Please Help Value Car

[txaggie929]

Hi everyone, new guy here and my first post. I've been researching Cobras for a little bit, as I've gotten a wild hair to get a new toy. I've done my due diligence, but having a hard time finding comps on a car I'm interested in. Hoping this forum can help me value it. The pics are of the actual car. Again, this is not mine, it's one I'm looking at buying.

Build Specs:

-2015 Ultimate Classic Cars (UCC) GT-427; just under 3k miles
-Proformance 347 crate engine w/ Holley carb & MSD ignition
-TKO 600 5-spd
-Mcleod Clutch
-Ford 9"
-Koni front suspension
-Wilwood brakes
-LED headlights / tail lights

Paint is a solid 95-98%, but tires are 7 years old at this point. Everything that was chrome that is now black (wheels, rollbars, etc) is just plasti-dip. The headers and side pipes are the only thing that are actually ceramic coated black.

What would you value this at? Thanks in advance!!!

[Unique427]

This one sold March 2022 on Bring-A-Trailer.
Should give you a baseline for comparison.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/ul...-427-roadster/

On a Cobra tires after 5 years should
be replaced. It would be a point of
negotiation if owner had not already
factored it in the price.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by txaggie929

Hi everyone, new guy here and my first post. I've been researching Cobras for a little bit, as I've gotten a wild hair to get a new toy. I've done my due diligence, but having a hard time finding comps on a car I'm interested in. Hoping this forum can help me value it.

Build Specs:

-2015 Ultimate Classic Cars (UCC) GT-427; just under 3k miles
-Proformance 347 crate engine w/ Holley carb & MSD ignition
-TKO 600 5-spd
-Mcleod Clutch
-Ford 9"
-Koni front suspension
-Wilwood brakes
-LED headlights / tail lights

Paint is a solid 95-98%, but tires are 7 years old at this point.

What would you value this at? Thanks in advance!!!

I'd replace the tires, get the car fully serviced, flush all fluids, detail the car in and out, then post some pictures here. I say this as each car is compared to itself, as each car is custom built to the owners personal tastes.

Specs on engine
wheels and tires
interior/exterior color combination
Rollbar configuration will all play a factor in how much the car is worth.

Bill S.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by mrmustang

Rollbar configuration will all play a factor in how much the car is worth.

Two roll bars are worth twice as much as one.

[mrmustang]

Forget about BAT as shown in the link above, as that is an auction site where two people can throw the entire bio-metrics of the market into a tizzy. As the car sits right now, figure $28,500-$32,000, No wipers, no heater, no top, wires hanging out of dash where a stereo system was going to be installed, what else is missing off a car that needs to be safe to drive. In addition, most people looking for a Cobra will get turned off by the roll bars (not just two, but the poorly laid out bends), quick jacks that are 8-10" further out than they should be, bolt on wheels, and interior/dash layout. But if it makes you happy, and the price is right, go for it. If not, there is a post of mine named "How to buy a used Cobra", read it before you do anything else.

In closing, the bottom line is simple, you get what you pay for.

Just my two cents worth.

Bill S.

[patrickt]

The quick jacks should be a relatively easy fix. The roll bars will be more difficult. The interior is what it is. The problem is that in today's world, a sub $35k car can easily sell in the 50's.

[txaggie929]

That’s an auxiliary wire for a phone that you see. I missed the wipers. There’s no tops available for this particular car that I’m aware of.

Can you explain what you mean about poorly laid out bends on the rollbars?

[patrickt]

The braces to the hoops should not have a funky angle to them. Dual roll bars, should you choose that option, should look like this.

[txaggie929]

Just checked UCC and that looks like their factory design for the roll bars?
And they are bolted to the frame.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by txaggie929

Just checked UCC and that looks like their factory design for the roll bars?
And they are bolted to the frame.

You always bolt them to the frame. Some Cobras have "cosmetic" roll bars, which aren't attached to anything that will hold up in a roll over. Changing the roll bars will be difficult because they pass through the body on their way to the frame. The UCC people probably chose that unusual configuration because that's about the only way they could do it. It might not be fixable.

[sunman]

That’s a good look on the “correct” roll bars.
Black foam insulation held on with electrician tape…
What really looks good is a colored floaty noodle from Dollar General.
$45K is the new $35K.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by txaggie929

Can you explain what you mean about poorly laid out bends on the rollbars?

When you take a rear brace that prevents the rollbar from folding in on itself, and add an additional bend, you weaken the efficiency of the rollbar in general. In this cars case, that extra bend in the rear stiffening brace geometry of the rollbar questions the safety of the occupants should the car, god forbid, ever roll over. Again, your car, your choice.


