Aluminum body on a MK4

[Stang50Steve]

What are you all's thoughts on putting an aluminum body on a MK4?
https://www.coachsmithing.com/ is willing to sell a complete aluminum body for a MK4 for 23.5K.
Aluminum body Cobra replicas seem hard if not impossible to find for under 100k and sometimes go for more than 200k.
Just want to be clear I'm not promoting this vendor in any way I'm wondering if anyone has dealt with them and looking for peoples thoughts on the idea.

[toadster]

if you like it - go for it :)

[Avalanche325]

I have seen a few different replicas with aluminum bodies, and of course some originals. They all had one thing in common. The owners hovered around them in absolute terror that someone was going to lean on it, tap on it (to see if it is AL), or even look at it hard enough to dent it. The Superformance dealer in SoCal keeps their AL bodied cars roped off.

It's not for me. But if that's what you want, go for it. Just realize what you are getting yourself into.

[Jeff Kleiner]

The webpage won't open for me but didn't we go down a similar "Aluminum body for FFR" path a few years ago with Alloycars?

https://www.ffcars.com/threads/scammer-using-pics-of-my-ffr-as-representing-his-product.475785/

Just sayin'...

Jeff

[Rdone585]

I saw a polished aluminum Kirkham and was hands off please. It was so shinny that it looked like a mirror. If you were to touch it, your finger print would be stuck on there and would have to be buffed or polished off.

[JohnK]

Just do a chrome wrap on it...

https://wrapfolio.com/original-shelby-cobra-wrap/

[CraigS]

Aluminum is cool, on someone else's car. There are a couple of Kirkams in the DC area where we used to live. One was scotchbrite w/ the striped area polished and one was full scotchbrite. They are a ***** to keep nice looking. Even the scotchbrite surface is tough because any cleaner you use to remove a scratch or a plastered bug affects the look. And getting the exact same pattern in the scotchbrite is difficult.

[Straversi]

I have a couple friends with Kirkhams. They are plenty stout. No worries about people leaning into them. They are painted so no worries about scuffs or finger prints. If your coach builder is proposing something comparable to a Kirkham you will have a nice car. If it makes you happy and is within your budget, go for it. I don’t think you will automatically see $100k resale value because of an aluminum body though. Lots of factors go into what pushes one replica to the top of the market. If you do it, keep us in the loop with lots of pictures.
-Steve

[RoadRacer]

The webpage won't open for me but didn't we go down a similar "Aluminum body for FFR" path a few years ago with Alloycars?

https://www.ffcars.com/threads/scammer-using-pics-of-my-ffr-as-representing-his-product.475785/

Just sayin'...

Jeff

Well thanks for that rabbit hole! I got lost there for a good hour :D

[Alan_C]

The cars attract enough attention on their own. The polished aluminum bodies are gaudy. An aluminum body is not going to make the car drive better, so why? Now a carbon fiber body would be more interesting IMO as it is unusual and lowers the weight of the body. A carbon fiber body with a candy tinted clear over it allowing the fiber pattern to be seen but with a bit of color, now that I would like to see.