jrohrig
07-21-2023, 06:59 PM
Bought a kit in December 2022. Just received a call from Stewart Trans that my kit will be delivered around August 6th! This will be my official build thread page. I wont be able to post as much as some others may have but I'm gonna do my best.
When I was 13, (1997) and I saw my first cobra at a Bobs Big Boy car show in Burbank Ca, I knew one day I would have one. Since I don't have a million dollars to buy an original and probably wouldn't drive it that much anyway in fear of damaging it, I have been saving for a replica. For quite a while now, I have been steadily researching and gathering as much information as possible to make the most educated decision I can in purchasing this car. Factory Five, ERA, Backdraft, and Superformance all put out a great product. I must say, between FFcars and this forum, the Factory Five support network and community is one of the main reason I decided to go with Factory Five. I am looking forward to this build and am so grateful that this community of builders exists to help each other out. I'm hoping that I can help out future builders as well with the lessons I learn from my experiences.
Intro:
I'm 39 years old, 3 kids (10, 8, and 1) and have been married to my best friend for almost 14 years. Thankfully my wife is very supportive of this project. I live in Rancho Cucamonga (SoCal) and have spent the last year prepping my garage to receive the car. My Pops recently retired and so between him and my children, we will have 3 generations working together on the car. I have never built a car before and don't have that much of a background working on cars. I know this is gonna be a big undertaking but am up for the challenge.
Goal:
Build a replica 1966 427sc Shelby Cobra. This isnt gonna be an attempt to do a perfect recreation, but it will look similar. I want to use new car components for driving safety, reliability, performance and comfort while still keeping the spirit of a race car. The purpose of the project is to enjoy the process of building the car with my family and to drive my dream car as often as I can. The car will primarily be used for street/highway use and cruising, small road trips, and driving it to work a couple times a week. The car will not be tracked. I want the build to be fairly straight forward. I don’t want to do too many modifications. The modifications that I do will be simplified as much as possible.
Kit:
Mk4 Complete kit
Engine:
Smeding Performance small block 351 Windsor stroked to 427 with Sniper efi fuel system and Forte throttle linkage
https://smedingperformance.com/products/427-windsor?variant=11963169112100
Transmission:
Tremec TKX. Overdrive 5th 0.68
Suspension & rear end:
11.65 narrow solid rear axle with 3 link, 3.55 gears. Pin Drive front suspension kit
Wheels:
15in pin drive FIA wheels
Steering & Brakes:
Manual steering and standard brakes that come with the complete kit.
Interior/Exterior:
Blank dash: Gonna do a competition dash layout, no glovebox. Contemplating adding the Breeze cubby. Gonna add heated seats, Breeze rollbar, and some other minor modifications.
Last year I built a gokart with my Pops and my son, it was a blast. The kart actually runs and hopefully we can carry some of that build success into the k4
Lastly, I want to say thank you again to all the members of this awesome community who have helped me along the way so far. I have been asking questions here and there for years now and I'm so excited to begin this journey. Special thanks to Frank ie427, Travis Fman, mikebray, Niceguyeddy, kobra01, levy, forte, and edwardB for your help so far.
If any one is local and wants to come over for the delivery day, that would be great! I'm gonna have family over and have a little bbq. Send me a PM if you are interested and Ill give you more details. Todd at Stewart gave me a tentative date of Sunday August 6th but it can change as you all know. I'll have a better idea by August 2nd.
James R
When I was 13, (1997) and I saw my first cobra at a Bobs Big Boy car show in Burbank Ca, I knew one day I would have one. Since I don't have a million dollars to buy an original and probably wouldn't drive it that much anyway in fear of damaging it, I have been saving for a replica. For quite a while now, I have been steadily researching and gathering as much information as possible to make the most educated decision I can in purchasing this car. Factory Five, ERA, Backdraft, and Superformance all put out a great product. I must say, between FFcars and this forum, the Factory Five support network and community is one of the main reason I decided to go with Factory Five. I am looking forward to this build and am so grateful that this community of builders exists to help each other out. I'm hoping that I can help out future builders as well with the lessons I learn from my experiences.
Intro:
I'm 39 years old, 3 kids (10, 8, and 1) and have been married to my best friend for almost 14 years. Thankfully my wife is very supportive of this project. I live in Rancho Cucamonga (SoCal) and have spent the last year prepping my garage to receive the car. My Pops recently retired and so between him and my children, we will have 3 generations working together on the car. I have never built a car before and don't have that much of a background working on cars. I know this is gonna be a big undertaking but am up for the challenge.
Goal:
Build a replica 1966 427sc Shelby Cobra. This isnt gonna be an attempt to do a perfect recreation, but it will look similar. I want to use new car components for driving safety, reliability, performance and comfort while still keeping the spirit of a race car. The purpose of the project is to enjoy the process of building the car with my family and to drive my dream car as often as I can. The car will primarily be used for street/highway use and cruising, small road trips, and driving it to work a couple times a week. The car will not be tracked. I want the build to be fairly straight forward. I don’t want to do too many modifications. The modifications that I do will be simplified as much as possible.
Kit:
Mk4 Complete kit
Engine:
Smeding Performance small block 351 Windsor stroked to 427 with Sniper efi fuel system and Forte throttle linkage
https://smedingperformance.com/products/427-windsor?variant=11963169112100
Transmission:
Tremec TKX. Overdrive 5th 0.68
Suspension & rear end:
11.65 narrow solid rear axle with 3 link, 3.55 gears. Pin Drive front suspension kit
Wheels:
15in pin drive FIA wheels
Steering & Brakes:
Manual steering and standard brakes that come with the complete kit.
Interior/Exterior:
Blank dash: Gonna do a competition dash layout, no glovebox. Contemplating adding the Breeze cubby. Gonna add heated seats, Breeze rollbar, and some other minor modifications.
Last year I built a gokart with my Pops and my son, it was a blast. The kart actually runs and hopefully we can carry some of that build success into the k4
Lastly, I want to say thank you again to all the members of this awesome community who have helped me along the way so far. I have been asking questions here and there for years now and I'm so excited to begin this journey. Special thanks to Frank ie427, Travis Fman, mikebray, Niceguyeddy, kobra01, levy, forte, and edwardB for your help so far.
If any one is local and wants to come over for the delivery day, that would be great! I'm gonna have family over and have a little bbq. Send me a PM if you are interested and Ill give you more details. Todd at Stewart gave me a tentative date of Sunday August 6th but it can change as you all know. I'll have a better idea by August 2nd.
James R