How I became to know what a Cobra was happened circa 1985 through listening to a conversation held between my dad and a family friend while looking over what must have been the Automobile Quarterly vol. 22-3 feature on the 427 cars. My dad still had a sparkle in his eye from witnessing a small block car take FTD during the 1969 Tuscarora Hillclimb event ran by the PHA and the Franklin County Sports Car Club. I guess my own car-related enthusiasm, along with the interest my dad showed in the car over the following years was what kept an amber lit for me. Around 1995 when FFR was becoming main stream, I began to consider the possibility and increased accessibility of a replica. With an unfinished 1919 Model T Speedster, and a fully restored 1972 MGB Roadster under my belt, I felt more than capable to take the kit approach to making all the days day-dreaming a reality for my Dad and I. Fast-forward a few years after lots of reading and internet searching and it becomes clear that if I was going to do a Cobra replica, it was the ERA FIA that ticked all the boxes for me. From that time on, a temporary 3-year distraction with a Lotus Elise was what stood between.
- Allen.