Bill S.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by mrmustang

When you take a rear brace that prevents the rollbar from folding in on itself, and add an additional bend, you weaken the efficiency of the rollbar in general. In this cars case, that extra bend in the rear stiffening brace geometry of the rollbar questions the safety of the occupants should the car, god forbid, ever roll over. Again, your car, your choice.


Bill S.

In other words, the roll bars on that car are cosmetic.

A straight brace is functional.

That bend in the brace will negate any support.

The purpose of the brace is to keep the roll bar straight. The bend in the brace will cause the brace to fail first then the roll bar will fold back.

[RUFdriver]

90% of the roll bars in Cobras are cosmetic, the hoops won’t do crap in a real crash. If you’re seriously tracking these cars you need a full on cage. Any bolt in roll bar is cosmetic IMO. I had a backdraft once and the passenger roll bar was barely bolted in , finger tight and basically worthless. UCC uses actual DOM roll bar tubing( the old Lone Star design) but they’re still bolted to the frame so no better or worse than what else is out there.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by RUFdriver

90% of the roll bars in Cobras are cosmetic, the hoops won’t do crap in a real crash. If you’re seriously tracking these cars you need a full on cage. Any bolt in roll bar is cosmetic IMO. I had a backdraft once and the passenger roll bar was barely bolted in , finger tight and basically worthless. UCC uses actual DOM roll bar tubing( the old Lone Star design) but they’re still bolted to the frame so no better or worse than what else is out there.

Sorry, but that broad a statement is a bit misguided, there are several replica companies that design their roll bars to be functional. FFR, ERA, Contemporary, SPF, Kirkham, Unique all design their bars to be functional and not just cosmetic. It is their design in engineering that calls in to the attention to detail of the manufacturer. Yes, some companies do not spend the time to design their cars with more safety features appropriately, the pictures from the car manufacture that the OP has posted appears to be one of them. Sad, but still true, no matter what brand you are loyal to or not. Your money, your choices, not something I'm trying to sway anyone on, just pointing out what I see, which is what the OP requested so we could potentially assist with a value. Form and function, as well as cosmetics and mechanicals, all go towards that goal.

Bill S.

PS: Is that your car in the pictures above?

[patrickt]

MM is correct. But the sad truth about Cobra roll bars is that far more serious injuries are caused by BFT to the head resulting from relatively minor impacts than from flipping the car and collapsing the roll bar.

[ZOERA-SC7XX]

As for value, these Cobras are not real Cobras. They are replicas and they are only worth what someone is willing to pay. They are no more valuable than a pretty rat rod. I own a ERA 427, but I have no dillusions. They are composite automobiles, something hand built to replicate something else. Maybe worth the sum of their parts. Just my opinion.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by patrickt

MM is correct. But the sad truth about Cobra roll bars is that far more serious injuries are caused by BFT to the head resulting from relatively minor impacts than from flipping the car and collapsing the roll bar.

You're right. Rollovers are in fact rare (on the street, not so much on the track) but the chances of getting injured from your head hitting the roll bar are much higher than getting smushed in a rollover. In reality, you should always wear a helmet when in a Cobra. Remember, it is a race car.

The only greater safety illusion in Cobras is shoulder harnesses attached to a wimpy car-wide cross brace that could be bent with tug on it from the back side. And the fact that unless you're very short harnesses mounted there are lower than your shoulders (that's not good in case you didn't know it.)

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

You're right. Rollovers are in fact rare (on the street, not so much on the track) but the chances of getting injured from your head hitting the roll bar are much higher than getting smushed in a rollover. In reality, you should always wear a helmet when in a Cobra. Remember, it is a race car.

If you can tilt your head back and touch the roll bar then you should pad it (and that padding on mine is the Summit Racing stuff which is actually a little better than pool floaties). Remember it was only a couple of years ago when the guy was showing off his Cobra's performance in the country club parking lot and slid in to the curb. Minor damage to the car but he died from BFT to the head -- just from showing off at the f'ing country club.

[Unique427]

Originally Posted by patrickt

If you can tilt your head back and touch the roll bar then you should pad it (and that padding on mine is the Summit Racing stuff which is actually a little better than pool floaties). Remember it was only a couple of years ago when the guy was showing off his Cobra's performance in the country club parking lot and slid in to the curb. Minor damage to the car but he died from BFT to the head -- just from showing off at the f'ing country club.

As you have mentioned in previous threads Patrick, having a bare roll hoop
and getting tagged from behind, you're trading whiplash for BFT when your
head makes contact. I recall the roll hoop was always intended to work
in conjunction with a safety helmet to mitigate BFT when things go wrong.