What Made You Buy Or Build You Cobra ?

[FUNFER2]

To be honest, as a teen in the early 80's (I'm 55 years old now) I was racing Go-Karts, Mini Sprints the 360 winged dirt sprints, and not thinking street cars. But, when I turned 17, I saw a 69' Z-28 iCamaro in the parking lot at school, and I was amazed with it. I was hooked !

So, I sold two of my mini-sprint's so I could build one of my own. I found a 76' Camaro that needed help, I bought it and started tearing it apart. Dad said, leave me one stall in the garage ! I did, but he was pissed whenmI took over the shed and half the back yard. I heard,.....KEVIN !!!

Anyway, I graducated in 1980. A friend of my dads helped getting me into a community college auto mechanic shop, already 2 weeks into 1st quarter. He tought carb/fuel injection.I brought my Camaro in with many,...box's and a trailer parts into class and started working.

I was able tto do everything except for the interior. Those were the times of the Pro-Street craze ! So I built one. 468 Ratt, Munci Rock Crusher, narrowed Ford 9" with 514's in the pumpkin. I painted it candy apple red. I was so excited with the final cost of only $7,000, including buying the car.

My wife sold her 68' Mustang and I sold my Camaro to buy our house. We vowed to build a car when we paid half of the morgage. At those times, I almost bought a 34' Ford coupe steel project car, tubb the rear, automatic trans and build a 6-72 blown 355ci motoe foe aroung 800 HP. But,.....then I found Midstates Cobra, only 50 miles from me, and was stoked !

I found a great deal on a Lone Star kit for $13,000.
The man needed to sell it quickly, because of divorcing his wife.

I love it so much, that I don't plan on ever selling it. Other than racing the 360 sprint car, the Cobra is the most fun of any car,...I've ever drove !

So, what's your story of buying or driving a Cobra, over other childhood car dreams ?

[1985 CCX]

My story started in high school as well. A friend, Tom P, had a CCX and it was inspiring but my Hemi Challenger was always to fun to part with.

Later in life 15 yrs later, I decided Cobras were a great way to blend power and handling.
I went after several cars FFR, ERA and finally landed a CCX. Loved that car and brought it back from use as a golf cart.

As time passed I wanted a 289 slabside car, which before SPF was limited to HiTech and KMS. Could not afford KMS, could not find a HT car and ERA was just starting.

So I followed the dream by making my own car!
Rest is history....

[Dwight]

I sold four machine guns to buy my Lone Star kit. In today market those four machine guns are worth $140,000.

But I drove my Cobra for 18 years and put 42,000 miles on it. I had million dollars worth of fun and met hundreds of good people. A lot of them are close friends now.

Dwight

[olddog]

I wanted it. I did not need it. I just wanted it.

I once explained the life cycle of the American male.

Shortly after birth they begin playing with toy cars.

In their, teens, all they are interested in is sex, but out of the frustration from the lack thereof, they play with fast cars.

In their 20's, they give up their fast cars and their freedom (marriage) on the promise of all the sex they ever wanted.

In their 30's, they realize that it is not possible to get all the sex that you want and they were duped.

In their 40's, they realize it is pointless to resist and just ride it out.

In their 50's, the nest is empty, the sex is pretty much a non issue, so they go back to fast cars, only now they can afford what they want. Thus, I wanted a Cobra.

[FUNFER2]

lol,....couldn't have said it better.

[Ron61]

I first became interested in Cobras back in 1963 when I was working for the labs and went to Los Angles to do some work. I tried to buy a 289 Cobra then but the people that had them refused to sell and Shelby had moved on to the 427 cars by the time I was ready to buy one. I really didn't want a 427 car as I like road racing and they just didn't handle all that great back then so I opted for some other cars. Then later in life when I could no longer afford an original I started looking at different kits or replicas. After having had a Cobra Roadster and a Daytona Cobra Coupe which I still have but no longer race I have been happy with both.

