CobraboyDR
02-10-2021, 04:46 PM
In a closed thread, GoDaddyGo asked what my future build plans are. I thought the question deserved an answer.
There are things I'd like, and things that make sense.
One caveat: I want to "build" my next project with new parts, Build School and all. I might even fly down a body guy for body prep help & edumacation since I have zero experience in working fiberglass and doubt locals have any fiberglass experience at all. Hence FFR is on top of the list for many reasons. Others are on the radar, but the clear preference is FFR, otherwise, I'd have already pulled the trigger...
Second caveat: I lean more "originalist" than not, recognizing "original" means $X,XXX,XXX. If I can't BE original, I wanna at least LOOK more original. I'm not a car show guy, so when I hear "build it the way you want", this is my preference, and have no issue with how anyone else spends their $$$ at all.
Keep in mind that I will have to pay ocean shipping and 56% taxes & import duty to bring any repro to the DR, including a kit. So take your all-in costs and add 60% to it. Suddenly, lower costs become magnified, otherwise, I'd have a Kirkham with aluminum FE. That $55-60k you spent becomes $88-100k in my world. Kinda changes thinking somewhat, no? BTW: I think there are three FFR's on the island, one that Dave Smith highlighted in some marketing materials. I did see a SPF Daytona coupe at an officially-sanctioned DR car club rally (car shows here are very, very different.) I'm guessing the owner has upwards of $175+k in it. Must be nice!
I'd LIKE a slab-side, but the choices are limited and either too rich for my blood, or I don't want to wait in line for 2+ years. I know a slab-side body is available through Mr. Bruce, but I don't want to get into that much glass and mod work to make it happen. But slab-sides are rare and don't get lost in a sea of S/C replicas. This is a "like."
I like FE big blocks which have powered three of the four repros I've owned, the other being a pedestrian 351W. I know FE's well. 90% of our SPF sales were FE's from the late Bill Parham's outfit. But unless you go with a 390 block an FE gets really spendy fast, and I'm not sure I want a 390 masquerading as a 428/427 in MY cage. Possible, but not my first choice. A stroked and tricked out 390 can get you to 445 cubes with big power but at a price not that much less than a 428CJ. A top or sideoiler 427 is becoming monster spendy. Aluminum blocks just compound the expense. This a "like" that doesn't make much "sense."
I do like 289FIA cars, trunk dimples and all, and FFR makes a fine example. Unique & ERA do, too, but the FFR frame is a winner, for sure. An FIA car also is a proper small block car, so no excuses for the motor are required. FIAs are also fairly rare and make an interesting history lesson for folks who don't know much of the Cobra story. This is a definite "like."
I also like street roadsters. A LOT. No scoop, rollbar, UCE and full bumpers, less testosterone. Gorgeous. But a 427 roadster is still a "big block" car along with the big block costs, a real "like" that doesn't make a lot of "sense.".
That leads me to an intriguing compromise, the best of the "roadster" and "SBF" world, where "like" also makes "sense": a replica of the British 1966 AC 289 Sport MkIII, a small block, wide-flared roadsters (nobody except Kirkham makes a narrow-hop roadster, and the process of changing the S/C rear to narrow-hip is well beyond my capabilities.) The Brits didn't think a 427 would sell in Jolly Ol' for numerous reasons, so instead of putting an FE in the MkIII roadster, they put in the 289. With wire wheels. Now some converted the wires to Halibrand wheels, but IMO the wire-wheeled version is unique and gorgeous for a streetcar. The car has no Cobra emblems because AC didn't own it. It's badged and licensed A/C, no snakes anywhere. It's the exact same car they shipped to Shelby as the 427 roadster, just the Brit version. AC later became AutoKraft. These were COB, not CSX, cars.:
https://images1.bonhams.com/image?src=Images/live/2012-08/08/8606807-1-11.jpg&width=640&height=480&autosizefit=1
In purple. I'm fairly certain it won't be purple:
https://images45.fotki.com/v159/photos/5/40265/10240182/std_1966_ac_cobra_mk_iii_289-vi.jpg
A SBF is natural in one and I'm thinking a mid-tuned 302/306/331 around 350-375hp/390tq range would be the ticket, quick and fast without absurdity, dressed as the original, vintage 289. The original AC 289 Sports MKIII did a 4.7 second 0-60 and 13.5 1/4mi. with 271hp/310tq and 185/15 bias-ply tires. I am reasonably certain those figures can be improved.
