Fun comment on a Viper from a Shelby Cobra guy

Kmrumedy

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I am playing with the idea of building a Shelby Cobra replica and have been on their forum doing some research. Really good and passionate guys!!

Someone asked the question of putting a Viper engine into one of these kits. I was wondering the same thing. The topic got 2000 hits as some of the Shelby guys lamented on how bad a viper engine sounds. Then I read this response from a Cobra owner and loved it!!! Thought I would share it with you guys.

"......
Last month I had to fly up to Miami for a few days to pick up some items for a new business and I decided on a whim to book a hotel right on Ocean Drive in South Beach. When I wasn't shopping and shipping stuff out, I basically kicked back in the sidewalk bistros and watched the wild and crazy world go by. Lots of awesome old muscle, the usual parade of modern day automobilia, and plenty of exotics driving by and parking along the street. On sunday evening, a red Ferrari 360 Modena Spyder and a sleek orange (!) Lambo Gallardo Spyder parked nose to tail were the focus of attraction and comments from patrons and passersby. The occasional double stretch hummer, old Stingray, turbo Porsche or muscle car would draw some of the attention and a posse of custom choppers across the road had their own little gathering. As I sat there sipping, eating and thinking that I had seen just about every interesting car under the sun except a Cobra, a deep, ominous, menacing rumble made everyone stop what they were doing. Thinking "Cobra!" I turned to see a silver and blue Viper GTS with a huge wing, IMSA style bodywork and massive rubber swaggering down the street - like a hulking silverback gorilla, ballz swinging, belching, coughing, pharting and spitting with sheer arrogance and impunity - it sounded like a nitro funny car, shaking the ground and setting off alarms as it rumbled by. The sound was hair raising, even for a bald headed Cobra owner. I had heard the disappointing note from Vipers before but this was something else - far from stock and maybe open pipes. Everyone, even the custom bikers, stared in uneasy silence and the owners sitting next to the Ferrari and Lambo basking in the adulation quietly turned and looked the other way much like smaller dogs, wise enough not to risk making eye contact with the growling, strutting alpha-male. After it disappeared from view and it was safe again, everything slowly returned to normal, but I was branded with the memory of one of the meanest, nastiest cars I have ever seen on a public street. Never did see a single Cobra in five whole days."

Kind of sums up our car pretty well.

BTW - anyone here ever build one of these Cobra kits?
 

CROM

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That's great, nice little story! My exhaust is opened up quite well and I love it. The first time I fired it up after freeing it from all its restrictive gremlins, I thought "oh crap, this is too loud and obnoxious" but now I get excited like a little girl when I get on the throttle of this thing. Ahhhh...life is good when I'm cruising around in the GTS.
 

Nader

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Great write up. I must agree, the exhaust note in stock form needs some help.
 

AFL in NJ

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Kmrumedy,

That's a great write up! The similarities between the original Cobra and the Viper from '92 til present are immense compared to what else was out there at the time... no frills (except the frills we won't generally accept when purchase vehicles now including windows, a top, a/c, power windows and a stereo) and an engine, frame and suspension that allow us to run with or flat out beat just about anything out there!

There are differences... such as a 427 Cobra's original price was about $7000.00 and the same year a Ferrari 275 GTB was about $8000.00......about a 15% difference. Today, we can order a '08 Viper for about $83k and a similar Ferrari 430 is about $185k.....about 2.2 times the price......and uhh the performance of the two cars is comparable.....so why the price difference? A dang good question for which I don't have the answer.

A few 427 Cobra's were upgraded with a supercharger and more than a few Vipers get supercharged and turbo charged. Personally, I like 6 speeds, rather than 4...but then again in 40 some years, we've had a few things change.

Regards,
Aaron
 

rcl4668

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I did some research on this a few years ago before deciding on the Viper. The top two choices in terms of quality seemed to be:

(1) Superformance (advantage: pretty much ready out of the box as a rolling chassis -- you just select the engine/drivetrain and you're done); or

(2) Factory Five (advantage -- uses Mustang donor parts and the kit itself is in the $12-13K range)

/Rich
 

AFL in NJ

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I've heard the Kirkham Cobra replicas are pretty good too....I heard a while ago that they were the company actually making the aluminum bodies for the continuation series cobras over in Poland.

However rcl4668 is right, the other kits are much cheaper..... from what I heard a few years back, a perfect replica 427 side-oiler-powered Kirkham is about $95k.

Regards,
Aaron
 
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RAYSIR

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BTW - anyone here ever build one of these Cobra kits?

I built a B&B manufacturing 427SC kit in 1998. I used the PS engeneering Halibrand knock off wheels and Smiths gauges. I built the car as close to an original as I could replicate. Found out Shelby put the gauges any way you requested. Mine was Royal Blue with white stripes. 400hp 351Winsor. The best info is on cobracountry.com . I have build pics also. Had about 40k in it when done.
 

GTSnake

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There are some pictures of a Cobra with the Viper V10 in it on this forum somewhere. I believe Hisserman was the one who posted it.
 

mad0953

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John, this is so weird. I have been looking at the Superformance Cobras for quite some time now. I plan on getting a blue/white one as soon as I can. I saw one in Bend, Oregon last year (yellow with white stripes) and was hooked. :)
 

NascarDave

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My brother has built several CSX cobra's using Keith Craft built 650 rwhp Shelby 427 engines. He took a couple of them to Viper Days Sebring this year and they sounded awesome! He owns Tampa Bay Shelby so he can get the parts direct from Shelby as well as Roush, Scott Drake and Superformance.

