What is with a COBRA?

[big-boss]

What is with a Cobra? Why do we like these cars? Is it the hunt for the cool parts? Driving fast? The way it looks? Comrodey with fellow Cobra guys? What do you think?

Me: It is the combination of building the car and succesfully compleating a journey/ experience- voyage if you may.

[jhv48]

It's a mega blast from the past for me!

No fuel injection, windows, power anything, climate control, ABS, traction control, etc. etc.

A real man's car. Uncomfortable and scary!

Wimps need not apply!

[elmariachi]

Well this is just me, but its been a progression. As a poor Oklahoma farmboy I saw an original red CSX sell at a Kruse auction in Oklahoma City for $275k. I was astounded at how it looked and sounded and how utterly barbaric it was, not to mention the price. I still remember the guy accidentally dumping the clutch going up the stage ramp and it ripping 20 yards of red carpet off of the stage. Some 30 years, 2 Porsches, 3 Vettes, 2 big honkin' offshore powerboats and a couple Harley's later, it dawned on me to get it on before I was too old to roll around on the garage floor. I have just finished mine (it literally just got its first bath last night) and am still dealing with a pissed off neighbor, getting my carb mixture right and healing the wounds on my sore hands. But for me its the convergance of the boyhood dream, coupled with the accomplishment of sourcing all the parts (including the barnfind '66 side oiler) and having the money/talent/patience/fortitude to build it all myself.

[DocDirk]

When I lived near San Diego and attended UC I roomed with my best friend who owned a convertible XKE which purred like a kitty and vrooooomed like a rocket! Friday nights he let me take his car on dates while he preferred my Renault R-10 (curtains and fully reclining seats...cough, cough!).

I have always cherished the memories of roaring around in that wonderful car, and since then driven a host of "normal-mobiles". A couple of years ago I realized I wouldn't be living forever ...doh! and started a search for an opportunity to drive such a vehicle but with my own signature on it... the cobra kit build appealed as I could customize it, it had very sexy curves and the GROWL to go with them. It was my intention to build it with my son but his impatience got in the way (...what...two weekends and it's not done yet??)

Sometimes I feel like it's my "Superman" trip...I go to work in my suit and tie, driving my sedate and comfortable, quiet Lincoln Towncar - then evenings and weekends roar out of the driveway with my cape flying behind me ... yahooooooooooooo!!!!

Dirk

[Cobra #3170]

I used to be a Chevy guy through and through, in 1963 I bought a split window sting ray with cermatalic brakes, fuel injection and racing suspension, it did not have the 42 gallon gas tank but it was like the first Z06 in every other way. I thought it was pretty fast until I ran against a guy with a Weber equipped 289 in a time trial at Hanford Speedway he kicked my A## badly. I then heard they were making a 427 version so that was it for me. I ordered my car in April of 1965 from Leslie Motors in Monterey California. I have been a Ford guy ever since and even went to work for them because of that car. Having a car in 1965 that would run in the low 12's in street trim was a big deal then because most muscle cars were in the 14's I raced lots of cars and motor cycles with great success, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

[427 S/O]

Just look at it!!, simply the best looking auto ever built. Nothing else comes close. I get a kick outta' those who try to 'remake' the cobra with some body mods here and there and when their done, it always looks like they should have left well enough alone.

Originally Posted by big-boss

What is with a Cobra? Why do we like these cars? Is it the hunt for the cool parts? Driving fast? The way it looks? Comrodey with fellow Cobra guys? What do you think?.

[joe g]

PURE SEX---the lines, the curves- the sounds, the attention it gets. For many of us-we have wanted one all our lives.
You get in your family car and go for a ride.
You Get in your Cobra and its like a wild animal thats wants to TAKE YOU for ride. A ride in my Cobra makes me forget about lifes worry's.
joeg

[big-boss]

Sort of like a "Time Machine". Takes me back to the day less complecations, less responsibility, less confinements simply no chains. I think that is why I like to drive out in the deserts soo much- sort of like route 66 all over agin. I think it could be life changing for some- like us.

[Silverback51]

The one and only true definition of "Bad A$$".

[MaSnaka]

"The look" when it's sitting in the garage..."The feel" when you sit down behind the wheel... "The sound" when you start it up..."The fun" when you drive down the street ..."The smiles" sharing stories and adventures. Being part of the great community of Cobraheads...priceless!

John

[rollinggeorge]

COBRA......An American Icon

Soon to be outlawed like our guns and religion.
The Golden Age of America. Families, men worked, people were nice, less perversion, wholesome mentality, Rock and Roll....just HAPPY DAYS

Take a good look..An AMERICAN 60's car built to win races
Clean classic design and a motor that Growls with a capital G.

Truly American as Apple pie, Mom, Chevrolet and Baseball.
Remember the Alamo......Rte 66....and soon to be extinct Chevrolet and the demise of Private Capitalism

Our leaders preach Global Warming...fly in Jumbo Jets, polluting at taxpayers expense have plans for us. The next generation smart car...(roller skates)

You don't know what you got till it's gone.

[kobrabytes]

Just unimaginably "bad" in every way:

Too fast, too loud, an attractive nuisance every where I go, smelly exhaust, feet cramped into a little area, burns too much gas, poor milage, hot pipes, and that's just the good stuff!

On the other hand... I have never had a toy I loved so much! A Cobra is rough in every way, exactly the way I like it, simple and elegant. I still get chills every time I start the engine and hear it ROAR to life. I know each trip out will be a new adventure. I can count the trips on one hand where I haven't been waved at, photographed, or meet someone who loves Cobras. A fuel stop is like a mini car show. It has exceeded my expectations by 1000%, and getting to know the Kirkhams has been a true pleasure.

