Average Age?

[ntafraidofdirt]

33, been building my own fords since age 14 (first was a 67 mustang bought for $300.00). The way I see it there are two kinds of men the ones that have the money to buy thier dream cars and the rest of us, nothing to do with age.

[h2oman]

Along the same lines as MrMonster. I'm 38 and have the coolest and most understanding wife ever. I've loved these cars since I sat in one when I was in my teens. Just lucky I was able to get one of these awesome playtoys.

[tmareina]

I'm 60 and almost bought an original NEW in 1967. Should-a would-a could-a. I was just a dumb 20 year old then. The price was 7,248 out the door, tax and license included. I still kick myself everytime I think about it.

Tom

[Dwight]

I mustered out of the Army in Nov of '69. The first thing I did was to order a new luxury car for $4000. A Cobra for $7000 was a lot of money!
Dwight

[stevehaygood]

I saw my first real Cobra when I was a teenager. A girl I knew had a next-door-neighbor who SCAA raced a 289. It was Viking Blue. Also I went to summer school one year and one of the local Ford dealer's kids in Houston had one, also a 289. Never saw anymore until I went overseas to London, UK to work and live in 1989. I saw a kit car cobra one morning while going to work near Hyde Park Corner. Later that week I saw a kit car magazine and got hooked. I learned how the "kit car industry started in Great Britain", and visited almost all the active Cobra manufacturers while i was there before returning to the US in 1996.
In 2000 I bought a body from B&B. I taught myself how to MIG weld and have been working off and on on my Cobra ever since. I have had 2 Carpal Tunnel surgeries, 2 complete knee replacements, 1 right hip replacement, and 2 abdominal surgeries. Last year i was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and Radial Neuropathy due to Agent Orange exposure when I was in the Marines in Viet Nam. I am now waiting on disability from the VA. So it has been a start and stop proposition from the get-go. I am 58 now, but I still have something to look forward to... One of these days it will be finished!!...Vrooommm!!!

[Danr55]

I pick up my car in 8 days. Right now I'm 61 going on 19. I believe that is when I decided I really wanted a Cobra.

[GlynMeek]

I love this thread!

I am a 57 year old Englishman, living in these United States for the past 27 years, and proud of my adopted citizenship from some 15 years ago! I love this country, am proud of it, and (in spite of relatively recent 'bad press'!) of its place in the world as a beacon of liberty and democracy!

I have ALWAYS been a car freak, and with an English heritage, grew up around XKEs (E types to me), Lotus 7s, Aston Martins and Morgans. My father got me started on sportscars when he bought a Triumph Spitfire when I was 15, and I have never looked back. I have owned MG Midgets, MGBs, Datsun 280Zs, Mitsubishi 2000s, Porsche 928s and, for the past 10 years, a variety of Porsche 911s.

I have been successful (i.e. LUCKY) in the high tech world of business, and fortunate that today, my sensible, family-oriented, safe (?), 4-wheel-drive, daily-driver is actually a Porsche 911 Turbo ...BUT I am JUST finishing a Lonestar Cobra in Metallic Jaguar British Racing Green with Porsche Wimbledon Green stripes (hey guys, what do you want??? I was 'English' for 42 years, I still have SOME loyalties to the old country...LOL), and am the proudest of new owners!

The AC Cobra has ALWAYS been the quintessential sportscar for me. I love EVERYTHING about these cars. The sheer 'essence' of the car is inexplicable and unmatched by anything else, NO MATTER THE COST!

You can admire the elegance and glamor of Ferrari, the quality and drivability of Porsche, the sexuality of Lamborghini, the American muscle of the magnificent Corvette, but you can NEVER, EVER match the 'essence' of a Cobra!

If you EVER have to explain to anyone why you like these perfect sportscars, then please don't even try. Walk away, shaking your head sadly and empathising with the poor individual who asked the question in the first place, because ANYONE who even has to ask the question "why do you like Cobras so much?", will NEVER, EVER understand the answer!

[PJ10]

I am 44 and have built 6 Cobras. Just gets better all the time!

[cakeman13]

Waited 63 years got mine.

