Intro

[Chris C]

Hi Guys
My name is Chris and Im new to the forum and just looking to learn a bit about building a Cobra replica. Hope I havent put my 1st post in the wrong section?thanks Chris

[Rog246]

Well welcome Chris.
You'll find this place full of both useful and helpfull information as well as a bunch of blokes & ladies who are willing to give advice. Some you'll use and some you might choose to ignore. What you will find is a great bunch of people who all have an opinion....which you might find useful or choose to ignore
There are some great S**T stirrers here and some not so great s**t stirrers, and some are just stirrers either way you'll have a lot of fun.
I hope that your chosen power plant isn't from the the DARK SIDE like SOME HERE and choose to go the way of the Gods of Speed

Have you decided whether you're gunna make one or just buy one. Either way it will be an unforgetable experience for you.
have fun
Rog

[Merv and Sharon]

Hi Chris and welcome. If you are committed to building one, the state that you live in will have some bearing on the options. Also there are lots of already built ones that could bought and be improved.

Lots of info available!

[OZCOBRA]

Welcome to what is our.... "THE CIRCUS OZ!!!!"
..... As the others have said enjoy and ASK questions to avoid a lot of heart ache and pain to your wallet!!
Where are you??
All the best for your chosen build!! .... OZ

And have just noticed your in WA.!!!!!!

[Gav]

Originally Posted by Rog246

Well welcome Chris.
You'll find this place full of both useful and helpfull information as well as a bunch of blokes & ladies who are willing to give advice. Some you'll use and some you might choose to ignore. What you will find is a great bunch of people who all have an opinion....which you might find useful or choose to ignore
There are some great S**T stirrers here and some not so great s**t stirrers, and some are just stirrers either way you'll have a lot of fun.
I hope that your chosen power plant isn't from the the DARK SIDE like SOME HERE and choose to go the way of the Gods of Speed

Have you decided whether you're gunna make one or just buy one. Either way it will be an unforgetable experience for you.
have fun
Rog

An engine from the gods of speed?
If the nationals are anything to go by, that would relate to either a chev or Toyota power plant?

[Gav]

I can't believe that in the first reply was a reference to how insecure the ford guys are.

[Merv and Sharon]

And King Cobra 2012 had a Holden motor? I missed that. Seriously though the new LS 7 motor is a also a good one in Cobras by all reports.

[macloft]

Welcome Chris to the real mans facebook
Anyway u do what turns your buttons and don't worry about what these guys think. Fifty% will agree and 50% wont. But they have lots of advise which is great.
Bruce

[400TT]

Welcome Chris, you have certainly come to the right place. Enjoy your time here and good luck with your journey.

[spookypt]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

And King Cobra 2012 had a Holden motor? I missed that. Seriously though the new LS 7 motor is a also a good one in Cobras by all reports.

Merv your going to have to come to the Nats and participate to get any mileage on that debate I reckon. I'm sure Gav and others would love to test out your ford v chev argument. The chev e engined guys are stout performers.

I reckon if we could have as much fun at the nats in a Prius we'd all be driving em. Well maybe not......

Perhaps Merv for the nats 20th anniversary next year you should put together a group of sunny coast crew to come down? It's a great trip and it'd be ace to see more qlds attend.

[Merv and Sharon]

No debate Matt. I have nothing to prove to anyone. And old 'stir', but always a good one. There are a few up north of here keen to go down, but if they could only drag Goulburn a 1000ks north ... there would be many more I suspect. From here, is more than double the distance, that it is from Melb and Sydney to Goulburn. However, this topic has been well explored before and the NSW Club does a great job at a great location for most.

For me, the timing of the Nats always seems to conflict with one of my bi-annual barra' fishing weeks with old mates in the NT. Nothing gets in the way of that.

However, your suggestion re the 20years is a good one that we should focus on.

Chris - this is your thread we seem to be stealing here. Which State are you in and which Cobras have you seen so far?

[byroncobra]

you blokes have scared him away..............one post wonder!!

[Chris C]

Originally Posted by byroncobra

you blokes have scared him away..............one post wonder!!

Not quite, when our man Casey came good the other weekend the boys got a travelling party together and chased him thru Asia for his swansong.

