Eau Contrair M'seur,
5,100 miles, 6 mos old (on the street).
Not too hot, 'cept in 95 deg stalled traffic. Not too cold, have heater, top, windows. Not too loud with the right mufflers on it. And quite comfortable I might add. Fuel economy 15 - 16 mpg, and carb isn't completely dialed in yet.
Car was built as a driver, and I enjoy driving it.
Did another monolog on how low mileage cars get For Sale, at or below component cost.
It's easy to overbuild these cars, and when a builder finally gets it on the street, there's too much engine, and too little car. The engines powerband is all wrong for the application. Practical considerations for the driving application, fuel economy, maintenance, were not considered in the planning phase.
Good example. About 6 months before the already built 351W engine was to be installed, the 393 stroker became popular. Should I? I resisted, spent the money on upgrading wheels, tires, and front brakes instead. But it was close, and now, with the gremlins fixed, (and a better feel for the cars behavior) the extra bottom end and mid range would feel nice.
It's easy to outstrip ones build budget on one aspect, or another, particularly the engine, so the rest of the car suffers. Stock 8.8 w/ 2.73 gears and drum brakes are a dead giveaway.
The builder doesn't have the skills to complete all the tasks required, or diagnose and deglitch the inevitable gremlins that crop up. Has a maintenance nightmare, or mismatched components, gets disgusted and throws in the towel. Experience plays a major role here. Not your casual belts, plugs, and
oil changes, we're looking at years of engines, transmissions, ignition systems, carburetors, clutch linkages, suspensions, brakes, electrical systems, and tuning. Knowing when to follow the instructions in the assembly manual, and when to intuitively know it won't work, and what will.
The single thing I experienced is the kit manufacturers component recommendations on the use of salvage components. In an effort to sell kits, the build cost is predicated on "Donor" components. One winds up with a junk Mustang with a brand new body and frame that doesn't perform to expectations. The kit manufacturers are their own worst enemy in this in not having a good, better, and best approach to component selection, and vendor sources.
The builder is pretty much left to his own devices, and the learning curve is time consuming, and expensive. If one builds his first Cobra, drives it for 6 months and sells it. His second Cobra will likely be done right. The more general automotive technician (Hot Rodder to some of us) experience the builder has the higher the likelyhood the Car will meet the builders expectations, and the less likely it will be for sale.
Have yet to see any good references on how to build a Cobra, how to select the components for your Cobra, complete with vendor listing.
A team of us on this forum could author such a book.