Looking for Authenticity How far to go?

[Dumpling]

Think of these replicas as rolling display cabinets. Show off your rare geegaws someplace other than on the walls of the garage. Got an original badge? Put it on the fiberglass 'shelf' on show it off. Rate chrome bit? Bolt it on. Troublesome original gauges? Wire them in and point them out.

[Bearwolf]

I have my deposit in with ERA for an FIA and they should be starting it in a few months. When I went through the engine debate with myself I quickly realized that if someone is looking close enough to see I used a roller block instead of a 5 bolt block, they likely have already noticed the coil spring suspension and square frame. If I were building an aluminum, round tube car, I'd go through the trouble of a correct motor. Seeing I'm building an ERA I have a 302 and a Tremic TKO 600 on standby in my garage waiting for the car. It'll look correct, and if I blow the motor up while having fun it'll be nearly nothing to stick another 302 in there. But the heart wants what the heart wants, so if having a 302 will be something you have nagging regrets about, you better buy a 5 bolt.

[RodKnock]

IMO, an accurate replica is a "fool's errand."

Only SAAC (Shelby American Automobile Club) judges would be able to tell the difference between accuracies and inaccuracies and yourself. And SAAC judges won't care.

I went to smallish car show recently and just about no one knew my car was replica and the rest thought I had a chrome 3M vinyl wrap on my Kirkham.

But if it's fun for ya, go for it.

[tboneheller]

No matter how much money you spend or how original it looks, you will ALWAYS hear the same line everywhere you go. "Hey, man. is that real? No? So it is just a kit car then." And you will be as ticked off as every other Cobra owner has been since the first replica was created, unless you can answer their original question with a "YES. It is real.".

[patrickt]

I only get that question anymore from ol' farts. Anybody under the age of, say, 45, tends to ask "what kind of car is this?"

[ScratchBuilder]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I only get that question anymore from ol' farts. Anybody under the age of, say, 45, tends to ask "what kind of car is this?"

And thats one of the reasons mine doesnt have any badges on it

[66gtk]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I only get that question anymore from ol' farts. Anybody under the age of, say, 45, tends to ask "what kind of car is this?"

true dat

[LMH]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

IMO, an accurate replica is a "fool's errand."

Only SAAC (Shelby American Automobile Club) judges would be able to tell the difference between accuracies and inaccuracies and yourself. And SAAC judges won't care.

I went to smallish car show recently and just about no one knew my car was replica and the rest thought I had a chrome 3M vinyl wrap on my Kirkham.

But if it's fun for ya, go for it.

I'm not so sure they know after I got to look at a judges score sheet from a few years ago. It had a number of mistakes in it.

Larry

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by LMH

I'm not so sure they know after I got to look at a judges score sheet from a few years ago. It had a number of mistakes in it.

Larry

They don't make SAAC judges like they used to in the old days.

So, almost no one, maybe not a SAAC judge nor the rest of the general public, will know if your authentic replica is "accurate", except maybe "you."

[patrickt]

I've met a lot of judges in my life. Most of them are basically unhappy and hate their jobs.

[LMH]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

They don't make SAAC judges like they used to in the old days.

So, almost no one, maybe not a SAAC judge nor the rest of the general public, will know if your authentic replica is "accurate", except maybe "you."

That's true... but that's where the hobby actually is! To have a replica more accurate than most current originals!

Larry

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by LMH

That's true... but that's where the hobby actually is! To have a replica more accurate than most current originals!

Larry

Au contraire mon frère.

The "numbers matching" and "date code" crowd are a dying breed. Most newcomers could care less, including me. I'm not paying "you" an extra dime for a correct wiring harness, Toploader, dated coded sideoiler/Hipo 289 or Smiths' gauges. Most buyers look at a Superformance or Backdraft and say "looks great to me" and buy it.

IMO, there's a "Law of Diminishing Returns" when it comes to the "originality" of a replica. But whatever toots your horn.

[LMH]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Au contraire mon frère.

The "numbers matching" and "date code" crowd are a dying breed. Most newcomers could care less, including me. I'm not paying "you" an extra dime for a correct wiring harness, Toploader, dated coded sideoiler/Hipo 289 or Smiths' gauges. Most buyers look at a Superformance or Backdraft and say "looks great to me" and buy it.

IMO, there's a "Law of Diminishing Returns" when it comes to the "originality" of a replica. But whatever toots your horn.

I know what you're saying but I think what we've hit on is Cobra person vs Hot Rodder. For a Cobra guy, he wants a Cobra but is bank-account-challenged! (I fit in this category!) Only a close replica is going to give him the experience of owning an original, which is his ultimate goal. A Hot Rodder doesn't care. The car kind of sort of looks like a Cobra and it's fast! That's the hobby for him.
Larry

[MAStuart]

Larry and all. No one is going to let me flog there original car. I have never wanted a kit car. I want the experience of driving an original car on the track. I have to think that some of the kit cars can drive circles around some of the original cars. Knowing that some kit cars may preform better in terms of braking, handling , speed......... I am ok with that. I am scratch building a Daytona coupe as close to original specs as I can . Now some think scratch building is buying a frame from so-n-so and a body and all the parts from someone else. To me this is putting one together with parts. Building an aluminum body from scratch is harder to do than I originally thought. Not the metal shaping but just trying to find the info of where the joints in the body should be . When I get done if ever I will have a pile of junk that will fool some cobra experts. I will be asked many times if it is a kit car. I will say....... if a pile of metal tubing and aluminum sheet is kit car .

