Living within your means—let’s modify this concept and apply it to building a Cobra replica: creating the best possible Cobra roadster replica without going broke, getting a divorce, or sleeping in the doghouse outside for the next year while the project’s underway in the home shop. On the other hand, don’t be too much of a spendthrift when you build your Cobra. Just create a cool car that doesn’t leave you homeless or spouseless. The last thing you want to do, when you get to the finish line in the project, is to regret the fact that you started the build in the first place. You, your family, and your friends all have the opportunity to enjoy in this build if you carefully plan how much you have to spend and then execute the plan.
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Apart from the Unique Motorcars’ embossed floor mats in the cockpit, you are hard pressed to tell Tom Morgan’s Unique 427SC from an original Shelby Cobra.
This entire chapter is devoted to budgeting. It is possible to build a nice Cobra for $25,000. You can also spend more than $100,000 and have a wild replica. It all boils down to how little or how much money you have to spend, how much of the work you can do yourself, and what sort of dream machine you want to have when all the creating is complete and it’s time to carve some corners at the wheel of your roadster.
Obviously, your budget determines whether you create your roadster with a mix of new and used components or all new parts. Over the years I’ve seen, heard, and even had the opportunity to pilot some spectacular Cobra creations that had inauspicious beginnings. The projects may have been started with an assortment of new and reconditioned components, or the entire build might have been a mix of a donor car with a barely started project that had been sitting for several years. Do not be dismayed if you have a paltry budget. It is amazing what you can create, even with very limited funds, especially if you’re willing to invest your own sweat equity.
Using an FFR Mk3 Roadster Base Kit and a 2003 donor Mustang Mach 1, FFR engineer Jesper Ingerslev built an outstanding daily driver for a bit more than $26,000.
Jesper Ingerslev’s Factory Five Racing Mk3 Roadster
When planning and creating a Cobra replica, it can certainly be beneficial to also be employed by a company that produces replica kits. Jesper Ingerslev works for Factory Five Racing as an engineer. He knows firsthand how well these kits are designed and manufactured. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be working for the leading kitcar company in the world and not building your own dream car? In the case of Ingerslev, his area of expertise revolves around designing, engineering, and building. And like many of us, he’s an automotive enthusiast and auto-racing fan. So, his vocation and avocation are in harmony. Creating his version of Cobra-car nirvana had to be an easy decision to make.
As a young family man, he also needed to be economical when plotting the financial course of his FFR build. He found a 2003 Mustang Mach 1 that had been totaled in a collision and dumped at a local wrecking yard. The Mach 1 had just 2,000 on the odometer with an engine and transmission that had barely been broken in.
As a young family man, he also needed to be economical when plotting the financial course of his FFR build. He found a 2003 Mustang Mach 1 that had been totaled in a collision and dumped at a local wrecking yard. The Mach 1 had just 2,000 on the odometer with an engine and transmission that had barely been broken in.
You can guess what Ingerslev did. He was off to the races. Using the 2003 Mach 1’s mill, the Tremec 3650 5-speed transmission, and as many of the other components that he chose, Jesper built a super-nice FFR Mk3 roadster that is his daily driver. The top and side curtains are proudly stowed in the trunk. Those who have spent any time in New England or, more specifically, Massachusetts in the fall and winter, are aware how much rain, sleet, and snow that part of the country gets for much of every year.
The 2003 Mustang Mach 1 engine had just 2,000 break-in miles when Ingerslev installed it in his Mk3 roadster chassis. This is a common donor vehicle for an FFR base kit. What is uncommon is the fact that Ingerslev found a 2003 Mustang Mach 1 with so few miles.
Rather than using the stock-donor lower control arms (left), Ingerslev splurged and purchased some lighter-weight, stronger, and higherperformance Factory Five Racing tubular lower control arms (right). The optional control arms yield a lower unsprung weight and enable the car to corner more firmly.
Implementing the Mach 1’s antilock braking system for handling the raucous New England climate was one of the many advantages to buying a FFR Mk3 Base Kit and going the donor car route for Jesper, along with the considerable financial savings.
Not long after Ingerslev completed his Mk3, he let me take the roadster for a spin. Being the editor of KIT CAR magazine had its perks. Despite the fact that it was created from a combination of new and barely used components, Jesper’s Mk3 drives and handles like a brandnew, high-end sports car! When you consider that he spent a grand total of $26,817, does that give you hope that you too can build a righteous Cobra replica on a budget? In my book, seeing, driving, and believing makes me one of the choir. I’ll sing the praises of Ingerslev’s Cobra creation, especially if he lets me take the roadster out on another spin sometime soon.
Tom Morgan’s Unique Motorcars 427SC
Cobras are stunning in any color, with the possible exception of pink. The curvaceous lines of the car, often called the Coke-bottle shape, are the obvious reason these cars look so sweet wearing paint, in brushed or polished aluminum, or even in fiberglass Gel-Coat. Concept cars are often sprayed silver because that’s a hue that flatters any automobile’s forms. It’s also the color of steel and evokes a mechanical, substantial, and precisely built feel in the viewer.
It is hard to tell Tom Morgan’s Unique 427SC from an original Shelby Cobra. (The only difference is the Unique Motorcars’ embossed floor mats in the cockpit.) Unique doesn’t use donor cars for the basis of their Cobra kit cars.
Southern Automotive rebuilt the Ford FE big-block mill for Morgan’s Unique Motorcars roadster. With the turkey pan and the Stelling & Hellings air cleaner, the FE engine’s a dead ringer for a Cobra 427 powerplant.
