To Hurricane owners: questions

[aks801]

I have yet to pull the trigger on building "my" Cobra. What I'll be going for is: building it myself, period correctness to a large extent, not a top-end price point, excellent engineering, and the most pleasing body shape. For some time now I have planned on going with a FFR, especially since their Mk. IV body is closer to the right look. But I still have misgivings about some of what they have done: the line from top of front fender to the rear fender bulge appears too flat instead of tapering down; where the side of the body/rear of the door area meets the rear fender bulge seems off; and the slope of the trunk/rear end is not optimal. All in all it looks good, but could be better.

That leads me back to Hurricane. Looking at a lot of photos, I REALLY like the body shape. Not only that, they seem geared to the home builder, and the price is still right.

I would like to hear from the Hurricane builders and owners about your experiences in terms of quality of the product, build experience, and service and support from Hurricane. Also, is the dedicated Hurricane owners forum active? I don't see anything recent on it, but perhaps if you are registered you can see a lot more content.

Thanks in advance.

[LMH]

It's a well engineered car and pretty easy build. I bought it for the same reason as you, FFR is a great engineered car but I really didn't like the body.
On my car, I switched it from it's original live axle to IRS. It took some doing but I would have ordered that from the beginning if I had to do it now. I've made a number changes to mine but Hurricane was always an evolving car and a lot of the changes I've made are now standard on new models.
As far as the forum, I really don't know as I'm not active on the site. Maybe some of the other guys can chime in on that.
Larry

[Clois Harlan]

I have helped build a couple Hurricanes and my good friend Dean Lampe was instramental in the design. When he, Steve and Mike at Hurricane finished they had a very good product and as Larry said was easy to assemble and held closely to the original. I believe you are making a very good choice going with Hurricane.

Clois Harlan

[s_reynolds]

aks801, as a Hurricane owner I can tell you that the kit is an easy build for the average wrench turner. Also, as Clois mentioned Steve and the Hurricane gang have made several improvements as they move forward which makes the kit even better than when I bought mine. I can also tell you from what I've seen the body finish coming out of the mold is great, which will cut down on the body prep for paint. Steve, Dusty, and the whole gang at HM are at your service for support. As for the forum, there is an owners side to the forum that is not available to the public which has a wealth of build posts on all aspects of the build and all you have to do is post any question and you will have an answer shortly from one of the owners and/or Dusty. Great people to work with.

[bwcobra15]

Ah, a subject I can speak to! There are a few of us building the new 2nd generation hurricanes in Texas. I am just south of the Dallas/Ft.Worth area, Russ is in San Antonio/Helotes, and another I haven't met yet is in Weatherford. There are two more 2nd gen builds currently happening in the midwest that I stay in contact with.

I too chose Hurricane for the pricing, authentic shape of the body, quality, options, and the upgrades the new company has made to the 1st generation product.

I will add to the previous remarks that Dusty, Steve and Mike at Hurricane Motorsports are the best people to work with. They are always available for support and help. My build is taking a while, just because that's the pace i'm working at - I do what I can when I can, learning as I go, doing then undoing and re-doing ~ but its so much fun! We have a tight little group of current builders that share ideas and mistakes via email, which really helps me. Russ and Mark are several steps ahead of me, which has helped me greatly to improve my build as I go.

And there are several completed 1st generation hurricanes roaming the Texas highways. Most of them will be at the Texas Cobra Club Spring Meet in San Marcos March 27-30 - Texas Cobra Meet - you should definitely come and take a look and compare. Hurricane Motorsports will be there with their trailer and (hopefully) their latest creation, if not their current demo car. There will also be every shape, size and color of every other replica out there, over 100 cars registered so far. Lots to compare.

If you're ever in the D/FW area you are welcome to stop by my garage and take a look. I also might actually get around to starting a build webpage soon.

[Wbulk]

I am not a Hurrincane owner but I am in the same situation as you except that I have built one cobra and am thinking of building another. No question the FF cars have come a long way, and with the MarK IV they are a quality product. There have been know problems over the years that for the most part have been fixed with the Mark IV "complete kit." Their owners are very supportive of each other and put the issues out in the open for others to help resolve if needed. Other companies try to control this and you seldom see mistakes or problems on the forums about other brands for fear of hurting the company. That being said I agree with you on the FF body.

