Which is the best Cobra kit?

[Turk]

Ron,
Now you done did it!!

Get some coffee, it will be a long night.

TURK

[computerworks]

Originally posted by Turk


Ron,
Now you done did it!!

Get some coffee, it will be a long night.

TURK

hey! ...facts are facts. That's the truth.

[casaleenie]

You'd do well to check the ones that are up for sale.

Most of these cars were built with the intent of never to sell....

Married, divorced, children, lost jobs. etc... all can put these beautiful cars on the block... Help a Cobra owner out and at least take a look at what's for sale... They'd like them to go to a good home....

[briankmagby]

Ok, now where getting some where :-) Can you tell me where the Unique, Superformance, and Midstates slight design departures are? I would like to know how or where they deviate from the original body style so that I can help narrow the choices that are acceptable to me and what I want to build.
Thanks.

[Chaplin]

Originally posted by computerworks


hey! ...facts are facts. That's the truth.

Send help immediately! Evan has taken over CW's body

[computerworks]

Originally posted by briankmagby


Ok, now where getting some where :-) Can you tell me where the Unique, Superformance, and Midstates slight design departures are?

Unique-
Narrow-hip rear fenders, but with slight S/C-like flares.
Modified trans tunnel.
Altered dash, footbox and steering shaft position.

SPF-
The front opening is more oval-shaped and symmetrical than the original.
The lower flare on the front fenders is exaggerated.
The radiator leans forward
The windshield wipers park to the left
The side vents are shaped differently.
The roll bar rear brace pitch is different.

Midstates-
Altered dash and tunnel
Slightly exaggerated front wheel flare
Either shorter doors or too much "panel" between the lower door and body edge.

[computerworks]

Originally posted by Chaplin


Send help immediately! Evan has taken over CW's body

Chappy... I'm OK now...(pant...pant)

I spun my head around, spit pea soup and the computer desk jumped up and down off the floor.... and, suddenly, I was back to normal.

Thanks for caring.

[Chaplin]

[Bumpster]

Brian - You must remember, and never forget, that there is not and never was a definitive original Cobra body. The originals were made of aluminum panels beaten and welded by hand. It would be nearly impossible for any two originals to be exactly alike. Also, changes, some slight and some major, were intentionally made during the production run of the Cobra for various reasons. If I were looking for a dead nuts authentic looking replica, I would get as many pictures as I could find of a particular original Cobra that I liked the most and try to duplicate that car. Find the manufacturer that makes a body that comes closest to the one you like and modify it to be exactly what you want if necessary. Since almost all replicas are fiberglass, and you seem most interested in appearance than anything else, that's the only way you will achieve your concept of the perfect look. Then you will be able to say that your Cobra is an exact replica of the original CSX**** Cobra. Otherwise, any replica will always have some compromise in its appearance. Most of the fiberglass replicas were (supposedly) originally splashed from an original body, and they all differ in some small way, so that should tell you something.

Bumpster

[briankmagby]

Thanks everyone, lots of good information coming out now. I think Bumpsteer has made a good point. None of them will be exactly perfect; I guess the closest one would be a Kirkham. So if you lined up a Kirkham, ERA, Unique and FFR side by side, how much different from each other would they look? Would the differences between them be obvious, or subtle?

[Tongue Pirate]

I personally think there is a definate jump from Unique to ERA in accuracy & price. Both are quality cars but ERA really goes the extra mile to make things accurate. I really had a hard time deciding if the extra dough was worth it for the ERA (Well... you know how I decided ). The bottom line is that both companies make a great car that should make someone happy for many years to come.

[Fitz]

If you ask me all the cars are about the same standing 25 feet away. What problems there are seem to come from under the hood and suspension. Now that is a real story. What are the top 3 "under the hood" displacements and what color is the best for the engine and .....oh yes, what are the best wheels and tires today? It seems that "what is the best today" certainly across the board, anything is better then the orginals. Weren't all of them different? Everything is built better today; engines, tires, wheels, suspensions, metals, all of it. ......but still give me an orginal 427 Shelby anyday.

[Turk]

This is what makes the world go around.
Not to contradict Fitz and others, it is exactly at 25 feet or so where I can tell the differences in shaoe of the bodies.At distances closer than that, fit and finish the quality of paint becomes the focus, as you get near the car, you loose all perspective of the lines of the car and start focusing on the instruments cockpit and details.

At 100 feet or so they all look alike.

I think the official viewing should be conducted approximately at 26 feet or so. Give or take an inch.

The truth is, it doesn't matter which CSX car the body closely resembles, I for one have not seen any ugly Cobras.

Well maybe one.

Ernie, do you still have your car?

