Hello all,
I would like to make my introduction here in hopes to learn a few things about these cars and the various kits available. First let me explain a bit about myself, and why I plan to build a cobra.
Some of my earliest memories involve cars. My father and I have always had a lot of things in common, but our love of and passion for cars trumps that of anything else. My father is/was a muscle car guy as he was just around driving age/teenager age right in the middle of the 60's. He always appreciated everything from American muscle, to European, to Japanese however, and I think very much the same way. As long as it is fun to drive, we like it! One car has always stood out from the crowd though. That car is the 427 Cobra. My dad has always loved them, always been super excited any time we see one (which isn't
that rare in these parts honestly), and just plain lusted over them for as long as I can remember. The only problem is, he has never really considered himself in a position to buy one or never considered himself to have the skills to build one I guess. Maybe a combination of those things and the fact that my mother never would have allowed it (she is very practical). However, things have changed.
I am probably younger than most here. I come in at the ripe old age of 23. I am a mechanical engineer by education and by nature I think. I have always had good intuition for all things mechanical, and I have plenty of experience by now with automotive fabrication, swapping engines, forced induction (current project is an oldschool Audi with a goal [to finish in the next few months] 800 awhp and 11k RPM turbo monster), standalone engine management and tuning, etc. I even know a bit about fiberglass work from my short time in the wind turbine industry. For those reasons, I feel confident in my ability to complete a cobra project. That only leaves the money side of things.
Because I worked very hard in school and used all of the resources I could, I landed a great job in the petroleum industry. Good enough to allow me to afford to complete one of these comfortably while still saving the majority of my salary. The only negative is that I have limited free time. I live in Saudi Arabia for 2/3 of the year, but I have entire months off at a time when I can either travel, or work on projects. Either way, I don't see this as something that would stop me from embarking on this project. Most of all, this project is something I feel passionate about, and something that I value so much just because it is a way for me to spend time with my dad and because I can help him (and me!) realize his ultimate dream.
Anyway, I could go on and on... I'll try and cut it short though. On to the good stuff (maybe more interesting to you than my story)... the cobra stuff. So my father and I are kinda quasi-purists. We would prefer the shape of the car to be as original as possible, but if this has to be sacrificed a little in the name of a better chassis design (aka FFR), then we would choose the better-engineered and better-handling setup any day. The other main consideration for us is engine choice. We tend to scoff at 302 builds because, well... we feel that it just isn't right in a 427 body (no offense in tended here! this is just our preference). There is nothing wrong with a small block, but if we had it our way, we tend to think that a screamer small block in a 289 body would be more appropriate!
HOWEVER, we are not stuck to the idea of a 427. For us, it there is a very deep connection with the sound of the car that has to be right. Maybe not entirely accurate to the 427, but it just has to be fitting. This means no modular motors for us. No modern bs. We get a good kick out of a lumpy idle (big cam), so most contemporary motors get the boot because of this. An ls could be made to sound almost OK, but that isn't quite right. A 427 would certainly get it done, but the value vs. performance ratio is something that we need to look into more. I don't really think it is quite there. Now I'm going to get a little crazy here... I wouldn't rule out something along the lines of a Winston Cup engine (Yay! Florida emissions laws! [or lack thereof])... The performance and the sound factors are certainly there. It has been done, and by a friend of a friend to boot, so it may be more plausible to happen than you'd think
Anyway, this is something that needs to be discussed when I come home in a few weeks.
Cliffs notes: I love cobras and so does my dad. We would like to build one and only have some loose criteria set so far. This includes:
-No small blocks (unless NASCAR
)
-has to sound good!
-performance over correctness (no ladder frame please!)
Thanks for reading (sorry for the majorly long, maybe boring, first post), and I look forward to learning here. Any advice, comments, or recommendations are welcome.
-Chris
New Prospective Owner
Maybe we can start an owners under 40 minority section!!
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