[hodson]

HSVREDSLED

How I feel for you, I went through exactly the same dilemma for a very long time (15 years) with the dream of wanting a cobra. I had the poster, the screen saver and the model along with photos on my workboard.

I looked at a number of kit manufacturers and quite a few second hand cars. The guys are absolutely correct when they say there are some really well built cars and then there are some not so well built cars out there. I found a few (one I very nearly bought) that had short cuts built into them. In my experience, if there's one shortcut there is a good chance there are many more. Not a good thing when it comes to your driving safety.

I finally got off the fence this year after my wife got sick of it all and pushed me into a decision. I had to realise that in reality my business doesn't allow me the time to build a cobra from scratch (even though I love getting down & greasy)
I came to a compromise and after a discussion with Warrick Harrison, I have ordered one of his kits. He is going to effectively build about 90% of the vehicle with me supplying a large number of the parts. eg engine & gearbox (supercharged 4.6 sorry guys but I'm a Ford purist), wheels & tyres, Paint job, wiring and upholstery etc. Most manufacturers wouldn't be happy with this situation but I found Warrick to be more than happy and always most helpful.
I'm in the happy situation that I own an engineering company and can source and pay for most of the parts through the company.
The upshot of all this is that whilst it will be more expensive I will get a car built by a person with a very good reputation of doing a good job, no shortcuts, have the car in a shorter timeframe (than if I built it), still have some hands on input (that my timeframes allow) and at a price still less than a turnkey from a manufacturer.
The questions you need to answer is do you have the money to buy a turnkey car. How much time will you be able to devote to the building of a kit and in turn how long will it take to build before you start enjoying it.

When I sat down and worked it all out (remember I'm an engineer with a workshop and a couple of really keen apprentices) The time that I would need to allocate to building a Cobra worked out that I could make more money out of my core business and just buy one. Obviously I had to suppress the personal desire to get dirty and play.

As you can already see, the people on the forum are more than helpful and most often have great advice (just don't join the dark side or the force will abandon you).

I hope this helps, don't stay on the fence or you will be still trying to decide years down the track.

On another note I have a 351 Cleveland (the start of the cobra project 15 years ago) that is stripped all bores measure 4" except for one at 0.5 thou over, Re ground and linished crank new bearings, rings and new mild cam, valves out of heads (2V) ready for new valves for LPG (old ones OK). Obviously I can't get this into a cobra now but anyone that has an existing cobra that will take this engine, they can have it for the cost of freight from Townsville North Queensland.


Colin