Keep Shelby Gt Or Sell For Cobra Replica?

[ksconekiller]

I have been thinking about my options and keep going back and forth, so I thought I would ask all of you what your opinions are. I have a very nice 2007 Shelby GT with less than 5K miles that I really enjoy. It is an extra car, and it spends a decent amount of time in the garage. It is in such perfect condition that I don't drive it as often as I'd like for fear some idiot on the road will hurt it. For some time, I've been looking at replica Cobras, as that is what I ultimately want to have. For a little more money, I can get a replica that doesn't have the collectibility status and would get driven more often than the Shelby does. It wouldn't have A/C or a backseat, but those rarely get used anyway.

 

A Cobra replica has only two seats and no A/C, and it wouldn't make me a Shelby owner anymore, but I think it would serve its function better. What would you do?

 

Thanks,

Mike

[stewarbc]

I'm biased. Keep the Shelby GT and drive it some more. How long has it been since you last put any kind of "mod" on it ----- whether a simple interior, external, or other type mod?

 

Of course, one could argue that you should do what you REALLY want to do. In any event, my vote goes to keeping the Shelby GT.

[ksconekiller]

I haven't put any mods on the car since I've had it. The original owner put on different wheels and tires the day he bought the car, but it's otherwise stock. I like it the way it is, and my choice is harder because I do enjoy the car. I'm just wondering if the car would be worth more now than later due to its low mileage. If I'm going to sell it eventually, I may be ahead selling it sooner.

 

Regardless, I've struggled with what to do with this for quite a while.

[NordicShelby]

I would keep the SGT. My advice would be to see if you can test drive the Cobra and see how well you like it and fit in it. I'm 6'4 and would not really feel comfortable in one.

 

You own a real Shelby right now and if you get a replica cobra then you no longer will have a Shelby.

[MY500SS]

The Cobra is a blast to drive. Tons of power and lots of looks and thumbs up. Issues are no bad weather driving and long distances are out. These things aren't very comfortable.

 

I say go with your gut.

[jwestercamp]

keep the sgt its got ac

[ksconekiller]

I would keep the SGT. My advice would be to see if you can test drive the Cobra and see how well you like it and fit in it. I'm 6'4 and would not really feel comfortable in one.

 

You own a real Shelby right now and if you get a replica cobra then you no longer will have a Shelby.

I'm 5'10", so fitment is not an issue. I actually went to the Shelby Heritage center in Vegas last week and sat in a rolling chassis that was assembled in the shop, and the car felt great. I'm short enough that I look through the windshield, rather than over it like tall drivers tend to do.

 

Your last statement is the main thing that is holding me back. I love being part of the community, but I went a long time without one, and I survived it.

[ksconekiller]

MY500SS, I tried to send you a message, but it won't go through. Can you send me one?

[MY500SS]

MY500SS, I tried to send you a message, but it won't go through. Can you send me one?

 

PM sent.

[twobjshelbys]

Whoa wait a minute. Before you make the leap from a sophisticated street car to a brutal one seat (ignore the other one - more later) you really need to do a whole bunch of homework. Begin by reading every one of the 20000 or so topics on www.clubcobra.com. Cobras are cobras, it doesn't matter who makes them.

 

I spent a lot of time wanting and researching Cobras. I loved the car. After the first to rides (one about 200 miles) my wife hated it with a passion. They are HOT, SMELLY, NOISY, ROUGH, WINDY, AND YOU BURN YOUR LEG EVERY TIME YOU GET OUT. Now take all of the things in the previous sentence and add TOO in front (too hot, too smelly, etc),. And that's only the beginning. I classify my Cobra as "my favorite driver's car ever, and my least favorite car to ride in ever". Honestly, even I didn't like riding in the passenger side.

 

Oh yeah, they are a MAN's car. There is now power steering, power brakes, etc. Turning the wheel while standing still (even for a car that only weighs 2300lbs) takes a great deal of effort. Braking? Unless you grew up with a 52 GMC pickup truck, you'll never know how to punch the brakes (a full stop takes two feet).

 

Oh, and a 427 is a way lot of car. I spun mine around twice and I wasn't trying to do it. Fortunately it was on non-busy roads with no other traffic or curbs. The key is DO NOT DOWNSHIFT TO SLOW DOWN (and heel-toe is almost impossible on a proper cobra replica due to the horizontal and vertical offsets). And the tires on most Cobras are worse than the original Shelby (or Ford GT) tires - hard as hockey pucks on cold pavement which was the cause of both of my incidents.

