Average Age?

[MAXVELO]

I HAVE WANTED ONE OF THESE CARS SINCE I WAS 10 YRS. OLD. WE HAD A LOCAL CAR SHOW JUST FOR SCHOOL KIDS AND THE OWNERS WERE GIVING STUDENTS FREE RIDES AROUND THE PARKINK LOT IN THE CAR OF YOUR CHOICE. YOU HAD TO FORM A LINE BY THE CAR YOU WANTED TO RIDE IN. NATURALLY I WANTED TO RIDE IN THE COBRA WHICH WAS THE LONGEST LINE. AFTER THE RIDE WAS OVER I TOLD MYSELF I WOULD ONE DAY HAVE ONE OF MY OWN. IVE BEEN SURFING THE MET FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS LOOKING FOR AN UNFINISHED PROJECT (GOT 4 GIRLS SO MONEY MATTERS). I FOUND ONE FOR SALE BY THE CEO OF WELD MOTORSPORTS (CARL ROBINSON) IN KANSAS CITY MO. IT WAS A PROMOTIONAL CAR FOR THE COMPANY AND HAD ONLY BEEN DRIVEN A COUPLE OF TIMES. IT WAS NEVER EVEN REGISTERED. WELD MOTORSPORTS HAD A SET OF ALUMINUM WHEELS MADE UNIQUE JUST FOR THE CAR SO I HAVE THE ONLY SET LIKE THEM ON THE PLANET! THE CAR WAS PURCHASED TO DISPLAY THE WHEELS. IN 1996 FROM WEST COAST COBRAS. IT HAS A JASPER 514 CRATE MOTOR WITH AN ACCEL FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM WITH A VORTECH SUPERCHARGER DYNO-D AT 820 HP WITH 740 FT. LBS IM IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING THE CAR APART TO REPAINT. IT IS CURRENTLY YELLOW WITH ENOUGH SCRATCHES TO JUSTIFY A REPAINT. I WOULD RATHER HAVE IT BLACK WITH ALL CHROME. IM GETTING RID OF THE DUNE BUGGY ROLLBAR AND INSTALLING A SINGLE HOOP BEHIND THE DRIVER. THE DUNE BUGGY BAR ISW NOT ONLY A DEAD GIVEAWAY ITS A KIT BUT TO ME IT DOES NOTHING FOR THE CAR! ANYHOW ITS A DREAM COMING TRUE FOR ME. I CANT WAIT TO HAVE SOME IDIOT IN A VETTE OR VIPER TRY TO IMPRESS HIS GIRLFRIEND OR WIFE AND GO HOME FEELING LIKE HE GOT THE BIGGEST SPANKING OF HIS LIFE!!!!
GARY

[DvlzFng]

Well it's too bad you guys n gals aren't abit younger 'cause I'm only 20 & if i've gotta wait till midlife till i get my own, i still gotta long trek ahead. Looks like i'm better keep wishin for the very few days of drivin my dad's.

[wingnut13]

I just ordered my FFR, I'm 25. I've been collecting parts for the last five years. Just sold my 2000 V-max and anything else I could get my hands on.... com'on Oct 11!

[jamvan]

44 Here. I have been working up to this since I was 12 and my father gave me a Revell 1/8 scale model for my birthday of a Cobra. It has taken me 32 years to work up to this car. I have had 8 other classic or antique sports cars since then (all british - 3 MG's, 3 Triumph's, 2 TVR's) but a Cobra was always in my heart.

jim

[foothills gary]

Has there ever been a thread this long?What a great subject to explore!Once you are bitten the nerve damage is permanent.Once you build your first car you will never,ever be happy with" production" again.I'm 50 yearrs old,and this is definitely not a midlife crisis-it's the carrot that got me through college,professional school,and 25 years as a working,commuting stiff.Kids are nearly out of college,wife starting on second career,so the time is nearly here.Hardest thing now is which one,what color and which powerplant(in other words,the really fun stuff!)

[|32i@(\)]

I am 20 and just now looking into building a cobra. First off I am very uneducated on Fords in general. As of today I hope that in 3-4 years, when I get out of the military, that I can start somthing.

I have an understanding of the whole "mid-life crisis" thing. but why do ya'll think there aren't any kids into it ? money? probably

a little more to add......

my dad, nor anyone in my family was never into cars period. I was raised on BMX bikes and video games. =P like most kids these days right? So I joined the usaf as a mechanic working on mostly deisle trucks and forklifts to get my hands dirty.

So yeah, I am coming into this world of building a true project at 20 years old. My goal is to be around 25 and actually start. But being 25 and having the spare change for somthing like that isn't very realistic huh?


just my .02

[Jack21]

I'm 60. Like the man said, growing old is inevitable; growing UP is entirely optional. But have never had the time, money, and space to build an entire car, albeit a small one, all at the same time.

Have been a gearhead since about 17. Have had numerous "Car Projects". Some ran well, some didn't, and I learned from both. Developed a taste for small, well handling, (but underpowered)British sports cars. Owned several MG's Triumph's, & Healy's.
Developed a taste for larger, ill handling, American musclecars, mostly GM's.

Putting American iron into British chassis isn't new, or original. But the Cobra is, and was legendary.

