Looking to buy my first Cobra 427 S/C in Oz

[Dominik]

I took a mould of the only Contemporary which was in SA. Quite authentic, except for the drawn down front fenders to clear the XK-E suspension with wheels. Actually, SPF used that same car for their very first Cobras.

Supply is bad though even if it is my own mould, for a few reasons.

And would advise you to buy an original chassis from the former Hi-Tech owner in USA (NOT Superformance, which is also called hi-tek).

I look him up if you want to got that route.

Fitting a motor shouldn't be a concern. Buy or rent a cherry picker :-)

[CobraAddict]

Originally Posted by Dominik

I took a mould of the only Contemporary which was in SA. Quite authentic, except for the drawn down front fenders to clear the XK-E suspension with wheels. Actually, SPF used that same car for their very first Cobras.

Supply is bad though even if it is my own mould, for a few reasons.

And would advise you to buy an original chassis from the former Hi-Tech owner in USA (NOT Superformance, which is also called hi-tek).

I look him up if you want to got that route.

Fitting a motor shouldn't be a concern. Buy or rent a cherry picker :-)

If you do have the details of the ex Hi-Tech owner I would be happy to contact him. As I menyioned I am investigating all options as so that when I do eventually make a decision it will be as informed as possible !

Why do you recomend his chassis over SP? If he is the ex-owner I would imagine they would be the same or very similar !?

[Dominik]

I PM'd him in the other forum. His Name is Tom.

A bit of history:
Tom ran a company called Hi-Tech in the early 90, building original chassis in the US.

Hi-Tec (spelling?) Automotive in South Africa, at a first glance, has nothing to do with Tom.
They build SPF since the mid 90s and Shelby since 2006(?). You can't buy parts from them, only complete rollers.

Tom still builds the odd chassis in the US and he does a much better job than I do in SA.
Basically, you get what you pay for :-)

And, if someone here can help me out, Bruce also builds original chassis in the US. And there is a third one, also in the US. I check for that source.

I sent you a PM with my mail address because historically, since a handful of years, I battle to log in here. You find more under the Scratchbuilders forum where we discussed chassis builds.

To recap, I have a chassis here in Cape Town based on the Cobra Restorers drawings, I have the mould from the Contemporary. My chassis is ready to the point to take a fibre body, but I compromised a bit on originality.

I am also completing a LHD based on the same chassis.

[CobraAddict]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll see if I can track Tom down in the 'Scratchbuilders' forum

[CobraAddict]

In my continued die hard quest to get something as authentic as possible, yet not buy a continuation car which I question how authentic they are anyway, I have decided to try to emulate one particular car I found which I love that has pretty much everything I want in a reproduction. Yes its Guardsman Blue too !

CSX3045 is the look I think I want most and hopefully if I can source a good 427 FE side oiler and 4 speed top loader (pretty surer I've found a couple of sources in the US) and stick them in a Superformance chassis I think I will have found the right balance is new vs old for a fair and reasonable outlay. It sold for around $2.2 Mill back in 2015 at Sotheby's (Amelia Island) in March 2015 so I'm assuming that the car world considers this a pretty genuine item. At least that’s the theory now. I may yet completely change my mind but that’s where I am at now

[alffie]

Iam assuming you dont want to get it full rego? only way a 427fe will pass is on full lpg. The only 427 option for rego is the LS7

[xb-60]

Beautiful car, that one. 3045 was painted Guardsman Blue when in George Stauffer's care, and it was then restored and "refinished in bright blue metallic" according to the Registry. I think Guardsman Blue is slightly more smoky in appearance, less "metallic" looking.

Cheers,
Glen

[CobraAddict]

Originally Posted by alffie

Iam assuming you dont want to get it full rego? only way a 427fe will pass is on full lpg. The only 427 option for rego is the LS7

Yes obsolutely. I am only planning to ever have it on 'Club Permit' here in Victoria, Australia. This way I believe I have far greater freedom to get the car that I want.

[CobraAddict]

Originally Posted by xb-60

Beautiful car, that one. 3045 was painted Guardsman Blue when in George Stauffer's care, and it was then restored and "refinished in bright blue metallic" according to the Registry. I think Guardsman Blue is slightly more smoky in appearance, less "metallic" looking.

