10-20-2016, 11:01 AM
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Senior Club Cobra Member
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Cobra Make, Engine: KMP 539, a Ton of Aluminum
Posts: 9,591
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Not Ranked
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1ntCobra
Going back to this thought, if it was possible to order a body and frame directly from the Polish factory before Kirkham purchased the factory, I suppose the original buyer could have told the factory to stamp whatever he/she wanted for a serial number on the frame.
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Before Kirkham purchased the Polish factory they were making airplanes. The Kirkham story in brief:
"The idea for Kirkham Motorsports started in 1994 with the mission to build the finest replicas in the world. It all began when David Kirkham was restoring the 427 Shelby Cobra CSX3104. At the same time, a relative bought, sold and imported to the US a Polish fighter jet (in that order). The already sold jet had bounced inside the shipping container and the nose was severely dented. David was called to fix the plane, and during inspection of the damage, realized the construction was strikingly similar to CSX3104.
Inspired, David found the manufacturer in Poland and sent a fax off to Poland. The simple note read, "Can you guys build an aluminum bodied car?" Within 12 hours the reply: "No problem."
A week later, David was on a plane to Warsaw with an English-Polish dictionary, a toy model of a Cobra, and a dream. He spent a week scouting the factory and exploring their manufacturing abilities. He saw a silent factory with idle machines. The enormous factory had produced aircraft for over 60 years. During the tour, David knew this was the place he wanted to build cars. After meeting with three generations of skilled craftsmen eager to make these cars, he forged some agreements and left filled with high expectations and enthusiasm. Since then, Kirkham Motorsports has become one of the leading manufacturers in the component car industry. At the inception of the company, KM focused on building the most accurate replicas in the business. Kirkham Motorsports still offers incredibly accurate replicas, but technology and manufacturing techniques have evolved since the 1960’s. KM is an engineering focused company and has pushed the performance envelope without forgetting originality."
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