Help with Superformance Cobra value

[timemachine]

Looked at below Superformance #639 yesterday. Very clean car with 8500 miles. No obvious leaks, seams perfect, starts right up, no shakes, rattles etc...

Biggest concern is lack of service records. He said he did oil and filters and he obviously took care of it. But owned it for 8 years with maybe 1000 miles put on I would expect more service.

[timemachine]

2 things I did find was oil temp gauge not working and ammeter bouncing entire time.

[fastd]

the lack of service records for this type of do it yourself car is not a red flag for me personally...

is he the original owner? does he have any of the original invoices?

if you want to know the value from this information, we would need more info about the build.

[DanEC]

The bouncing ammeter would be a bit of a concern for me to address right away. I do all my own work and keep a ledger of major things - oil changes, replace belts, tires, etc. Any chance he kept such a ledger?

Maybe it was just a well sorted Superformance or he was capable of sorting out minor issues himself but wasn't much for record keeping.

[Mark IV]

The bouncing ammeter is almost normal, there is an easy wiring fix and later cars tend not to have the issue.

The Chevy "Turbo-427" air cleaner sticker should be good for a $5000 discount!


Where is the car located? Perhaps we know some familiar with it or who could look at it for any issues.

[timemachine]

Car is in Dracut Ma. I always keep receipts for DIY work I did. He’s willing to do down a very small amount but not much.

[twobjshelbys]

The best place to get comps is to look on Cobra Country (www.cobracountry.com) Sold prices are not disclosed though.

[Sawdust]

First thing is get rid of those Eagle GTII tires. Has he upgraded the rear shock mounts? How much is he asking? What do you know about the engine? size? manufacturer?

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

The Chevy "Turbo-427" air cleaner sticker should be good for a $5000 discount!

Yeah, that caught my eye! Is a $5,000 discount enough?

[Jim Vander Wal]

Shock mounts are easy and not huge bucks. There are options or ways other than R/T's.

Is it still mostly factory original? Best part about a Superformance is the consistency and generally good build quality. Does everything work?

What about CVs & boots? The Boots were problematic.

How's the windshield? They break all by themselves.

What shocks & springs? The early coil overs were not wonderful.

Brakes, does it have the later Wilwoods or the earlier Ford units?

How's it run & drive?

I sold a 2007 s/n 25xx car with 50+k miles and a stroker 420+ c.i. engine a few years ago when the market was more depressed for a bit less than $50k.

Jim

[timemachine]

I didn’t see any issues with the boots, steering felt tight. I received a call today a clutch was done in 2013 and new slave he following year. Motor is 427 with Tremco transmission.

[Blas]

Bouncing AMP meter is a known issue and is easily fixed for about a dollar. Early chassis cars did not have the windshield cracking issues that some newer cars had. Probably still has the AVO shocks that are original to the car. Take-off Bilsteins are available from time to time.... a nice upgrade but not required if the AVO’s are in working order. If possible ask about coolant age, battery age. Both good do-it yourself projects. and the dates on tires? Rear shock mounts should be inspected first.... rebolting, modification or replacement will be determined by the inspection results.
Blas

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Blas

and the dates on tires?

Goodyear GT IIs have been out of production long enough that the dates are irrelevant, they should be replaced based on age and hockey puck status.

[timemachine]

Well made a deal and wish it was a couple thousand less, but for a SPF I feel good about it. Not much time left to drive it till the salt hits the roads here. I’ll shop tires this winter, look at the gauges that need attention and stare a lot... oh and do lots of reading.

I’ll read up on rear shock mounts today.

[Mark IV]

Good on you!

If you need any help with tech info or parts feel free to call us, we spend better than half our time with owners who are not customers! Glad to help any Superformance owner.

[Dwight]

I would suggest you change the anti-freeze, oil and brake (clutch) fluids. Grease all the fittings and check the tranny and rear end lube.

New tires of course.


What type on gasoline is in the tank? How old is it? I hate Ethanol

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by timemachine

Well made a deal and wish it was a couple thousand less, but for a SPF I feel good about it. Not much time left to drive it till the salt hits the roads here. I’ll shop tires this winter, look at the gauges that need attention and stare a lot... oh and do lots of reading.

I’ll read up on rear shock mounts today.

Good job. You don't always have to make a "killer deal" on things that make you happy. These cars are an unbelievable amount of fun.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Good job. You don't always have to make a "killer deal" on things that make you happy. These cars are an unbelievable amount of fun.

It's hard to have more fun with your clothes on.



timemachine: I hope you're prepared for the 'thumbs up' you'll get (particularly from HD bikers, for some reason), the requests for photos ("can I take a picture of your car"), and the many strangers who will want to talk - at stop lights, gas stations, whenever you park, etc.



Be ready with answers to various questions:

• Is it original?
• Does it have a side-oiler?
• What kind of car is that? (I had someone ask if it was a Corvette - presumably thinking it was an early one)
• What's it worth?

[Blas]

Well done! A great holiday gift to yourself....

Tires, rear shock mounts inspection/upgrade, coolant, battery, general service related items (oil, filter, grease, etc), brake fluid flush, misc. nuts and bolts tightening are all things you can do over the winter yourself or have done. Also SeaFoam in the fuel tank... maybe 2 cans.... great stuff....
I would guess the knock-off's are going to be.... "Difficult" for lack of a better word and will be your first real maintenance challenge. You'll also need some anti-seize for wheel reassembly.... search CC for varied opinions on this. You'll also need a good lead hammer to start with... bigger is better (Note: they are expendable tools...). I might suggest a section of a dense foam water pipe insulation be put on the wheel-well body lip when wielding the lead hammer on the knockoffs just in case... Nothing says "%$#@*! like taking off a section of fiberglass with the lead hammer. Also get a safety wire and a spinner tool, both available from Harbor Freight for knockoff reassembly.
Mike Stenhouse at Second Strike makes a great manual for the car too....
You can get lots of tips and help here on CC.
If you have Superformance questions feel free to contact me with a PM or email.
Blas

[1795]

How long was the test drive and how cold was it outside? Sam wondering if the oil temp gauge was not working, or if the oil had not warmed up enough for it to register. It can take a while for the oil to warm up, especially with an oil cooler.