Cheers,
Glen

Oh really so this picture which is from the 2015 auction is NOT Guardsman Blue? So hard to tell in pictures. Is this then more a 'Royal Blue'?

Can anyone here confirm just what colour this car currently is. Possibly a paint code?

[alffie]

Originally Posted by CobraAddict

Yes obsolutely. I am only planning to ever have it on 'Club Permit' here in Victoria, Australia. This way I believe I have far greater freedom to get the car that I want.

That means you can only drive it on club sponsored events, and limited trips per year.

[CobraAddict]

No not at all. Many years ago this was the case where it had to be a club event or for the purposes of testing the car after a tune up for example. It also included a limit of 8,000km on the allowable max distance travelled per year however today the rules are allot more liberal. I had my previous Alfa Montreal and Ferrari 348ts both on CP and there was not a worry in the world driving them whenever I wanted to.

If you look up 'Club Permits' under VICROADS you get the following information.

Driving on a club permit in Victoria

You can buy either a 45 day or 90 day permit. This means, means you can use your club permit vehicle for that many days per year, but you must keep a log book of all your trips.

A club permit vehicle may be driven by anyone (including learner permit holders) who holds the applicable licence category for the vehicle, unless legally as a 'driver under instruction'

Club permit holders must:

ensure that the vehicle is only used for private use and is not used for commercial use
ensure they are familiar with their particular club’s requirements for club permit holders
ensure they are familiar with the log book requirements
maintain their vehicles in a manner which ensures that the vehicle is in a 'safe' condition for use on a highway
present their vehicle for periodic safety checks if prescribed by their club, or in the case of street rods, if prescribed by the Australian Street Rod Federation
maintain financial membership of the club at all times whilst holding a club permit
ensure that the log book and permit is carried in the vehicle at all times the vehicle is in use
ensure that the number plate(s) and windscreen label as issued by us are correctly displayed on the vehicle at all times when the vehicle is in use.

Club permit vehicles may be driven throughout all states and territories provided that the vehicle complies with Victorian requirements for the holding of the club permit.


The trips themselves can be pretty much anything short of going to work and back each day I guess !

[alffie]

Originally Posted by CobraAddict

No not at all. Many years ago this was the case where it had to be a club event or for the purposes of testing the car after a tune up for example. It also included a limit of 8,000km on the allowable max distance travelled per year however today the rules are allot more liberal. I had my previous Alfa Montreal and Ferrari 348ts both on CP and there was not a worry in the world driving them whenever I wanted to.

If you look up 'Club Permits' under VICROADS you get the following information.

Driving on a club permit in Victoria

You can buy either a 45 day or 90 day permit. This means, means you can use your club permit vehicle for that many days per year, but you must keep a log book of all your trips.

A club permit vehicle may be driven by anyone (including learner permit holders) who holds the applicable licence category for the vehicle, unless legally as a 'driver under instruction'

Club permit holders must:

ensure that the vehicle is only used for private use and is not used for commercial use
ensure they are familiar with their particular club’s requirements for club permit holders
ensure they are familiar with the log book requirements
maintain their vehicles in a manner which ensures that the vehicle is in a 'safe' condition for use on a highway
present their vehicle for periodic safety checks if prescribed by their club, or in the case of street rods, if prescribed by the Australian Street Rod Federation
maintain financial membership of the club at all times whilst holding a club permit
ensure that the log book and permit is carried in the vehicle at all times the vehicle is in use
ensure that the number plate(s) and windscreen label as issued by us are correctly displayed on the vehicle at all times when the vehicle is in use.

Club permit vehicles may be driven throughout all states and territories provided that the vehicle complies with Victorian requirements for the holding of the club permit.


The trips themselves can be pretty much anything short of going to work and back each day I guess !

WOW why would anyone waste there time and money getting full vic rego? CP 10th the price and same privileges! and you dont have to comply with any adr's
Up here club rego limited to club events, no night trips, certain amount of trips outside of club sponsored. and definitely no interstate trips
nothing like you have there!

