need help on buying a cobra

[duc996]

i ve always had a passion for these cars and now i have some money to buy one. i saw this car and i really liked it. what do you guys think of the pricing on it. i wanna make the right choice. i hope you guys can help. click on the link.

thanks rob

PhotoPost Classifieds - Superformance MKIII Roush/Barrett Jackson Show Car - 427IR CUSTOM! - Powered by PhotoPost Classifieds

[Aedds]

Did you buy it? Says it's sold....

[rustyBob]

Nice looking car....but the ad says its already SOLD....
not a "traditional" lookind Cobra BUT not everybody goes for that look.....
as for the price....there are a lot of cars on the market now which means
theres plenty of stock to choose from....i think you could do better on a
more "traditional" looking Cobra then add your touches to it....
good luck on your search and keep us posted on your findings....
and welcome to CC....

[Don]

duc996.......the inspection, registration, emissions, obtaining insurance, Bills of Sale etc., for kit cars/replicas may or may not be the same as regular production vehicles in your state. Might want to become familiar with your states regulations as a first step, i.e., no surprises after the purchase.

The For Sale section in Club Cobra and Cobra Country will give you some comparisons and availability.

427 Cobra Country--Ford AC Cobra replica manufacturers SUPER-SITE

[vatdevil]

Great used SPFs can be had for half the price.

[duc996]

Yes I put a deposit on the car and I am gonna go look at it. The car is sitting on superformance showroom. Them and roush own the car. I guess it was a show car for superformance and jack roush. It has 87 miles on it. The car has all the factory warranties which r the one year on the roller and the 2 years on the motor. From what they told me roush built the whole car. I will inquire about all the regulations in my state. What should I look for when buying one of these cars etc... Also what do you guys think about the price?

[jhv48]

Do a search on that engine, and that fuel injection system in particular.
Isn't this the one that had all the fuel injection teething problems?
If all the bugs have been worked out, that's a beautiful car. Make sure the torque curve matches your driving style. Some apparently don't like to cruise below 2000 rpm. So, if this is your driving style, you might want to take that car on a long city drive to see if it fits your driving style. Might be a little finicky at low rpms, but if that doesn't bother you then go for it.
As others have said, you can buy a fully sorted out used SPF for 40-50K, but if this is the one you want, get it.

[duc996]

Is there anything else I should look for?

[cobradvm]

Originally Posted by duc996

Is there anything else I should look for?

If you're looking at spending that amount of cash, I'd be looking at a Kirkham. Not that much apart.

427 KMS/SC Info

[Rickd]

I believe it would be crazy to spend $80,000 on a Superformance - even if Roush mated in the car. You can contact Keith Craft, a major engine builder, who sells Superformance packages with his motors - normally in the mid $50's. He has (or had) recently an aluminum bodied Kirkham for a decent price. If you WANT to spend $80,000 - search and find a used Kirkham or even a glass bodied CSX car - which should hold value significantly better than a Superformance. There are many used Superformance cars (by used 500 - 2500 miles) in the high $40's - los $50's. Just my opinion. You could also visit Kirkham - and see what package he could do for you with Keith Craft.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by jhv48

Do a search on that engine, and that fuel injection system in particular.
Isn't this the one that had all the fuel injection teething problems?
If all the bugs have been worked out, that's a beautiful car. Make sure the torque curve matches your driving style. Some apparently don't like to cruise below 2000 rpm. So, if this is your driving style, you might want to take that car on a long city drive to see if it fits your driving style. Might be a little finicky at low rpms, but if that doesn't bother you then go for it.
As others have said, you can buy a fully sorted out used SPF for 40-50K, but if this is the one you want, get it.

I had lots of problems with this engine, and Roush never did really make it right for me. I shipped the Cobra to them and they did lots to it (cleaned up installation) but when I got it back the engine still didn't run right. I ended up having the work done locally and offers to support (both technically and with a partial reimbursement for work I had done at Roush) vaporized.

Be absolutely positive it works for you. Get a dyno run. Most likely it will be OK at low altitude, but I would be cautious if you plan on high-altitude driving.

[duc996]

k, so i will def. inquire about the known problems with these engines. also what do you guys think is a good price for this car? i guess they were saying to replicate this car would cost $112,000. they sent me a build sheet verifying the cost. i guess the funky snakeskin valve covers and aircleaner on the motor is a $9,000 options and the car has been upgraded with everything the mkiii R has except for the seats.

also are the kirkham cars better than the superformance cars? why? like i said im a newbie to this stuff.

sorry for asking so many questions, just wanna make the right choice.

