Factory Five Cobras?

[7of911]

I was wondering if anyone out there ever considered building a Factory Five Cobra?

Factory Five Cobras

I guess it was about a year ago and I needed to fill the sports car void. I was seriously considering the FF5 Cobra due to the relative cheapness, Ford running gear, blistering performance and an open top to boot.

But due to health reasons and the fact I wasn't sure if my insurance co. would insure it when finished, I decided to buy a '76 911S that someone else had recently redone.

Haven't regretted my decision but part of me wonders... what if?



--Ian

Ian,
My older brother has a FF that he bought already built. It's prolly the best car out there to get people to look at you, but one of the worst handling cars I've been in. It's just scary!

[}{arlequin]

The coupe would be a nice hardcore "dual" car... that's assuming you want to forget the fair classification and just get a sweet crate motor in there. The company is based out of Mass. and whenever I drive at NHIS (New Hampshire Int'l Raceway) there are at least 4-5 factory5 cars there. They look good. Sound good. Go real fast. Even the "spec" cars which are limited to a 5.0 motor are quick, not even mentioning the ones that get the Cobra motor/brakes installed.

[7of911]

Interesting about the handling characteristics. With that Mustang 5.0 live axel in the back, and all that horsepower, things must get squirrely fast! I recall a coilover IRS option that was quite costly.

OK, Cobras are out of my mind but how 'bout this? ... Ultima GTR!




--Ian

[bell]

the ultima is in a different class entirely
so i'll take one of each

[kumma]

I helped a friend a little with his build up of a factory five cobra. Being a donor car cobra its on the low end of quality and fit and finish. It in no way compares to another friends ERA cobra. Miles ahead in quality and money. Now this isnt a bad thing as long as you know this and have realistic expectations. Think all go - little show, i'd like one in primer black with a blown 351, but not at the expense of my 911.

Some of my impressions, the kit itself is pretty easy to complete, if you have basic car skills. Its basically a bolt on project. Majority of the parts quality is ok, Skip the powder coated frame its crap. Again a price point cobra so not much is top notch. Fiberglass Body needs quite a bit of prep work to look great. These observations are from a kit put together 2 summers ago so things might have changed.

Fast as hell and fun to drive, not much in suspension and cornering but it goes damn fast in a straight line.

[RickM]

Craig,

The FF is miles ahead of the ERA in quality? Not sure if that's what you meant.

The FF brothers seem to have put a lot of effort into "precision" FG molding.

[kumma]

The ERA cobra I have seen is much better in fit and finish as well as overall build quality, but the price was more than double that of the FF kit.

Like i said these 2 really are not in the same league with each other, Not a big deal unless you go out buying a factory five thinking your getting a ERA.

I would'nt pass up buying a factory five kit if i was in the market for one.

[lendaddy]

My buddy has been researching this for years. The ERA kit is night and day different. Not only in price but in design and fit/finish. The FF is a cheap missle that kinda hits the main points. Think of it as a cheap missle that gets looks at the ice cream stand. No one who knows thesethings will ever mistake a FF for the real thing, did that make sense.

[Rich Lambert]

Originally posted by lendaddy
No one who knows thesethings will ever mistake a FF for the real thing, did that make sense.

Yeah, but I've seen a couple of FFR's that you would be hard pressed, from 10 feet, to tell from a Shelby. It's all in how much time and cubic $$$ you're willing to put into the project. That said, a co-worker of mine is building a FFR and he says the quality of the fiberglass and the clarity if the instructions is horrible. You would think after 10,000 or how ever many FFR's they've made, they could at least get the instructions right. If I were buying a Cobra replica, I'd spend a little more up front and pop for a higher end product. You can pick up a fiberglass roller from Shelby for around $40K. Kirkham is also talking about producing a fiberglass car at that price point.

I have a Unique 427SC that I purchased used for less than you would be able to build a really nice FFR car for.

[RickM]

Geez, when I first looked into a Cobra kit I was certainly won over by their "Perfect Fit" FG body parts.

How about those hand-beaten aluminum bodies from Poland and South Africa? They look awfully genuine.