In the market for a Cobra...

[Hershey]

Jus starting to do research and learning about these crazy machines.

Sorta new to the Cobra scene but have been a gearhead for years so I have a BASIC knowledge of these cars.

My question to those far more experienced and knowledgeable with Cobras and the Cobra market itself is......how does this Cobra look? decent price?

Cars Dawydiak 2001 Superformance Cobra Mk III - | Used Inventory

Anyone happen to know car also?? It's located in a Bay Area consignment dealerin dwntown SF.

Is the Original owner a member here?? I'd love to take it off your hands and deal F2F.

If I end up purchasing this, free test drive to those that helped me gathering/obtaining info!

[Randy Rosenberg]

Welcome to Club Cobra. I'm not familiar with this specific Superformance, however they are great cars (I own one!), and the one you are looking at appears to be properly titled with Smog Exemption via SB100 (this is key for any Cobra purchase in CA - you don't want an improperly titled Cobra, regardless of "how easy it is to fix", 'cuz you not know the paper history which might trip you up later down the road).

If you want to see more Cobras or chat with some owners, then you might want stop by the Rock House in Livermore for Saturday morning breakfast. With the nice weather, there are always a dozen or more Cobras in the parking lot.

Good luck,
Randy...

[fordracing65]

Great looking car, I just sold my SPF for quite a bit more but is was also much newer, I'd say have a macanic look it over, looks like an awesone deal, I love the solid silver with no stripes.

[LMH]

My advice would be to look around a little and don't buy the first one you see. It's a buyers market and there's lots of them for sale. Get with the local club and chat with them about their cars.
This particular SPF does look pretty nice, don't get me wrong but with the numbers of them for sale, you may find one you like better.
Larry

[FFRCobraMike]

The best advice I can give is to know what you want on the car BEFORE you start looking. With all the differences in Cobras out there, you really need to know what you want as most Cobra's look good, but it is what is under the body that is more important. The first thing to decide is how you are going to use the car. Will is just be for street driving on the weekends or more serious usage. Do you want a solid axle or IRS? Do you want a big block or small block? Do you know what the differences will be between a big block and small block in performance and handling? What kind of steering and suspension package do you want. Do you want pin drive or 5 lug replica wheels? Tire type, cooling system, engine components, roll bar, clutch type and pressure, etc. etc. etc, ad nausium. There are so many choices and differences in Cobra replica's that unless you know exactly what you want, it is likely you will be unhappy with your car. Now for SPF cars they are very good cars and I have seen them go for under $40K to over $80K, so again, know what you want, because even they have many different choices. There are also many other good brands out there. Your price range will have a large affect on what you will be able to get, but buying a Cobra based just on price would be a huge mistake. Know what you want and then look for a car that meets your needs and specifications. Looking without knowledge of these cars is a foolish way to start. Talk to owners of these cars, read as mush as you can about them and make your list. Then start looking. You will ultimately be far happier with the choice you make if you know what you want before you plop down a lot of cash.

[Got the Bug]

Like everyone said. Take your time and look around. This is a buyer's market and if that one sells, there are others. SB100 is a nice to have, but buying a car that is properly registered from out of state is pretty easy to walk thorugh the SB100 process.

Keep an eye on all of the usual places like eBay and Cobra Country and good luck with your search.

[FFRCobraMike]

One caviat to buying out of state. If the car has less than 7500 miles on it, the Calif. DMV considers it a NEW car and then the process gets very complicated. It is much better to buy one already properly registered in CA. Having the SB-100 already on the car saves a lot of time and effort! There are a ton already here and with SB-100 registration. Remember, Calif. only issues 500 SB-100 certs a year and they are usually gone by the end of January. It could take close to a year to get it if the car does not already have it. In case you are not familiar with what having the SB-100 does for you; it makes your car permanantly smog exempt. Without it, your car would have to pass current smog regulations which is impossible for a carburated engine without adding a whole lot of smog equipment that will destroy your cars performance and possibly not even then. Do you really want to take a chance that you will have to pass a smog test? Save yourself the grief and get one that is already registered in Calif. with SB-100

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by FFRCobraMike

One caviat to buying out of state. If the car has less than 7500 miles on it, the Calif. DMV considers it a NEW car and then the process gets very complicated. It is much better to buy one already properly registered in CA. Having the SB-100 already on the car saves a lot of time and effort! There are a ton already here and with SB-100 registration. Remember, Calif. only issues 500 SB-100 certs a year and they are usually gone by the end of January. It could take close to a year to get it if the car does not already have it. In case you are not familiar with what having the SB-100 does for you; it makes your car permanantly smog exempt. Without it, your car would have to pass current smog regulations which is impossible for a carburated engine without adding a whole lot of smog equipment that will destroy your cars performance and possibly not even then. Do you really want to take a chance that you will have to pass a smog test? Save yourself the grief and get one that is already registered in Calif. with SB-100

Demand for SB100 has dropped dramatically over the last couple of years. You can still get an SB100 certificate today. Last year, someone secured an SB100 in December.

Finding the right car is probably more important than SB100. Sure, it's time consuming but it's just not that difficult or costly.