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by duc996

k, so i will def. inquire about the known problems with these engines. also what do you guys think is a good price for this car? i guess they were saying to replicate this car would cost $112,000. they sent me a build sheet verifying the cost. i guess the funky snakeskin valve covers and aircleaner on the motor is a $9,000 options and the car has been upgraded with everything the mkiii R has except for the seats.

also are the kirkham cars better than the superformance cars? why? like i said im a newbie to this stuff.

sorry for asking so many questions, just wanna make the right choice.

Can you get your deposit back? Take a breath, look around and make an informed decision. Sure it would cost $112K to replicate, but market forces may beg to differ.

I love my SPF, but the Kirkham is the next step up. Aluminum body, beautiful craftsmanship, etc. Don't waste the money on a bloated SPF when you could buy a really nice example (that you'll enjoy) for a lot less.

Good luck. BTW - The only other post that I hate to see is "I've bought a Cobra...what did I buy?" At least in this case, you'll have an SPF. Just expect to see a chunk of depreciation on it after you drive away.

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by duc996

k, so i will def. inquire about the known problems with these engines. also what do you guys think is a good price for this car? i guess they were saying to replicate this car would cost $112,000. they sent me a build sheet verifying the cost. i guess the funky snakeskin valve covers and aircleaner on the motor is a $9,000 options and the car has been upgraded with everything the mkiii R has except for the seats.

also are the kirkham cars better than the superformance cars? why? like i said im a newbie to this stuff.

sorry for asking so many questions, just wanna make the right choice.

You're doing the right thing now in asking questions of the people on this forum.
If you check out Cobra Country as somebody has already suggested above, you can scroll through a lot of ads, compare prices and read the specs of the different manufacturer's cars. There are a lot of Superformance cars listed there.
My opinion of the Superformance / Roush you're looking at is that if you bought it and then had to sell it next week, you could probably expect to get $55-60k for it.
Cheers,
Glen

[Cobra446]

removed / deleted

[doug cords]

There is an absolutely spectacular Superformance, low miles, California SB-100 registered, for sale in Fresno CA for just north of $50,000 - low miles, perfect.
Please PM and I will give you contact.

Dr. Doug Cords

[duc996]

thanks for all your help guys. yes i can get my deposit back if the deal doesnt go thru. what do you guys think i should offer them for the car? i like the car bc it has that old school modernized look to it, but im not ready to over pay for it either. if i was to buy something else it would have to be a shelby csx 4000 / 6000 car. do you guys know of any brandnew ones forsale anywhere? (csx cars)

[Rickd]

Man, there are cobras for sale all over the place. Check out 427 Cobra Country--Ford AC Cobra replica manufacturers SUPER-SITE.

There are TWO CSX Shelby glass cars ASKING $105,000. You can buy a brand new Shelby Roller (w/out trans and motor) for something around $65k I believe. There is NO Superformance worth $100,000, unless it has $45,000 in cash in the glove compartment!!

Kirkham is THE best engineered and best built cobra on the market, flawless aluminum body (he sells bodies to Shelby). The Kirkham cars are also listed in the Cobra Registry - due to being - basically - a genuine continuation of the originals - just much better all around quality than the originals.

If you want a cobra there are several Superformance cobras on Cobra Country from $43,000- $60,000. There are ERA's available (in my opinion a better fibreglass car than Superformance) in the high $40,s - to $60. Shop around ... it would be a huge waste of $$$$$$$ to buy the Superformance you are looking at. No one familiar with cobras will EVER pay that for a car. Keith Craft has done several Superformance cars with his 427 (stroked 351) for the mid $50's.

Go visit Kirkham. If the Shelby name is important - buy a fibreglass CSX car and have Keith Craft put in the motor and transmission.

[WardL]

They probably have $80k in this beautiful Cobra. If you tried to build a new SPF equipped like this one you would be hard pressed to beat $80k. The thing is, you can find similar low mileage Cobras for $70k, $65k, $60k or lower. I bought a Roush 427 SPF with 1,700 miles a year ago for $55k. If you want to buy a brand new CSX, find a dealer on the internet and call them up. A brand new CSX will be another $25k (More/Less ?) or so. New is nice, I was happier buying used and not spending the extra $30k for a new one. Remember, tax, license, insurance is all more with the higher purchase price.

[duc996]

so what do you guys think i should offer them for this car?