My 2 cents worth,
When I modified the Cobra a few years back
I was shocked at the price of the materials. It was over $2k, I asked if I would need a trailer!!!!
I got a few box's of stuff
The cost of paint varies depending on brand.....
Different bodies have different finish qualities, some of the older bodies require over 200 hours to get right!!!! No one works for free..........
you get what you pay for.
IMO the paint/interior finish of a Cobra is what makes the car.
You can have a $2k motor or a $20k motor, who cares its what it looks like that counts.
Therefore it depends on what you want with your car, i.e. Street Car, Race Car or just the experience of building something.
STIFFY