[rokndad]

I have what one would consider the "higher priced" models of the Cobra family of cars since most everyone on this site watched Gary's ads for CSX 4758 in the For Sale section. But I have been on all the fences rsimoes has talked about. I have been married to the same girl for 32 years tomorrow and she has "put up" with my car "thing" even before we were married. I built my '34 Ford Tudor with a complete '70 Vette running gear in her Mom's garage before we were married!!! We got married in that car and it was sold two years later as the down payment on the house we lived in for 30 of those 32 years. She cried as the dentist from Newport Beach and his family happily rode away from our rental in it. A month later we bought that first house.

I've owned 5 Corvettes (all new) since 1971, the last being a 2001 Convertible which I sold last month to help finance the Cobra. I'm a Vette guy...always liked them and owned them. A total Chevy fan and the new Vettes perform extremely well. But I always wanted to be a "Cobra Guy" since I saw that first one on Whittier Blvd in 1964. Now I am. And I couldn't be happier. There's just something about a 427 SO in a little two door roadster with loud side pipes that is viceral and unexplainable to us old drag racers and noise junkies.

It smells up the garage, it's hard to start, it leaks, it's incredibly loud, I've burned my leg three times (one really badly) and although it was a "complete" car, I've spent a lot in things I wanted to do already. And on some things I didn't want to do. There's not one week where the UPS man hasn't left me a present on the front porch.

These machines are crude and not for the faint of heart. If you don't do your own work, they can be very frustrating and expensive. If you do your own work, they can be very frustrating and expensive. I happen to love wrenching on these things and have broken out my tools I've owned since the '60's to play with this car. This is essentiallyl 60's technology with some modern "lessons learned" thrown in for good measure.
It was my wife who pushed me over the top to quit looking and talking and wishing about having one and I have her to thank for participating in the acquisition. She loves that I tinker around in the garage or on the web looking for help or something I want to get for the car to further make it my own. And we get to meet a lot of interesting people in our outings.

This is not an investment, but it is a satisfaction of something that is hard to describe, if one is like me in their late 50's who grew up with these *****in cars just out of reach from the time we were teenagers to the present. Well, I'm in. And I'm going to be in for a long time. I simply love this car and most of the folks I've met so far that in some way were connected with the sport or had an interest. It has to be something in your family that is not a necessity but a wish....and for a lot of us the wish has come true. I hope you find peace with your future decisions, and best wishes to you and your family.