[63mercury]

I'm 62 and gathering the materials to build my Cobra, have loved them since I first saw a REAL one sitting next to a 427 '67 vette at a local drive-in in the late 60's.Fell in love with it but money and family were always first, now retired and figure it's time. I enjoy my 63 Mercury but a Cobra would be much more fun.

[Cobra #3170]

I am 66 and will have owned my Cobra for 42 years in November. I picked it up from Shelby American at LAX in November of 1965 and have enjoyed it ever since. When I picked up my car I was able to meet Ken Miles, Ed Leslie and Phil Remington so it was quite a thrill. The car has only 10,000 (very hard) miles on it because I have been trailering it since 1968. I broke a half shaft at an out of town autocross and had to change the U-joint with a hammer and sockets using the original scissors jack to get under the car with a flash light. I made up my mind to never drive to an event after that! The car has had a number of engines over the years in the frustrating and elusive quest for FE horsepower. In my younger days I raced formula Atlantic in SCCA national races but never found them anywhere near as scary as the Cobra was on a road course.
The original engine, transmission, rear end and suspension are boxed and stored in case I ever move it back to original configuration. The current engine is a 498 CID Shelby block with FAST EFI and Blue Thunder Stage II heads, a Moldex crank and Carrillo rods. I use a NASCAR Jerrico 4-speed with a Detroit locker equipped Jag rear end.

[Brian F.]

Wow, very old/long thread. Got mine when I was 27 and am currently 28. Neat, I feel so young... now, if I could just get my hair back...

[gpatterson84]

Originally Posted by wtcobra

Scott, I'm 56 and have been working on my Cobra since 1991. Jeff do you think that FFR is less expensive to build than say a Shell Valley, Classic Roadster or any number of cars using live axle rearends and a small block. I know when I searched in 1991, there were a number of companies that were selling reasonably priced cars, they just did not have IRS suspensions,etc. WT

I'm just starting to review all of the companies with Cobra kits for sale. Any word, positive or negative, about Street Beasts, FL? I was concerned about stability and road comfort (suspension) when I saw your post. Is IRS the way to go? Any other things to watch out for? It appears there are plenty of ads on this site for engines, trans, etc. Can you recommend a good place to start (I am reading as many of these threads as I can)?

GP

[wtm442]

There are many unhappy owners of Street Beast Cobras. Do a search here on CC and read.

Here is list of manufacturers.
List of Manufacturers

[FST FOX]

I am 29 and started planning on owning one when I was 26, so I accomplished owning one out right by the time I was 30 so all is good

[tbirdz12]

Im 44 and the wife is 37. Ive always thought the Cobras were cool but never thought my wife did. At a car show my wife saw a blue/white Superformance and was in love. About a year later I told her i was going to NJ to pick up another old Oldsmobile, but pulled in our driveway the a nice Superformance Blue/white on the trailer.

I declared my mid life crisis at 40 and bought my first muscle car. Ive had about 15 different ones since then, but still have 5. Of course the Cobra is the wifes fav. and i like it a lot also.

[fsstnotch]

WOW, it is a very long thread!

I am 24, will be picking up my hurricane kit in November or June of next year. So I will either be 24 or 25. (I'm in Iraq, I'll be on vacation in Nov and will return home in June next year) I'm just not sure I want to buy the kit in November and leave it sit till June when I come back. I'll have everything waiting for me in June, it'll just be a matter of getting settled into our new house and oputting the kit together. It should be a spring '09 debut! Can't wait!

[will butterwort]

fsstnotch for your service.Be 63 in Nov. ,looked at pictures--read racing stories ,and picked cotton---the car,only a dream for me, only wealthier folk could have a car that was only a dream for a little fella in a alabama cotton field back in those days.Vietnam with the army was a promotion, and thanks everybody for the GI bill,sure helped this country boy, now I drive one,awesome car of a boys dream.Will-alabama

[Velvet Hammer]

I built my Cobra at age 21. I'm 30 now. I sold a nice 67 Camaro in fear of dumping $25K with ideas of doing a rest-mod to it. So I sold it and bought the Cobra thinking I could spend less. I was wrong!

[Cobracrat]

The Grand old man C.S. is 84 he still has a youthful enthusiasam for his cars,