Ron

[Blue66]

...At 16 years old in the mid 60's I had a new 65 Mustang Convertible. The hi performance cars were on the move. We were always scoping out Shelby dealers an the back lots. A 427 Cobra was beyond dreams at that point. 70's came an I dived into the Shelby market. Them started to whine every day to the wife I needed a 427 Cobra 1976 a day before my daughter was born I got it CSX 3147. Kept it till 1980 an then the thrill was fading. Especially with prices goin threw the roof. Sold it. Still kept a 66 GT350 Convertible. Went threw a lot of hi performance cars over the years.
........ 2015 the Shelby left an got a CSX 4000 car.. It's been a blast ! Prob keep it a few more years and it will be gone. Variety is the spice of life. Especially as ya get older.
..Oh I have never said to myself "oh I shouldn't have sold the car or anyone one of them"

[DanEC]

I was aware of Cobras in the 60s and early 70s but my real interest was muscle cars and Vettes. Then about 1971 or 1972 while in college, Road & Track published a story about one of their writers who bought a silver 427 Street Roadster and about buying it and owning it. Still have the magazine and the car is still original and on display in CA somewhere. I was hooked from that time on. If a Road & Track guy could cross over and be so enthusiastic about an English/American hot rod like a 427 Cobra - it must be something special.

I took out a brochure for an ERA in 1980 but work, moving around, marriage sort of always was in the way. Went through a couple 427 Corvettes (one I still have after 30 years) but never completely lost interest in the Cobra. Finally with retirement coming on I started thinking about building a replica and while I looked at a lot of different manufacturers I kept gravitating back to an ERA. Finally in 2009 I placed my order, painted it myself, built most of it myself and got it on the road about 3 or 4 years ago.

[Dirty Harry]

When I was a much younger guy, I became thoroughly captivated with the Cobra. I can't put my finger on it, but maybe there was something about the prominent, bulging headlights, the slender waist, and the rounded hips that captured my teenaged attention. Maybe there was some sort of subliminal attraction there.

Later, due to the career path I had chosen, it was becoming clear that I was not ever going to be able to afford the real thing. I set out to see what I could build for myself on a budget.

25 years and many thousands of miles later, that little hot rod and I still have blast everywhere we go. I've met a bunch of great people in this hobby and I have never regretted jumping into my build and giving it a try.

[racco]

Gumball rally

[Jim Vander Wal]

When I hit 50 I wanted another fun car. Really wanted another mid-year Vette as I'd had two, the first a '67 convertible when I was 21 and later a '64 then a C3 '69.

Reality settled in and what I wanted to do with / to the car would have been a sacrilege with a nice mid-year, I looked at other options. Saw a Superformance in a display area of the SHOT show and started to investigate, all downhill from there. Both Vettes are long gone as are the two Superformance cars.

The current vision is a track/street FFR. Won't be pretty as I expect it to get dirty and broken but it should be fast.

Jim

[Millsy]

I have always been into motorcycles and speed. I could afford motorcycles when I was younger but not fast cars. I decided to drive junkers until I could get something nice and fast. I got a vette first which I still own but it isnt that fast to be honest, especially compared to the cars of today. Truthfully I went to buy an ariel atom after doing a trackday but it couldnt be registered in my state and putting Montana plates on it in my tiny town is asking for trouble. So I started looking at power to weight rocketships I could afford. Once I found out I could put any engine in one of these suckers I was hooked and these Cobras are just BEASTS. Its fast, dangerous and unforgiving, what the hell is not to like about them

[Alfa02]

1963, Kent Wa. (Pacific Raceway) SCCA race. My father was a Pit Marshall, me a 8Yo motorhead. Shelby send 3-Cobra (Car# 97,98,99) to clean the NW Corvette's clock's and pick-up easy point's for the natl. runoff's. This 8Yo spend the whole weekend, around these LOUD car's & LOUD guy's, I did whatever they asked polished car's, wheel's, got drink's, etc. They kinda took me under their wing, even gave me a shirt (wish I still had it ), end of the weekend ( Ken Miles ) threw me a helmet and said get in, well 2-3 QUICK Lap's (Steering with the throttle, 4 wheel drift's ) needless to say a Cobra and Ken Miles lover forever !!!!! At the end of the ride he popped open his bubble shield, looked at me, and asked were you scared, I said "No Sir that was the greatest ride ever" I think he was disappointed. If you look at my introduction there is more of the story there, Tom (Alfa02)

[Dwight]

I was in high school in the 60s and my best friend was a car nut. He bought all the car magazines and kept me informed on what was happening in the racing world. I remember reading his magazines about Cobras.
After I got out of the Army and got married I came across a ink drawing of a Blue Cobra in a magazine. I cut that page out and put in on my reloading table under a piece of plexiglass. 2o years and six kids later I buy a kit.

