How hard is it really?

[brewjitsu]

Treeve thank you for your input. When you say two distinct sides of the fence is that in relation to the kit and ease of assembling or other issues? I have read some other things and know someone personally that has spoken to me. Just want clarification re ease of assembly. Cheers

[PeterAllen]

You're asking questions which are dependent on many many variables.

Are you the type of chap who will bang the head of of a nickle plated bolt with a ball-peen hammer to drive it into position or, would you use a sacrificial bolt to align the components and then an impact attenuation pad to protect the new bolt during final assemble?

One will take four times longer than the other to complete a build.

I'll be blunt to be honest. If you have to ask these questions you're not cut out for it. I state that in your interest.

[Modena]

Unfortunately the answer to your original question is, it depends on YOU, and not individual experiences.

People's responses here are largely driven by what they experienced, and largely this is irrelevant to you because everyone has a different skill level and experience. If one person said "it's really hard" it does not mean you will find it hard - same goes for the bloke who says "its pretty easy" - doesn't mean it will be easy for you, and for your skill set and experiences.

Perhaps try to think of it like this, forget that it's a Cobra for the moment; let's say you had a large garage area, and a fairly simple vehicle, say a HQ Holden, was completely disassembled and sitting in the garage area.

You have SOME level of instructions (amount varies by vendor).
You have most of the tools you will need, but you WILL need to buy some.

Would you be able to put the car together completely and finally, and safely drive it down the road?

If with full instructions, you could do this, then you can build a Pace.

One last thought, how hard do you want to make it? As you delve more into Cobra's will find that not only are no two alike, but they are all personalised. How personalised do you want to make this? You might not like the way a supplied wiring loom is designed, and choose to make your own. You might not like the sidepipes that a supplier might have, and choose to make your own.

[Treeve]

I would say that given the number of guys I’ve met with no previous skill set that it is do-able if you have a network of friends with skills, tools and a willingness to provide both. You also need to understand that some things will cost and many, many jobs will be done 5+ times in a build. Get used to putting the engine in, then taking it out again. Then doing it again. Do you have an engine crane? No? Well you can hire one. Great. Hiring one five times can be a pain in the arse, you’ll have to have used a trailer / ute to collect it and unload it and take it back each time, and the cost to hire 5 times would be what it cost to buy it in the first place. I justified buying one on the basis that it’s cheaper than physio for a disc injury. And you’d be surprised the uses you find for it after that.
But this is a fairly major tool with a pretty focussed use. You’ll be building a car. Do you have an engine stand? You might be able to leave the crate enginenin the crate, but what about in the other 4 times you take it out when it’s connected to a gearbox? Do you have acres of storage space for panels and parts? A parts washer? Will you only buy new or refurbish older parts? Can you rebuild brakes / put seal kits through them? Do you enjoy playing with 12V electrical stuff? I know I don’t, so it takes me forever - I persevere so that I can learn and so I can understand the pitfalls my customers face. Even stuff like ‘do you know where to buy good quality electrical connectors?’ Or do you plan on buying 20packs of spade connectors and scotch locks from Supercheap? (Please don’t ever use scotch locks on anything, they’re rubbish).
Only you know your skill set, desire to learn, ability to get things done and desire to do it yourself. Possibly contact manufacturers to see what their support is like.
In terms of two sides of the fence I was commenting on brands - some people are strongly supportive of a brand and some people are strongly counter to that brand, with seemingly little in between.
Treeve

[just dreamin]

Just to confuse the reader somewhat more, may I suggest you appraise/inspect existing cars that are for sale in South OZ. There are three cars listed on car sales.com under the AC heading ranging from 60 to 140 big $$$$. I presume they are registered in this state for that sort of money.
Looking at these and others may help you decide if you really can do better at building what you want? Whether you really want to build one for your own reasons or if it was a bad idea in the first place.
Its really all up to you.

[twobjshelbys]

There are some excellent points by Treeve and others about the investment needed just to do a build. You don't do a build like this to save money since the front end investment in tools will exceed your savings on a kit. And if you're inexperienced and don't have slave labor (kids) to help with many of the two-man portions, then you'll be way behind.

Buy someone elses unfinished kit and let us know how it goes.

[Treeve]

Yeah, buy my GT40. I've got 3 other cars to finish first. Far out, do I really have that many projects? That's depressing.

[Jaydee]

One of the Cars on car sales is mine. Out of desperation I have to sell mine. I've only just finished it. As a mechanic it still had a lot of headaches. Like Treeve said, pulling the engine in and out several times, fitting of brackets, making brackets, supports, taking the dash out several times. Then you have to hire a car trailer several times to put it on the dyno to get the emissions checked, then you have to hire a race track to road test for brakes and handling. Paying the engineer everytime. Passing the noise test. Obviously I sound biassed because I want to sell mine but I think all will agree with me, that's why many kits doesn't get finished. Getting your ambition and capability mixed up. That's how I got mine and saved a bit in doing so. So the easiest way is still the pace, but the price of the complete kit will set you back a lot more then most second hand Cobras. Have a chat with Deano.
Good luck in your choice and keep asking questions.
JD

[Modena]

Sounds rough Jaydee. I don't know why you hired a trailer for an emissions test when you could just get an unregistered vehicle permit? And your engineer needed a race track? The engineer a lot of Melbourne people use doesn't have such a requirement.