I have hundreds of pictures of Hurricanes and FFs during all the build phases, and I believe the quality of the Hurricane is just as good as the FF. Quality really makes a difference when building a car. It saves you a lot of time with not have to fix poor quality work. No kit is perfect and I don't think any are just put together like a model. If you don't have a lot a skills you may have a hard time. I personally know of one company that has a real good strong design but has let the quality go so bad I would not recommend them to anyone. That is really sad.

I have seen two Mark IVs several times during the build process and have set in them. The shinny aluminum really looks cool but does prolong the build time. For me at 6'2" and 250# it is just to small inside. Yes, there are modifications that can be made but they are still tight. I have called most of the manufacturers and gotten their inside cockpit measurements, and Hurricane is one of the bigger ones. You also really need to get into the detail. I have not seen any kit that really is complete. No matter what they say. On the surface it would appear the Hurricane is a little more but when you get into the detail of what you actually get it is not.

If I build another I am going with Hurricane. But if I were smaller it's a tough choice. Good luck.

[MFE III]

I built a Gen 1 Hurricane and will second the earlier comments about authenticity, quality and completeness. From what I have seen, the Gen 2 Hurricane's have taken the authenticity and quality up even another notch. With the floor mounted pedals and redesigned foot boxes, in my opinion Hurricane is up there with ERA, Kirkham and CSX in terms of authenticity.
I absolutely loved building the car. The build manual was great and a very supportive and resourceful forum. The kit was very complete, far more than I expected, right down to rivets and even zip ties!
Although the real action and information on the Hurricane forum is only available on the Owners Only side (sometimes referred to the as Dark Side), I will say that the posting activity is far less than when I built my car 3 years ago. Like many owners, I check in very often and contribute where I can. But, maybe it's residual effects of the economy or it maybe generational, but there does seem to be less cobra replicas being built today. As far as forum activity, FF5 probably gets the edge.
I have a friend that recently completed a MkIV FF5 and that car, IMHO, has evolved into a very good and far more authentic replica. Admittedly biased, my vote goes to Hurricane now more than ever.
Matt

[LMH]

Sorry Matt but I just have to!
Larry

[bwcobra15]

Originally Posted by LMH

Sorry Matt but I just have to!
Larry

Ka-CHOW !!!!

[jwd]

Here's a Hurricane I built a few years ago. Awesome kit.

.

[PaulProe]

I'll chime in too. I chose Hurricane as I also, wanted a period correct vehicle. The Hurricane body was splashed from an original car and matches to the 3200 series vehicles. It compares in authenticity to the ERA and some of the older, no longer available kits that also were molded from an original vehicle.

The Hurricane "kit" is very complete. You truly only need the drivetrain and the consumables.

I tried to document some of the things I did with my build, modifying to my preferences. It is a Gen I. Many of the things we found have been incorporated into the Gen II cars, making them an even better deal. A link to my site is included below

You can't go wrong.

Paul Proefrock

[aks801]

Thanks for the info everyone. Pretty much as I expected: satisfied builders; no such thing as a "complete" kit that goes together like a dime-store model; quality company ownership; tight community.

I've gone through the company website pretty well, and like what I've seen. That being said I'll want to get much more familiar with it! Also, I will go through some of the build sites just for grins.

@Bob W: I will make every effort to scoot over to San Marcos for the Texas event!

[YerDugliness]

One of the biggest reasons I considered the Hurricane was that the build process enables the builder to send the body for prep and paint while the chassis is being completed, and the two can be joined at a later date (with, as I understand it, some help from a few friends). I thought that having sending the body off to paint while completing the chassis was a stroke of genius.

Another reason to seriously consider the Hurricane is the community. For a while I was very active on the public side of the forum...there are many "generous" members who were willing to document their builds on the public side and that was enough to convince me that I could probably build one for myself.