[CobraAddict]

Originally Posted by alffie

WOW why would anyone waste there time and money getting full vic rego? CP 10th the price and same privileges! and you dont have to comply with any adr's
Up here club rego limited to club events, no night trips, certain amount of trips outside of club sponsored. and definitely no interstate trips
nothing like you have there!

Certainly that’s my opinion as well, at least in Victoria. I own a 2004 Ferrari 360 Spider and I would have it on a CP in a heartbeat if I could however the car needs to be at least 25 years old to qualify so I have a few years to go yet.

I had my previous cars, a 1974 Alfa Montreal and a 1992 Ferrari 348ts on CP for 20 odd years between them and I have never once been pulled up by the cops to check my log book. I pretty much drove on any sunny day I could to just about any destination unabated and at a fraction of the cost of normal rego and insurance.
As you suggested the rego is about 1/10 normal full registration and your comprehensive insurance goes down to at least a quarter or more as well. It’s a bit of mucking around getting it set up for the first time requiring club membership, a road worthy certificate and the signature of the Club Secretary on several bits of paper but once it done and you have the plates it’s easy to keep going.
The only downside is you ‘cannot’ get customised plates on a CP which has always been a bone of contention. The Ferrari club lobbied extensively to get this changed and the end result was that the system that runs the production and tracking of the CP plate register is a completely separate part of VicRoads compared to your standard rego plates and, so we were told, they are waiting on state funding to upgrade the computer system and software they use so it can include and track personalised plates. As yet they have not received any state funding for the upgrade so we are stuck using the old ‘outdated’ system which can only generate the one type and colour plate.

One thing for sure your description of how it is in the NT just goes to show how it differs from state to state so I certainly cant vouch for anyone else in the other states but boy your rules appear truly draconian. But then you guys in the NT have always done things a little different than the rest of us.

Maybe it’s just another part of the fallout from the now famous ‘NT Cannonball Runs’. So famous there for a while until its unfortunate and tragic demise Maybe that was a catalyst that tightened up all the road rules across the board for you guys

[CobraAddict]

Has anyone ever tried to simply import a US Cobra into Australia? There are sooooo many really good looking cars in the US at really good prices compared to what is available in Oz.

However from what I can understand of the ADR laws they 'would not' qualify as a 'Pre-1989' build car and therefore be subject to the full force of our ADR regulations.

Has anyone had a go?

[alffie]

Originally Posted by CobraAddict

Has anyone ever tried to simply import a US Cobra into Australia? There are sooooo many really good looking cars in the US at really good prices compared to what is available in Oz.

However from what I can understand of the ADR laws they 'would not' qualify as a 'Pre-1989' build car and therefore be subject to the full force of our ADR regulations.

Has anyone had a go?

if you put on club rego its not a problem, all the problems are when you want full rego, then adrs and things become an issue. import it in parts then re assemble here put on cp no problems, pay your 10% gst 5% duty and you are away

[alffie]

Originally Posted by CobraAddict

Certainly that’s my opinion as well, at least in Victoria. I own a 2004 Ferrari 360 Spider and I would have it on a CP in a heartbeat if I could however the car needs to be at least 25 years old to qualify so I have a few years to go yet.

I had my previous cars, a 1974 Alfa Montreal and a 1992 Ferrari 348ts on CP for 20 odd years between them and I have never once been pulled up by the cops to check my log book. I pretty much drove on any sunny day I could to just about any destination unabated and at a fraction of the cost of normal rego and insurance.
As you suggested the rego is about 1/10 normal full registration and your comprehensive insurance goes down to at least a quarter or more as well. It’s a bit of mucking around getting it set up for the first time requiring club membership, a road worthy certificate and the signature of the Club Secretary on several bits of paper but once it done and you have the plates it’s easy to keep going.
The only downside is you ‘cannot’ get customised plates on a CP which has always been a bone of contention. The Ferrari club lobbied extensively to get this changed and the end result was that the system that runs the production and tracking of the CP plate register is a completely separate part of VicRoads compared to your standard rego plates and, so we were told, they are waiting on state funding to upgrade the computer system and software they use so it can include and track personalised plates. As yet they have not received any state funding for the upgrade so we are stuck using the old ‘outdated’ system which can only generate the one type and colour plate.

