Been reading quite a bit about the current trend in creating patina laden 32-34 coupes with new steel bodies. Seems to be two camps, both are correct, one is just a little luckier. Recently I fell into a purchase of an original '32 5 window virtually rust free sitting on a Pete and Jakes frame/suspension, small block chev and period '60s interior. The body was not finished but touched up. The coupe is straight, solid and bithchin'. I am lucky. Back in the '80s and '90s the desire to own a Shelby AC Cobra was always out of reach for any mortal, then came Superformance. The reproduction Cobras are as exact as the original, but they are not originals. Same is true for '32 roadsters, and coupes. An original small block Cobra will cost 1-2 million, a Superformance is 120k. Nuff said? Really what difference does it make? Think Henry made about 25,000 5 window coupes.....they are 93 years old. Clean frames and bodies are rare....very rare. United Pacific and Brookville saw an opportunity to help keep hot rodding going and provide solid platforms. Okay some old guys, maybe some young guys love the patina "Rolling Bones" look....roll with it. A new paint job, all shiny are everywhere, patina paint, done good or bad , never looks the same. Hot Rods are individual statements and dreams. Some guys are money flush and can get anything, some guys build rat rods on a shoestring, and most of us are in the middle where the most fun resides.
Thanks back to Don in Sweden. Alchemy..... know a guy that loves Plymouth coupes, restored a couple and just got a fresh one a couple of months ago. Will inquire. PS-Need a photo of car......talk about a lame tag!!
Was wondering that myself....? But back to the OP, a Superformance Cobra is far from exactly like an original Cobra, and if you've ever seen one parked next to a real one, you'll see just how very different in profile and detail they are.
I have a 33 Ford in my shop. A roadster. Well, it does have power windows but looks exactly like a 33 Ford. Well, except for the disappearing top. And oh, forgot, the curved stationary windshield. Hmm, guess it does look a bit off but not if there's no other nearby. United Pacific does pretty well based on comments here and my personal experience. Just got 2 fenders for the above 33. I got no critiques. Heavier than what was on it (Drake's?) and all the fits and contours are right. My 39 tail panel was so nice I coulda damn near said "Get on there!" and made it install itself. So the above said, repro is repro...is repro...is repro. UP is an exception as is Brookville. Anything else is usually the best parts $3.00/day labor can produce. Yeah, I said it, and don't look at me like that. Y'all know it too but think talking nice is ok. Fuck em. Most of that shit sux. And NONE OF IT works in conjunction with the other stuff it's meant to. That is unless you dick around and modify to fit, then when it fucks up you get to buy another cuz ya done modified it and can't return. That's why the above mentioned roadster got christened "The Fat Chick" because too many times it sent me home feeling less than accomplished that day, or like my pals caught me under the bleachers making out with the fat chick. And besides, that rolls off better than saying "caught riding my kid sister's bike." Like DDD above asked, what was the question? The 33 I mentioned is so far away from anything real-deal, as defined in our pages, I can't even post it in here. Maybe a sneak peak of a thing or 3 but the whole car is a middle finger to our standard bearers. If your point was that it's not a finger to hot rods in general I'd agree. Venue and perspective. Oh yeah, I've seen and even serviced real Cobras. The only "new" ones that look close are continuation cars or the new bodies that used to come in from South Africa around 20 years ago. Even then proper details are very costly if you want to emulate proper. Somebody else's turn to carry firewood to this campfire...
was at a winternationals car show and a gal from Cali had her dads '32 three window hot rod, real deal time capsule from the 50's ...it was exceptional and I chatted with her and thanked her for bringing it.... she said she 'didn't understand what the draw and the excitement was about the car'... I ask her if she would accompany me across the street of the fairgrounds to another building where there were new, bare metal, repop bodys displayed....she followed me over and halfway apologetically I said....'these are like store bought tits....' she smiled and with a twinkle she replied she now understood....and then added 'but I bet you look at both'
If the question is whether to paint or patina, here is my traditional answer: Back in the day, many rods had patchy finish while being built. But every rodders plan and dream was to finish with a paint finish that was at least as good as new factory built daily drivers. No rodders WANTED their rod to look old or neglected.
Speed 33. Nice body. Is that a new build? I have friends looking for a body or a car they can buy. Hard to find. Like those cobras, they can be finished in a traditional manner but they aren't going to fool anyone. Nor were they intended to. I'd like to see pics of it, you can PM if you have the time.
Many years ago at the vintage shindig at PIR there was an UNTOUCHED 427 Cobra, I could smell the Halibrands moulting magnesium from across the pits.
Hey, all my usual snark aside this really is a very nice car. It's not me, and having toiled and troubled over a cauldron to get it where it got I can say whatever. But yeah it's nice. And it's pretty close enough to a 33 roadster if it's dressed proper. So don't pick on the Fat Chick.
30 years ago I was out at a club with some buddies cruising for skirt, the ugly lights were our cue to scoot so we made for the door. We were giving one of the boys crap for dancing with a "larger lady" and he responded "fat chicks need lovin too"...she was standing right behind him within ear shot. I was getting ready for the shit show when she grabbed him around the middle and said "no lie there" and off they went into the early morning darkness. Moral of the story? They all deserve some love and attention, even the ones @anthony myrick would shamelessly drive. As for me, I'll save my dance card for the prewar cuties and the occasional muscle car.