TURK

[thorconstr]

Brian, If you want exact, there's no such thing. The body panels on the originals were off up to 3/8 of an inch and more side to side depending on the alchohol consumption, PMS at home , and general mood of the English worker beating the panels out. The Kirkham is a computer generated mirror image side to side, high tech machinery, yada, yada , yada. So it is probably an exact reproduction time to time. Shelby has been using Kirkhams so you can form your own opinion from there. In the glass cars Premier Motorsports, ERA, Contemporary, Unique, Super Performance, Factory Five, whatever Shelby is using , and countless others, not necessarily in that order. All are great cars. Whatever you choose, you will feel YOUR'S is the best and is far better than anyone elses! My car was just delivered to the engine builder in RI on 02/19/04. When it rolled out of the Intercity trailer, and I saw it for the first time since it was painted, and sat in it for the first time, I can't quite explain the feeling, and can't even imagine driving it. I've driven Cobras before, but this is mine! The feeling is probably a mixture of my first Christmas, and first love. I wish you the best of luck with your choice. Oh, forgot to tell you. After you see YOUR'S for the first time, you'll have to go to a MD to get the never ending bulge in the front of your pants taken care of!

[RICK LAKE]

Here we go again How much MONEY do you have to spend??? Answer this question then how fast you want the car. What are you going to do with the car, drag racing, autocross, road racing, Show and shine. You can go from 20G to 125G. How much of the work are you going to do to assembly it. This is like buying a boat. What trans,engine, rear end assembly, suspension, wheels, tires, and the list goes on. Color is the easiest to pick. You can see what I own, it's a family member and took 20 years to get. You should go to a Replica car show and talk the the manufactors about their product and cost. Then get motor, trans, rear, tires, wheels, prices and see where you go from there. GOOD LUCK it's fun. Rick Lake

[Lowell W]

Brian,

For some Cobra owners, "dead nuts accurate" is of paramount importance. If that's what you want, the choices are limited and covered elsewhere in this thread. But when you get to the part about "...how much different?" and "...obvious or subtle?", NOW you're becoming very subjective. The only way for you to tell is to look at a bunch of cars and decide for yourself. The best place to do that is at Spring Fling in June (assuming it happens this year), where you'll be able to see somewhere between 200-300 Cobras parked in the downtown area of one little town. You may be the type of guy who can spot (and object to) differences too subtle for most people to see. Or, you may be unable to spot them but decide you want the car to be as "true to the originals" as possible for whatever reason (not going to speculate on motives). Or you may look at a hundred Cobras and think, as I do, that they're all beautiful when assembled right and decide that horspower or cost or extra room or something else is more important than originality. For example: With the more accurate reproduction cars, it's almost a requirement, at least from the standpoint of maintaining the car's value, that you install an FE engine. If that's what you want, fine. If you really like the 427 body style but want to use a Windsor or big block or some other engine, some of the other manufacturers support these combinations and they don't negatively affect the value of the car.

In the end, the way to decide which car is right for YOU is to look at a bunch of cars, list what's important to you, narrow your choices down to a handful, talk to the manufacturers and decide on one. Sort of like finding a wife: Some guys buy the first Cobra they see, some may buy and sell several Cobras before they find the one they really like (or none at all), others shop around and end up with the one they want to keep. Some guys try to tell everybody who will listen that THEIR wife is the best... Some guys don't care whether other guys think their wife is ugly because she has lots of horsepower...or whatever... Some guys pay more attention to other guys' wives than they do to their own. So long as everybody's happy...

[mrmustang]

Al,

Very well stated..........

Bill S.


PS: You "painted" your Kirkham??????

[casaleenie]

http://erareplicas.com/differ/index.htm


This isn't exactly what you're looking for but it might be of some help.....

[Faro]

My memory seems to differ from most people on this forum. The Cobras that I seen in the 60's look nothing like the top 5 list. What I remember is that the cars just looked mean and nasty not straight. What caught my eye was the fact that all cars looked theaked out of square. The bodys never looked symetrical. The stance of the cars was not level thay looked like some one had jacked them up untill the body twisted on the frame. Under the hood I always seen some oil residue from blow-buy and frayed wireing was also the norm. So if you want an orginal looking car put on cheap paint mount the body un level on the frame and install used wireing. It looks like the you can really do anything you want. No i'm not bashing the car I have wanted one since I seen the first ones race. I still have a cigar box with pictures of cobras glued on the side that I made when I was a small boy. Some day I will have one and It will will be a compromise from what I have dreamed of for years as most things in life are. I would recommend get what you want not what others perecive as the original look.
Faro

[clayfoushee]

Bumpster and others made a very good point. If you parked a 427 Kirkham beside an original CSX 3XXX (or originals next to each other), chances are they wouldn't look the same. The Kirkham is a marvel of modern aluminum fabrication, and they are probably as close to identical (to every other Kirkham) as is possible. But, it's an improved version of one CSX body. The originals were much more variable.