Greetings, all - I'm a prospective owner - trying to decide whether to go ERA, Hurricane, E-M, BDR, or pre-owned. Bottom line: we want as close to stock/original as possible. Here's a bit about myself:
Born/raised in Maine, almost 40, prior mil - now govvie (yes, furloughed). I'm blessed with a wonderful wife, beautiful two year old daughter, a healthy mortgage, and some outstanding student loans (grad school).
I've been a mcycle enthusiast for years. Bought my first cycle (78 Honda CX500) in 94. It lasted through tours in MRY, Sierra vista, and Augusta, GA. Sold at some point, bought a 92 Jetta, then a 74 CB750. Sold both in 2003 and bought a brand new BMW K1200GT (Stella) which lasted me another stint in MRY (grad school), then met its untimely demise at the MVN traffic circle (Rhode Island drivers failed to yield). Picked up a 07 R12R when my daughter was born in 2011 - never fell in love, sold in Feb this year.
With the mcycle gone (and not in love with any of the current lineups from BMW), I started thinking about a four-legged steed. Having worked with one of the former PCA chapter presidents, I started going down the road of a 911. Spoke with Terry Holt earlier this spring who confirmed you're either gonna by a 3.2 for 30k (at least) or a crappy 3.2 for 30k on ebay. Was heading down to Lake Anna a couple months ago to look at a 993, got caught in traffic and headed back home via Rt 1 thinking the big man was telling me something. Stopped by Cooper's Corvettes, having never driven a Vette, and fell in love with a heavily modded 98 C5. About a month later, ready to pull the trigger (and having joined a ton of C5 fora, take my wife out for her birthday dinner (39th).
We took separate cars and after putting the young-un to sleep at home, my wife proceeds to tell how she saw the only car she ever thought was "hot" on the way home... (short story long, my wife is about the most frugal, practical/sensible kinda woman - gas mileage was the big factor behind the purchase of our Jetta TDI wagon...) I tell her, "remember dear, our mortgage is less than a 'real' Shelby Cobra." Seizing the opportunity, I quickly googled replica cobras and found two great video:
1965 Shelby Cobra vs. 2013 Shelby GT500, C63 AMG, Viper SRT-10 - CAR and DRIVER - YouTube and
1966 Cobra Dream Machine - /BIG MUSCLE - YouTube. We watched them on the laptop before going to bed and - voila - here I am, having trolled this site, Club Cobra, and about a gazillion others - resolved (with wife's concurrence) that a replica cobra is a great "third car" for our family.
We want to stay as close to original as possible and realize the undertaking (and that MPG is a useless measure for this amount of fun). I'm currently leaning toward Hurricane, ERA, or E-M and have been in touch with all. We tried to make a stop in New Britain on the way to ME for the 4th, but traffic (and kid/dog in car) proved untenable. I'm planning a trip to FFR, ERA, and Vintage (BDR dealer) the last week of August. I'm also trying to wedge a trip to Houston and IA to see E-M and Hurricane, respectively. In terms of engine, we're committed to an FE, though open to builder/block. We've driven a Shell Valley with a 390 (my father's day gift) and absolutely fell in love. Unfortunately, the car was somewhat of a dog, so we passed. Still open, though, to buying a pre-owned in good condition. (small garage, know my way around tools, but suspension, brakes, and electrical are about the extent of my expertise (for now, that is...)
I really appreciate the chance to chat with you all and have already benefitted tremendously from the posts here and on the Capital Area Cobra Club site. I'll post a build thread once we pull the trigger - hopefully before the end of the year, at least once we've gotten onto someone's build waiting list...
Thanks in advance and regards, Michael
First time caller, long time listener
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