What do y'all think of the Cobra Kit cars? There are some places like ERA where you can order what you want for suspension, brakes etc and drop your own engine and tranny in. They say plan on 100 hours build time so I think I would plan on more like 200 hours. I can just imagine a built 427 (chevy motor of course) in a little go kart like that. Must be an awesome ride. Just wondering what y'all think. Here's a pic of one that wouold look good next to my Chevelle and Camaro in the garage.

http://www.erareplicas.com/cars/532/rep1.jpg

That looks like a nice one. Wonder who makes it? The proportions look correct. So many kit cars of Cobras look like junk. My buddy built a Factory Five Cobra using a 5.0 Mustang donor car. Built the whole thing pretty basic for under $25,000. I like the Cobras as well. maybe some day. Hope you build one.
-Doug

I think generally ERA is considered the best, http://www.erareplicas.com/427/427sc.htm I will call or email them and get some $$ figures. You can do it turn key from them but I think the more fun thing would be to get a chassis and a painted body along with all the parts from them and then build it yourself.

There's one at every auction. Guy usually has $50k into it and it brings $25k. Still, I'd like to build one.

as long as it has a chevy under the hood i would like it

as long as it has a chevy under the hood i would like it

both of mine had a Chevy under the hood. First one was a big block (Arntz/Butler car) and the second was a Superformance with a 406 small block. The small block was a lot quicker.

http://camcojb.com/pastprojects/Arntz.jpg


http://camcojb.com/pastprojects/Arntz5.jpg

http://camcojb.com/pastprojects/superformancecobra%20(10).jpg

http://camcojb.com/pastprojects/superformancecobra%20(7).jpg

Jody

I planed building one for years but the Arntz Kit just kept getting more expensive through out the years. I then raised a Family and the project never finished. I've the complete Jag XKE Suspension with all the Dunlop Brakes, Mark IV Hubs to mount Vette Rims plus an M45 4 Spd Top Loader with OD. The motor is an 8000rpm 425Hp Jenkins 331CI SBC with Shaft Rockers. If anyone is interested - PM me ;o)

I built four of them back in the early/mid-90's - an E.R.A. and three Uniques. Powered them all with 358 Windsors with Yates heads, top-loaders, Jag IRS, etc. Totally impractical, LOTS of fun! :D

The kit cars can be quite stunning. Here's a picture I took of a friend of mine's.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/6872/robcobra3copy.jpg
For those of you with a quick mind, I shot this where my car was shot for CHP.

Man that's beautiful John ;o)

I see there is European Kit that is all Carbon Fiber - Bet that one sells for a pretty Penny.

You can retain the Barroni Spline Knock Offs and buy Alloy Rims specifically built for the AC or change out the Hubs for MK IV's Hubs which have the same bolt pattern as Chevy.

There is a big difference in price, performance and handling between the Pinto/Mustang and Leyland Versions.

It all started back in 64 when AC Bristol and Carrol Shelby got together an put a Ford 289 in the little British Roadster.

Remember the Sunbeam Tiger with the Ford 260 - looked like a miniature 55 Ford - there was one down the street when I was a teen - believe me that thing was Skidish and FAST.

I used to bomb around in a Triumph GT6 Plus way back then and a friend had a 56 Healey and another with a P1800E - them were the days trying to keep them English rust buckets together - Their uni-frames were never designed for our Northern Ontario climate.

Other kits back then were the Jenson and Scarab or you flopped the transaxel over in your Corvair and put a V8 in the rear seat but I don't think you can get any more vulgar then driving around in a AC Cobra - LOL

I'm a dealer for those cars:
www.autohausclassics.com (http://www.autohausclassics.com)

Chris: Man them Rides are Dream Machines especially that GT 40.
If I still had my Shop I would sell my 70Z as down Payment on one of them Rolling Chassis.
I got everything to bolt into that AC Kit though - LOL

I almost bought one of these before the Camaro.
Factory Five Racing is only 20 minutes from but lied the idea of a "new" parts
http://www.superformance.com/

100-200 hours?
is that realistic?

TTFN
Mat Klemp

Be careful around owners of cars like Superformance when you call them kit cars. :yes: Some of these cars are far from "kits". They are replicas. I have 3 friends that have Superformance Cobra Replicas

Superformace is a Cobra replica that all you add is the engine and I believe the tranny and a few other things. The care is delivered complete, less engine.

ERA is kit

http://www.erareplicas.com/427/stdparts.htm

There is no fabrication or fitting involved when you build an ERA, only straightforward installation. As delivered, the basic kit looks like a real car, but with the suspension and interior in boxes.

Superformace

http://www.superformance.com/mkIII.aspx

Each rolling chassis comes
completely assembled and painted,
less engine and transmission.

Interesting... people love these kit cars, but a Dynacorn Camaro is blasphemy ! :)

Interesting... people love these kit cars, but a Dynacorn Camaro is blasphemy ! :)

It has to due more with the VIN/Trim tag issue more than anything else.

The guy across the street has a Jensen "Interceptor"(??) MOPAR 440/4-speed in his garage that he take's out every so often.

