b&b kits

[rspears9]

hey guys and gals,im debating on the factory five or b&b kit,i have the 96 cobra that real good shape that i was going to use as a donar,but factory five is i think the only one that has the kit,but i went to the b&b website and they have a special going on,should i just go with the B&B kit and sell my 96 cobra and get the 302 donar car with the cash i get out of my 96,my 96 has a 373 gear, custom superchip for the mods done to my car plus some other things,ive heard alot about ffr,but how is the quality of b&b.please someone respond.

[Jim Werth]

B+Bs quality is great. They have been in business for ever. If they didn't make a quality car they would not still be around. Any specific questions just ask! Jim

[Dusty Rhodes]

I am well pleased with mine B&B and didnt have any backordered parts. The body is great, with little bodywork to have it ready to paint.

[Clois Harlan]

Have you spoken to Bryan or Barry yet? I believe they have a donor kit as well (I think around $10,000.00).

Their kits are extremely well constructed with hand laid fiber glass and cormat (strengthening material in high stress areas) and not chopper gunned. Perhaps the best part of B&B is their service during and after the sale. If you intend to build this kit yourself this aspect could prove invaluable. I believe these guys are two of the most honest and trustworthy individuals in the kit car business. In short, they do what they say they will and when they say will have it done. By choosing a B&B you are not compromising workmanship nor are you buying a bottom feeder kit.

I have owned my B&B for five years and have certainly put it through the paces of street driving and about 4000 miles of racing a year (some of it actually on course) and my car shows no signs of fatigue anywhere. There are lots of more expensive kits out there but I doubt if any are structurally better. Add the components you want based on the way you intend to use your Cobra and you will be very happy.



Clois Harlan

[sirelesar]

rspears,

I completed my B&B about 6 months ago. Clois is absolutely right. Bryan and Berry (and Karen at the phone) are wonderful people to work with. Their kit is very straight forward and relatively easy to put together. This is the first time I have done ANYTHING automobilish, and it was all very straight forward. One thing that was important to me was the 4" drop in the floorboard. I am 6'-4-1/2" and that was important to me. I like the wide rear end, and the lines.

There are several things that I have learned about the differences between B&B and FFR that you may need to know:

1) As far as strength, the B&B is very strong, and you could easily put in a 514 w/ 650+ Hp without frame twist. However, this creates a slightly heavier frame than FFR's. My car weighs in at 2688 full of gas and my 240# A$$ in it It has a 302 w/ aluminum heads, 8.8" rear end w/ a T-5. The weight distribution is a bit odd (47/53), reversed from what you would think. The Left/Right is also somewhat skewed. The right front tire only has 444# of the total 2688 on it. To summarize, if you are in for SERIOUS racing, this weight distribution/total might not be as beneficial for you. I am just an amature, so it works just fine for me. It appears that a larger engine by a couple of 100 pounds would seriously help the distribution. More of the serious racers are using Superformance or FFR. I am not good enough to capitalize on the differences.

2) You will need to inform Bryan and Berry what engine and braking you will want to go with. They asked me right up front, but I was so green, I didn't give it adequate thougth. Think about a double master cylinder for brakes, and consider whether you want to go hydraulic clutch right up front. I am now switching out, which would have been so much easier had I REALLY considered it beforehand.

3) If you are looking for a more "period accurate" car, a Kirkham is probably more of what you are looking for. Albeit, you will pay a lot more, and only the most knowledgeable owner will know the difference. If you are using a donor car, this is irrelevant, as most of the parts you will be using are not period.

Let me close by saying that I love my car. I have really enjoyed working with B&B, and if I were to do it again, I would build a B&B. The price is right, the service is exemplary, and the I like the particular lines of the car.

Hope this helps,
Darren

[JayBar]

I can not speak to anything about a B & B kit, but having built (and sold) a FFR kit I can only point you to www.ffcobra.com.



FFcobra.com it is the most active cobra web site on the web. Follow it for a week. Check out the FAQ's, check out the picutres of builds in progress. When I had a problem during the construction of my FFR I would go to ffcobra.com post my problem and within 20 minutes have three replys from people that have been there and done that. Many times with pictures attached. The user support from other ffowners is second to none and second is far behind.

Even this site clubcobra.com which covers all things Cobra has less than half the activity of ffcobra.com, which is dedicated to only one manufacturer. Check it out you will be educated.

From what I hear the B & B kit may have a better "raw" body but unless you are doing your own body and Paint work I think it is meaningless in the final product.

[big den]

why build I have one for sale its the best

[rspears9]

how much for the kit,and who made it

[Thomas Gayer]

very nice folks
if you are going to race only go with factory five to meet their spec
if you are going to drive your family around on the street
get a B&B
solid car, very safe, lots of room even for a fat guy like me

[rspears9]

i won't be going to no drag strips,but for street use and handling curvy roads which or the 2 are better at that,b&b or the ffr.

[Clois Harlan]

If you add a 1" front sway bar, box trailing arms, and 4 sides of coil overs with the proper springs they are both going to handle about the same. If you want to bring the FF5 spec racer into the mix I believe it handles better.