Additionally, Dayton can build custom spline-drive wire wheels in almost any configuration & backspace along with adapters; they cost more, but are very do-able. The AC 298 Sport came with 6"x15" wheels. I suspect a 7" wire wheel built with more favorable backspace & adapter could fit on the FFR IRS and still look "normal" in the rear wheel wells, without concern for "deep dish" Halibrand look as on the Shelby S/C models. Decent rubber, maybe 205/70's, could be fitted without being overwhelmed by the engine power and go along with the "original" look. My guess is the total width of a 7" wheel on the FFR IRS system has a "built in" backspace vs. more traditional 9.5-10.5" wheels, and would look proper in the wheel well. The front suspension would be standard, not narrowed, FFR specs. Math is required, and there will be a test ;) .
Of course, the 289 Sports MkIII requires UCE, a task made more difficult in FFR's chassis and fuel tank configuration. I'm pondering a 3" sleeve in the rear cross-member, and a custom narrower or shallower or higher fuel tank with heat shielding to make space beneath or to the side for the rear-exit exhaust. I am not too concerned about the inevitable loss of fuel capacity.
The result, IMO, would be a rather unique and one-of-a-kind, but still in the proper AC family of hi-po sleds. If I can convince myself of the engineering challenges, I may do this. I've gone the high-hp & loud S/C route and now gravitate more toward a "gentlemen's" hi-po cruiser, a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Otherwise, the fall-back is an FIA car IF FFR ever offers an IRS/pin-drive combo, or outside vendors engineers a system on the current frame. I have a hard time getting enthusiastic over a solid axle/pin-drive solution, and pin/spline-drive is a "must have." I do think FFR is missing on a sizable share of the market, and no doubt have their business reasons. With the current FFR high-quality parameters, this option would cover the market.
There are some excellent FFR 289FIA examples on this forum, cutting being a prime example off the top of my head.
There are things I'd like, and things that make sense.
One caveat: I want to "build" my next project with new parts, Build School and all. I might even fly down a body guy for body prep help & edumacation since I have zero experience in working fiberglass and doubt locals have any fiberglass experience at all. Hence FFR is on top of the list for many reasons. Others are on the radar, but the clear preference is FFR, otherwise, I'd have already pulled the trigger...
Second caveat: I lean more "originalist" than not, recognizing "original" means $X,XXX,XXX. If I can't BE original, I wanna at least LOOK more original. I'm not a car show guy, so when I hear "build it the way you want", this is my preference, and have no issue with how anyone else spends their $$$ at all.
Keep in mind that I will have to pay ocean shipping and 56% taxes & import duty to bring any repro to the DR, including a kit. So take your all-in costs and add 60% to it. Suddenly, lower costs become magnified, otherwise, I'd have a Kirkham with aluminum FE. That $55-60k you spent becomes $88-100k in my world. Kinda changes thinking somewhat, no? BTW: I think there are three FFR's on the island, one that Dave Smith highlighted in some marketing materials. I did see a SPF Daytona coupe at an officially-sanctioned DR car club rally (car shows here are very, very different.) I'm guessing the owner has upwards of $175+k in it. Must be nice!
I'd LIKE a slab-side, but the choices are limited and either too rich for my blood, or I don't want to wait in line for 2+ years. I know a slab-side body is available through Mr. Bruce, but I don't want to get into that much glass and mod work to make it happen. But slab-sides are rare and don't get lost in a sea of S/C replicas. This is a "like."
I like FE big blocks which have powered three of the four repros I've owned, the other being a pedestrian 351W. I know FE's well. 90% of our SPF sales were FE's from the late Bill Parham's outfit. But unless you go with a 390 block an FE gets really spendy fast, and I'm not sure I want a 390 masquerading as a 428/427 in MY cage. Possible, but not my first choice. A stroked and tricked out 390 can get you to 445 cubes with big power but at a price not that much less than a 428CJ. A top or sideoiler 427 is becoming monster spendy. Aluminum blocks just compound the expense. This a "like" that doesn't make much "sense."
