"vintage" Kirkham 427 value

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by Morris

..... What a unruly, Obnoxious, over powered, wild car to drive on the street ....will break your heart if you don't pay attention to her...

"her"? HER ???

I still fail to see anything feminine about a Cobra

Cheers,
Glen

[MOTORHEAD]

Glen: you don't ?? Really??
How about "She sure is beautiful, but she'll hurt you bad if you don't give her your full attention !"(and lots and lots of money !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Sounds like a woman to me !!

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by MOTORHEAD

Glen: you don't ?? Really??
How about "She sure is beautiful, but she'll hurt you bad if you don't give her your full attention !"(and lots and lots of money !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Sounds like a woman to me !!

Yep, really.
I have an old Alfa as well. His name's Luigi (no, not Luisa). He's noisy, smelly....and consumes 'a bit' of cash; he's often grumpy....but even still, he's always been masculine, never feminine. Cobra's not on the road yet (and doesn't yet have a name), but I am assuming that his attributes will be similar to the Alfa's, but more extreme.
Definitely masculine!

Cheers
Glen

[steve meltzer]

when you say the "suspension", which is a bunch of parts, do you mean the upper and lower "A" arms, specifically? (Mine are not billet steel) Do you, or anyone else, think the early cars are, or should be, more valuable? thanx steve

[HI Cobra]

The original style front suspension (steel) is a $9.995 option over the billet
aluminum now provided. I doubt if many pay the extra for it. Mine, being an
older model, came with the original style which is fine for the way I drive it.
I haven't driven one with the billet so cannot comment on the difference.
Bottom line is the car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

[PatBuckley]

Strange.

When I bought KMP185 it came with the tubular steel arms and Kirkham wanted $15,000 for the billet crap.

[steve meltzer]

Hey Pat, great to hear from you. do you still car #185? steve

[CNGreen]

OMG morris your car is insane:



Wow.

[HI Cobra]

"Strange.

When I bought KMP185 it came with the tubular steel arms and Kirkham wanted $15,000 for the billet crap."


Hi Pat, I think you got yours right around transition time. When I got mine
in 2008, the going price for the tubular "as original" were a $16k option and
the billet arms were standard. I am the 2nd owner of mine (KMP142) which was built a little before yours, so the "as original arms" was standard at that time.
I just priced what they were charging for the originals now and that is where
I came up with the $ 9,995 extra cost (down from $16k). What a deal!

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by steve meltzer

when you say the "suspension", which is a bunch of parts, do you mean the upper and lower "A" arms, specifically? (Mine are not billet steel) Do you, or anyone else, think the early cars are, or should be, more valuable? thanx steve

Depends on the buyer.

If the buyer wants to own an authentic original real live imitation of a 1960's Cobra, then they'll pay more for the heavier original-style suspension. If the buyer isn't motivated by "originality" or "period correctness," and only desires a lightweight and increased strength CNC billet aluminum brake and suspension package (also with the battery in the trunk, where it should be for weight distribution), then they'll opt to buy "the billet crap."

The Kirkham's have made a lot of improvements to their cars over the years and customers do send their cars back for these updates. I'd fit into this category. If I'm buying an early car, like under production #100 or under #50 or #25 even, then I might be paying a premium for the low KMP serial number, but not the POS original-style suspension.

[Morris]

On KMP259 front......we use a original steel modified lower control arm......and a modified aluminum upper control arm.....and a modified upright .....to get the front suspension to work.....

***The early serial # cars had terrible bump steer problems.....as much as 1/2" movement in a bump of the front suspension.....terrible to drive especially at speed.

[MOTORHEAD]

I'm back ! Been having problems getting on CC for the last few days. Found a way to get on through the "back door". No problem with any other web site.
Re; suspension: serious Cobra track guys ( Morris and Bruce(3170) have modified both types of suspension for better performance, so I wouldn't say one type is better than the other. I mention it only because if you wanted to vintage race a Kirkham, at least one of the vintage groups requires it to have the original style suspension and Girling brakes.
This thread is far afield from my original post.
Anyone else have a feel for what an "early" Kirkham is worth ?

[66gtk]

Ted - $90-150K range. The devil is in the details and it depends who's buying it (dealer type vs deep pockets retail buyer).

[MOTORHEAD]

66: Thanks for the info. I know #24 sold to Australia for $130, with iron engine

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by MOTORHEAD

66: Thanks for the info. I know #24 sold to Australia for $130, with iron engine

Curious. When?

[MOTORHEAD]

Dimis: It was 2-3 yrs ago, best I can remember. Don't recall how I came up with his info, but saw he was here in Fl. He said it was for sale and I asked how much? He said 120.
A month or so later I called again and he said it sold to someone in Australia for $130.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by MOTORHEAD

Dimis: It was 2-3 yrs ago, best I can remember. Don't recall how I came up with his info, but saw he was here in Fl. He said it was for sale and I asked how much? He said 120.
A month or so later I called again and he said it sold to someone in Australia for $130.

Any idea if the figure quoted is in AUS of USD ?

[MOTORHEAD]

No, didn't think to ask.