New member intro

[120mm]

I'm a new member, looking to buy a kit in about a year.

I'm currently living temporarily in Germany, but my home is in Iowa.

I've been a Cobra fan since 1976, when my dad refused to let me buy a clapped out 289 race car at the local track. (I bought a Mustang instead, and still have it).

Well, I need more challenge in my life; My job which I'm retiring from is high risk, and I need to feed my adrenaline addiction.

I'm a certified A&P mechanic, and have built a few SBFs in my life, so I'll be trying to recreate that 289 race car I first fell in love with, to include the raw, race look it had. Pure accuracy is not important, just the "unbridled fury" kind of feel. I've looked mainly at FFR because of the low cost of initial entry, but am open to suggestions.

Thanks!

Drew

[Ron61]

Welcome Drew,

The FFR cares are goods ones but so are a lot of others. They will most likely let you get into a good Cobra for the least amount, but look at others before you take the plunge. I have a FFR Coupe and had a Roadster built on a CR Frame and I like the Coupe very much. But Superformance and others have some great cars too. Also Superformance would probably let you get into a running and finished Cobra quicker than most others as basically all you have to do is get the running gear, engine, transmission, & etc and put it in.

Ron

[*13*]

I'm sure you have quite a bit of research to do in the time before you lay your money down. I'd suggest you look at independent rear suspension cars. The short driveline in these cars almost necessitates it. Well built & maintained Cobras retain their value. FFR has a strong following, as do many other brands. The best thing you can do for yourself is put a spreadsheet together & compare the final cost of of a few different cars. Once everything is optioned out the way you want it, sometimes the differences aren't as big as you thought.

[120mm]

Originally Posted by Ron61

Welcome Drew,

The FFR cares are goods ones but so are a lot of others. They will most likely let you get into a good Cobra for the least amount, but look at others before you take the plunge. I have a FFR Coupe and had a Roadster built on a CR Frame and I like the Coupe very much. But Superformance and others have some great cars too. Also Superformance would probably let you get into a running and finished Cobra quicker than most others as basically all you have to do is get the running gear, engine, transmission, & etc and put it in.

Ron

Thanks! I'm not so concerned with "quicker". I like to scrounge, rebuild and fabricate. So, if I could pay less money, I'd be glad to do more work. I'd even be interested in doing a second car built from scratch, but I think building a kit first makes sense.

Originally Posted by *13*

I'm sure you have quite a bit of research to do in the time before you lay your money down. I'd suggest you look at independent rear suspension cars. The short driveline in these cars almost necessitates it. Well built & maintained Cobras retain their value. FFR has a strong following, as do many other brands. The best thing you can do for yourself is put a spreadsheet together & compare the final cost of of a few different cars. Once everything is optioned out the way you want it, sometimes the differences aren't as big as you thought.

It's funny, but the FFR hard-core followers generally look down on the IRS. Possibly because FFR's version was originally based on the relatively weak T-bird unit.

[Ron61]

I have raced all of my Cobras and the coupe and I have the IRS in the Coupe and it is great. I had a straight rear end in the Roadster and it worked well also. I am not sure about the Factored Five IRS, but the one in mine is a very good unit.
And if you like the idea of building the car from the start, then there are several that are good and I think Factory Five is as good as any of them. The final result will be as good as the person building it and many change things from the original kit anyway.

Ron