Neat to hear it "blubber" as he take's it for a spin! Sound of real American HP!!

pdq67

I am doing a Factory Five now, great kit. You can't go wrong with an ERA. I think the lead time is long though. Good luck with the new project! PM me if you have any questions

Interesting... people love these kit cars, but a Dynacorn Camaro is blasphemy ! :)

I guess you have not been on the COBRA website or heard old Shelby talk about the guys ripping him off with the replica COBRAs:D

Take a good look around before buying a kit. My cousin built a Superperformance Cobra car. They say kit, but it's a whole lot of work. The body is very rough and takes a bunch of time to smooth out. I'm a Chevy guy, but something is just not quite right about a small block Chevy in a Cobra car. Find a wrecked 5.0, you will need it for the transmission and rear end too.

I'm with Luke. Even though Carroll Shelby first approached Chevy for engines for his real Cobras, kit cobras need Ford engines. Of course, that's my opinion.

I love Cobra's. I would have one in the stable. Can't afford a stable right now!

We have too many..... let's make a deal :)

Take a good look around before buying a kit. My cousin built a Superperformance Cobra car. They say kit, but it's a whole

I don't think it was a Superformace Cobra. Superformance are rolling chassis, and all you add is the engine and trans.

Take a good look around before buying a kit. My cousin built a Superperformance Cobra car. They say kit, but it's a whole lot of work. The body is very rough and takes a bunch of time to smooth out. I'm a Chevy guy, but something is just not quite right about a small block Chevy in a Cobra car. Find a wrecked 5.0, you will need it for the transmission and rear end too.

he didn't build a Superformance if it was a kit. Those cars come completely painted, color sanded/buffed, wired, plumbed, battery in the trunk, full dash and interior, full suspension with wheels and tires........ everything other than engine and trans. Even have the headers, sidepipes, driveshaft, radiator/fans/hoses, etc.

Jody

I built four of them back in the early/mid-90's - an E.R.A. and three Uniques. Powered them all with 358 Windsors with Yates heads, top-loaders, Jag IRS, etc. Totally impractical, LOTS of fun! :D

Four of them? Holy cow! What did you think of the ERA compared to the Uniques? ? Do you stil have any of them or did you do them for someone else. How difficult was the buiild and how many hours did it take?

No doubt impractical, but then again I don't drive the Camaro or Chevelle when it is going to rain either.

I do not think the Superformance is a "car", since they do not come with a VIN # from South Africa were they are made. So depending on the state your in, they may register it as a homebuilt or 65 Ford and issue you a VIN#. Be it a replica or kit, its surely not an original, IMO.

My neighbor across the street is building a Cobra kit right now. He's got over 1.5 years in the build and hasn't started on the body yet. He's got a 429 Ford with a TKO600, 9", 3-link rear. Makes over 500 HP and weighs around 2700 lb. This thing is stupid fast, sounds wicked, handles like a slot car, and will roast the 315's in the rear anytime. No way is it 200 hours to complete the build, unless you have a team working with you. He's getting it titled as a 1965 Ford.

I was wrong about the kit my cousin built, it was a Classic Roadster. There is a shop here in town that sells the Superperformance Cobra's.

.......I can just imagine a built 427 (chevy motor of course) in a little go kart like that......

Gotta disagree on this. It has to be a Ferd engine in a Cobra, as much as it pains me to say it.:beers:

I built a Factory Five Racing cobra a couple of years ago with my Dad. Had a blast building it and even more of a blast driving it. The cobras can be bought used, already built, for less then the cost of building one generally. So if you are not hung up on building your own, I'd recommend one that is already done. That being said, the experience of building the car, with my dad no less, is something I would never give up.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u61/ccorso2/cobra8-1.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u61/ccorso2/cobra2-1.jpg

Took delivery of the car in 2006, on the road in 2007. Took our time with the finishing touches for another year or so, too busy driving it. The car now has over 10K miles on it. The car spends half the year in So-Cal with me and the other half with my dad up in the Monterey Bay area.

Here is our buildsite documenting the build process if anyone is interested. I haven't updated it after it was on the road, again too busy driving the car and working on the 67 as well.
http://corso-cobra.blogspot.com/

- Colby

http://www.cobracountry.com/cobrasforsale-cobras.html

Four of them? Holy cow! What did you think of the ERA compared to the Uniques? ? Do you stil have any of them or did you do them for someone else. How difficult was the buiild and how many hours did it take?

No doubt impractical, but then again I don't drive the Camaro or Chevelle when it is going to rain either.

The ERA is the more detail-authentic of the two, but requires more junkyarding for parts and refurbishing them; the Uniques don't require anywhere near as much parts-hunting - they've tooled most of the parts in-house over the last 30 years. I prefer the ERA and Unique because they're the only two (other than the Shelby kit) with the correct rear body contours and proportions, especially the rear quarters. Mine required 300-500 hours each, but I'm a perfectionist and detail freak.

After the Cobras, I built a tube-frame Corvette Grand Sport replica (about 700 hours, lots of fabrication involved); 2400# hustles with a stout 383. :yes:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-2/13522/200222815154-4-GSscan5%282%29.jpg

A REAL Cobra has a tubular Frame with a XKE Suspension. The motor and transmission is optional; however, a Ford Block is easier to fit as it is 60 degrees.

How about a 74 Volvo 142 with a 425HP Jenkins 331 SBC, Jag Suspension, Jag Saloon Hubs running Vette Rallies - You might call it an AC Voljagvette. - I had one and almost finished it before I married. The price of the Bristol Design Kits got too expensive. Use what ever skin want; Fereo, Monza, Volvo, Triumph, MG - what's the Difference - It's an AC - ;o)