in about 2 years time, I have heard various opinions about the FFR Kit and some have been less than favorable by the real afficionado's, is this snobism or is there really an issue with this Kit, their information package seems rather compelling for a cheap thrill. I just want a fun car to toy around in, not really into the resale or show business. Please provide comments from you old hands at this.

[tcolley1]

You really ought to go over to the ffcobra.com forum and "talk" to some of the members there for the REAL scoop on the FFR Kits.

I looked at most every major kit on the market for quality, durability, safety and ease of build. I narrowed it down to just 2 companies FFR and Unique. I really wanted an FIA Unique but also wanted a car that I could race. So I chose the FFR Spec Racer because it met SCCA safety standards and because NASA had a series just for these cars.

I do not regret building the FFR Spec Racer and have found a tremendous amount of help and friendship with other owners, builders and racers.

Just my .02 worth.

Of course I would LOVE to have a KIRKHAM HYBIRD and if I can get to the place where I can afford one, it will definitely be my next Cobra!

Regards,

Terry
FFR #3646SP

[Denemator]

Thank you very much for your $0.02 and yes I am consulting the FFR Forum too, there are a lot of cheerleaders there, I thought an outside comment would be helpful too, yours is certainly very much appreciated. I must admit the Spec racer looks quite awesome and seems to perform well. My hands a re itching to get started, just need to wait for the final OK from the "boss"

Thanks for your message.

[Excaliber]

I think your smart to get another opinion AS WELL as the FFR forum group. Like you noted, there mostly cheer leaders over there so some bias has to be assumed.

But thats OK, because there also fair. If you dig and look enough you will find the good things as well as the bad things about FFR's over there.

One of the "pet peeves" you hear a lot about FFR's is their "perky butt". It comes from the gas tank hanging below the rear quarter fenders/lines of the body. Kind of like a woman with her skirt below her dress? On FFR I've seen some of the guys trying to address the "problem" by various body mounting methods, etc. It's not "that big of a deal", but it IS noticable and instantly "marks" the car as an FFR.

Being one of the best priced kits out there and a LOT of them have been sold kinda gives it an "under dog" feeling among some. For the price and the design it's dam hard to beat and MANY people prefer it as THE Cobra replica to "race" with. Light weight is a BIG advantage it is.

Because of the wide range of builders "quality" can vary LOTS from one FFR to another. Impossible to say "there all good or bad". Some are outstanding! Some are,,,, well,,,,,,not good.

Compare that to a high price car, Kirkham, SAI, SPF, ERA. Pretty safe to say ALL of those are "quality" cars. A guy spending THAT much to get in one is unlikely to cut corners once he starts the build! But there are always exceptions to the rule, some good, some bad.

Ernie

[tcolley1]

Ernie,

Certainly hit the "nail on the head" with his observations and comments. I agree with most everything he said.

However, there are many on the FFR forum that will tell you about all their "problems, trials and tribulations" but almost all of them swear by the product and the FFR Factory.

I have had nothing but good dealings with them and they have done everything they said they would. I know they have back orders, shipping errors, etc. but doesn't everyone?

I have seen a few FFR's that would rival any other car out there with the exception of the Kirkham. I know several builders that have well in excess of $45,000 to $60,000 in their FFR's and yet others have built their car for under $20,000.

It all depends on what you want and what you are willing to do and spend on the "car of your dreams"!

Personally I spent over $7,500 more than I anticipated on my Spec Racer to do it "right"... in my humble opinion.
But that was my choice.

You certainly are on the right track in checking around about the car before you make a commitment.

Don't know if this is any help or not, but just wanted to express my $.02 worth as I said before.

Good Luck in your decision making process and with the "boss"! We all have to face that one!

Regards,

Terry

[Denemator]

Thanks for your replies, very helpful, like I said I don't necessarily need to have that show car look although I will try my best to make it as nice as I can. I agree that it seems a bargain compared to some other offerings out there, and their engineering, body shell purely as a aerodynamic and cosmetic part is what appeals to my Aerospace engineering background. Somehow the structural reasoning behind their approach is hard to find fault with. I will post my experience when it is in progress.

[xlr8or]

Dene,
What part of CA are you in? You should go to the big show at Knott's next month. There will be a sizeable quantity of F5 cars as well as many others for comparison.
Here's a link to the show.

http://www.kitcar.com/club-aha/home.html

[Denemator]

Hi thanks for replying, my neighbor and I would love to attend the Knottsberry farm show, however no date is shown on the link for April. He is also getting riled up about building a replicar. I guess it is an infectuous disease. But such a good disease to have lol

[xlr8or]

April 24 & 25 for the AHA show. The weekend before they are hosting the Fabulous Fords show. http://www.fordcarclubs.org/

[Denemator]

Can anybody tell me if a (OK maybe blasphemus) if one can fiT a chevy small block in a factory five kit.

Thanks

[FritoBandito]

Originally Posted by Denemator

Can anybody tell me if a (OK maybe blasphemus) if one can fiT a chevy small block in a factory five kit.

Thanks

Short answer: Yes

There's a forum on ffcobra.com dedicated to it. Personally I've always favored Chevy engines and initially wanted to base my Roadster on a LS2/T56 drivetrain. However after some careful reviews I decided that for me at least it was more hassle than it was worth. The FFR kit doesn't directly support a Chevy motor so you have to do some modifications. In addition I worry that since so few people have done it I'd be left high and dry if I ran into trouble during the installation. I guess I'm not much of a trail blazer but that may be right up your alley.

Mario

[bobcowan]

www.ffcobra.com There's a forum specifically for Chevy powered FFR Roadsters.

Really only two big issues, and one small issue.

1. Exhaust. The original design is to use stock type shorty headers connected to the side pipes by a "J Pipe". Simply a piece of tubing shaped liek a J.
For a SBC you can use off the shelf shorty headers and then fab your own connecting pipe.
For the SBF FFR sells long tube headers as an option - known as 4x4 headers. That makes the best power. There no long tube headers available off the shelf for the SBC that I know of. You'll have to fab your own, or pay someone to do it for you.

2. Engine mounts: you'll have to cut off the Ford mounts and weld in your own. I can't imagine this would be too difficult, considering how many rod kits are available for SBC swap into just about anything that ever had any kind of engine.

3. Trans Mount: This is a small issue. You'll need to mod the FFR mount just a little bit.

Other than that, the FFR doesn't really care what engine's in there.

It's your car, do whatever you want.

[CNGreen]

Wow, 3-1/2 years of research?

[puppster]

I've only been researching for 7 years. Commitment issues?

[L A Pick]

Originally Posted by CNGreen

Wow, 3-1/2 years of research?

I had 4 1/2 years, David. He's a whole year ahead of me...

[joey_hv]

Just wondering, have you looked into Hurricane's cobra?

[xlr8or]

Have you looked at the date on this thread?

[joey_hv]

Originally Posted by xlr8or

Have you looked at the date on this thread?

aha...yeah..how embarrassing...I do that all the time (mental note: hey stupid, remember to look at the date!) nothing to see here folks move along...