Given all that, I still prefer my B&B.

Clois

[cobralee]

Way back when, I bought a used L.A. Exotics replica that I had to rebuild from ground up. Bryan Anderson and his staff were most helpful to me during my building stages. They allowed me into their shop, take pictures and see how they assembled various parts. I ended up buying all my parts from them and had them do some finishing work. I found Bryan and his staff to be honest, sincere and very helpful.

[Poolw]

I would recommend a Hurricane.

[GOCATS]

Where is Kemper, KY in relation to Louisville?

I would be more than happy to fille you in on all the details of my build and invite you to come and join the Kentucky cobra club for Breakfast each month usually the 2nd Sunday of the month but will probably be different this month because of Easter. I have a B & B and love it to death. Drive the snot out of it drive just about everywhere. No real complains. PM me or reply back and maybe just get to see what Clois & I are talking about. I think when you buy anything car,house,wife.... the service after the sale is by far the most important thing about the purchase

J.A.

[boris_thespider]

I was very interested in FFR when I first started looking into different kits. So, I took the FFR build class 2 years ago. I thought it would help me decide if I wanted to build a kit or not. I've never done anything other than change shocks and mufflers. I think the main thing for me deciding NOT to go with FFR was all the aluminum sheets they use. Sure, this is great for racing, but the only thing between you and the road is a thin piece of aluminum plating. I still remember the story of a visitor from some other country a few years ago. He was in a rental car and hit a tire iron that was laying in the middle of the highway. The tire iron came up through the floor and impaled him right in his seat. He died right there. I'm sure the floor pan in that rental car was steel and it was just a freak thing for sure. But, that was the first thought that came to my mind when I saw that aluminum floor pan. I like a steel floor pan myself... a bit safer I would say. That's my 2 cents and I agree with everyone else... B&B quality is top notch and their friendly service is possibly the best in the industry.

MIke

[Clois Harlan]

Brian and Barry build an excellent kit with little hoopla or fan fare. Their frame is perhaps the most durable in the business and their hand laid fiberglass has the quality of the most expensive kits. B&B builds most of all their own parts and they are made very well. IF B&B has a short coming it is in some of the components they use such as their gauges, fuel cells, or switches or perhaps they don't readily offfer a IRS. Those are very small things that can be optioned up by the buyer.

My B&B was built in 1999 and I don't have one spider crack in my body and my frame is extremely tight to this day. I have had no major issues after the purchase and only a couple minor ones over all these years. I was not as Cobra smart in 1999 as I am today but except for a few changes I would do it all again with B&B. If you haven't taken the time to go to their shop then you should to see their operation. You will be impressed. I don't do car shows anymore but I do have my Cobra on some of the best road courses in the US about 5 or six weeks a year. I have been off track more than once and my car is a tight as any other manufacturers brand new kit. B&B builds arguably one of the top 5 kits in the industry.

Clois

[OhBuoy]

BTW, if I had one thing to do different with my B&B, it would be to have their latest frame. They are constantly making improvements, and latest versions of the frames have a tray to mount the seat to built in, along with better areas to mount the lap belts. Alsom I would have gotten the body and frame delivered together, as I had some fitment issues that would have been avoided had I gone that route. Oh yeah, I would have also had them paint the body as long as they were mounting it. You cannot beat their paint price. If not them, I would have used Gess Motorsports in Crete.

Some other things to consider are to know your options. They have several options now for the firewall and trunk, so you may not want the full carpet or standard firewall. I think I would go with Clois and suggest sourcing your gauges yourself, probably going with Autometers. I found a lot of parts more reasonable at www.cobraaccessories.com, like the lights and steering wheel.

Tom

Tom

[RobV]

Weighing in also on if I had it to do differently ... what I didn't use that I got from B&B was: the brakes (I went with Wilwoods later), the emergency brake set up (Lokar is superior with the Wilwood primaries), the fuel sender (now has been changed for the third time), and the steering gear (I used the column and rack and pinion B&B sent, but went with Flaming River for the rest and used polished stainless). I agree on the gauges but mine are still what B&B sent.

Rob

[pmfranke]

i bought the band b because i'm 6'2" 235lbs. and i can stetch out my legs and have my arm in side the car. The body and frame are very strong (1/4 to 1/2" fiberglass ). The directions on how to build are a joke , they basicaly tell you nothing. so you will have to call karen to answer all questions and there will be a lot of them.she is nice as are all of them at b and b. If i were smaller and wanted a faster easier build go f-5. safety,strenth,confusion,good people,extra costs(bolts , seat belts,ect.) size of interior, lack of development. go b and b. do look at huricane!i dont know how big their cockpit is. my 2 cents.

[lnfletcher]

We do know that we are most likely talking to ourselves as the original post by rspears9 was over a year and a half ago! I'm not finished with mine, but my experience has been great so far. I have a few gripes but thats all in building your own car without a MANUAL!!!
http://lnfletcher.homeip.net/66Cobra...ointments.htmlhttp://lnfletcher.homeip.net/66Cobra...ointments.html