A Cobra shouldn't be a builders first car project. The experience factor of auto modification, upgrading, and maintenance should be under the builders belt. There are numerous subsystems that the builder must be intimately familiar with. Why? First, to define
what the finished product should be without the monkey see - monkey do influence. Second, how all the subsystems all work, and work together as a balanced system to make the end product meet his/her expectations.

[Edley Rondinone]

I32i@(/): ( or whatever the pluck your name is!) Start saving AS MUCH MONEY AS YOU CAN! The service gives you food and a place to sleep; You could theoretically come out of the service after four years with $20,000! Stay out of the bars, and stay away from the "relationships"!

[BLACKJACK]

HEY, I32i@(\) - - -

DON'T WORRY ABOUT BEING 20. AND - - PLEASE - - DON'T STAY OUT OF BARS OR AWAY FROM RELATIONSHIPS.

I'M PROBABLY THE OLDEST "OLD FART" ON THIS FORUM AND BELIEVE ME - THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME FOR COBRAS BUT YOUR ONLY GOING TO BE 20 FOR A VERY SHORT TIME.

WHEN I WAS 20 I WAS IN THE AIR FORCE ALSO - PUSHING F-86'S AROUND THE SKY - I WAS A DRINKING, BRAWLING, WOMANIZING BANDIT AND HAVING THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE. SURE, I LOVED CARS - EVEN GOT PAID FOR RACING (ON THE SIDE - DON'T TELL MY C.O.).

YOU CAN BUILD AND DRIVE A COBRA AT ALMOST ANY AGE - I'M 68 - BUT YOU CAN ONLY BE 20 ONCE.

I'VE GOT TWO COBRAS AND A GT-40 AND I WOULD GLADLY TRADE THEM ALL TO YOU IF I COULLD BE 20 AGAIN.

THERE'S A TIME TO BE 20, THERE'S A TIME TO RAISE A FAMILY, THERE'S A TIME TO MAKE A CAREER AND THERE'S A TIME TO BUILD COBRAS.

TAKE EACH ONE - IN IT'S OWN TIME - AND LIVE THAT LIFE TO IT'S FULLEST.

INCIDENTLY - - I'M 68 BUT I'M STILL A DRINKING, BRAWLING, WOMANIZING BANDIT - - AND STILL HAVING THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE. I JUST DON'T GET PAID FOR RACING ANYMORE.

AND - BY THE WAY - MY "MID-LIFE-CRISIS" STARTED AT ABOUT AGE 25 AND IS STILL GOING STRONG. I LOVE IT.

INCIDENTLY - EDLEY'S ADVICE ISN'T BAD EITHER. IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT LOADS INTO YOUR CHAMBER.

VERY BEST OF LUCK TO YOU, MY YOUNG FRIEND, AND "KEEP THE DIRTY SIDE DOWN".

Y'ALL HAVE AREALLY GREAT DAY,

BLACKJACK

[Ericheather]

30 - got myself a consolation prize for my birthday to help me cope with the big 30. it is scheduled to be here tomorrow just in time for me to go to Hot August Nights in Reno this weekend and test it out!
I had no desire to build a cobra, just to drive one!!

[sean842]

i'm 15 an have been saving money from my job down the street, i have about 13k right now from a job that pays $10/hour , me and my mom will be buying a cobra to share as soon as i have about 18k to pay for half of it. i've loved sports car since i was little and my dad took me for rides in his miata, so cobra's just seemed like the most tasteful way to go.

[rsimoes]

33

[skippy]

I'm 36 and loved the first cobra i saw when i was a kid.

[perana]

started building the engine at 18 (takes a while over here ....damn undervalued dollar)....finished engine at 28 now 30 building body ....finished chassis last year

[delin]

I'm 33 and my husband just turned 32. We are expecting our first child and wanted a challenging project that would keep us in and close to the house while the baby is young. We've both always wanted a Cobra -- it just made sense, really.

[Jack21]

I'm 60, my wife is 55. I grew up with factory musclecars of the '60's and '70's. Also grew up with British sportscars of the late '50's, '60's, and '70's. As a mechanic (then), I worked on a lot of them, and drove a lot them. As an engineer (now) I still appreciate the acceleration of American muscle, the nimbleness and agility of British finesse, and the blending of both in the Cobra.

I drove (or test drove) Shelby 289's, Shelby GT350's, and Shelby 427's in the early '60's. I was hooked! But the American great patriotic war, as unpopular as it was, I went, (Vietnam) interviened. Upon returning, the great air emissions war was just beginning. Performance was history. Muscle was legislated out of existance.

"I gotta get me one of these." Have owed it to myself ever since, and now "I got me one of these."

[Scott S]

I started this thread when I was 40, I am now 45

What amazing life histories and stories, some rainy afternoon I will have to run the average age again.

Scott S

[RawCobra]

I'm 34, haven't gotten my snake yet. Plan to have my SPF by my 35th.

[leslie.files]

39, today, tomorrow, and forever. Actually will be 40 in June 2004. Taking care of my mid-life crisis now whileI can enjoy the build and the looks on faces when I roll it out in the spring.

[CSX 4027]

In 6 Months I'll be Dead A year!!