Your thoughts on this used Cobra

[Flygirl]

Originally Posted by Randy Rosenberg

The chassis number will be written on other parts to verify. Look at the hinges (hood, door and trunk). Also, it might be stamped on the front cross member. I have car #1019 and it has foot box vents, so I'm leaning towards #51, not #1051. Price is way high by like $10k in my opinion for such an old car being in storage for so long.

Randy, may I ask, why do you think that its being in storage so long is a bad thing, necessarily?

Not being argumentative (my gut tells me that I agree with you), but I'm curious about the rationale behind that thinking.

I know that piston engines don't necessarily do well when they're stored for years, rusty cylinders and such I'm told. And the brake fluid, having an affinity for water, can rust out the system from the inside. Is that what you're thinking?

Is there anything intrinsically inferior about these very early build cars?

The brakes seem inferior to the Wilwoods, and the rear end too, but how about the chassis? I fit fine so that's not an issue, but still...a 16 year old car for goodness sake.

I wish I could convince the owner that it's only worth in the 30s. I'm looking for a more inexpensive car that's already imperfect, so I can drive it regularly and not worry about the first stone chip or scratch.

[Flygirl]

And a few more.

[xb-60]

Hi Flygirl,
I'm commenting from a long way away so my thoughts might be way off-beam and completely irrelevant.
...and with that over-rider, here they are...are you thinking of testing the water with this purchase, or is ownership of this particular car likely to be a long-term thing?
If the former, then consider how much you could sell the car for if you had to in the near future.
If the latter, then what about leaning on the dealer for things like some sort of extended warranty, considering the age of the car, and maybe fitment of some of the upgrades from the later cars, as well as negotiating on price. The asking price does seem high (I'm not yet a Cobra owner, but like you I've been 'lurking' around for some time), and looking at Cobra Country listings again, some of the cars listed there also seem quite highly priced. Bargains should be available in these somewhat 'challenged' economic times.
The mileage is what....3500miles? That's very low, and if everything else looks good.....do you feel good about this particular car? You have been asking all the right questions; how long have you been looking at this car, so what is your 'gut feeling' telling you?
Cheers!
Glen

[Randy Rosenberg]

Originally Posted by Flygirl

Randy, may I ask, why do you think that its being in storage so long is a bad thing, necessarily?

Not being argumentative (my gut tells me that I agree with you), but I'm curious about the rationale behind that thinking.

I know that piston engines don't necessarily do well when they're stored for years, rusty cylinders and such I'm told. And the brake fluid, having an affinity for water, can rust out the system from the inside. Is that what you're thinking?

Is there anything intrinsically inferior about these very early build cars?

The brakes seem inferior to the Wilwoods, and the rear end too, but how about the chassis? I fit fine so that's not an issue, but still...a 16 year old car for goodness sake.

I wish I could convince the owner that it's only worth in the 30s. I'm looking for a more inexpensive car that's already imperfect, so I can drive it regularly and not worry about the first stone chip or scratch.

I'm no expert here, but I can only imagine that internal gaskets may have dried out and may fail (if not now, then in the near future). You have already mentioned about internal rust that could develop from sitting in storage for long periods of time. You may also need to replace the tires (check the DOT date codes). I don't get the sense (or maybe I missed it) that this car was set up for storage - I don't recall all of the particulars, but there are steps to be taken to preserve a vehicle for long term storage.

IMHO, I see these cars are hand built vehicles. Yes, SPFs are built in an assembly line fashion, so you can assume a higher level of consistent quality from one build to the next, however at the end of the day, these are still hand built cars. And for me (IMHO), I would prefer a newer vehicle that does not have risks and lack of recent upgrades that an older (10+ year) has. In this economy, there are many SPF's on the market that are significantly newer, well maintained (which to me also means driven), and priced similar to this specific car.

The only time where I think an old SPF is interesting/desired is when one is looking at one of the original 25 or SPFs. I have a friend who has like #25 (or so, I may be wrong), but it does not look like an SPF, because it was so early in Hi Tech's production. It is a very unique SPF, however this one that you are looking at does not appear to have this same level of "vintage" uniqueness. Again, this is all my opinion only...

I just took a glance on Cobra Country, and I see a few significantly newer SPFs with asking pricing only a couple of $k more than the asking price for the one you are looking at.

IMHO, I think the SPF you are looking at is very low end of what is available on the market with the risks of age and storage. Your intent is to purchase a "driver" and there are plenty of "driver" (vs show vs project) cars on the market. I think this specific SPF is going to border on "project" car, and you may end up putting money into it that you could have used to buy a newer one that is a proven "driver". Personally, I prefer to buy used vehicles without stories - for a few more $k, you can buy a significantly better SPF. I would run from this SPF.

Good luck,
Randy...