[DAVID GAGNARD]

I've been holding off posting my "encounters" with Cobra owners, but here goes,it's kinda long and it will be 4 or 5 "stories", then you'll understand why I don't own a Cobra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do have a 65 Mustang Fastback GT-350 clone.....that I drive a lot and race and do whatever I want with it and not worry about it or anything.

I used to go to a "cruise nite" when they still had it, first saturday of the month, 110 miles from home. When the weather was good 300+ cars was the norm, usually 3 to 5 Cobras....I loved the cruise nite, met a lot of good folks and learned a lot talking to car guys who built their own cars, got a lot of ideas that I used on my own car. Still good friends with a bunch of guys I've met over the years....

1: Met this guy with an early FFR (# 40 something),super nice guy, standard by-the-book early build, he did it himself in his 2 car garage!!!! Nice driver that he drove, a lot....I was very interested in his build as at the time I was 90% sure I would order an FFR within a few months and wanted his thoughts and problems with it. I looked it over for at least an hour asking him a ton of questions and he was more than happy to take the time to answer them... He had a couple of racing stickers tastefully done on each side which he later told me was to cover up a crack in one fender which he had not had repaired yet!!!!! The car showed wear on the carpet and seats as it was a couple of years old at the time and a weekly driver.
Parked right next to him was a drop-dead/perfect Cobra replica,I'll call it brand X. I admired that car also and talked to the owner, seemed like a nice guy, car had less than 400 miles on it and was an obvouis trailer queen/show car,to each his own, still a beautiful car...
During the course of the evening as you'll find at car shows/cruise nites, a group of guys will come by and admire the cars and one guy will always be an "expert" on that particular car.. We (FFR guy/myself)were sitting across the aisle near next to my car in the shade when a group of 40 something year old guys came by. They looked over both Cobras and the "expert" proclaimed loudly the FFR was the REAL DEAL, so I walked over and asked how he could tell, he said the FFR showed wear and tear on the car/interior and had a little over 35,000 miles showing and Brand X car had less than 400 miles and was "Just too perfect" to be 40+ years old!!!!!! I said maybe it had been restored recently, he said no, it just didn't look real anyway.... We all got a good laugh considering the FFR owner had spent a little less than $18,000.00 on his car and the Brand X car cost a little more than $57,000.00 according to the owner!!!!!!!Brand X owner never parked next to that little FFR again,he was not "a happy camper" after that!!!!!!!

2:Same cruise in,different nite, saw a really nice blue/white Cobra parked about 3 or 4 lanes away from everbody all by himself. Went to look at the car and the owner had those "Do Not Touch" placards all over the place, so I respected that and looked it over from a step away carefully placing my hands behind my back. The owner and his wife (60's I'd guess) were sitting behind the car with another similar aged couple chatting. I noticed some things on the car, mainly the brakes system that I liked and wanted to ask the owner about it.Everytime I turned to him to talk to him, he would turn away and begin chatting with the other couple, so I left and decided to come back later which I did. This time the weather was turning a little bad as a summer thunderstorm was popping up and it was starting to get windy. As I was looking under the hood, I saw the hood "wavering" side to side in the stiff breeze, he had it open with one prop rod on the passenger side,I was on the drivers side. After a minute or two a strong gust came from the rear and pushed the hood to the front, the prop rod dropping down and I instinctively reached up and caught the hood before it laid over the front of the car... The owner jumped up from his chair and came on the opposite side of the car and be both gently laid the hood back down and doing so I asked him, "which way to turn the hood latch to lock it down"?..... He looked up at me with the meanest,worst look I've ever seen and very sternly said "TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY CAR"!!!!!! I said, excuse me, but which way to turn the hood latch, this time he said even louder: "TAKE YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF MY CAR AND DON'T EVER TOUCH IT AGAIN"!!!!!!!!
I did as told and just walked away like someone had just kicked me in the gut, to this day still don't even know what brand car it is or even care!!!!!!!!

3: I go to this one car show every fall put on by the local Mustang car club at a Ford dealership. Nice, one day, laid back,no frills get together.Saw 2 Cobras there,one was practically across the isle from me, the other at the very end of a long aisle.After getting setup I began making the rounds looking at the cars and when I made it back near my car the Cobra owner was at his car, so I go by and intoduce myself, always complimenting the car. I asked "what brand/manufacter" as I wasn't sure, he told me it was an FFR. Looked over the car and spoke with the guy maybe 25 minutes or so,really nice guy....nice car he built.......About an hour later, I head out to the other Cobra to check it out.He had a manufacters banner across the front top of the windshield (Brand X,again) so I didn't have to ask the manufacter. He had a beautiful silver/grey srtiped car, big block motor, clean as a pin inside and out.Gave him compliments on the car and asked a few questions about his motor/trans combo. He seemd to be a nice enough guy, then he reaches behind the seat and pulls out a large wad of literature/brochures/flyers from "his" manufacter and starts handing some to me to read all the while he begins "dissing" the FFR car and OWNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He tells me he saw me talking to the guy for a while and that I shouldn't even consider an FFR, cause the're nothing but rebodied Mustangs and NO self respecting Cobra owner would be caught dead in one, much less park next to one at a car show,that's why he parked as far away as he could from the lowly FFR. I couldn't believe my ears how this guy was rambling on dissing the FFR......He didn't even know the owner nor had ever looked over the car!!!!!!!! He sounded like a poster child for "his" manufacter and not as very good one at that!!!!!!!!
After about five longggggggg minutes, I put the literature he gave me back on the seat of his car and walked away in disgust, he followed me and asked what was wrong???? I told him if owning a Brand X car would make me act like him, I rather drive a chevy!!!!!!!!!!

4: Then there was the time at a large car convention thingy a few years ago at a road course track. The show cars had their own parking area (very large) and the race cars had the racer paddock next to the track. Space was at a premium for the race cars. Tons of people there... This group of Brand X owners show up early and begin to take over just about the most prime spot in the racer paddock and spread out using up the room that no less than 25 race cars could have used, they had maybe 10 show cars. The roped of the area in crime scene type tape and pulled out their lounge chairs and began telling each other how great their Brand X cars were. Not a single one was a track car nor did they ever get "on-track". They were more interested in showing everyone just how good their cars were and just how good they were, instead all they did was cause hard feeling with everyone around for the whole weekend!!!!!!!!!! When asked to move, they about had a fit and refused as they said they were entiitled to "their" spot...... Biggest bunch of a$$holes I ever saw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a "few" more bad stories, but you get the idea.........

Then you have guys like Art Colley (remember him) who had a Cobra with a chebby motor, but his car always drew a crowd, not soo much the car, but the owner. Nicest guy in the world, would insist that little kids sit in the car and turn the wheel and get the parents to take pictures and more than once, gave them rides around the parking lot!!!!!!!!!!!

Same goes for Jim Maxwell, with not one,but TWO original Cobras. I've seen Jim giving rides and even saw him let someone else take his 3000 series car for a ride!!!!! He's one of the nicest's guys you'll ever run into..........

Why can't more Cobra owner be like Jim and Art????????????

When it came down to it, my wife suggested the Mustang Fastback as she knew how much I liked them and she then said something (for once) that made sence to me.She said: With a Cobra, you can maybe drive it 6 months a year, with a Mustang, you can drive it 12 months a year, she was right and I've since had 4 old Mustangs and just made a deal for #5........

O-K, my rants over, got it off my chest, feel much better now..........

David