[Hershey]

Originally Posted by Randy Rosenberg

Welcome to Club Cobra. I'm not familiar with this specific Superformance, however they are great cars (I own one!), and the one you are looking at appears to be properly titled with Smog Exemption via SB100 (this is key for any Cobra purchase in CA - you don't want an improperly titled Cobra, regardless of "how easy it is to fix", 'cuz you not know the paper history which might trip you up later down the road).

If you want to see more Cobras or chat with some owners, then you might want stop by the Rock House in Livermore for Saturday morning breakfast. With the nice weather, there are always a dozen or more Cobras in the parking lot.

Good luck,
Randy...

Randy,

Thanks for the heads up about Livermore, I just might make a drive out there one of theses Saturdays with my wife. I'll PM you if I plan to attend for more details.

Thank you

[Hershey]

and for everyone else, thanks for the helpful responses. Yes, I am aware about SB100 and yes I am narrowing down my preferences for the car (prefer big block). It will mainly be used as a weekend street car. I have other cars to DD and my wife drives the SUV for family related/practical uses.

I'm lucky enough to have DenBeste Motors and Dynamic Auto West about 1 hour from my location so I will be paying them a visit in the near future as well

[Randy Rosenberg]

Originally Posted by Hershey

Randy,

Thanks for the heads up about Livermore, I just might make a drive out there one of theses Saturdays with my wife. I'll PM you if I plan to attend for more details.

Thank you

Check out www.baccevent.coms for more information on Breakfast in Livermore...

[boblyon1]

Hershey - Good luck on your search. The number one location for selling high end Cobras is Curt Scott's website, www.cobracountry.com. Make sure you check it out if only to help with pricing and variations. I also agree that buying an in-California car with a valid SB-100 exemption is the way to go. I've heard some horror stories about trying to license Cobras bought in another state.

[289fia_cobra]

Another thing that should be somewhat obvious, is to ask someone (specifically for Superformance owners that are willing) to come along and inspect the one you are interested in. It's never a good idea IMO to go alone. At the very least, a good mechanic friend that at least knows the basic mechanics of 'any' car. Unless they stuffed a Wankel or Electric motor, any mechanic should at least be able to give it a once over for mechanical intergrity.

Now take a deep breath and remember: it's really just another used car and you should treat the transaction accordingly. It's already a given it's a unique car, but these really are simple machines, so mechanically, very similar to any 1960's car. You can walk away from the deal and not have buyers remorse. TAKE YOUR TIME.

[Hershey]

Originally Posted by boblyon1

Hershey - Good luck on your search. The number one location for selling high end Cobras is Curt Scott's website, www.cobracountry.com. Make sure you check it out if only to help with pricing and variations. I also agree that buying an in-California car with a valid SB-100 exemption is the way to go. I've heard some horror stories about trying to license Cobras bought in another state.

Thanks for the heads up and Yes- I've been browsing on cobracountry.com already! And I am aware of how important the SB-100 exemption is on these cars.

Originally Posted by 289fia_cobra

Another thing that should be somewhat obvious, is to ask someone (specifically for Superformance owners that are willing) to come along and inspect the one you are interested in. It's never a good idea IMO to go alone. At the very least, a good mechanic friend that at least knows the basic mechanics of 'any' car. Unless they stuffed a Wankel or Electric motor, any mechanic should at least be able to give it a once over for mechanical intergrity.

Now take a deep breath and remember: it's really just another used car and you should treat the transaction accordingly. It's already a given it's a unique car, but these really are simple machines, so mechanically, very similar to any 1960's car. You can walk away from the deal and not have buyers remorse. TAKE YOUR TIME.

^^^ Yes, I went down to Dynamic Auto West yesterday and met with Dennis. He caught me up on a lot of things with SC related.

I plan to visit Denbeste Motors in Windsor next week as well. Trying to as patient as possible lolol

[289fia_cobra]

Hershey:

Here's a little something I always keep around; don't know the original poster/write but I pass it on as a reminder about owning one of these things; many on this forum can attest to some if not all of what's written... oh, and enjoy:

Driving A Cobra Replica:

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."

[FFRCobraMike]

Now that is the best description of owning a Cobra replica that I have ever heard. One addition and caviat though. I have had more girls ask to drive it than ride in it. I would hesitate to give advice about pretty girls, but unless they have enough cash to pay for your car when they crash it, I would think twice about letting anyone that has not owned one ever behind the wheel. It ain't their daddy's BMW!

[Bryan Anderson]

Lots of very good Idea's you have been given, I would like to give you one other thought B&B offers a Turnkey Minus package all new, painted any color, any color interior, we will set the mounts up for any engine trans of your choice, all tubular front and rear suspension, QA1 adjustable coil over shocks, 9" rear with New Moser axles, original style wheels and tires, all for 21,000 Comes with the MSO for registration In Calif, now just have a local shop Install the engine and trans and you are on the road. Please take a look at some of the cars we have built over the last 30 plus years in our owners group section at *B&B Manufacturing - :::: - Feel the Thunder - :::: - Hotrods from Kit to Turn Key - ::::

[289fia_cobra]

Try getting that in your Camry or Accord.

[Hershey]

^^^^