SPF 289 Slabside Owners

[ASO544]

Thinking about going with a SPF 289 Slabside car....any owners or former owners have an thoughts or experiences they can share? They have really grown on me over the years.

Aso544

[Mark IV]

I have had my car for 5 years and have many miles on it. It is the best "toy" I have ever had. Even my wife likes it and will suggest we go for a days drive, something no other car has ever encouraged before.

Now I am not a neutral party in that I am a Superformance dealer and was involved in the creation of the 289 series of cars but having seat time in many different cars I do love the 289! I have had other cars and I still love my GT40s and every time I sell off my GT demo I end up missing it and eventually replace it, but I have not sold my 289 street roadster yet.

We drive it everywhere; there are grocery bags in the boot as we take it to Aldi, we take it to lunch, we take it to Target, we take it pretty much every place!

The 289 series has been developed to a high standard and now has had the bugs worked out. There has been several small changes over time to eliminate the issues and to improve the car. There is more foot room than an original car and better heat insulation. The suspension has been refined with easier alignment, improved shock absorber tuning and several other upgrades. The fit and finish is first class and we have a refined build out manual for those who are doing there own powertrain installation.

Feel free to call for details or with any questions. I can also put you in touch with some owners for their experiences.

[LudicrousSpeed]

^^^^BEAutiful car^^^^ A Superformance 289 FIA is the Cobra I dream about. You almost never see them on the used market. If anyone has a line on one let me know, my budget is 80K ish.

[Mark IV]

If you do the install yourself and don't get stupid with the engine, you can do a new FIA for that budget. The 289 cars recently had a price reduction on the base price and some options.

[caccobra]

They are fantastic cars. SPF hasn’t made very many of the 289 street slab side. The latest VIN number I saw for sale at Hillibank’s web site is number 35. Mine is VIN#25 and it came out of the factory in 2017, just to give you an idea of the volume being built. It seems there are many more buyers for the 427’s than the little 289’s. That means there may be some good deals to be had on the 289’s currently for sale, because they haven’t been moving for SPF. That could be changing now though after the Ford vs Ferrari movie was released and more people see them. I bought mine before the movie came out and got a killer deal IMO.

I have had mine since October, 2019 and since I live in the snow belt, I have spent the last 5 months tinkering with it and correcting some of the things that make it even more of a true continuation car with the assistance of Blas, armrer and MarkIV and finding some original pieces for it. I am currently waiting for an original clock to come back from being restored and converted to a quartz movement and I can then get my dash back together. The trunk is completely detailed now and has a complete original tool kit, jack, spare wheel and tire mounted, jack handle and top bows mounted. In the engine compartment, I relocated the voltage regulator, mounted an original grease gun and mounting clips, installed an original PCV, brass elbow and hose, original air cleaner and original looking fuse block cover and relay cover and original VIN plate. For the dash, I replaced the ignition switch and headlight switch, replaced all of the switch knobs with more correct 1965 Ford knobs, added a period correct matching cigarette lighter to more easily plug in my battery maintainer, replaced the SPF clock with an original 1965 Cobra clock (it is actually a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500XL clock that I had the front bezel chromed like the original was), and changed the steering wheel from the 15” to the original 16”. My goal is to have it all done in time for the driving season here that will soon be here.

The car as it comes from SPF is a very accurate to the original chassis and body, etc. and would be fine for most people to leave it as it is. Detailing the trunk was pretty easy once you find a few original parts. Nick Acton makes a lot of them, if you can’t find an original. Detailing the dash is a little more involved and the help of armrer and Blas was invaluable for me. I still have a couple of more projects in mind for mine, but some of it may wait until the next winter season for me to complete. I have a feeling that once I actually start driving it, I won’t want to have any downtime until then.

Why did I decide on an SPF Slabside vs a 427 version? I owned a Contemporary 427 S/C that I built myself for several years, so been there, done that. Back in 1966-1967 I used to see a little red 289 Street Cobra with wire wheels and a black vinyl hardtop every day on my way to school (I was driving a 1966 Corvette then). I lusted for that car ever since. Sans the hardtop, my SPF Slabside is identical to that car. The added benefit of owning a 289 street Cobra, real or otherwise, is that there aren’t many of them around, but there seems to be 427 Cobras everywhere you go.

I always said, if SPF had been around when I was building my Contemporary, I would have bought an SPF and saved myself a lot of time and effort. They make a fantastic car. The SPF Slabside is as close as you can get to a real one without breaking the bank right out of the factory. Best of luck in your search. If you do decide to get one, I don’t think you will regret it.

[caccobra]

Trunk detailed.

[caccobra]

Full tool kit.

[caccobra]

Engine compartment in process.

[caccobra]

Dash in process.

[1985 CCX]

SPF makes the best reproduction glass 289 on the market.
KMS is the alloy counterpart, waaaayyy more cash for buggy spring.
My $0.02

[caccobra]

Oh, and I also replaced the SPF two-bar knock-off’s with the more original “AC” knock-offs from the UK.

[caccobra]

The SPF wind wings and visors do not have the correct “Cobra” engraving in them, so those were replaced too. All of the changes are pretty minor and most are very easy to do to make the car even more correct to the original car.

[Armrer]

If you look under ‘Manufacturers, etc’ then Superformance, go to page 8 and half way down the page is ‘289 leaf spring Cobra just about finished’. Great thread with lots of build pix and info on the SPF Slab. I personally love the car and the one more often than not, gets picked over others for a weekend drive with the wife.

[caccobra]

The SPF cars also do not come with the original leather door pull straps, so I fabricated a mount that goes under the ferrule nut and installed the original straps.

[Mark IV]

We supply the "Lucas" fuse and relay covers exclusively as well as the wiper relocation kit (moves from park on left to park on right) http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/atta...0be5e01ed3.jpg

We also have other options and upgrades for the 289 series as well as other SPF/Shelby cars: https://www.timemachineauto.com/part...cessories.html

[caccobra]

If you don’t care for the SPF brake and clutch pedals, you can also replace them with the correct “AC” pedals as I did. There is also a noticeable size difference between them as you can see.

[caccobra]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

We supply the "Lucas" fuse and relay covers exclusively as well as the wiper relocation kit (moves from park on left to park on right) http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/atta...0be5e01ed3.jpg

We also have other options and upgrades for the 289 series as well as other SPF/Shelby cars: https://www.timemachineauto.com/part...cessories.html

Yup, the fuse and relay covers you see in the photos in #8 above came from Mark IV. Thanks for reminding me about the wiper kit. That IS one of my planned projects too.

[Kit Coyle]

I owned a slab side [CSX2047] from 1968 to 1973. When I got the ERA FIA with the
dropped dash a few years back I wanted the cockpit to look close to what I remembered.
One of my main memories...go figure...was the unique glove box knob. I found an actual
original and put it in. It doesn't work worth a crap but it looks perfect, and that's the point.

[1985 CCX]

Kit

Its been awhile. Hope you are all good in Cali, BTW Kit's ERA is amazing!

[Blas]

Also available are Owner's Manuals, Wiring Diagrams and an informative Service Bulletins Package for the Superformance MKII's and the CSX7000/8000 cars.

There is a procedure that covers modifying the park position of the wipers to the opposite side in the Service Bulletins.
Blas

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