One thing for sure your description of how it is in the NT just goes to show how it differs from state to state so I certainly cant vouch for anyone else in the other states but boy your rules appear truly draconian. But then you guys in the NT have always done things a little different than the rest of us.

Maybe it’s just another part of the fallout from the now famous ‘NT Cannonball Runs’. So famous there for a while until its unfortunate and tragic demise Maybe that was a catalyst that tightened up all the road rules across the board for you guys

admittedly the crash at cannonball did cause a few dramas. But up here we have realistic people in government who actually like modified cars and have a realistic attitude. They will accept icvs with engineers reports without arguing with there approved delegates. there biggest hurdle is emission controls, so once you engineer certifies your car meets emissions and noise tests you are ok, live side pipes are legal here so long as meet adr 37-00.
mine does just 78db at idle 90 at 3k adr 37-00 is 91db so basicly for me full rego was better than club rego as i can drive anywhere anytime no problem. and being the first LS7 427 cobra registed in Australia was cool aswell

[KDubU]

Originally Posted by CobraAddict

In my continued die hard quest to get something as authentic as possible, yet not buy a continuation car which I question how authentic they are anyway, I have decided to try to emulate one particular car I found which I love that has pretty much everything I want in a reproduction. Yes its Guardsman Blue too !

CSX3045 is the look I think I want most and hopefully if I can source a good 427 FE side oiler and 4 speed top loader (pretty surer I've found a couple of sources in the US) and stick them in a Superformance chassis I think I will have found the right balance is new vs old for a fair and reasonable outlay. It sold for around $2.2 Mill back in 2015 at Sotheby's (Amelia Island) in March 2015 so I'm assuming that the car world considers this a pretty genuine item. At least that’s the theory now. I may yet completely change my mind but that’s where I am at now

That definitely does not look like Guardsman on my iPhone but colours do appear different on any computer, phone, etc. I agree that Guardsman is “more Smokey” as I cannot think of another way describe. Remember most colours look great on these cars and there are so many blues to choose from.

Also remember Shelby’s team played around with colours in the originals so some blues may be custom blended.

[xb-60]

I wanted to have my 289 in Viking Blue, but relying on information from the '60s as to the codes and formulations didn't sit well enough with me. I spoke with Trevor Legate about paint colours, and he told me which particular picture in one of his books was the closest to Viking Blue....and then I looked for a late-ish model car that matched the picture colour, and got the paint code from that. Took a while, but I'm happy with that colour on my car.

All part of the "journey"!

Cheers,
Glen

[spookypt]

Originally Posted by CobraAddict

Has anyone ever tried to simply import a US Cobra into Australia? There are sooooo many really good looking cars in the US at really good prices compared to what is available in Oz.

However from what I can understand of the ADR laws they 'would not' qualify as a 'Pre-1989' build car and therefore be subject to the full force of our ADR regulations.

Has anyone had a go?

Yep you can do it as long as you can prove the car was built before 89. There's a few Contemporary's that fit that bill but its tricky to get all the docs approved for import prior to buying it. There are pre 89 cars here on full rego (aka the contemporary that was used in part on the AP cars) BUT from your inference you're asking can post 89 built cars come in based on that rule. Some did come in as 65's pre 2010 but that little scam got cracked down on and now if those cars havent been brought in to current alignment then their days are numbered as the DOT will canary them and expect full compliance. And so they should.

Most of the question you seek info on have been discussed well before. Google is your friend. This Forum was amazing for many many years and an awesome reference point for those who come up against the same questions most have...but a lot have gone to FB now as this one kept crashing. Seems good now and my preference has always been this site tbh.

I think you're looking for a UNICORN based on your spec. You can have a horse or a Rhino but a horse with the horn is only for those who can really afford one. You will find the Oz Cobra community is ridiculously small and connected so always best to keep comments + even if you think otherwise. We all have our preferences. Good luck, if you find 2 unicorns I'll happy take the other off your hands. Been doing this for nearly 20 years and finding the perfect configuration of originality, compliance, legality and technology and desirability are all challenges yet perfected.

If you want old school, 428 left hooker, patina and full compliance buy STEF GRECO's car. He's in Sydney. Its not for sale but could be. Google is your friend.

[spookypt]

Stef’s car