trying to buy 1st cobra - what's it worth?

[ducracer]

Originally posted by Robert T. Faust


This Club is really just a bunch of GREAT PEOPLE, who love the greatest car ever made, and would like nothing better than to have another Cobra owner as a friend. Best of luck, and DON'T BE IN A HURRY! [/b]

Seems like it from what's on the board. Hopefully we'll be Cobra owners too.

[FUNFER2]

We would all be pleased, to welcome both of you to our cobra family ! Well..............welcome anyway ! LOL !

Kev

[Excaliber]

I got my ERA for $35K, with the 427 side oiler I consider that an excellent buy.

BUT, what a nightmare it would have been for someone who doesn't do their own work. First the clutch went out and then I lost the camshaft. All shortly after purchase, I could have put in just a cam and lifters but decided to rebuild the entire engine\trans.

Now I just finished new gauges, new wiring harness, worked on the rear end. I'm not in to deep on dollars, but in DEEP on "labor"! But what the heck, I don't mind working for 32 cents an hour when I'm having fun.

[ducracer]

I don't mind wrenching, but I'd rather it held out until winter. Anxious to see if things work out with this one.

[Buzz]

Ducracer, EM's are generally thoughy of as pretty good replicas. They have a round tube frame that is a work of art. Their bodies are nice though not the most accurate in terms of rear fender shape, wheel-to-body positioning and stance. These issues are really subjective and mean little to most. One thing about the Everett Morrisons that may be of relevance to their value is the fact that they were offered with a wide variety of suspension choices ranging from Mustang II to Jaguar to Corvette. Find out which one your prospective car has and any other details (weather equipment, transmission, wheel type, paint condition, etc.) that may help us give you a more educated guess on the value. Good luck - shopping for a Cobra is always a really exciting time. Also, heed the sage advice of the others here; don't get too emotionally attached to this first car if it's less than ideal for you - there are plenty of good used Cobras out there.

[ducracer]

Well, we had a bid set up through auction sniper, but weren't home to change it and it ended up not being quite enough. Here's what we did not win:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4561183972

Thanks for the input. Maybe someday....

[Excaliber]

A nice car for the price, the "one that got away", but it does have some flaws.

Subtract dollars from typical market price for:
1. Auto trans, not exactly the hot ticket.
2. White interior, it just doesn't appeal to most replica buyers. Black is best for re-sale. I prefer the lighter color "tan" myself because black in Hawaii is a killer on your butt! But not white.
3. Wood dash. Some like it, but not the majority, hurts re-sale for sure.

All of the above could be easily rectified without "burying" yourself on the dollar amount invested. I'd paint\dye the interior (tan, in my case). Cover the dash with black vinyl and look into changing out the trans if I had gotten it.

[FUNFER2]

Don't understand automatics in COBRAS ?????? Get a beemer !

[ducracer]

Still shopping...

Has anyone ever heard anything about Cobra kits made by "the Kelm Company"? I can't seem to find much info about them and am wondering if a used one of their cars is worth pursuing or if it is one to avoid.
Thanks.

[ducracer]

Oh, figured it out. They were a company in Nebraska who is now out of business. The car was built in the late 70's. Low price but probably b/c it isn't as nice or reliable as newer builds, I bet.

[trularin]

Where in MI??

[ducracer]

Traverse.

[ducracer]

Originally posted by ducracer


Still shopping...

Has anyone ever heard anything about Cobra kits made by "the Kelm Company"? I can't seem to find much info about them and am wondering if a used one of their cars is worth pursuing or if it is one to avoid.
Thanks.

Originally posted by ducracer


Oh, figured it out. They were a company in Nebraska who is now out of business. The car was built in the late 70's. Low price but probably b/c it isn't as nice or reliable as newer builds, I bet.

Kelm or otherwise, does anyone own a late 70's build that has held up? Don't want to pick up a project unless it's starting building a brand new kit. If I'm wrenching, I'd rather is was construction and not repair. Only looking at built cars since that way we might get some miles in before the snow this year.

[Tommy]

Several years ago I wanted to get into an inexpensive Cobra replica mostly for use at the track. I followed Ebay and placed several lowball bids on suitable cars. I didn't expect to be the winning bidder but figured I had little to lose. On my third or fourth car, I bid in the low twenties for an E-M built primarily for racing with a 351 and Corvette suspension. Much to my surprise and delight, nobody else bid on the car and I got it.

As best I can tell, the car was built as a racer around 1995 by the same people who built the Cobra replica praised for its performance in Road & Track magazine in the early 90's. They sold it around 2001 to a guy who wanted to drive it on the street. After a few months, he apparently decided it was too uncivilized for his needs and sold it at a substantial loss to a doctor. The doctor had it for a few months before also deciding it was too loud, too brutal and too dependent on good weather. He put it on ebay and also took a substantial loss when I bought it. I take it to the track frequently and gave it a body-off rebuild last winter.

The moral of my story is this. People who buy a Cobra replica on the spur of the moment sometimes discover they made a mistake and will take a loss to get rid of it. People who know why they want a Cobra replica and are patient can sometimes find a good deal.

[ducracer]

Sound advice. All cobras being equal, we know what we're getting into and one that is mechanically sound and is not underpowered will fit perfect for what we are looking for. The hard part is knowing which ones to avoid without having prior knowledge from actually owning one. Seems like you need to have owned one in the past to truly be able to pick out the right one to buy next and get it for the appropriate price. Registering on this board and sifting through posted info from other owners even though we don't have one yet seemed like the way to work on that aspect. Thanks for the input.