I do like 289FIA cars, trunk dimples and all, and FFR makes a fine example. Unique & ERA do, too, but the FFR frame is a winner, for sure. An FIA car also is a proper small block car, so no excuses for the motor are required. FIAs are also fairly rare and make an interesting history lesson for folks who don't know much of the Cobra story. This is a definite "like."
I also like street roadsters. A LOT. No scoop, rollbar, UCE and full bumpers, less testosterone. Gorgeous. But a 427 roadster is still a "big block" car along with the big block costs, a real "like" that doesn't make a lot of "sense.".
That leads me to an intriguing compromise, the best of the "roadster" and "SBF" world, where "like" also makes "sense": a replica of the British 1966 AC 289 Sport MkIII, a small block, wide-flared roadsters (nobody except Kirkham makes a narrow-hop roadster, and the process of changing the S/C rear to narrow-hip is well beyond my capabilities.) The Brits didn't think a 427 would sell in Jolly Ol' for numerous reasons, so instead of putting an FE in the MkIII roadster, they put in the 289. With wire wheels. Now some converted the wires to Halibrand wheels, but IMO the wire-wheeled version is unique and gorgeous for a streetcar. The car has no Cobra emblems because AC didn't own it. It's badged and licensed A/C, no snakes anywhere. It's the exact same car they shipped to Shelby as the 427 roadster, just the Brit version. AC later became AutoKraft. These were COB, not CSX, cars.:
https://images1.bonhams.com/image?src=Images/live/2012-08/08/8606807-1-11.jpg&width=640&height=480&autosizefit=1
In purple. I'm fairly certain it won't be purple:
https://images45.fotki.com/v159/photos/5/40265/10240182/std_1966_ac_cobra_mk_iii_289-vi.jpg
A SBF is natural in one and I'm thinking a mid-tuned 302/306/331 around 350-375hp/390tq range would be the ticket, quick and fast without absurdity, dressed as the original, vintage 289. The original AC 289 Sports MKIII did a 4.7 second 0-60 and 13.5 1/4mi. with 271hp/310tq and 185/15 bias-ply tires. I am reasonably certain those figures can be improved.
Additionally, Dayton can build custom spline-drive wire wheels in almost any configuration & backspace along with adapters; they cost more, but are very do-able. The AC 298 Sport came with 6"x15" wheels. I suspect a 7" wire wheel built with more favorable backspace & adapter could fit on the FFR IRS and still look "normal" in the rear wheel wells, without concern for "deep dish" Halibrand look as on the Shelby S/C models. Decent rubber, maybe 205/70's, could be fitted without being overwhelmed by the engine power and go along with the "original" look. My guess is the total width of a 7" wheel on the FFR IRS system has a "built in" backspace vs. more traditional 9.5-10.5" wheels, and would look proper in the wheel well. The front suspension would be standard, not narrowed, FFR specs. Math is required, and there will be a test ;) .
Of course, the 289 Sports MkIII requires UCE, a task made more difficult in FFR's chassis and fuel tank configuration. I'm pondering a 3" sleeve in the rear cross-member, and a custom narrower or shallower or higher fuel tank with heat shielding to make space beneath or to the side for the rear-exit exhaust. I am not too concerned about the inevitable loss of fuel capacity.
The result, IMO, would be a rather unique and one-of-a-kind, but still in the proper AC family of hi-po sleds. If I can convince myself of the engineering challenges, I may do this. I've gone the high-hp & loud S/C route and now gravitate more toward a "gentlemen's" hi-po cruiser, a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Otherwise, the fall-back is an FIA car IF FFR ever offers an IRS/pin-drive combo, or outside vendors engineers a system on the current frame. I have a hard time getting enthusiastic over a solid axle/pin-drive solution, and pin/spline-drive is a "must have." I do think FFR is missing on a sizable share of the market, and no doubt have their business reasons. With the current FFR high-quality parameters, this option would cover the market.
There are some excellent FFR 289FIA examples on this forum, cutting being a prime example off the top of my head.