What is the best kit out there?

[wsbiggs]

I am new to this "obsession" and it has hit me hard! I am looking at the different kits out there and all have there own sales pitch. I would be really interested in your opinions on which kit is the best and why. Especially you guys with experience with more than one. Please help educate me!

[Ron61]

Eventually it will come down to what you like and how much you are willing to spend. The top line ones are Shelby and Kirkham. But they are also the most expensive for the most part.
ERA, Superformance, and Backdraft are good. Classic Roadsters used to be right up there with them but it has had problems lately and I think is currently out of business. You will get a lot of answers from people who like theirs best. Your best bet is to go to a Cobra Club meet or show in your area and talk to the people and look at the cars first hand. Another thing to consider is how much of the work and build do you want to or can you do. Superformance comes complete sans engine and transmission and all you have to do is have them installed. Others can be ordered in various stages of finish. The bad kits are for the most part gone now and any of them can be made into great cars. Another thing to consider is do you want yours to look as original as possible. If that isn't important to you, some of the cars have longer wheel bases and are a little easier to learn to drive. But do a lot of looking and asking questions before you make a commitment if you haven't been around these cars much.

Ron

[jwd]

The simple answer is "whatever you end up with in your garage" as it will be perfect for you. There is no such thing as the perfect car for everyone because everyone is different and want different things in a car. Do your research and make an informed decision.

Jim

[Bryan Anderson]

Take a look at B&B at www.bandbroadster.com 32 years in the business a no used or junk yard parts kit, there is a special going that has a body, inner panels, hood, doors and trunk with all steel reinforcing installed, custom tube frame a hinge kit all the suspension points pre welded 6995 or a complete kit with everything including tubular front end and a narrowed 9" ford rear for 13,995

[Gordon Claunch]

I had a B&B, I was very happy with it. Good customer support, I really enjoyed the build,I wish I still had it, but I had to sell it when I got transferred to Texas. Maybe another someday

[KevinM]

What do you plan to do with the car? Cruising, track days, etc. How important is visual accuracy to you. What engine do you plan to use? Do you want to build it or do you want a turn-key? How much can you afford to spend?

Lots of things to answer before you can pick the best Cobra replica for your purposes.

Kevin

[aks801]

Yeah, as it stands it is a completely impossible question to answer. Even if/when you provide detailed perspective on what you want to do with the car and how you want it to make you "feel", it will still not be cut and dried.

Think about your realistic budget; how/where/how often you want to drive it; how much of it you want to build yourself (all the way up part by part; some major assemblies already done; a roller; a turn-key minus; total turn-key); how much time you want to allocate to it; your realistic mechanical capabilities as they now stand. As close to a recreation of an original car as possible, or sky's-the-limit modern hot rod in a classically styled body?

Well-thought out responses to those types of questions will go a long way toward the usefullness of the responses you'll get here.

Welcome, fellow inmate!

[Buzz]

This question is asked over and over and most, including myself, will tell you to do as much research as possible and then decide what suits you best. Some will just point out that their chosen brand is the best. Today, I am in the mood for rambling so here is my lengthy dissertation.

In the Cobra world, "best" generally is synonymous with "most accurate" or cars that are engineered and designed to most closely replicate the original in areas like dimensional accuracy, components, drivetrain, overall quality and the elusive "correct" look and stance. Stance is the height and rake of the car and the relative position of the wheels in the fenderwells (as opposed, for example, to cars that sit a$$-high with tires bulging beyond the fender lips).

Aluminum-bodied Shelbys and Kirkhams top the pecking order and you pay accordingly, with the Shelbys packing the additional cachet (and price) that comes with being blessed and sold by The Man Himself.

Premium fiberglass bodied cars are very accurate in dimensions, components and appearance, are generally engineered for FE powerplants and ALWAYS have independent rear suspensions (IRS) as on the original cars. People argue the merits of IRS vs. live axles - and both have their strengths - but the reality is that among Cobra replicas, the premium offerings ALL HAVE IRS, period!

The larger, respected, currently operating manufacturers in this group are (mainly) ERA, Superformance and Unique Motorcars, and of course the Shelby 'glass bodied cars. There are other, less prolific manufacturers in this class, like Premier Motorsports that also make a well engineered, accurate looking car.

An important sub-category here are the premium, respected brands that are no longer in production but still show up for sale in the pre-owned market. Contemporary, Butler and HiTech are three very highly regarded marques.

There are many other manufacturers with correct and not-so correct appearing bodies that offer live axle chassis, some with optional IRS that allow the builder start at a lower price point and build the car the way he likes or can afford to do. Some of these brands also allow the builder with relevant skills, time and resources to build a car that can look and perform every bit as well as the premium cars with varying degrees of effort and attention to detail. Some of these bulids also allow the use of donor cars for drivetrains and suspension components.

This category is very broad and includes a wide range of options, features, and levels of quality and engineering to suit an equally wide range of tastes, special requirements and budgets. In no particular order some names are: Factory Five Racing (FFR), Midstates, D&D (Canadian), B&B, Emerson, Lone Star, Classic Roadsters, Everett Morrison and many others.

Special mention is required for FFR (Factory Five). Responsible for much discussing (and cussing) among Cobra enthusiasts, FFR is the most prolific of all replicas. Starting out as a low budget 5.0 Mustang donor kit, they have evolved to offer full non-donor packages and optional IRS. Famous for their distinctive, quirky high "perky butt" look, they are not generally considered a premium brand but they are light and fast, have a huge, loyal owners group and have sold more cars than many others combined. Many FFR builds are a testament to their owners' skill and attention to detail and show beautifully in any group.

