new to this

[cobra625]

im just wondering what the best kit manufacturer is. is it superformance, factory five, or what? any help would be good. im new to this and dont know which is better.

[Bruce Edwards]

You are about to open one BIG can of worms!
My feeling is the best car you can have is the one you can afford! You get what you pay for.
Now were is my beer and chips??? Cause this is going to be fun to watch!
Just to stir the pot if you come down to Orlando and look me up I will take you for a "Quick" spin in our Hunter kit with a 4.6 and supercharger.

[cobra625]

thanks. ill do that if im in the area. lets pretend money is no object. what is the best kit i can get and from what manufacturer? maybe someone can tell me the highest quality cobra kit out there. the other question is whats the difference between MKIII and MKII?

[Bruce Edwards]

Money no object??? I want YOU for a customer!!!!!
The TRUEST car would be the Kirkham as they took one and used it to back engineer their car. Shelby uses this as the base for his cars as well.
But like the original cars I can not help but feel that in the future they will have the same corrosion problems that the original cars have. Electrolysis plays hell when you start mixing metals.

[cobra625]

ok well how do superformance and factory five compare. thesse are the two i have heard the most about so i want to know which is better past all the normal hype

[Bruce Edwards]

Well what are you trying to do make me step in something smelly?
Ok here goes MY feelings on the matter. I do not like the factory five cars much. Here it comes I know from all of the Factory five folks out there but for ME they just do not look right some how. The shape is not really correct and makes the car stand out as a kit.
One of the things I look for in a nice car is the novice asking "Is it real?? and going to the shows I do not hear that much about the Factory Five cars.
Have not seen to may Superformance cars as yet so I will with hold any feelings on that part of it.
You are really trying to get me in trouble here I hope you know that.

[cobra625]

sorry about getting you in trouble. if anyone has experience with both superformance and factory five then please let me know. also, how does the FF car 'not look right'? is it just the lines of the car? if i get one i obviously watnt the lines to be true to the original. again, what does mkII and mkIII mean?

[Bruce Edwards]

Mark II is an earlier model that the updaated Mark III
Look at some pics on this site. To me the lines are not true to the original and it shows more than I would like for myself.

[cobra625]

so which one is more original? and how different is one from the other. i dont have a trained eye but they look pretty close to me.

[Bruce Edwards]

The diffence is in some updates to the car to make it "better".
Go to some shows and ask the owners about the cars. Go for test rides if they will let you.
The best way to pick out YOUR car is to look at as many as you can BEFORE you spend your money. Check out how hard they are to put together, how well the frames and body hold up over time, what problems come up, how does it ride, how well do the brakes work and on and on.

[cobra625]

i have a BIG favor to ask someone. can someone give me a list of specs including wheelbase, length, height(top of windscreen), width, dry/loaded weight(i know it depends on the engine), ground clearance, weight distribution, and drag coefficient. If you can answer some of these it would be a huge help. the reason i ask is that when you compare the superformance and factory five specs, the superformance is bigger in everything except dry weight, so i need to know whats closer to the original. one must not look right.

[Doug I]

The two replicas really come at you from totally different directions. The FFR is a kit delivered to your door. Add 1 Mustang and stir. Bake for about XXX hours and top with paint. Finished replica can look very very sharp indeed and will be a total blast to drive.

Superformance (SPF) is delivered as a painted roller complete and ready for engine. The SPF comes with the original style pin drives wheels only. It will be a total blast to drive. It is more expensive.

I'd suggest looking at Backdraft. They are delivered as a roller as per the SPF but don't have pin drive wheels. They are not as expensive. I've seen a SPF, a BDR and a FFR side by side and all 3 were impressive. I drove the BDR and loved it !!

There is another very well regarded kit company not far from you. Unique have been in the business since '77 and produce a very good kit. I've seen and ridden in one and it was impressive.

Then there is ERA, Kirkham, B&B, JPL, Shell Valley, A&C, Arntz, Classic, Lone Star, Shamrock, Shelby and a few I'm bound to have nissed (sorry to those I did - going from memory).

The best one for you is the one you like the look of, can build to how you want to finish it, is finished for you, you can afford and ends up in your garage.

Have fun with the search and enjoy.

regards
Doug I

[Dwight]

THERE ARE A LOT OF COBRAS IN THE ATLANTA AREA. GO TO THEIR CRUISE IN AND LOOK FOR YOUR SELF. I'M SURE THEY WILL GIVE YOU A RIDE. IF YOUR NOT CLOSE TO ATLANTA, THEN POST AND FIND COBRAS IN YOUR AREA. SIT IN AND RIDE IN AS MANY AS YOU CAN. THEY ARE ALL A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
FFR $20 TO $35K
SPF $40 TO $65K
I HAVE SEEN A LOT OF VERY GOOD LOOKING FFRs. DO YOU WANT TO BUILD YOUR CAR OR BUY A ROLLER. DO YOU WANT A VERY FAST COBRA OR MORE OF A CRUISER? DO YOU WANT IT TO LOOK JUST LIKE A ORIGINAL? BIG BLOCK OR SMALL BLOCK? 4 SPEED, 5 SPEED OR AUTO? RED, WHITE OR BLUE? THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD COBRAS FOR SALE AND THE PRICES ARE LOW.

www.factoryfive.com/

www.cobracountry.com/unique/home.html

www.superformance.com/

www.shellvalley.com/

www.classicroadsters.com/classic/docs/home.cfm

www.mattrandolph.com/cobra/Cobras.htm MAP OF COBRA FACTORIES AND BUILDERS

[cobra625]

what are pin drive wheels?

[G.R.]

Knock off wheels ie. usually a 3 ear spinner(knockoff) or, rarely, some times a large nut---driven by pins on the wheel hub--no lugnuts as on a typical wheel---thus "pin drive wheels"

In the Cobra replica market you can go from the "Kia to the Rolls" in quality of build---so many factors are involved , cost, quality, authenticity to the original cars, and on and on.

And in the end it really means nothing if what you get is the one you want. Is there a "best"? I don't know. They all replicate the original in one way or another and will turn heads on the street. Cobraphiles will be the only ones that will nitpick one mfg from another.

Depending upon your budget--Kirkham or Shelby for a "tin" or glass car,Superformance, ERA, Unique, Backdraft, Lonestar, Shell Valley, Midstates, Classic roadster, FFR---and others. And other than the first two there is no particular order in my recommendation. The best will be the one "you" build or buy--because it is yours.

Probably the hardest question here to answer is "which kit is best or better" lots of loyalty here to a particular make.

Research, research, research--Unless you are dead set upon building your own look at the "For Sale" market here and on Cobra Country---some real values out there at a fraction of the cost of trying to build/buy a similar one---IMO

[Turk]

If money is no object, why are you looking at FFRs and SPFs?

TURK

[cobra625]

money is an object i just wanted an idea of where things stood. if it were no object id get one from shelby american.

[SCOBRAC]

contemporary...

[clayfoushee]

www.uniquemotorcars.com

Unique is not a really a kit.....usually delivered as a rolling chassis. Those that own them and/or have experience with them, love them. Backdraft also deserves serious consideration. SPF is also well done. Kirkham is in a higher price class, at least it was until recent sales, but that may be over.

FFR is more of a do it yourselfer, but I have seen some extremely nice examples.