 

So before you make this leap, regardless of who made it, you'd better do your homework.

And I predict that you'll do good to get 25K for your Shelby GT and you'll drop easily 2-3x that on a Cobra of any quality, regardless of the manufacturer. There are lots of crappy kits, but only a few quality cars. To get a real feel for pricing check out www.cobracountry.com. I frankly would RUN not walk, from any cobra in the 20-30K price range.

 

Oh I forgot to ask, just how old are you? If you recall the cars of the 60's they had an average life span of about 3 years or 30K miles. Remember that a Cobra is a 60's car. My Cobra was a tinkerer's dream - there was always something to do on it. Loose bolts, screws falling out, squeaks, rattles and rolls.

Also, it's a motorcycle. You will get rained on and it's not fun.

 

Honestly, I hope you buy one, but I feel obliged to warn you that they are a very special car and it takes a lot of understanding before you get into it.

[twobjshelbys]

Now, if you want a little car that will snap your neck, has air and is a mid engine whoot, get a Lotus Elise. Wheelbase about the same, but has A/C, regular seat belts, and a place for your wife to plug an iPod into.

 

I'd tell you to get a Ford GT (that was my swap from my Cobra) but that's probably not in your budget. If so, mine is available for the right price

[mikeljgt500kr]

two is right, these are totally different cars and not interchangeable. If you want a neat peppy sports car to drive around short distances on sunny days when the weather is perfect, the Cobra is great. But, if you want something to drive long distances in any weather, comfortably, obviously stay with what you have.

[ViperNC]

Whoa wait a minute. Before you make the leap from a sophisticated street car to a brutal one seat (ignore the other one - more later) you really need to do a whole bunch of homework. Begin by reading every one of the 20000 or so topics on www.clubcobra.com. Cobras are cobras, it doesn't matter who makes them.

 

I spent a lot of time wanting and researching Cobras. I loved the car. After the first to rides (one about 200 miles) my wife hated it with a passion. They are HOT, SMELLY, NOISY, ROUGH, WINDY, AND YOU BURN YOUR LEG EVERY TIME YOU GET OUT. Now take all of the things in the previous sentence and add TOO in front (too hot, too smelly, etc),. And that's only the beginning. I classify my Cobra as "my favorite driver's car ever, and my least favorite car to ride in ever". Honestly, even I didn't like riding in the passenger side.

 

Oh yeah, they are a MAN's car. There is now power steering, power brakes, etc. Turning the wheel while standing still (even for a car that only weighs 2300lbs) takes a great deal of effort. Braking? Unless you grew up with a 52 GMC pickup truck, you'll never know how to punch the brakes (a full stop takes two feet).

 

Oh, and a 427 is a way lot of car. I spun mine around twice and I wasn't trying to do it. Fortunately it was on non-busy roads with no other traffic or curbs. The key is DO NOT DOWNSHIFT TO SLOW DOWN (and heel-toe is almost impossible on a proper cobra replica due to the horizontal and vertical offsets). And the tires on most Cobras are worse than the original Shelby (or Ford GT) tires - hard as hockey pucks on cold pavement which was the cause of both of my incidents.

 

So before you make this leap, regardless of who made it, you'd better do your homework.

And I predict that you'll do good to get 25K for your Shelby GT and you'll drop easily 2-3x that on a Cobra of any quality, regardless of the manufacturer. There are lots of crappy kits, but only a few quality cars. To get a real feel for pricing check out www.cobracountry.com. I frankly would RUN not walk, from any cobra in the 20-30K price range.

 

Oh I forgot to ask, just how old are you? If you recall the cars of the 60's they had an average life span of about 3 years or 30K miles. Remember that a Cobra is a 60's car. My Cobra was a tinkerer's dream - there was always something to do on it. Loose bolts, screws falling out, squeaks, rattles and rolls.

Also, it's a motorcycle. You will get rained on and it's not fun.

 

Honestly, I hope you buy one, but I feel obliged to warn you that they are a very special car and it takes a lot of understanding before you get into it.

+1000

 

As an owner of a Cobra I can say this is absolutely correct. You'll give up every creature comfort you currently enjoy and be sitting behind the wheel of a car that will try to kill you multiple times at some point. With that said, no car has ever taught me car control as much as the Cobra.