You guys obviously all know each other well and being from the dark side as a kid I feel I can honestly say I dont have a preference either way.

Seems from the very little research I have done that the LS is very well accepted in the community in these cars, which I must admit coming into it, a little bit of a surprise.

I'll just keep a low profile and try not to ask too many stupid questions.
Cheers
Chris

[Aussie Mike]

Don't be shy. We're really a friendly bunch despite the banter. Ask as many questions as you like. If it stimulates healthy discussion and info sharing then it's all good.

I'm probably one of the early adopters of an LS motor in Cobras. There weren't many around when I started building mine but there's been plenty built since. I got quite a few negative comments in the early days but eventually most people see the merit in the motor design. There's even quite a few that have switched camps in the years since.

With the relaxing of the emissions rules there are a few more options open to you. You can put a late model Windsor motor in if you want to.

Any of the options out there (And there's plenty of them) will supply more power than you'll know what to do with. I think we get a bit hung up on numbers some times.

We haven't even started talking Lexus motors with turbos or the new 5.0 Coyote Ford...

eventually the engine choice will come down to a few factors.

1. what you can afford or are prepared to spend.
2. what you personally like (It's your car after all).
3. what you can get through rego.
Generally option 1 controls options 2 and 3 and you'll cycle through a few times.

Don't forget that what might seem cheap now can work out expensive later. An old AU3 5.0 Windsor with 200,00 on the clock from the wreckers may be a bargain at $2K but having to rebuild it a year later for another $4K probably makes it less atractive than a new crate motor for $6K with a waranty.

The LS motor reprsents good bang for buck in a compact lightweight package that fits neatly into a Cobra engine bay. Engine management is easy to set up with penty of aftermarket support from people and busineses who have done conversions already.

For example you can buy nearly everything from the factory for the conversion. GM Performance Parts supply looms and most bits you would need.

The new fords are also starting to get represented in the aftermarket as I think Ford is trying to tap into the hot rod market that the LS has grabbed a big chunk of.

Cheers

[boxhead]

Welcome along Chris, there are no stupid questions.

You will get many varied opinions on what to do and the way to do it.

But your first question needs to be
"What do I want out of the car"

By that I mean, are you chasing full rego, or happy with club rego and the limits imposed on usage under this scheme?

Then approach the relevant authorities to where you live and go from there.

Enjoy the ride and have fun, after all, they are just grown up Matchbox cars.

[ICETOO]

Hey welcome Chris, the heartbeat of America is a great value for money option, especially with a modern build, but my own preference is for the sound of a sixties style pushrod ford V8, with the correct firing order through some live pipes...just my preference though, but you got to do the math, have a look at some of the guys and gals cars, go to some meets and "scratch and sniff"(not the duco though ) for what you really have the feel for, and you can pick up a tonne of good intel.

Everyone will have their own preference, but remember your investment is your car, so you pay , your say

I do not think these cars are going to get easier to get across the line, but WA is a lot more build friendly than NSW, and there are a few unreal WA cars up for sale on the board too!

[Tengu]

G'day Chris, best of luck if you decide to build. As others have said, look around a fair bit before you settle on a choice. If you can get some drives in a few, even better. There are so many choices out there, I guess the first thought is what you want your cobra to be, a kit car with a wide variety of options, or a reproduction of the original with its inherent limitations. I chose old school and bought an American build, because I wanted an original but couldn't find one I liked for the right price. It drives like a 1960s roadster and I love it. But jump into a modern kit and some of them are awesome with performance and handling that is hard to ignore. If you go old school, BBF is the way to go, modern school, the sky's the limit. It's obvious from his forum that chev engines are a very good and acceptable choice, even Lexus (haven't heard of a Mazda rotary cobra yet, that would be interesting)
Instead of reinventing the wheel, find a cobra you really like and either buy it, or use that car as the basis for your project, rather that make it up as you go along.
I lack knowledge of Aus kits, but there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum, make sure you take up member's offers of advice. Don't think your question are stupid, we've all asked them at some stage. Oh..and research, research, research !!!

[Tengu]

Haha, sorry for the typos, derrr...back to school for me ..