I like thick chics An old ride is an old ride nice paint Old paint No paint Crappy paint Rust Glass Steel Original Aftermarket don’t care. Muscle cars? It’s a no for me Cobras? Nope Gassers? Ewwwwwwww school busses, trucks, and Taildraggers? Now ya talking
Checks calendar, Hmm, it's not dead of winter with the usual topic rehash... Must be summer break! Lemmie break it down like this. If the go fast guys back then could afford it, they would have started with Duesenbergs and Bentleys. If you can afford a pristine 193X Ford, go for it. https://www.earlyfordv8.org/classifieds.cfm?t=For Sale&c=Automobiles&id=20630 Hot rodders make due with what they can afford and the skills they have.
Love the repo chatter. In 1974 a buddy showed up to the BBQ with a little maroon roadster....a 289 AC Cobra.....he sheepishly told us he paid $8,500 for the sled. That year I bought a one owner '66 Corvette big block 390hp roadster for $3200....we were in shock! Over the years I have driven real and repo Cobras, all of which have about a one hour window of comfort and zero hearing, but are they cool! Real Cobras are in the hundreds, not thousands, so only a few chosen souls will ever own a real one. Back to the repo hotrod industry......here is the rub. Who would not want an original 32 three window? If you can't find or afford one, do you just give up? Hopefully you get a Brookville body and a collection of original goodies. It goes without saying that "Rolling Bones" cars are super bitchin', original bodies/frames, but they still put their own patina magic on the body and interior. This group is the coolest show in town when it comes to form meets function. When the Bones boys run out of original solid coupes are they just going to fold up the tents? No. They will adapt. Eventually the world will run out of good flathead blocks, even French ones and somebody will step up and start making repos......if the demand and desire is still there.
100% correct. The most accurate is the Kirkham. Made in an old MIG factory in Poland. Shelby uses them to build their replica cars - and charges you and extra 40 grand above a completed Kirkham for the serial number tag that claims it's a "real" Cobra. Buy the Factory 5 - a kit will always be a kit. Superformance has a licensing deal with Shelby to call their cars Cobras and put serial numbers on them - even though they've never seen the inside of a Shelby facility. Their kits are imported from South Africa. Kirkham built this 40 Ford convert out of copper. It's sitting on one of their Cobra chassis. https://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/about.shtml
Spot on....a lot of hustles going on. Sounds like you know your way around Cobras. At Monterey about 10 years ago, or so, Shelby was the marque. There was the place to see REAL Cobras, and they were pretty rough in racing form. Saw a used Kirkham 289 FIA Cobra for sale out of Montana about four years ago for 108k..... they had a tough time selling it. Why? The 289 Superformance was selling slab side was going for about 100k. All of them are still "non originals", but just as fun behind the wheel,.....for about an hour
Seems to me this topic was like a road map of rabbit holes. Or maybe a game of whack-a-mole? I suppose it could be looked at thru a few different lenses. Those of us in the dirty fingernail team and those who get driving glove lint under their fingernails and little else. "Looks like" will never be "is" regardless of origin. Good new product stands the test of time. I won't waste time on examples, we all know what's up. Here's a drop of rabbit fur and I'll try to include other trends of different venues. I really think that a well built and proper detailed car that fits these pages threw every example of fucks to give in the trash when the builder and or client peeled the 1st dollar outta their pocket. The fact of "real Henry" vs new? How's the build, and who's new? If it's Jimmy Pudnuts 'glass 3W it doesn't matter if looking at it includes a free tug from a hot topless dancer, it's still a plastic 3W. 9 outta 10 can see it from the back of the line to take a look. All steel, say Brookville vs Henry, only the dirtiest of fingernails can spy it from a distance, and that distance might be measured in mere inches if done really well. At that point it's rendered down to bragging rights and a tag line in the ad if it got sold later. "I GOT A REAL HENRY BODY!" as Kong bangs his chest atop the Empire State Bldg. Does it matter? I think if the car has a pedigree it might. As a new build it shouldn't matter much because the B'ville is such a nice product. UP's 5W is pretty damn nice too according to netlore. What you get with new in those 2 examples is clean metal from the word go. Saves money too in some cases. No patching or fab work at today's hourly rate. Another venue and example as mentioned. When I began my Packard life the big organizations accepted any REAL Packard body on any real Packard Chassis. If you had a nasty old 34 Packard 12 Roadster with a shitty frame and stuck motor you could take a 4dr as a donor and build/restore your roadster. It didn't make a 10 dollar bill's difference in value. Why should it? Today, yeah yer fucked. ALL LEGIT PACKARD, but somewhere it's known how it came to be and you and your car are lepers. That $400k roadster will struggle to be worth $250k. Seems matching number madness started by the vette folks infected everything. What's funny is none of the numbers on a Packard match. Motor, chassis, axles, steering box, I've seen originals where those numbers are really close, within 10 or 12 apart, and seen originals that are as much as 100 apart. If you know you know. Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg? There's still records. There used to be varied levels of certification. Category A was born as, B was more built-with, and I won't swear to it but I think there was a C too, like new coach work but all correct. Now it's all A or nothing, born as. Certification means you got the real gig. If someone did a perfect clone of one of the most cherished Deuce roadsters in hot rod history, with a B'ville body, what is it? Decades ago someone did a stunning Hirohata Mercury. I'll bet it wouldn't hammer in the millions at auction tho, would it. I whacked a lotta moles but they're still popping up. S'up...
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