[Bill Hamilton]

I always told people it was like owning a motorcycle and you drove it under the same conditions. Would be a lot of fun if you have the extra garage space, money, and etc. Truly a man's car but with a fantastic power to weight ratio and no electronics' to keep you from spinning the tires at will (or save you either).

[mavisky]

I think it's been summed up pretty well in this thread already. I looked at building a Factory Five car with my old 95 GT as a donor before deciding to sell it and pick up the Shelby instead. I've owned a car that was about half as brutal as the Cobra would have been (2500lb, 400+hp, fwd, trackcar) and can verify that it was nothing my significant other wanted anything to do with. It was an absolute blast, but it was a weapon only to be used in certain and very specific situations. Those didn't come up very often and consequently the car spent more time sitting than being driven. When it was driven I was by myself. Rather than tie myself up with a project that would take up years of time from my wife and my daughter while I toiled in the garage or spent time tinkering and maintaining, I bought a car that absolutely peaks my interests from time to time, is more useable day to day, and the wife and my daughter can enjoy as well.

 

That being said there is absolutely nothing on the road that will match the raw fury and speed of the Cobra. There's a certain joy in knowing that every turn you take perfectly was because of you 100% and nothing else, then again that also means that you're 100% to blame when it loops on you and you're staring at oncoming traffic apologizing as you try and turn around.

 

Whichever path you take I wish you the best. These are hard decisions to make when it comes to cars you've grown attached to.

[twobjshelbys]

With that said, no car has ever taught me car control as much as the Cobra.

 

That is so true. If you can keep a Cobra under control, and get it out of the trouble it wants to put you in, you can pretty much handle anything.

 

One other thing to add: They are a 60's car with a hand tuned drive train that is cobbled together from parts. Not a factory setup. So you will run into problems. You'll spend almost as much time working on it as driving it. I'm convinced mine was built with space alien robot bolts and nuts that reproduced at night with the babies falling to the garage floor. It was always losing some little bolt or nut and I could never find anything missing. But you gotta look!!!

[shelbymotorsports]

Apples to oranges comparison between these two cars. A Cobra in my opinion is like a boat or motorhome, meaning that it sits unused the majority of the time. As others have suggested you really need to spend some time around Cobra owners so that you really have an understanding of the pro's & con's of owning one.

 

There is a reason that you don't see Cobra's on the road other than an occasional car show or Sunday drive.

 

Steve

[twobjshelbys]

I always told people it was like owning a motorcycle and you drove it under the same conditions. Would be a lot of fun if you have the extra garage space, money, and etc. Truly a man's car but with a fantastic power to weight ratio and no electronics' to keep you from spinning the tires at will (or save you either).

 

Exactly. Noone I know deliberately takes a Harley into a thunderstorm. Same with a Cobra. And when you do get rained on you will get wet. Rain does go over the windshield as long as you are moving (some will spill over onto the inside of the windshield so keep a rag in the car). But the rain also comes off the hood to the sides and finds its way into the door opening, blows up to the top where the door closes and falls right on your lap. I kept one of those disposable rain suits in the trunk.

[twobjshelbys]

Apples to oranges comparison between these two cars. A Cobra in my opinion is like a boat or motorhome, meaning that it sits unused the majority of the time. As others have suggested you really need to spend some time around Cobra owners so that you really have an understanding of the pro's & con's of owning one.

 

There is a reason that you don't see Cobra's on the road other than an occasional car show or Sunday drive.

 

Steve

 

Steve nailed it here and describes the reason I sold mine. I loved the car, and had I had enough garage space, would have kept it. I miss it a great deal. But since my wife only went for two rides in it and then told me she would never ever ride in it again, I never got to take it out. Heed the warning: Drivers love the cars, passengers almost uniformly hate them. Of course a passenger going on a short "scare you out of your pants" drive will say it was a scream, but put someone in one for a 200 mile drive and they'll have a different opinion.

[Denstang65]

I would either go for broke and get a Cobra from Shelby American or keep the GT.

[mikeljgt500kr]

I'm convinced mine was built with space alien robot bolts and nuts that reproduced at night with the babies falling to the garage floor. It was always losing some little bolt or nut and I could never find anything missing. But you gotta look!!!

 

Ha! That sounds like all the Harleys I used to ride behind on cross country motorcycle road tours with my friends. Constantly losing parts on the road. I had a BMW, and they all said "Isn't it boring to have a bike that never needs fixing and attention?" I said, No.

[Jer]

Lots of good advice here...

 

 

+1

 

 

 

 

Jer

[Ford Fest]

Lots of good advice here...

