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Old 11-09-2019, 02:43 PM
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427SSSS 427SSSS is offline
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Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Atascadero, CA
Cobra Make, Engine: Hi-tech body/frame, 427engined FF5/302engined FF5 Bennett 289 & 427 rolling chassis
Posts: 539
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First off, I want to thank all that posted positive responses!

Next, I'm going to borrow snakeeyes soap box, one because I think this is an important subject, and second, I think I have more to add, and also a couple of cool stories.

snakeeyes
did you happen to make the Bob Evans dinner at knotts, may have been 15+ years ago?
Bob Evans, did an awesome job, I think it was Calamity Janes or similar place, he rented room, had Phil Rementon talk (I did not remember who it was), and Bob, being Bob set it up so he interviewed Phill like on a Jay leno show, and then we could ask questions, awesome, He also had 6" metal Cobras at each table, that he raffled off. and his wife found chocolates, Not cobras, but a handful at each table. The food was very good. Bob did this all on his own, no help that I know of.

Bob was one of the tallest guys in the club and I am one of the shortest guys in the club, we had a lot of fun with that..Before he started the dinner, he said, wait a minute I have somethin special for a friend, he pulled a high chair out of closet with a five point harness attached, came to my table, removed my chair and put this high chair in its place, we hooked up the harness, and that's how I ate my dinner, fun, cool., crazy guy, I loved/ love him to this day. So sorry has gone. He was 289 guy, I was/am 427 guy.

Now Tim Figuar, he had a dune buggy business for 40+ years. I heard from Paul Bennett that Tim had Cobra body mold for sale, I went up, put deposit, asked that he make me a body, as I was looking at negative, not sure what I was buying, told tim, we were using My mold, so should be cheaper. Two weeks later he called me and said body ready. I went up, and as we are loading body onto trailer, Tim stops, I look at him, still remember that impish grin he had on. and I said NO, the cobra community will kill us, we'll have to wear bags over our head, Tim, being Tim, who could have passed a look alike contest for Richard Petty, said: crew Em"
So we placed the Cobra body onto an empty VW chassis, the rest is history.
I did get an email from one the 5 or 10 first Cobra mfg., that said he did the same thing, put cobra on VW chassis, I won't say who, because the trolls will give him flack. All kit cars, lamborginies, ferries were on VW chassis in the late 60s, early 70s, so why not a Cobra?

Well, we went to Kontts show, maybe 15 years ago, and he entered the VW chassis into the under 10,000 class and took 2nd place, I enter my car, which only need paint, she was street ready, in the under construction category and took first place, I had placed one of Tims bodies onto a FF5 chassis. 666 racing circle on her.

We had a blast, I took my brother with me, Tim's daughter met us there.

Oh, Tim, when we decided to do VW Cobra, I took up, windshield, gass cap, lights, everyting except the body, and when I went to see Time, he would put me to work. One time, when I went up, he had windshield placed vertically, like a dune buggy, after all, that's what he built for 40 years, Next time I went up I took him a book showing what cobras are "suppose" to look like and that I thought we should paint car blue with white stripes so it would look like reg cobra. Next time I went up, Tim had painted car with dune buggy silver metal flake. Tim was Tim. At kontts show she was deemed the fishing lure. Pissed Tim off, so he said, I have Porsche engine at my shop, we are going to install that and kick ass on 427 cobras. No weight. Two weeks later Tim passed in his sleep. His son called me and said isn't this your mold? Yup, I went to pick up and asked about VW cobra which was sorta 1/2 mine, he said he had sold it.

Thanks for the use of the soap box.
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Last edited by 427SSSS; 11-09-2019 at 02:48 PM..
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