Good luck and have fun!

DN
 

snakebitdave

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Nice write-up, thanks for sharing. I built my Unique Motorcars replica in 1990 using a 428 CJ engine and 4 speed top loader. It has MGB front and independent Jag rear suspension components. I too, invested approximately 40k in the build. I haven't kept up with what's available today but at the time I would rather have had ERA's kit as it was more refined and more complete but more money.
 

AFL in NJ

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That's very neat....I'd love to have seen and heard them! Dave, do you know if they are still building the "continuation series" Cobras?

Regards,
Aaron
 

96GTS

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Mr. Shelby has a shop here in Vegas by the speedway, and still makes the Cobra. You can get it in carbon fiber, aluminum or fiberglass. If anyone is interested I could get some more specifics or you could call them at:

Shelby Automobiles, Inc.
6755 Speedway Blvd
Las Vegas, NV. 89115
(702)-942-7325 Business
(702)-932-6272 Fax

WWW.shelbyautos.com
 

HISSNAKE

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Can't say enough about Superformance. I've had mine for a few years now and it is a thrill-a-second! Some pic's in my gallery. Oh, thought you all would enjoy this Cobra read...

Driving a Cobra Replica…

"If you want to just gas and go, and never have to worry about replacing an alternator, or snuggling down the header bolts, or getting baked while driving, or learning how to set your carb float level, or driving in traffic on a warm winter day with "winter gas" in the tank, get a Corvette. "

With a Cobra Replica you have to remind yourself that you are driving a hand made race car on the street. There is no compromise for anything other than pure speed. These cars are brutal and unforgiving, with all the refinement of a medieval battle ax. Like being in a relationship with an exotic dancer, you can never take anything for granted. These cars don't have millions of miles of testing refinement before you get yours. For any trip longer than an hour, you need earplugs, and goggles, and carry Advil and eye drops. You will need to learn to "read" the clouds for rain in your path, and have experience in un-wrapping your frozen fingers from the MotoLita steering wheel when driving in the cold winter months. You will experience lady passengers "wetting" the passenger seat when you merge into traffic from an on-ramp, and then nearly burn their calf getting out of the car.

You will have all the invisibility of a burning Hindenburg, and flee from underground parking lots when uncountable car alarms are screaming your departure. When you shop, you will remind yourself that these cars get more attention than a dead body in a parking lot.

With a power to weight ratio better than almost every supercar, you will find your 1/4 mile times traction rather than power limited. On the other hand, when you stage, out of the corner of your helmet's visor you will see almost the entire audience lining up at the fence, most with cameras up. If you track on a road course with a Porsche club, owners of expensive German machines will come to the fence to watch you power out in smoking oversteer. You won't even try to start your engine in the garage, but push it out onto the driveway, or else your loyal watch dog will croak from the exhaust fumes. If you idle next to other "sports" cars at a traffic light, by the green, their girlfriend will be coughing green phlegm into her hanky, yelling at her date to just go! When you refuel, you might as well prop the "bonnet" open, because you are going to have to show your motor to just about every other guy there. When you order your wings at *******, your waitress will whisper in your ear "take me for a ride." When you stop at the red light, the girl in the convertible next to you will invite you to "take my top off too."

When you slowly pass a troop of Harley riders, they will look over and give you thumbs up. When you want to ease out into traffic, other cars will immediately pause to let you go ahead of them. When your engine has its hot, crackling, intimidating exhaust side pipe aimed right at the flank of the GTO, or the Z28, your exhaust pulsation's slowly unscrewing his lug nuts, the other car will remain motionless, as if the slightest quiver of his car will cause your car to stomp it dead. When you leave it open in a parking lot, and come back to find your sunglasses and cell phone still sitting on the tunnel, it is because your car has sullenly warned those who came over to admire it "touch me and I will rise up here and kill you dead."

When you put that tiny low-tech silver key into the ignition and begin your start countdown, your car will whisper "take me for granted and I will kill you."

When other drivers just hop in and snap up their belts while backing out of their parking space, you will still have two more minutes before you even get all the Simpson's safety belts properly on and snugged down. Pulling up in a Cobra Replica is like landing an F4U Corsair, or “Whistling Death,” fighter plane at an ultralite aircraft convention.

In summary, very, let me repeat, very few drivers want this kind of attention or can tolerate all that a formidable Cobra Replica demands. These cars are intolerant mistresses.

But remember, there will come a day when you have to hang up your car keys for the last time. And perhaps you will want to say at that point in time, "I did it."
 

NascarDave

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Yes, as 96 says, the continuation cars are still being built and sold- on an individual basis. All you do is get in touch with an authorized dealer- there are about 15 of them- and begin discussions. The rolling chassis (for fiberglass) is about $50k plus options. The aluminum and carbon fiber cars are more expensive. Some dealers will install an engine and some will not. Shelby won't build a complete car or they would be subject to DOT, EPA and other government regulations. Total price for a big block car, turnkey, is about $95K or so. The real difference between the "kits" and the "real" cars is resale value.

DN
 

boman

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I have seen the Cobra kit with the Viper engine. Sorry, I don't have a picture handy. The engine fit under the hood, but it was installed at an extreme angle, not level fore and aft.

The front of the engine was lifted to clear the front crossmember. It must have had some poor driveline angles and a higher center of gravity.

Because of these reasons, I don't think that it was a very good installation.
 

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