After considerable thought, I have decided to advertise my 1981 Arntz Cobra for sale. This was an especially tough decision after taking it for such a great drive through the mountains to the Qld Cobra Club's AGM yesterday.
After owning an RMC then having OZVENOM build me a more radical custom Cobra, I had searched around for an eternity to find something different from what I'd previously owned or seen. The Arntz was that car.
As a 1981 model and because it is more than 30 years old, it overcomes many of the challenges that force us to compromise when designing and completing new builds.
This car can legally hold full registration as a left hand drive car with a carburetted big block and side pipes if you choose to go down that path. I'm only aware of a very small number of LHD Cobra replicas in Australia that allow you the choice of holding full registration or historic/club registration. This is currently registered in Queensland on historic registration, which costs $180 per year compared to $1080 for full registration. Not only is this a unique car, but it can save you $900 per year as well!!!
I've never been one to try to trick people into thinking a replica is anything other than a cool car that happens to look like the original cars from the 60's. It's amazing how many people see a LHD Cobra in Australia and instantly assume that it's a "real" Cobra. Even without considering the wheel on the wrong side, there's something about the raw appearance and patina that grabs attention. There are some stress cracks in places and it has its share of stone chips that you'd expect to see from a 32 year old car. Sure, for my asking price you could very easily do a light cosmetic resto and still be under the budget of most other Cobras for sale, but to me that would wash away some of the character that makes this car interesting.
Australian buyers - I have all documentation including the Australian Customs vehicle import approval papers. This is the documentation required to register the car in each state of Australia.
US buyers - you have enough cool Cobras over there already so leave this one alone!
International buyers - many countries including Australia have incredibly tight and restrictive laws regarding importing Cobra replicas. As a result, it's very difficult to find a Cobra for sale that has a perfect documentation history to prove that the car is absolutely, definitely 30+ years old. I have the original purchase documents for this car, from the Arntz Engineering Company invoice dated 20 July 1980 showing the chassis number, to the first Connecticut "Composite Motor Vehicle Inspection Report" dated 6 August 1981, plus a folder full of various receipts, engine specs, details of subsequent modifications and upgrades, sales documents, original Arntz advertisement, etc, etc.
Current spec:
Manufacturer: Arntz Industries (San Francisco, California)
First registered in the US in 1981.
Engine set back about 5" further than any other Cobra model that I've ever seen.
355 cubic inch Chevrolet.
4 bolt mains
Factory steel crank
Pink rods bushed for fully floating pins
Forged pistons (10.5:1 comp)
64cc 492 angle plug heads
Comp Cams solid roller camshaft
Rev kit
Roller rockers
Victor Jr manifold
Edelbrock/Weber carb
Unilite distributor
Ram horn headers and under car exhaust, exiting at rear of car (remember that side pipes are legal on this car if you choose to go with the deep classic sound)
4 speed manual trans:
M22 Muncie close ratio coarse spline
(These are affectionately called rock-crusher transmissions. Reduced helical angle of gears make 1st, 2nd 3rd almost sound like straight cut gears - sounds great!)
Hurst Comp Plus shifter
Alloy flywheel
Scattershield
Rear:
1967 Jag Independent Rear Suspension
XJ6 bearing carriers
3.55:1 ratio
Wilwood Dynalite rear calipers
Floor mounted pedal assembly with three remote 3/4 bore Tilton reservoirs
Balance bar for front/rear brake bias adjustment
Front:
Arntz normally used MGB bolt-in front suspension, but this car has a custom front end
Camaro spindles, rotors and brakes
1967 MGB Steering Column
15x8 Appliance Alloy wheels with 255/60/15 front tyres
15xhuge rear with 295/50/15 tyres (Look at the dish of the rim in the photos to see what I mean!)
Alloy fuel cell
4" core radiator with electric fan
Holley street electric fuel pump
Stewart Warner gauges
Speedo, Tach, Water Temp,
Oil Pressure, Volts, Fuel Level
Battery in the boot(trunk)
Snug fitting tonneau cover with zip down the middle. No soft top.
UPDATE: Scott OZVENOM has now fitted the rollbar after a few of the Qld Club members looked at me with a strange puzzled look when I said I liked the look of the car without the rollbar. It's painted black and I'll upload some new pictures soon.
I could go on and on. Like I said, this car is not brand new and that's just the way I like it. It's perfectly imperfect. That being the case, there are a few general maintenance things that I'll have sorted prior to the sale. If someone buys it before the maintenance is performed, the price will be tweaked accordingly. Any inspection welcome. Can assist with transport.
Price in the high $40s, give or take. PM me or email
craigmarsh777
@
gmail
dot
com
and I can send you my phone number or additional photos.
