I guess there is a market for Chevy Cobras after all.

[GoDadGo]

I wonder what Redbone would bring on B.A.T. compared to this Dark Side Powered Shell Valley Cobra?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/427-powered-shell-valley-cobra-replica/

My car's engine is smaller by a pretty good bit (383 Dart Block & Heads) but it does sport an extra gear with a ZF 6-Speed.

https://www.factoryfive.com/whats-new/customer-steve-l-graduates-his-mk4-roadster/

It can cruise at 3,000 RPM at 124 MPH and really scares the crap out of me at 3,200 @ 132 MPH.

[MacDiesel]

I’m not 100% sure that engine is bigger than your 383. If you look at the SB100 sticker it was listed as a 5.7L.

[GoDadGo]

I’m not 100% sure that engine is bigger than your 383. If you look at the SB100 sticker it was listed as a 5.7L.

Hummmmm?

I know very little (Meaning Nothing At All) about the California inspection process.

[rich grsc]

5.7L = 347 cu in

[GoDadGo]

5.7L = 347 cu in

Metric to standard conversions I know by heart; however, I don't know if the SB100 smog process actually verify component car engine displacements.

I was wondering is if that car was originally built with 5.7 (350 SBC) and later upgraded to a 7.0 or technical 6.99728 liter engine. If it is a stock block SBC, they'd need to have started with a 400 block since a 350 can't be punched out to 4.125 inches.

Thanks for the reply!

[Mike.Bray]

When I built a Cobra back in the mid 90's I put a 350 SBC crate engine in it with crossram EFI. When the time came to sell it I couldn't, nobody wanted a Cobra with a SBC. So I yanked the engine & tranny out and just sold the car.....for what I was asking for the complete package before. Then I sold the engine and transmission for another $6k. When I asked what they were going to install it in they told me they were building a Cobra! Ha!

[Jeff Kleiner]

OR...they may have just told the smog referee that it was a 350. It's a World Products block so externally it would look the same.

Strong price for a Shell Valley and a tidy $8k profit for the seller after less than 2 years of ownership.

Jeff

[JohnK]

OR...they may have just told the smog referee that it was a 350. It's a World Products block so externally it would look the same.


Not saying they did or they didn't tell the referee what was really in there, but FWIW there's no reason to lie to the CA BAR referee. They don't really care what engine is in there, as long as it has the proper smog equipment (meaning a closed-loop PCV system).

[GoDadGo]

Strong price for a Shell Valley and a tidy $8k profit for the seller after less than 2 years of ownership.



Crossing 50-K puts that car in line with well done Push Rod Ford Powered Factory Five Cars.

It blew my mind when it sold previously because the paint work was and still is lacking.

I guess you can never underestimate: The Power Of The Dark Side!

[J R Jones]

There were six bids, and two bidders beyond $37K, which is all the seller needed. A niche market of a niche market.
Engines are more of a commodity than the chassis, interchangeable to many. From the outside they look pretty much the same to the general public.
There was a PBS News Hour feature last week on people investing in shares of high end art, not possessing the art. That says something about prestige and speculation, but not enthusiasm. I'm not sure if pride of ownership is a factor for high-end investors.
jim

[Ford & Jeep Fan]

Sure there is a market, but its smaller number of people and less value to most of them. .....

sort of reminds about a story I heard from a coworker that was buying a very ROUGH house many years ago. It seems no one lived in the house for 10 years. He said you could see glints of the sky though the roof while standing in the front room. He knew he could rebuild the house, so he offered 10K, the seller said I think the lot is worth 15K!!, his response was OK tear the house down and I'll give you the 15K. He got the house for 10K

[Jeff Kleiner]

For you Steve:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=190563&d=1695856543

:D

Jeff

[ggunter]

Thats funny!!

[rich grsc]

Jeff, was it PT Barnum that said something along the line of "a fool and his money"?

[J R Jones]

GDG, here is a BaT auction that caught my attention. It is not a Corvette, well actually it is kind of a Corvette:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1953-chevrolet-3100-icon/

The key to this sale price is quality, content and subtle styling respecting the iconic vehicle.
I expect the results would be vastly different with a Ford engine.
jim

[GoDadGo]

J R,

My assumption was that I thought traditionally powered Factory-5's, sold during the same time frame, would have easily eclipsed this Shell Valley by at least 10,000 to 15,000 dollars but that simply wasn't the case. I think with such a limited supply of Chevy Powered Cobras, the valuations can't be estimated much less calculated since there is no sizable pool for cars like this.

Using your idea I pulled BAT Values, searching for recent sales of Factory-5 MK-4 Roadsters and found that this pool of traditionally powered cars did not out pace this recently re-sold Chevy Powered Shell Valley. The time frame I specifically looked at was the 3rd Quarter of 2023 to do an Apples-2-Apples 3rd Quarter comparison. My takeaway is that prices have declined for our cars over the past 12 months (Four Quarters/Rolling) which does not surprise me because our economy is in a state of serious decline this year.

Shown below is that recent search from BAT in descending sales date order:

https://bringatrailer.com/auctions/results/?search=factory+five+MK4

While I don't want to sell my car, I still wonder what it is worth since it is a Unicorn in every sense of the word. Also, please know that your reply to my thread made look at the recent trends (Using Actual Available Data) like I do every day working a S.A.G. Officer for a Top-10 Bank.

Thanks for your reply to my forum thread.

Steve

NOTE:..I still can't believe that a Shell Valley would sell for similar money as a Factory-5 but this one did.

[Jeff Kleiner]

NOTE:..I still can't believe that a Shell Valley would sell for similar money as a Factory-5 but this one did.

Don't underestimate Shell Valleys Steve. While they probably lean more to the "cruiser" side when compared to FFRs they are really good cars. I've known Dana for over 20 years and they take care of their customers the same way Dave Smith does. These results from BAT indicate that SV and FFR cars are selling in a similar range.

https://bringatrailer.com/search/?s=shell+valley+cobra

Of particular interest to you might be the LS powered car that was bid to 55k and didn't meet the reserve (I know this car well and it wasn't let go for that amount with good reason---it's exceptional).

Cheers,
Jeff

[Hoooper]

SB100 only looks at the engine once, when its registered. It could very well have been a basic junkyard 350 when registered and now is small block 427. Lots of possible routes to have gone from a 5.7 when registered to a 7.0 now.

[GoDadGo]

Don't underestimate Shell Valleys Steve. While they probably lean more to the "cruiser" side when compared to FFRs they are really good cars. I've known Dana for over 20 years and they take care of their customers the same way Dave Smith does. These results from BAT indicate that SV and FFR cars are selling in a similar range.

https://bringatrailer.com/search/?s=shell+valley+cobra

Of particular interest to you might be the LS powered car that was bid to 55k and didn't meet the reserve (I know this car well and it wasn't let go for that amount with good reason---it's exceptional).

Cheers,
Jeff

Sir Jeffski,

I looked at the Shell Valley Values that you provided me and though this group is small, the 2nd & 3rd highest bids for that group were Chevy Powered.
While these Dark Side Cars were not the highest valued, it is rather significant to say that at least these cars had very respectable final bids.
On another note, next week is Cruising the Coast and we'll be cruising in style in our Redbone Roadster.
Hopefully we'll see more than a few Factory Five Cars there this year.

Cheers,
Heyoka