Another sub-group is the Cobra-esque hot rod type of car that is designed to look somewhat like a Cobra, but are stretched and bulged in various ways and for various reasons from increased legroom, fitment on donor chassis' and pure racing applications. These cars forsake the "correct" Cobra look with varying and questionable degrees of success based on their owners' priorities and subjective opinions.

A new and popular player in this class is Backdraft, a South African product employing a BMW IRS, available (like Superformance) only as a fully finished roller sans engine and transmission. The body is elongated for more cockpit room and the fenders are bulged and flared in a stylized caricature of the more athletic original shape. West Coast Cobra is a live axled, spaceframe design that also follows this approach. Lone Star and Classic Roadsters have longer wheelbases for more legroom. JBL is in a class by itself and is a high end, longer, lower, wider interpretation that employs an advanced, race-engineered chassis and suspension for awesome track performance.

This is just a small summary of what's out there and in some ways based on subjective opinion. Like you have and will be told, the "best" Cobra replica is the one that makes you happy aesthetically, performance and budget-wise and the only way to be sure is to expose yourself to as many choices as possible. Take your time and do plenty of research. Study the originals and the different replicas and read the threads on this forum. Join local Cobra groups and get to know the different brands so that your final decision will be an educated one.

Good luck.

[aks801]

BUZZ: that was exceedingly well-written.

WSBIGGS: read and re-read the aforementioned post by Buzz. Some of its specifics can surely serve as lightning-rod topics, but that's just a function of the passion of this group. There's really not a turkey in the bunch, so to speak.

Find some events you can attend, see some cars, talk to some owners, surf the Interweb, order some info-packs. And have fun!

[TButtrick]

Originally Posted by aks801

BUZZ: that was exceedingly well-written.

x2. Well done.

[Ibr8k4vetts]

You should start with a easy question like who is the best looking women.

[cscobra]

An excellent treatise, Buzz--well done.

In addition to the information packs previously mentioned, I found it useful to buy, if necessary, whatever assembly manual (whether printed or video) was available from each manufacturer I was considering. Seeing and studying the actual engineering approaches to their kits, as well as the attention to detail (or lack of same) in the manuals themselves, helped greatly with my decision-making.

[767Jockey]

We can argue best car all day long and never reach a consensus, however I don't think there's any doubt at all that the most complete, most informative website out there, by far, is ERA's. To me, a complete knowedge of this site is the first stop in any new guys Cobra education. Granted it's almost all about ERA cars, naturally, but taken as a whole and not as a sales pitch for their cars, it's an incredibly complete synopsis of the hobby as a whole and the strong and weak points for various different layouts. It's a great starting point for a new guy. The depth of the ERA website is amazing. Spend a bunch of time going through it all and you'll find that most of your questions are answered.

[Stinson Pilot]

Very nicely done Buzz. Probably the best written response to this question I've ever read.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by wsbiggs

I am new to this "obsession" and it has hit me hard! I am looking at the different kits out there and all have there own sales pitch. I would be really interested in your opinions on which kit is the best and why. Especially you guys with experience with more than one. Please help educate me!

First you need to tell us what your budget is?

[Rickd]

Your timing to become "afflicted" with the cobra bug is excellent. In the spring there is a huge "kit car" show in Carlisle, Pa., and virtually all of the builders are represented. ERA normally has several cars there, as does Unique, Superformance, Backdraft, Factory Five and others. If you have some spare weekend time (and some frequent flyer miles) it would be interesting / fun / wise to visit places like ERA (New Britain, Ct) and if an aluminum bodied Kirkham is in your budget - that would be a cool shop to visit. I'm not sure what your intent is (kit, partially built, turnkey) but with ERA for example, you can order any level of "finish" from 100% assemble it yourself to a full turnkey. Same with Unique. There are shops that will assemble cars for you as well and people like Levy Racing who sells turnkey FFR roadsters and Coupes. There are also a lot of outstanding used cars available that represent excellent value as a lot of "cobraphiles" are closet collectors and don't drive their cars very much. I almost bought a 7 year old "used" ERA FIA car that had only like 700 miles on it - but the seller decided not to sell, and was ordering a second car (a GT40) to park along side of it. I know of one ERA 427 SC for sale right now in the low $40's and there are quite a few Superformance cobras available - check out www.cobracountry.com to get an idea of what is out there, with which options, for how much $$$$$. You will see aluminum bodied CSX cars for $125K and good quality glass bodied cars of all makes from the $30's to the $60's. Researching cobras is fun!!!!! Enjoy.

[cscobra]

I agree with 767jockey--the ERA website is a great source of information about replicas in general and ERA in particular. I've even seen posts in this forum about people using the ERA assembly manual to aid them in the assembly of non-ERA replicas. That's saying something.

[Dingocooke]

its not really a question with a definitive answer as far as I can see; its a bit like asking whats the best girlfriend or the best meal; the answer is the one you really fancy at the time; just remember you might fancy something different later!! A good thought to have in your mind right now is always think how youre going to dispose of your dream before you even buy it; that way youre less likely to pay over the odds or commit to something you really shouldnt have.

Just my two pence (cents)

Have fun whatever you choose!!