Better than "tits on a ritz" I'd say!

[Dangerous Doug]

I'll tell you something: I just spent the last year getting my 6-year old son through chemotherapy. The strain on him and the family has been catastrophic. Add to that the dismal economic conditions in Silicon Valley, and you've got one bundle of implosive stress. After a while, you just get numb, 'cause all you can do is get through it.

However, when I go out in the garage and fire up my Cobra I get a renewed sense of excitement. When I pull onto the highway in the chill of the morning air, and those side pipes are blaring and the wind is buffeting my leather jacket as I accelerate up the highway, I feel...alive.

DD

[car4jim]

I get a smile everytime I drive through a parking lot.....setting off car alarms along the way. The 482 and side pipes work their magic. Drive along at idle, listen for the chirping....rev it up, works everytime! Car is pure trouble, I love it.

[COBRANIP]

It has a mystique few (if any) other cars have. For me it's what catnip appears to be for cats.

[convincor]

Here's a direct link to the pic if you want to save it.
http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m...aprofile-1.jpg

[Stinson Pilot]

I'm sure most of you have read this:

Driving a Cobra Replica

"If you want to just gas and go, and never have to worry about replacing an alternator, or snuggling down the header bolts, or getting a wet leg driving in a rainstorm, or learning how to set your carb float level, or driving in traffic on a warm winter day with "winter gas" in the tank, get a Corvette. "

With a Cobra Replica you have to remind yourself that you are driving a hand made race car on the street. There is no compromise for anything other than pure speed. These cars are brutal and unforgiving, with all the refinement of a medieval battle ax. Like being in a relationship with an exotic dancer, you can never take anything for granted. These cars don't have millions of miles of testing refinement before you get yours. For any trip longer than an hour, you need earplugs, and goggles, and carry Advil and eye drops. You will need to learn to "read" the clouds for rain in your path, and have experience in unwrapping your frozen fingers from the MotoLita. You will experience lady passengers "wetting" the passenger seat when you merge into traffic from an on ramp, and then nearly burn their calf getting out of the car.


You will have all the invisibility of a burning Hindenburg, and flee from underground parking lots when uncountable car alarms are screaming your departure. When you shop, you will remind yourself that these cars get more attention than a dead body in a parking lot.


With a power to weight ratio better than almost every supercar, you will find your 1/4 mile times traction rather than power limited. On the other hand, when you stage, out of the corner of your helmet's visor you will see almost the entire audience lining up at the fence, most with cameras up. If you track on a road course with a Porsche club, owners of expensive German machines will come to the fence to watch you power out in smoking oversteer. You won't even try to start your engine in the garage, but push it out onto the driveway, else your loyal watch dog will croak from the exhaust fumes. If you idle next to other "sports" cars at a traffic light, by the green, their girlfriend will be coughing green phlegm into her hanky, yelling at her date to just go! When you refuel, you might as well prop the "bonnet" open, because you are going to have to show your motor to just about every other guy there. When you order your wings at Hooters, your waitress will whisper in your ear "take me for a ride." When you stop at the red light, the girl in the convertible next to you will invite you to "take my top off too."


When you slowly pass a troop of Harley riders, they will look over and give you thumbs up. When you want to ease out into traffic, other cars will immediately pause to let you go ahead of them. When your engine has its hot, crackling, intimidating exhaust sidepipe aimed right at the flank of the GTO, or the Z28, your exhaust pulsation's slowly unscrewing his lug nuts, the other car will remain motionless, as if the slightest quiver of his car will cause your car to stomp it dead. When you leave it open in a parking lot, and come back to find your sunglasses and cell phone still sitting on the tunnel, it is because your car has sullenly warned those who came over to admire it "touch me and I will rise up here and kill you dead."


When you put that tiny silver key into the ignition, and begin your start countdown, your car will whisper "take me for granted, and I will kill you."


When other drivers just hop in and snap up their belts while backing out of their parking space, you will still have two more minutes before you even get all the Simpson's properly on and snugged down. Pulling up in a Cobra Replica is like landing an F4U at an ultralite convention.


In summary, very, very few drivers want this kind of attention, or can tolerate all that a formidable Cobra Replica demands. These cars are intolerant mistresses.


But remember, there will come a day when you have to hang up your car keys for the last time. And perhaps you want to say then "I did it."

[trularin]

It is just forking fun!!!



Let's face it, there are wicked bad cars that can turn 8s on the street. They will try their wares everytime you are cruising. But you do not have to do a dang thing...you simply look better than them.

[PFSlim]

The first cobra I saw (that I can remember) was my brother's 428FE Premier Motorsports car. I fell in love right then and there and decided that someday, I had to have one. Only a few months left to go on my build, then no more dreams. Just drives. Can't wait!!

Paul

[CBattaglia]

Originally Posted by Dangerous Doug

I'll tell you something: I just spent the last year getting my 6-year old son through chemotherapy. The strain on him and the family has been catastrophic. Add to that the dismal economic conditions in Silicon Valley, and you've got one bundle of implosive stress. After a while, you just get numb, 'cause all you can do is get through it.

However, when I go out in the garage and fire up my Cobra I get a renewed sense of excitement. When I pull onto the highway in the chill of the morning air, and those side pipes are blaring and the wind is buffeting my leather jacket as I accelerate up the highway, I feel...alive.

DD

Your son will be in our thoughts and prayers. No child should have to go thru that.