[PNJSNAK]

Ducracer:
Check out John Polings A & C on the Cobra For Sale Forum. I think he is asking less than 30k and it is beautiful with a lot of extras he built into it. The paint job and body work is flawless. The interior work and tanneu cover are first rate. It is also an auto w/mild 351W from York Sports Cars. I have the same engine (bullet proof).
If I was looking I would definetly check this out.
His file has a lot of pictures in there.
Good Luck.
Jim

[mrmustang]

How to buy a used Cobra:

Editors Note:
Ok, the first thing you have to ask yourself is "how much money am I willing to spend for a used Cobra", and what my usage is going to be. Now, by usage, I mean a either a daily driver, weekend cruiser, show car/trailer queen, 1/4 mile drag racer, road racer, or any combination of the above. Once you have set your budget and have a pretty good idea of what you want to initially spend, your next goal is to find the right car for you. Whether your spending $22,000, or $150,000 should not matter at this point, as I've personally seen beautiful, well built cars at $22,000, and some truly horrible cars with over $100,000 in to the build.


Your qualifications:
Know your strengths and weaknesses when shopping for a used Cobra, if you know bodywork, and not the mechanicals, take along someone who has a greater mechanical ability than yourself. Vice versa if your strengths are in the mechanical end of things, and not the cosmetics. Two sets (or more) of eyes are always better than one.

If your going to see a cobra in person:

What to look for:
Fit: How does the body sit on the chassis, do the doors, hood, trunk all line up?

Finish: How is the paint, are there runs, drips, sags. Does the paint have a nice shine to it, or does it need to be buffed out or stripped and repainted?

Interior condition: Does the interior show a lot of aging, do the seats need to be recovered.

Mechanical: Are there any leaks or drips under the car? What about the overall appearance, does the car look like it was well taken care of, or does it look like it was ridden hard and abused.

Engine: Again, any leaks or fluid drips, how does it sound (this can be tough on a car such as the Cobra). Check the engine warm, cold, at partial throttle and at idle. Make sure to check the temperature gauge once the car is warmed up and at idle. Also check to make sure the thermostatically controlled fan (if so equipped) kicks in when it is supposed to.

Transmission: Take the car out for a road test if possible (don't expect to let the seller to allow you to drive it), does the clutch work properly, does the transmission shift smoothly through the gears. Check for leaks here as well.

Rear End: Does the rear end clunk, leak fluids (check behind rear rims for signs of fluid, along with the front and rear of the differential housing)

Suspension: Check the bushings, do they look cracked and worn out, if so, factor in replacements to your costs. What about the shocks (coil overs or ???), if you ask the seller to push down on each corner, watch the rebound, if they bounce forever, then expect to replace them. If the car is equipped with coil over shocks, set the car on an even surface and see if the car sits level or not. if so, then the shocks do not have to be adjusted, if not, then expect a few hours getting things right.

Brakes: If you place your hand on the front disks (do this before the car has been driven), can you feel any grooves in the disk itself? Does the brake pedal feel firm when your sitting in the car, what about on the test drive, ask the seller to do at least one hard braking maneuver so that you can tell whether the brakes are adjusted correctly for the car. Some cars will have a combination of disks and drums, others will have four wheel disk brakes. If set up correctly, a disk/drum set up will work for all but the most extreme usage (IE: heavy road racing, endurance racing, etc).

Wheels: Are the wheels balanced, bolted on, or held on with knock off's? Bolt on wheels are a matter of personal preference, if you like what is on the car, great, if not, factor in a replacement some time down the road. Knock off's should be checked to make sure they are tight, if the knock offs and safety wired on the car, that shows a level of attention worthy of a good owner/seller....

Tires: Are the sidewalls cracked, are the DOT approved, radials or biased ply? What about the sizing, do the fronts both match? What about the rears?

Electrical system: Do all of the lights function, hi beams, lo beams, turn signals, brake lights, horn, etc? What about all of the gauges, do they read correctly?

If you are buying a Cobra sight unseen:

Use the above as a reference guide as to what questions need to be asked. If the owner is forthcoming with detailed answers, then you can feel a little more comfortable in dealing with them. if the answers are a little more ambiguous and vague, then perhaps the owners is trying to hide something, or does not really have any mechanical ability or qualifications to answer the questions above..If this is the case, and your still interested in the car, pay to have the car professionally looked at by a qualified inspection service.

In closing, most of the above is all based on common sense. Don't let your emotions get involved in the decision whether to purchase one car or another. Also don't let other so called "experts" sway you to this brand or that, after all, it's your money, not theirs that your planning to spend..Finally, if you need assistance, or don't understand something fully, feel free to ask questions.

[FUNFER2]

Here are a few photo's that "imcobra" is selling. He posted his for sale but could not down size them so, he emailed them to me & I made them smaller. You could either look up his post, which I posted several photo's or email me for all the pics. Looks to be a nice ride. "factory five for sale" is his post with pics. Check it out.
Thanks,
Kev

[ducracer]

Thanks for the posts everyone. I know it's a lot easier to get something nice for 30k rather than under 25, but we are struggling to be able to afford the last 5. If we stumble on something that is decent for under 25, great. Otherwise, it may take a little more creativity to afford more than that unless we wait a bit.