CORBA 427 KIT CARS

[DAT240Z]

I was playing around on the net the other day can came across this web page ( factory five.com) Of this company that makes CORBA kit cars and from that moment since I have not stop looking up info on the car. I'm thinking about getting one but don't know anything about them. I hoping that there might be some people on here that may have some knowledge about CORBA kit car and would share what they know about them.

Thanks

[timh]

You should be checking out http://www.superformance.com , they have a dealer in the Hamilton, Ohio area. I stopped there while on a business trip a few years back. High quality product. Built in South Africa.

[Guest bastaad525]

I've checked out both Superformance and Factory Five Racing and liked Factory Five's work ethic, product, free catalog, and phone rep better. Superformance ships you a mostly complete product though that you just have to swap in the engine, tranny, and diff I believe. Whereas Factory Fives car you have to put together (though it doesn't look too hard at all... any one of us here should have no problems doing it).

 

They will both send you a very nice free catalog with LOTS of info... I've wanted to build one of these for years, and is one of those things that I WILL do in my life time, after I get into a house. The Factory Five can be put together for well under $20,000... think about it, a car that can outperform most cars on the street, for less than the cost of most econoboxes.... *drooooool*

[240Z2NV]

The REAL second generation Cobras can be had from Carroll Shelby Motors for just under $50k for rolling car, no drivetrain. Mr. Shelby is on his third heart, clearly living on borrowed time (unfortunately), and the value of a certified REAL Cobra will skyrocket upon his passing. Talking about an "investment", almost better than real estate and a helluva lot more fun!!!

[Guest bastaad525]

Funny thing is the mags I've read that have driven and reviewed done kit cars, the good ones (superformance or FF5) have said they easily outperform the real deal.... for fractions of the cost... scary.

[Phantom]

Another point of interest is that the few SCCA professionals I've talked with have all said that the Cobra kit cars are the most dangerous, poorly handling, vehicles they've come across on track days. Not saying one can't be built right but evidently most people don't.

[ZROSSA]

I have just come back from a trip state side. One of my cousins in Florida has a brand new factoty five cobra that was put togeter for him. Runs a 351w with 420 hp at the crank. Fastest thing I have ever been in and the engine wasnt run in so we didnt take it past 4500 rpm. Really impressive. I dont like the chassis much however. You would think that after making replicas for so many years that some one would come up with a proper space frame for the things. That would probably fix most of the handeling problems and make it lighter.

 

Douglas

[srgunz]

I believe there is currentlyabout 18 cobra kit suppliers. Some are aluminum and most are glass so prices really vary. A lot of the guys that own them think that Kirkham has the best aluminum car.

 

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com

[Guest Aaron]

http://www.uniquemotorcars.com/

 

These guys are local to me, and they have a good reputation. They sell everthing from kits to completed cars. There is a white one around here with a chevy 502 in it .

[Guest bastaad525]

I dunno I've read three seperate reviews of the FF5 cars from magazines that put them together themselves, one of which I believe was Grassroots motorsports. If I remember right they have VERY impressive handling and braking numbers, skidpad in the high .90g's on street tires, 70+ MPH thru the slalom, braking in the low 100 or 110 feet. The frames on the FF5 cars look VERY impressive to me, very high quality materials and build. There are sooooo many companies making Cobra replicars and I know I've heard bad things about kit cobra's in general and I think most of those companies probably are putting out a crap product, but I think the FF5 blows them outta the water easily and the superformance is a close second. If I remember the terms right the FF5 is a space frame tube chassis with large ROUND frame rails, with a very good wall thickness of the metal, and one feature I really liked is that the body shell is independent of the chassis, it attaches at like four or eight points but does NOT contribute to the body stiffness at all... it's really just a skin. The suspension components that come with the FF5 are VERY high quality... the only parts I have doubts about on that kit are the parts that you scavenge from the mustang, and you have the option to upgrade almost every single one of them anyways if you're leary. I strongly suggest anyone considering building one of these guys order a catalog or talk to their people on the phone... I dont think I've ever been as impressed by ANY company selling ANY product, as I was in talking with these people and looking at their sizable free catalog which is less of a catalog than an information book. They even send you a free DVD/VHS cassette, and have package offers for coming out to visit their factory before purchasing a kit... they are that certain of themselves and their product.

[spdsk8r]

A friend of mine has a Superformance Cobra. He has a 347 motor with a 5 speed. The car performs unbelievably well, and the fit and finish is exceptional. Plus, the sound out of those sidepipes is indescribable.

[DAT240Z]

Thanks to all that have responed, have anyone ever driven on of these cars, if so what was your impression. I have a 350z and a 240zt that i would be selling if i go with the cobra, would like to get a good idea of the kit before i sell any of y z's

[spdsk8r]

I've driven my friends Superformance Cobra. VERY FAST, and very agile. But plan on wind in your face, all the time. A lot of buffetting at speed, and forget about listening to the radio. Oh, almost forgot, you think it's cramped in a Z, you don't know what cramped is until you drive a Cobra.