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by MAStuart

Larry and all. No one is going to let me flog there original car. I have never wanted a kit car. I want the experience of driving an original car on the track. I have to think that some of the kit cars can drive circles around some of the original cars. Knowing that some kit cars may preform better in terms of braking, handling , speed......... I am ok with that. I am scratch building a Daytona coupe as close to original specs as I can . Now some think scratch building is buying a frame from so-n-so and a body and all the parts from someone else. To me this is putting one together with parts. Building an aluminum body from scratch is harder to do than I originally thought. Not the metal shaping but just trying to find the info of where the joints in the body should be . When I get done if ever I will have a pile of junk that will fool some cobra experts. I will be asked many times if it is a kit car. I will say....... if a pile of metal tubing and aluminum sheet is kit car .

Any time you start with anything more than iron ore and bauxite you're building a kit car.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by LMH

I know what you're saying but I think what we've hit on is Cobra person vs Hot Rodder. For a Cobra guy, he wants a Cobra but is bank-account-challenged! (I fit in this category!) Only a close replica is going to give him the experience of owning an original, which is his ultimate goal. A Hot Rodder doesn't care. The car kind of sort of looks like a Cobra and it's fast! That's the hobby for him.
Larry

A “Cobra guy” is a “dying breed.”

I consider myself a “Cobra guy” and could have built an accurate replica. I could have spent another $25,000 (a pure WAG) making my Kirkham accurate, but: a) the ROI would have been 10 cents on the dollar, if that, b) 1 (“you” the builder) out of 1,000,000 could actually notice any difference and c) no replica (anything built after 1967) will ever be an original.

However, if “you” the builder derive fun from those tiny details, then more power to you. But I’ll need to remind “you” the builder, if you’re building your authentic replica from fiberglass, then “you” the builder missed the most basic and essential detail of building an accurate replica.

[MAStuart]

Originally Posted by cycleguy55

Any time you start with anything more than iron ore and bauxite you're building a kit car.

Hey your right! I told one guy I could not afford the land to mine the ore and make the tubing. Same thing with the plywood for the buck. One guy just could not understand how you could drive a wooden car when he saw my buck.

[LMH]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

A “Cobra guy” is a “dying breed.”

I consider myself a “Cobra guy” and could have built an accurate replica. I could have spent another $25,000 (a pure WAG) making my Kirkham accurate, but: a) the ROI would have been 10 cents on the dollar, if that, b) 1 (“you” the builder) out of 1,000,000 could actually notice any difference and c) no replica (anything built after 1967) will ever be an original.

However, if “you” the builder derive fun from those tiny details, then more power to you. But I’ll need to remind “you” the builder, if you’re building your authentic replica from fiberglass, then “you” the builder missed the most basic and essential detail of building an accurate replica.

Well you've almost got it! If you think the "A Cobra Guy" is a dying breed, you haven't spent enough time around original cars/owners. (yes, I know you're referring to originalist replica owners though)

Totally disagree with you about aluminum bodies vs fiberglass. An original car having an aluminum body is NOT the essential detail that makes it original and a replica using an aluminum body is the same way. The essential detail (visually) on a replica would be it's shape, not the material it's made of. Besides, no originalist would ever polish a body of aluminum. Always paint and in original colors. On my car, I haven't decided which way to go, aluminum or fiberglass. For aluminum, it somewhat depends on who makes it and the buck they have to make it on. Chassis is the same either way. But the point is that the body material isn't THE main aspect of a replica as doesn't change the experience of what it's like to drive an original car. It's the chassis, suspension, steering, brakes, etc.

The research on how the cars were made has been the best part of it all though! The tiniest details of every aspect of original cars IS the hobby and I hope goes on and on! (thank you Dan!)

Larry

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by LMH

Besides, no originalist would ever polish a body of aluminum.

My motto for both life as well as aluminum Cobras, if you got the body, then flaunt it.

And if you’re “originalist replica” owner, an oxymoron BTW, then IMO fiberglass is a big fail. If you’re purchasing a replica, without buying the alloy body, then what’s the point? Date coded blocks, original wiring harnesses, toploaders, Smith gauges, etc. is moot.

[LMH]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

My motto for both life as well as aluminum Cobras, if you got the body, then flaunt it.

And if you’re “originalist replica” owner, an oxymoron BTW, then IMO fiberglass is a big fail. If you’re purchasing a replica, without buying the alloy body, then what’s the point? Date coded blocks, original wiring harnesses, toploaders, Smith gauges, etc. is moot.

After all these years, I do understand your post! Don't get me wrong, love aluminum but...
Does your car have tube steel suspension and Koni coilovers? Girling calipers and solid disc rotors? Slip joint axles? Cam Gears steering rack?
If it doesn't, what's the point?

Larry