[Dirty Harry]

Great question!

I'm the owner of a home-built Shell Valley car that has kept me grinning for years now. I've got $22.6K in it. That makes it one of the lower priced cars you'll see at the Fling or other Cobra gathering.

Park it next to an ERA, SPF, Unique, etc. and the difference becomes apparent right away. In fact, I was recently parked next to the Doctors Semko at a local cruise-in. Any car guy should have readily walked away from my car to give his attention to the much more impressive SPF, and some did.

When I show it at a car show where there are only the normal collection of muscle cars and hot rods, it gathers the lion's share of attention and comments. When I drive it down the road or through town, I get a bunch of thumbs up and shouted approval.

Point is, I built what I could afford to build, and it looks darn good. Park it next to a primo car, though, and you can't help but notice that the wheels are not Halibrand style, the rear axle is a 9", the tranny is a T5, the engine is a 351, the seats are vinyl, the sidepipes are VHT painted, the guages are VDO, it has a CD player (oh, MY!), and the butt is perky.

On the other hand, it is incredibly quick, very reliable, looks sharp, impresses the heck out of all but Cobra-knowledgeable folk, and makes me a happy fellow. I've had as much fun at the last 3 DVSF events as anyone there. From the standpoint of smiles/per/dollar, I feel like I built the right car. It's the first car I ever built and I like it a lot. Just the same, 2 or 3 times the money would have bought me a nicer car, that's true, but I'm writing checks to 2 universities right now, and it's important that they not bounce. Great thread!