78 Miles

[BDR879]

Good news Tin Man! It took a year to get mine sorted...all part of the process...I've become more patient as a result

[kayakjack]

Originally Posted by SkipB

Patrick,

I was just curious if anyone had a 100% trouble free experience with their new car. I assume not, but there may be lots of them out there?


SkipB

Skip,

I have had a trouble free experience with a USED Superformance. The car had 13k miles or so when I bought it. Maybe it was not bulletproof when new. I don't know. But whatever teething problems it may have had were ironed out during cars tenure with the original owner.

I flew to Richmond, VA with my wife to buy the car from the original owner. We drove it home to Atlanta on the Blue Ridge Parkway. If it crapped out en route home I would not have been too happy. The nice man selling the car said I would have no problem. He was right.

It has over 19k miles now. Almost all trouble free. The worst thing that happened was the clutch slave started packing up when I was driving through North Georgia with my wife. Nursed it home, replaced it. No big deal.

If you have a good first owner, life can be real good. The car cost less than a new one too!!

Jack

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I think the build job by ERA and my engine maker was absolutely top notch. BUT, it's taken me close to five years to get it to where I could even think about driving for, say, a couple of days straight without it breaking down.

I wonder why that is so commonly accepted in Cobra circles. If your car is some clunker kit assembled from rusty, greasy junkyard donor components, I can see that; but a top notch build from a top notch company with a top notch drivetrain?

The very simplicity of (most of) these cars alone should make them less prone to gremlins and the hand-built nature I would think should guarantee some measure of quality control. Our pushrod V8's and manual gearboxes are hardly new tech - the stuff's been around for generations. None of my old hi-po muscle cars were especially unreliable or prone to breakdowns.

My Cobra was a quality brand amateurishly assembled and neglected for years by the time I got it, and then I set about rebuilding it with new parts, wiring and components. It's had its issues as a result and I've learned as I went, but at this stage I expect my car to be reliable and driveable to a reasonable extent - given the heat, vibration and g-forces that come with the Cobra territory.

I would have the same expectation if I had purchased a high dollar turnkey with brand new components from big name suppliers. Yes/no?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Buzz

I wonder why that is so commonly accepted in Cobra circles.

I don't really have a good answer to that, Buzz. Honestly, I think it is something akin to the Stockholm Syndrome, only Cobra related.

[kayakjack]

Originally Posted by Buzz

I wonder why that is so commonly accepted in Cobra circles.

I think it is because of the engines frequently selected. I think most of our cars are simple and bulletproof. But when you push the envelope with the drivetrain, there are tradeoffs that you should be willing to take. I went the other way with my car. It has a Ford Motorsport 351w crate engine making 385hp. Seems adequate. Sometimes I wish I had a couple hundred extra horsepower. But, my reliability has been like a Crown Vic. Yeah, it has a Holley carb that might give up, but for the most part it just runs great. If you push the envelope with high horsepower and/or an unconventional transmission, you have to be prepared to deal with teething problems with a smile. That is what you signed up for.

That said, teething problems are different from poor quality. Owners on this forum have had problems that resulted from crummy build quality. In some instances the builders have not taken the correct level of responsibility for their work. I hope their damaged reputations drive them away from here.

Jack

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Originally Posted by Buzz

I wonder why that is so commonly accepted in Cobra circles. If your car is some clunker kit assembled from rusty, greasy junkyard donor components, I can see that; but a top notch build from a top notch company with a top notch drivetrain?

The very simplicity of (most of) these cars alone should make them less prone to gremlins and the hand-built nature I would think should guarantee some measure of quality control. Our pushrod V8's and manual gearboxes are hardly new tech - the stuff's been around for generations. None of my old hi-po muscle cars were especially unreliable or prone to breakdowns.

My Cobra was a quality brand amateurishly assembled and neglected for years by the time I got it, and then I set about rebuilding it with new parts, wiring and components. It's had its issues as a result and I've learned as I went, but at this stage I expect my car to be reliable and driveable to a reasonable extent - given the heat, vibration and g-forces that come with the Cobra territory.

I would have the same expectation if I had purchased a high dollar turnkey with brand new components from big name suppliers. Yes/no?

YES...............

David

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

YES...............

David

Uhhh, if I had wanted something that was absolutely reliable and never broke down I would of bought an FFR.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Uhhh, if I had wanted something that was absolutely reliable and never broke down I would of bought an FFR.

My point and I think Buzz's also is the fact that Tin-Man paid quite a bit of money for his dream car. I'm not going to look back 7 pages worth to find the numbers, but I remember it was "top dollar" to me anyway......
now to the issues:
loose screw in the distributor/will not start
pinched wire for the trans/rough shifting

seems like someone didn't do a quality install to me.........

problems with the computer controlled engine: Roush didn't do their homework on this,didn't do the needed testing before putting out a product, for the $$$$ spent on the engine alone, one would resonably expect it to run properly, at least I would......

