O/T: Cobra Body?

Where is a good place to get a Ford Cobra body? Yes, I am talking about the phony ones.

 

Factory five, they make a glass and a Cf body.

there is a place in africa that is making aluminum ones,

 

I built an Everett-Morrison years ago and really liked their body.

 

pick up an issue of kitcar magazine or go online to search. there's probably three dozen manufacturers out there.

 

If you're pretty serious about doing this, it's worth getting the book from this place, as it's a good vendor reference. It's not exactly a "vendor review" as such, because he basically "approves" them by putting them in the book (& by implication, if a company is not listed, he doesn't approve of them...for whatever reason)...http://www.cobracountry.com/home2.html & click on Cobra buyer's guide.

At any rate it is a good starting point to begin the narrowing process. There are several good Cobra makers out there at various price points.

 

Factory Five are pretty bad. There are several different bodies: 289, 289FIA, 427... etc.

There are a few online Cobra Forums that have extensive reviews.

Kirkham makes the best. Aluminum, made in Poland. Very big bucks.

 

Go to club cobra. I had a good one but hot rodders are more fun.

 

Without this becoming a huge discussion about Cobra bodies....

When you say FFR is bad, do you mean bad as in bad or bad as in good? I've heard pretty good stuff about them, that's why I ask.

 

i had a full carbon fiber body kit from them. it was a piece of shit.

 

Good to know!

Been sort of staring at their Daytona Coupe body. It's pretty neat.... would be cooler if it was aluminum. Not a glass fan.

 

Weve got a factory five in the shop right now. If you want my opinion (and you asked) The factory five body is nice quality, and they are priced fairly.

 

If your building from scratch its very likely that you'll approach the cost of a Superformance car. I've been in and around several very well done home builts, a couple 'pro built' ones and a couple Superformance cars and even played with a Superformance car at the dealer near Cincinnatti years ago.

For the money its hard to beat the quality and completeness of the Superformance Cobras. Figure in that they're painted and 90 percent ready to go, they use brand new, modern, readily available components and the fact that they have fully enclosed/bulkheaded and reinforced bodies and its hard to beat for the money.

Then again, the Factory Five stuff isn't bad if your on a tight budget. Several folks bring then to our high performance driving schools at Watkins Glen and have a ball with them.....but the finished product is not even comparable to the SF cars and would take a ton of money and time to approach the quality, fit and finish of the SF cars at that. At 6'2" and 320lbs I actually fit and feel comfortable in a SF car......something thats hard to do in any of the other kit Cobras.

If your looking for a cool looking cheap ride then the FF and other kits are fine. If your eventually going to try to build a really nice car then save your money up for the Superformance cars. I havn't seen any of the new ones but if they're the same as they were 5-6 years ago then they are beautiful, high quality cars and built like a tank.

-Bigchief.

 

Still are...and as B.C. mentioned, if you do it up right, you will be VERY close to the cost of one by the end.

As usual it boils down to this...pay less money initially & pay a larger total in the long term...or take a deep breath, open up the wallet wider in the beginning, and have less expense to finish it.

If all you want is a body and frame for your own nefarious purposes (i.e. you don't really give a crap about authenticity and plan to make a Cobra drag car ala the Shelby Supersnake, or the like), I'd look for someone's used F.F. kit.

I still want to build a Daytona Coupe as a neat little hillclimb-type car/street driver.

 

What about Shell Valley Cobra in Madison (?), Nebraska? I used to live in Columbus, and those damn things were everywhere. Used to drink at a great little dive called Glur's Tavern and for some reason, there would be two or three of them parked there at any given time. They didn't look bad, but I know about as much about Cobras as I know about not being an asshole.

 

Buy my F.F.R. Cobra so I can finish my mercury.

 

Post a picture.

 

Here's a Factory Five we finished this summer..................
http://www.ffcobra.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1642342#post1642342

 

They have a solid rep in the Cobra world.

Can't help ya with that last part. You have a Ford truck in your avatar, though, so ya can't be all THAT bad.

 

I think I'd invest in going to one of the big kit car meets and look and ask. Be prepared to buy a body and frame as usually that is where the deals are from the vendors.

Plus you would get to look at several finished cars and ask the owners opinions on different ones.

 

Something you may want to know is that Factory Five 5.0 based cars have their own proportions and when you see them in person they are the least similar to a real Cobra. I know most could care less, and many Cobra kits are stretched or widened some but the small, angular body on FFR cars really stands out even when built well, as an obvious fake from a distance. That said its been a few years so they my have changed this but everyone I've ever seen is this way. Its not a bad package though.

The only one I'd truly call garbage in any form is the Street Beasts or Classic Replicas, I've seen so many people pour time and money down the drain on these they are the absolute worst on the market. The twisted half cured 32 coupes you at local meets forsale are better quality.

If you go glass, I highly recommend you see one in person first but as far as a tougher bodied car try Cutting Edge Composites. I've heard the name is changed but I'm not sure to what. Some of their kits are really nice others well I'd like to know what happened between when we made the master plugs and when they molded them. They build carbon fiber, or E-glass bodies while using Vinylester resin with a vacuum system. The results are lighter stronger bodies at less cost. When our shop worked with them they were thousands cheaper than other companies on most kits. I never saw the Cobra body in person but its worth a call if you can look them up. The old owner was Mike Super and they were sold as "Super Rods" (we laughed too) talk to him if he is still on board. He sold at least part of the business if not all of it but was still doing sales.

 

Some pics

 

Do the doors on it open? Who made the frame for it? Thanks for the pics, that is very nice!

 

Superformance are damn good, but it all comes down to how much $$ you want to spend. Sort that out FIRST then ask questions. About the best Cobra kit is the Robnell kit from Australia, look em up!
I am a HUGE Daytona Coupe fan but I'm not sure about superformance's one. Even know Pete Brock Ok'd it (He owned the rights to the car, not Shelby or Ford) Its not accurate, its a fair way off!!

 

Looks beautiful. I would have gone with a 03-04 Cobra drivetrain, but to each their own.

 

I had a Shell Valley 427 with the round tube frame that was very close to original as far as dimensions and style went. Nice quality. It had a 351 C with a T5 in it, so didn't look to stock under the hood. Went like stink, traded it for a 40 Ford pickup.

 

how much is an aluminum body?
just wondering

 

I built a Factory Five a few years back, I thought it was a very solid body. If I remember right there were some problems with the carbon fiber body when they first started production on them and the y actually stopped producing them for a while.

If you'll check the FFR forums they have a classifieds section and there are bodies for sale on there from time to time.

 

I don't think you can just buy the body alone....

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/package/427packindex.html

 

I believe Kroozn1 (Carl), in Las Vegas, has some experience with the Kirkham aluminum bodies. I saw an aluminum bodied Cobra body in his shop once and I think it was a Kirkham. Very nice looking body! I didin't really have anything to compare to, but the workmanship looked very nice!

 

AC Cars Ltd used to sell whole cars at least in the late '80s (AC Mark IV or something like that).

FFR has a solid reputation and probably more kits/support out there than even long-time mfgrs like ERA, Contemporary, Shell Valley, etc.

I've not built an FFR, but have seen one going together in a friend's shop - quality looked to be very good & he said parts fit was excellent.