Jazzman
01-21-2014, 03:08 AM
I spent a good amount of time last week at the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction. No, I did not succumb to temptation and buy the $450,000 truck or the $700,000 Camero, but it was really exciting to see someone else do it! The show is fantastic, and there is almost every car you can imagine going across the block. Lost of muscle cars this year. I really was there only for one purpose: to do research on building my Cobra.
I saw many Cobra replica's, everything from the unbelievably overpriced Superformance complete cars to the Shelby American Racing cars (equally overpriced) to the very cheap looking kits from "other companies". Wow, I know next to nothing and even I can see the real quality differences between the FFR cars and the "other kits". It certainly shows up in the price at the block. The FFR's were generally inside the main buildings, and the "others" were outside under the tents in the area for lesser valued cars.
I learned a lot. These comments certainly prove that opinions are like navels: everybody's got one!
"That's a Cobra! A 427 is the only engine that should be in a Cobra"
"The closer the attention to detail and the replication of every last item that was in an original 65 Shelby Cobra, the greater the value at the time of sale." (Who says I am ever going to sell it?!! My son already wants it, and it isn't even started!)
"The only real color for a Cobra is Kona Blue with White Stripes"
"A Coyote engine in a Cobra? Are you kidding me?!!"
"What makes you think you can build a better car from a kit than professionals who build these things every day?"
The research did help in a lot of good ways.
It clarified several design questions that I was struggling with.
I saw some new ideas that I will incorporate into my car.
It confirmed that I will fit into an FFR, but will need to use the traditional seats and not those fancy high back numbers. Wow, you really have to be thin as a rail to fit in those race seats.
It really gave me the bug to build my own!
It confirmed that I need to seek out other builders in my area.
I ran into a really friendly gentleman and his wife who were out here just for the auction from back east. He's about half way through his build, and had a lot of nice things to say about FFR and the process. Thanks and good luck!! (post pictures!!)
It really was lot of fun. I will go again next year for more "research"!!
Jazz
I saw many Cobra replica's, everything from the unbelievably overpriced Superformance complete cars to the Shelby American Racing cars (equally overpriced) to the very cheap looking kits from "other companies". Wow, I know next to nothing and even I can see the real quality differences between the FFR cars and the "other kits". It certainly shows up in the price at the block. The FFR's were generally inside the main buildings, and the "others" were outside under the tents in the area for lesser valued cars.
I learned a lot. These comments certainly prove that opinions are like navels: everybody's got one!
"That's a Cobra! A 427 is the only engine that should be in a Cobra"
"The closer the attention to detail and the replication of every last item that was in an original 65 Shelby Cobra, the greater the value at the time of sale." (Who says I am ever going to sell it?!! My son already wants it, and it isn't even started!)
"The only real color for a Cobra is Kona Blue with White Stripes"
"A Coyote engine in a Cobra? Are you kidding me?!!"
"What makes you think you can build a better car from a kit than professionals who build these things every day?"
The research did help in a lot of good ways.
It clarified several design questions that I was struggling with.
I saw some new ideas that I will incorporate into my car.
It confirmed that I will fit into an FFR, but will need to use the traditional seats and not those fancy high back numbers. Wow, you really have to be thin as a rail to fit in those race seats.
It really gave me the bug to build my own!
It confirmed that I need to seek out other builders in my area.
I ran into a really friendly gentleman and his wife who were out here just for the auction from back east. He's about half way through his build, and had a lot of nice things to say about FFR and the process. Thanks and good luck!! (post pictures!!)
It really was lot of fun. I will go again next year for more "research"!!
Jazz