[Jaydee]

At the time I wasn't comfortable with the brake set up, and my engineer used a airfield runway near goolwa. But other engineers use a race track. I still had to pay to use the airport. What do they use in Melbourne to test the car?
JD

[Gav]

A back street when they did mine!

[Dimis]

Boxhead - on this forum has a signature tag line that resonates with me, I thought it may also with you:

"Never be afraid to do something new, Remember, Amateurs built the Ark: Professionals built the Titanic."


My experience was limited to building a Caterham, Kombi, Mini Cooper, and a Ferrari (all in lego format). Other than that I tinker with bicycles. I got mine done. I did need some expert help. There's no shame in admitting ones limitations.

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by Dimis

Boxhead - on this forum has a signature tag line that resonates with me, I thought it may also with you:

"Never be afraid to do something new, Remember, Amateurs built the Ark: Professionals built the Titanic."


My experience was limited to building a Caterham, Kombi, Mini Cooper, and a Ferrari (all in lego format). Other than that I tinker with bicycles. I got mine done. I did need some expert help. There's no shame in admitting ones limitations.

All very good words mate.

We all learn something new everyday.

Gary

[brewjitsu]

Wow thank you everyone there are some really valid points here and some I had not thought about too much.
I would be lying if I said didn't feel as though perhaps I'm not up to the job. I do think that if I put my mind to it I could do it but I guess there are 2 main concerns I have.
1) I'm not super patient and I think this is going to take me a long time with my limited free time of having a professional job and young family
2) Space. That is going to be my biggest stumbling block. If I were to build a shed or extend the garage I think the money that I would spend on doing that as well as the tools I will need is going to all but negate any savings that would be made and that was the major motivator for wanting to building it myself.
There is no rush so I will continue to think and read information on this forum and look to meet up with the Cobra Club here in Adelaide.

Once again thank you all for your input it has been very helpful.

[deano59]

you are more than welcome to come around and look at my pace if you like to give you a idea on how well a flat pack cobra can go together im at munno para west if your nearby ..you can ring me on 0402258352 cheers dean

[boxhead]

Having space to build it is paramount, a tight space means you will spend half your time pulling stuff out and putting it away.

A lack of patience also will be detrimental to building a car.

If you already had the garage space (sadly sounds like you don't) I would suggest buying a kit and having a crack, if it all goes pair shaped, you may decide to pay someone to do the job for you (this would negate the savings made by doing it yourself, but the hours spent building the car can be put into another job to cover the cost)
I will be relocating to SA (Mount Gambier region) in mid/late September, I will be offering services to build kit cars (not trying to drum up business but letting you know), I have built my own Cobra and I have also built an award winning other make brand car, I consider my skill set to be more than high enough to build a car, but sadly I cant do anything when it comes to IT tech stuff.
We all have skills in different areas.

Easiest kit to build I think most would agree is PACE, I have no current feedback but parts supply in a timely manor was an issue they had (but I am talking more than 12 months ago now), that may have been addressed.

I am seriously contemplating buying a PACE kit to assemble and sell once I do relocate, just to see how easy/hard they are to do.

A kit such as a CR one will require a little more lateral thinking and parts hunting than a PACE, (I personally love my CR so I am biased), but the company has a new owner and my understanding is that the quality is improving, that may include the quality of build manual.

A big determining factor will be rego, Currently in SA although there is a club permit scheme, the authorities will not recognize a replica car as the year its intended to look (ie Cobra is mid 60's, but compliance/build date would be the year you build it).
Club rego has a rolling 30 year cut off date, word is people are trying to have replica's included, but as of right now it isn't.

Its a lot to think about, but research and planning will go a long way to help you decide if you are capable (at the end of the day none of us know your skill set, so only you can determine if you can do it).

Spend the time to really study and think.

[brewjitsu]

Dean I really appreciate the offer and would love to come see your Cobra and chat. Will call you soon.

Boxhead that is good to know. I get through Mt G 4 times per year so if I did go that route I would certainly give you a call and have a chat. Would be fun having a nice drive home after picking it up

[Rob. Smith]

I have a second Cobra. Another bloke owns it. He has no idea of construction. He had a go and got it registered. ( I still don't know how) Any way I have literally rewired, rebuilt the brakes and sorted the fuel system. Modified the seats to fit and replaced the ignition system. We have to modify the exhaust and suspension as well as the door hinges yet. If you find a local sucker like me ... treat them nice and never let them go !