As they say "the rest is history"

I still have that page out of the magazine.

[xb-60]

My story...was given a Scalextric slot car set for Christmas ....a long time ago... and been hooked on Cobras since then. See the green FIA in my avatar? It's in front of me still, on my desk.
Other cars? I tend to hang on to cars, so when family needs dictated losing the 2-door, we bought a 'sensible' 4-door, an Alfetta, which is still in the my garage after 36 years. It was a daily driver until nine years ago.
Cobra replicas are rare to see on the road here (Adelaide, South Aus.) so every time I saw a magazine featuring a Cobra, I bought it. The FIA shape was the one that really pushed my buttons, so fast forward to 2011 when I put down a deposit for an ERA 289FIA with Peter....but for a number of reasons, I asked for it back after nearly a year (though I still very much have a soft spot for ERA cars). I then visited AP in Queensland (Aus), thought about it for a while longer, and then put another deposit down for my AP 289FIA, which is slowly taking shape in my garage.

Cheers,
Glen

[1795]

When I was a teenager I was walking along Main Street in the small town I grew up in and I heard this awesome sound and a Cobra drove by, was sold at that movement. Thought, "Wow, I have to have one of those!"

College expenses, family and life got in the way. Things opened up a little as my kids became young adults and I was able to purchase a used ERA 427. From there I started vintage racing and that led to me building the Superformance FIA vintage race car.

Jim

[keezling]

I'll spare you all the usual fulfilment of a life long dream story. It was the direct result of the end of a thirty year marriage, and a very special middle finger raised to my ex.

[2bars]

I have been a car nut as long as I can remember. My first 20 working years were as a mechanic. That started in the 70's so I had my day working on some cars that are collectible now, but just used then. Even though I loved my Jeep, I have always been a ford nut. So the 427 was the holy grail. Maybe "The Gumball Rally" movie brought the engine and car together for me.
Had posters of it for years. When life gave me the opportunity to get one, I looked long and hard at the CSX continuations cars. When I sat in them, I didn't like the way I fit. But now I was committed to have one. Kept shopping and decided on a Superformance. I started with a 428, because I already owned the engine. That was in 2005. And now, it is getting a 427 installed. Finally got there.
I still own the same jeep after 43 years so I do not think the Cobra is going anywhere soon. Its other stable mate is a 2012 GT500 and there is no doubt, the Cobra holds the cool award.
Now as for driving. I like to be able to drive my vehicles for what they were designed to do. My jeep has logged many a off road mile. My F350 tows and hauls, my GT500 has been pushed at the track, so now I am excited to competently drive a 427 Cobra on a road course (track). then cruise to a car show, dirt and all.

[cycleguy55]

I was 13 years old in 1968 when my older brother took me a few times to a section of highway outside of town to watch the local hot-shoes do a little (illegal) drag racing. Most of it was pretty ho-hum, but there were a few muscle cars of that era worth watching. One day someone showed up in a big-block Cobra and took on a big-block Corvette. After that I was hooked.

In February 2014 my wife and I were in Las Vegas and I convinced her to take in the Shelby museum and go on the tour. We were the last to finish chatting with Denny, our tour guide. We joked that, if we bought one, it would have to have an automatic transmission (she's never learned to drive a manual transmission).

After we flew home I perused some of the classifieds and would occasionally show her a photo or two and, after a handful of those she looked at me and said: "You're serious, aren't you?"

The rest is history.

p.s. She ended up saying she'd probably never drive it anyway, so the car I/we bought has a 5 speed MANUAL transmission.

p.p.s. She says she likes it a lot more than she thought she would.

[Bartruff1]

I saw them race in the 60's in the USA and Europe....they are beautiful cars and brutal performers and make a noise to match.....what is not to like ?

I wanted one I could afford and drive, so a replica was the answer...