...but, there's another "side"....I've criticized Hurricane for this decision for a long time and there's no reason to stop now...it's "The Dark Side", the "owners-only" portion of the forum. To me it seemed like there were things that might well be negatives regarding the build process that the intent appeared to hide from everyone except those who had already shelled out their money. You can decide for yourself whether or not it's a big issue...those who are owners will tell you it is not...but for me, it was a big enough issue that I am not a Hurricane owner.

...well, not yet....I REALLY like the product and perhaps someday will join the ranks of those who own Hurricane replicas. If you really want to see an OTT build, take a look at Dean Lampe's build log...incredible!

Cheers! IMHO you probably won't find a significantly better product, and certainly not at the price point of the Hurricane...but the inclusion of the word "probably" is a result of what they have hidden behind that door to the dark side....gotta wonder why they had to do that...at least I did.

In the end, it's your $$ and your choice...good luck, there are many excellent replicas out there (although I own a 427 body style, my fave is the FIA 289 model, which is a body Hurricane doesn't offer) produced by quite a few respectable companies. Hurricane is certainly one of them!!

Dugly

[LMH]

In the very beginning, there was four or five or so of us who were exchanging emails with each other about our builds. This was before any forum. We would send group emails to each other and also the original owners from time to time, with questions, problems or issues. The old forum grew out of that with help of the original company. A lot of what we discussed was taken by the company and changes made to subsequent cars as production continued. There was never really anything "secret" or "dark" that I remember. It was just a place where we could discuss what we were doing and bounce ideas off each other without the outside worlds input. That kept it small and to the point. After a while, it became kind of an on-going joke with the whole "Dark Side" thing between car owners and the rest of the world but trust me, there would be nothing Art Bell would have been interested in.
Larry

[Bill Bess]

Okay, here's my two cents regarding the Hurricane.
I agree with what everyone has said about this car.. it's terrific, loaded with quality parts, great engineering and super service from the guys in Lake City.
The one thing nobody has mentioned is it's reliability and fun.... I have over 20,000 miles on my Hurricane and it's runs perfectly (it has never not started) and nothing has broke or worn out. It's got plenty of room especially for taller drivers and is very comfortable on long trips. I have driven the car on trips of over 3000 miles and my wife and I were very comfortable except for the loud exhaust.
What else is there? The Hurricane is in my mind the only kit I would ever buy especially knowing what I know now from experience.
Best of luck, Bill

[TMark390]

aks801, you have us coming out of the wood work now. I'm one of the Midwest guys that Bobby mentioned. I am working on building HM2006, and am loving every minute of it.
Shopped lots of manufactures before settling on HM, liked the originality and the completeness of the kit. The things that some might see as a negative at least going in was the thing I like the most. Although in kit form some of the others are "engineered" to the point that following the build manual is a must. The Hurricane although it can be built that way, leaves enough room to let you choose your own path if you want.
I wanted the "build" with the end result of owning a Cobra.
See my build pictures here:
TMark390's Library | Photobucket

Mark

[aks801]

A couple of notes:

- thanks for the pics and links to build sites! Very helpful. Some really nice cars y'all have done.
- the "dark side" aspect of the owner's forum is a little disappointing, but it won't play into my decision.
- the ability to "choose your own path" is very important to me, so that is a plus.

FWIW, here are some key aspects of what I will do: FE (390 bored and stroked to 427); Top-Loader wide ratio; 15" wheels; Guardsman Blue w/ Wimbledon White stripes, yellow team stripes; independent rear suspension; leather seat upgrade (ok, that may not be a "key" aspect!).

[Bill D]

I think you'll be better off with a close ratio Toploader

[DanEC]

A wide ratio toploader and a 3.31 rear (or smiliar) makes for a nice package. A little less stressed on the highway and a flexible first gear. With sufficient torque some have even used a 3.07 rear with it.

[TMark390]

Sounds like mine except I did not do the IRS. Frame is drilled for it if I want to change later.

390 FE built, Wide TL 4spd.

FYI there is nothing dark about the "dark side" of the forum. In fact I think only the people that don't have access call it that. For the most part we hang out on the public forums like this and only use the HM forum for specific to HM questions that keeps the answeres pretty focused, and Dusty at Hurricane watches it and keep us up on stuff.

Mark