[Tim240z]

I have driven a Shamrock Cobra with a 454/TH400 with NAWZ...

 

Hellava blast to drive, but if driven hard, it's a handfull and the driver has better know what they're doing!!

 

To me Cobra kits are common place. A GT-40 kit or a Detomaso Pantera would be much much nicer!!

 

Tim

[Guest bastaad525]

The kits may be relatively common compared to other kits but you sure as hell dont see many guys driving them around. Even in sunny-for-11-mos-out-of-the-year SoCal, where the convertible rules, I've only ever seen maybe five or six cobras on the street.

 

The best part is, and I know most people wouldn't do it this way, is that the good ones, like the Superformance or Factory Five, can easily perform daily driver duties. If you stick with the recommended Factory Five Mustang 5.0 drivetrain, reliability isn't much of an issue, and gas mileage is relatively good (unless you drive like me).

 

I swear I'm gonna be one of the first, if not THE first, guy to run around in a 5.0 powered Cobra, driving it EVERY day, in a fresh coat of black primer

[240Z2NV]

I've already thrown in my .02; but, I also second Tim's notion of the uniqueness of a nice Pantera......ooooh, yeeah, baby!

[Z-TARD]

I like the Superformance Daytona Coupe a lot, they brought in Pete Brock (Of BRE, and also the designer of the original Shelby Daytona Coupe) to re-design the coupe using modern areodynamics and suspension technology. It's a 200MPH+ car, but their stuff is kinda pricey. The Factory Five coupe kit would be one of the cheaper ones, and probably pretty easy to build. Theres even an option to use the independant rear suspension setup out of a late model T-Bird or Lincoln Mk8. One of these could be built for just a little more than a lot of guys on here already have in their Z's. The Shelby and Kirkham cars both use aluminum bodies from a company in Poland. The place used to pound out aluminum parts for Mig fighters until the Soviet Union dissolved and they had to look elsewhere for money. Both are excellent cars, and faithful to the original design. Only the Shelby carries the coveted CSX#### manufacturer tag though, and would be the better investment of the two. I wouldn't buy a Cobra designed on the original if I were after max performance though. The original cars use technology that is 40+ years old. Leaf spring suspension (on the 289 FIA and Daytona Coupe), Solid brake rotors and calipers that are nearly identical to the Sumitomo calipers on the first gen Z's. The interior is CRAMPED, good luck if you are over 4 feet tall The nostalgia factor is pretty cool though, and they definitely attract a crowd wherever they go. I do recomend avoiding the Series 1 made by Shelby, as it is crap.

 

Mike

 

 

Mike

[Guest Aaron]

One of my goals in life is to have a daily driver '33 Ford Vicky Kit Car.

[Guest MistressMotorsports]

I had a Superformance (great car) and have driven just about all the different replicas around. I am an instructor for Cobra University, so I get to drive just about whatever shows up at the schools. There is a HUGE difference in handling between the different brands, and for the cars that are assembled by the owners, there is a huge difference even on the same brand based on how it was built. The choice of which replica is the best depends on what your individual priorities are, originality, ride and handling, budget, lap times, street driving, building it yourself or not, etc. http://www.clubcobra.com has TONS on information on all the different models and perpetual arguments over which is the best. Factory Five and Superformance are at different ends of the spectrum, but are both fine rides. The FFR is a great car, it is relatively low budget, uses all Mustang GT mechanicals, and is light weight. It suffers from some body discrepancies (non-original looking) mostly to fit the Mustang suspension, and the light weight might make them a little fragile down the road. You get to build your own car with the FFR, so you can go a nuts as your budget allows with modifiations. The Superformance is more of a complete car (minus engine and trans), comes with a spectacular show quality paint job, is very (although not perfectly) correct in appearance, and the fit and finish is asolutely top notch. Probably the best for a daily driver from a durability standpoint, and they make decent track cars with the possible exception of weak (T bird IRS) rear wheel bearings. Of course, there are many other cars to consider as well. I don't think the Shelbys will appreciate ever since the new ones are all still really just copies of the originals anyway, and there are enough of them around that demand will most likely not outstrip supply. In fact, that's one reason why the Shelbys have come down in price so much even for new ones. So, whatever your priorities are, there's a good replica for you.

 

Mike

[Guest bastaad525]

MistressMotorsports - very good info there... I was hoping someone who had driven both would pitch in at some point as to the benefits of the FFR vs. the Superformance. I dont even remember how much Superformance was selling their kits for... I guess I was already pretty hooked on the FFR before I started looking into the superformance so wasn't really paying much attention Case in point, for whatever reason, I never would have considered the superformance the better daily driver, but now I know

 

Of course, in the end the superformance would be better for me anyways as living in an apartment I dont really have the space to work on a kit car project for 6 mos. +

 

Ah well not that I'd be buying one of these until I got into a house anyways... unless one of them wises up and starts offering a new-car-like payment making option.