 

 

+1

 

 

 

 

Jer

Amen! I really wanted a cobra when I purchased my 40th! I would like to have a cobra in addition to the 40th.

[mavisky]

Apples to oranges comparison between these two cars. A Cobra in my opinion is like a boat or motorhome, meaning that it sits unused the majority of the time. As others have suggested you really need to spend some time around Cobra owners so that you really have an understanding of the pro's & con's of owning one.

 

There is a reason that you don't see Cobra's on the road other than an occasional car show or Sunday drive.

 

Steve

 

Actually saw a guy and his wife out driving what was a very muffled Cobra kit car a couple months back. First light I saw them pull away from the car died but eventually re-fired. They appeared to be in their mid-50's. She didn't look pleased. My guess is that this wasn't a rare occurence.

[twobjshelbys]

 

"Isn't it boring to have a bike car that never needs fixing and attention?" I said, No.

 

I say the same thing about the Ford GT. About the same amount of fun to drive as the Cobra, and you can get in just as much or more trouble, but so much more civilized (A/C, regular seat belts for the passenger, etc).

[Secondo]

Did you guys read the story in a past Shelby magazine about a guy and his wife who drove their Cobra to every state in the U.S., even Hawaii? They are for real! I met them at a Shelby event at Carlisle/Poconos. When the event ended, I passed them on the highway during a torrential downpour. Their Cobra has a roof but I could tell by the look on their faces that it wasn't completely water tight! I gave them thumbs up and they both still responded in kind!

 

Edit: To the OP: Keep the ShelbyGT unless you really have always wanted a Cobra. I'm guessing though that overall you will get more enjoyment from the SGT.

[svtkeith]

I have been thinking about my options and keep going back and forth, so I thought I would ask all of you what your opinions are. I have a very nice 2007 Shelby GT with less than 5K miles that I really enjoy. It is an extra car, and it spends a decent amount of time in the garage. It is in such perfect condition that I don't drive it as often as I'd like for fear some idiot on the road will hurt it. For some time, I've been looking at replica Cobras, as that is what I ultimately want to have. For a little more money, I can get a replica that doesn't have the collectibility status and would get driven more often than the Shelby does. It wouldn't have A/C or a backseat, but those rarely get used anyway.

 

A Cobra replica has only two seats and no A/C, and it wouldn't make me a Shelby owner anymore, but I think it would serve its function better. What would you do?

 

Thanks,

Mike

 

 

 

 

Like Dan said NOT a long distance vehicle at all 2 hours max and don't get caught somewhere and it starts raining your screwed YES it attracts people like flies

 

and a blast to drive but if I was to pick only one it would be the Stang without doubt.

[Frank S]

Some seem to learn from the mistakes of others and not have to make them all for themselves.

 

Of course, a person who has mastered a Cobra exists on a different plane from us simple motorists.

 

The SGT is a bit like a competition pistol, fast and sweet. A Cobra is like a mini-cannon, almost as much danger to the shooter as to the target.

 

And, naturally, if a Cobra is as pertinent to your needs as an SGT, or more pertinent, you'll never be calm until you beat yourself to death with one.

[Denstang65]

Did you guys read the story in a past Shelby magazine about a guy and his wife who drove their Cobra to every state in the U.S., even Hawaii? They are for real! I met them at a Shelby event at Carlisle/Poconos. When the event ended, I passed them on the highway during a torrential downpour. Their Cobra has a roof but I could tell by the look on their faces that it wasn't completely water tight! I gave them thumbs up and they both still responded in kind!

 

Edit: To the OP: Keep the ShelbyGT unless you really have always wanted a Cobra. I'm guessing though that overall you will get more enjoyment from the SGT.

If I remember, that couple drove a 289 powered Cobra. I believe it depends on which Cobra version you get. Everyone wants a 427 monster, or the FIA version. What about the basic 289 street version. I imagine the street version would be the way to go for owning a Cobra without many headaches. Correct me, anyone, if I am guessing wrong.

[twobjshelbys]

. I imagine the street version would be the way to go for owning a Cobra without many headaches. Correct me, anyone, if I am guessing wrong.

 

I have stated that when I get another Cobra it will be a small block car. I prefer the stance and wider rear tires of the FIA or 427 body. I never felt the 427 was getting enough exercise. It needed to run at higher RPMs but the power of the engine where it wanted to run meant I'd only be in 2nd or 3rd most of the time. A 289 you can run at the higher RPMs.