I'm glad the vendors are taking care of the problems.But the question below was asked, and I answered and stand by my answer.....when spending top dollar on top shelf parts from top people in the business, one should/would expect the parts and pieces to perform as designed and advertised to do.....

I would have the same expectation if I had purchased a high dollar turnkey with brand new components from big name suppliers. Yes/no?

Over the years I've done a full blown/ground up restoration on 4 cars, 2 being 65 Mustangs,one being a road racer car and didn't have the problems this car has had and I'm just a weekend guy working in my backyard shop....
After doing a total restoration on one 65 Fastback,including a transmission swap (from a toploader to a Tremec)( I had to fabricate my own bellhousing spacer and trans crossmember as there were no aftermarket items out there at that time) and building the engine and disc brake rear end, I put all of 50 miles on it before leaving on a 500 mile trip, that was in the mid 90's and I have had less trouble with that car (to date) since then, than Tin Man did in 78 miles......
Just saying.........

David

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

seems like someone didn't do a quality install to me.........

Ehhh, I'm willing to cut them all some slack. If it comes back as a software glitch in the computer controlled software, coupled with one little screw in the distributor... and then it runs beautifully, I think it wasn't all that bad. Unfortunate, yes; but not that bad.

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

My point and I think Buzz's also is the fact that Tin-Man paid quite a bit of money for his dream car. I'm not going to look back 7 pages worth to find the numbers, but I remember it was "top dollar" to me anyway......
now to the issues:
loose screw in the distributor/will not start
pinched wire for the trans/rough shifting

seems like someone didn't do a quality install to me.........

problems with the computer controlled engine: Roush didn't do their homework on this,didn't do the needed testing before putting out a product, for the $$$$ spent on the engine alone, one would resonably expect it to run properly, at least I would......

I'm glad the vendors are taking care of the problems.But the question below was asked, and I answered and stand by my answer.....when spending top dollar on top shelf parts from top people in the business, one should/would expect the parts and pieces to perform as designed and advertised to do.....



Over the years I've done a full blown/ground up restoration on 4 cars, 2 being 65 Mustangs,one being a road racer car and didn't have the problems this car has had and I'm just a weekend guy working in my backyard shop....
After doing a total restoration on one 65 Fastback,including a transmission swap (from a toploader to a Tremec)( I had to fabricate my own bellhousing spacer and trans crossmember as there were no aftermarket items out there at that time) and building the engine and disc brake rear end, I put all of 50 miles on it before leaving on a 500 mile trip, that was in the mid 90's and I have had less trouble with that car (to date) since then, than Tin Man did in 78 miles......
Just saying.........

David

David, I agree, my expectation was the car would run. I can see how there would or could be some issues with donor build cars due just to the complexity of getting all things aligned, matched, machined, welded, assembled and all the necessary items that need sorting accomplished. Understand please, I am not taking anything away from the guys who put their heart and soul into their build, but merely putting things into perspective since these Cobra enthusiasts who have decided to build their own dream, generally, and I think I am correct when I say this, do not have the resources or access to applicable R&D or top of the line machining and assembly equipment to assist them with their project as the main suppliers of engines and transmission have that are currently on offer. They do their research and do their very best with what they have to get what they want and in the end its their own creation and thus they are proud as hell for what they have achieved.

I envy their tenacity, passion and automotive engineering achievements.

How many people on this planet can say hey, I built my own car and its a masterpiece and proudly point to their Cobra?

But when you buy a turnkey car as I did and did not skimp on the expenses since this represents a lifetime dream and a retirement present for myself, yeah, I expected it to run. Why should I not expect it to run, I invested in all the best name brand components that were available at the time that this industry had to offer. And, not to put a fine point on it, the likes of Ford and and Shelby spent big bucks in getting the Cobra to where its was when it cleaned the clock of the Ferrari brand in the sixties. So I was buying a legend albeit a replica of a legend from reliable folks. So why did it crap out after 78 miles? The notion of, well chit happens does not quite do it for me, if these facilities are ISO 9001 compliant they should know how to do it right the first time, and get it right the first time. This is my opinion..

In many respects maybe my expectations were built too high based on previous experience with my 89 Turbo R that sat in storage for ten years when I first went to China, after all that time when I had to start it up, it started on the second crank: luck, amazing or the result of world class design and engineering, you be the judge.

I have heard the expression bullet proof so can somebody tell me just exactly what that means because to me that translates into trouble free and I expected a bullet proof turnkey car that represented the value for the money I had paid for it.

There is no doubt in my mind after these folks have had a chance to get things sorted the car will be all that I expecetd.

tin-man

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by SkipB

Just general question:

Has anyone ever had a Cobra (real or replica) that did not require at least some sorting out before it truly ran right?

no

E

[601HP]

I always take a cell phone with me when I drive the Cobra, because...........

David

[STL Mark]

I have the local flatbed tow service on speed dial.
They know me by name.