Any AC COBRA experts on these fora?

[GILD]

I'm about to go GOOGLE and see what I can find out, but I thought I'd come ask here first.

Saw this little beauty at a dealer yesterday and may just get mildly silly.
But would like to do my homework before I do.

Can anyone tell me anything about this car?

[kington99]

First off, are you sure it's a real one? There are plenty of companies producing copies of the cobra, some of wehich are possibly better than the original, some of which really are not.

Secondly, this is the car solely responsible for the introduction of speed limits on Uk roads. It came to the attention of parliment they they were testing the cars up to 185mph at night on the M1, the 70mph limit came in as a direct result. Just an amusing little trivia titbit.

I would jump on this opportunity if the money is right, need a few full car shots to check the body but the interiour and engine bay look to be pretty tidy. Don't know quite what the weather is like in Joburg but my dad and I have been using a car with no roof in the Uk quite successfullly for 10 years now, as long as you have a tonneau for when it's parked it's surprisingly useable, even through the winter.

A classic with good racing pedigree, I think you'd have an awful lot of fun.

[GILD]

Originally Posted by kington99

First off, are you sure it's a real one?

No, idea.
What do I start looking at/for to figure this out?

Originally Posted by kington99

Secondly, this is the car solely responsible for the introduction of speed limits on Uk roads.

Fabulous, I love that kind of trivia.

[Eddbmxdude]

I don't know much about them but, DO IT!
Heres some encouragement!




Edd

[john_childs]

Here's a picture of one I saw at a hot-rod show in Seattle last Summer. Polished aluminum body just like an old aircraft.


Anything you find is going to be a replica or a kit. The real thing is too expensive. All of the Cobras that were at the hot-rod show were replicas.

[kington99]

Originally Posted by GILD

No, idea.
What do I start looking at/for to figure this out?

Fabulous, I love that kind of trivia.

Another trivia dose: the orignial sales pitch for this car (might have been the shelby rather than the AC actually) was for the sales asistant to stick a twenty quid note on the windscreen and take the customer for a test drive. If the customer could reach the note while the car was under full acceleration they could keep it. No-one ever managed it.

As for spotting a copy, if it's being advertised as a real AC it almost certainly is, so just ask the dealer. I'm afraid i don't know enough to spot a real from a good copy, I doubt anyone would mis-sell a copy but don't assume it's an AC because it looks like one.

[tomblackwood]

Sweet...

Time to rent The Gumball Rally on DVD. The Cobra is prominently featured.

[GILD]

Bit more detail.
As John pointed out, yes it's a replica.
The 400 or so originals are all fully restored and changing hands at pretty insane prices.
This particular car is known to the Cobra Club and they consider it to be overpriced as it does need some bodywork.
There are some spots of cracked fiberglass on the body which will need to be repaired.
I'm not keen on the blue lines over the black body either and would probably look at throwing a paintjob thru it as well.
Asking price is R115 000.
I'm thinking about offering R90 000 and seeing where that takes me.
It's been on that lot for more than a year, so I think there might be some negotiation-room.

[tomblackwood]

Originally Posted by GILD

It's been on that lot for more than a year, so I think there might be some negotiation-room.

Yeah, you might try near the end of a month. Not sure if car dealers run their fiscal years same as calendar years, but last month of their fiscal quarters adds some additional pressure to move their stock.

Please let me know when it is time for me to visit S. Africa to drink your bourbon and drive your Cobra. We'd reverse the order of that sentence of course. Plus I'd bring along a unicycle as pretense...

[GILD]

I will most definately keep you posted.
At the moment it is still very much in the realm of the 'you've got to be kidding' department.
As in, I should be doing more sensible things with my half of the money.
The other half will be from the gf.

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by GILD

Can anyone tell me anything about this car?

- Bad fuel economy
- Room for maybe one unicycle
- No back seat
- Terrible soundproofing, almost like there's none at all
- Very bad to be upside-down in
- A blast to drive

I wonder if this could be a real one? It's in the right place to be...