Tom Morgan, of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, had his Unique Motorcars 427SC roadster painted the color of pocket change, a Sterling Silver hue that’s sublime in low light or sunlight. Because his car has a Ford bigblock V-8 underhood that’s detailed like an original Shelby Cobra’s engine bay, it’s a real challenge to discern that his roadster is a replica.
His Unique 427SC looks like it might go for maybe $500,000 to a million bucks, depending upon its ownership and potential race history as a 1960s original. Yet, Tom spent a very manageable $48,000 and an admittedly time-consuming 400-plus hours of labor on the build.
He didn’t go the donor car route to help save money. Rather, he had an original Ford FE cast-iron bigblock V-8 precisely machined by Revolutionary Performance & Machine, conveniently located in his hometown. The V-8 was treated to some new speed-shop-quality engine components, like a Comp Cams valvetrain assembly, and backed the torque monster with a new Tremec TKO-600 manual transmission that can handle up to 600 ft-lbs of torque without breaking a sweat (or any of the gears). John then set to the task of stuffing the renewed block into the car. Bruce Bunn, the owner of Jodeco Autobody, in McDonough, Georgia, laid down the money-silver paint scheme, in PPG Lexus Titanium with black Le Mans stripes.
Considering that the owner saved 10 to 20 times what it could have cost him to buy an original Shelby Cobra 427SC, we say Tom budgeted well in the building of his Unique Motorcars Cobra. Depending upon how much savings you have and how good you are at turning wrenches, you could build something comparable to either Jesper or Tom. You just need to get your spreadsheet going so you can work out the details.
A Word to the Wise
With both of the above builds, the Cobra creators wound up achieving a happy ending while being able to save some money by reconditioning used components. In the case of Jesper Ingerslev, his good fortune began when he found a slightly used but thoroughly wrecked 2003 Mustang Mach 1 with just 2,000 miles on the odometer. Starting his FFR Mk3 build from such a strong foundation made perfect sense. The used components he installed didn’t need to be reconditioned because they were almost brand new.
Tom Morgan, on the other hand, used an old Ford-FE big-block V-8 and had it professionally machined and reconditioned. He’s lucky that the block was still usable and hadn’t been bored and rebuilt too many times. Thankfully, he had some real pros providing the machining and reconditioning of the FE block.
When using old components, be careful that the parts aren’t so worn that they can’t be reconditioned. It’s very possible to wind up spending more money on something that’s not salvageable, when the initial goal was to save money. The word of caution here is to carefully inspect every used component to determine whether it can be reconditioned and reused. If you don’t have the wherewithal to make that sort of determination, find an expert who you can trust. In the case of engine builders, there are a large number of reputable pro shops all over the country that can assist you with your engine rebuilding queries. For a nominal fee, they line-hone your engine block and determine if it is viable to re-build your old engine.
Several years ago, I had a used 1969 Ford 351W engine block that I bought from a wrecking yard for real cheap. The engine builder I was going to use determined that the block already had a 60 overbore and one of the cylinders needed to be sleeved. Rather than go that route, I wound up getting a brand-new engine from Smeding Performance a while later. That mill made 555 hp and 557 ft-lbs of torque on the engine dyno and ran like a NASCAR powerplant on steroids. Yes, I might have been able to get that much power out of the old block, but I might have also walked into a bunch of trouble and added engine headaches not far down the road.
If you wish to steer clear of any difficulties in renewing old components, you could take the sort of approach that Cobra caretaker Darren Friedman chose—spare no expense. He bought everything new and produced his version of a dream Cobra.
Darren Friedman’s 2006 Kirkham 427SC
Darren Friedman, owner of the number-500 Kirkham 427SC, is no stranger to Cobra replicas. Several years ago, he had a side business called West Coast Dreams, where he and his business partner built and sold Cobra replicas to customers on demand.
You see, Mr. Friedman is an entrepreneurial sort of fellow with a couple of successful medical businesses to his credit. When the moment came to realize the Cobra replica of his dreams, he contacted the Kirkham brothers, David and Thomas, in Provo, Utah. He ordered a polished aluminum Kirkham 427SC roadster with a removable Le Mans hardtop, a turnkey-minus car.
While waiting for the Kirkham’s arrival, he ordered a Roush/Shelby 451 FE aluminum big-block V-8 and backed that mighty mill with an equally stout Tremec TKO 600 5-speed manual transmission. Because Darren enjoys taking the Cobra on cruises and displaying it at shows as much as he relishes track events in California, he has two sets of wheels and tires, one for the road courses and one set of four for the street.
Possibly because Kirkhams are crafted by former MIG fighter-jet engineers and fabricators, out of the same aluminum material that the original Shelby Cobras were comprised of back in the 1960s, many Kirkham owners order their Kirkham Motorsports cars in polished aluminum. Their badge of honor is to not wear paint. I imagine few polished aluminum roadsters see much track action. Darren’s number-500 car has dual badges, a bit of track rash from all the racing action, and enough polished aluminum bodywork to make anyone squint.
All of us Cobra replica builders are creating our own dream machines. The three vehicles discussed above illustrate different approaches to the same end result. The question is: How can you build the Cobra you choose? Keep dreaming, start planning, and get to the building. That’s the fun part—the creating and building
Engine Sources
Any automobile’s heart and soul is the drivetrain. This is especially true with Cobra kit cars. Before Carroll Shelby approached AC Cars, Ltd. in England with the idea of transforming the Ace Bristol roadster into a fire-breathing race car, the Ace was a sweetly styled two-seater. Because the car was so light (1,950 pounds), the inline six-cylinder Bristol engine produced decent power for the Ace. Shelby’s plan to drop an American V-8 engine in the Ace’s spacious engine bay was a stroke of genius and was something that hot rodders had been doing with 1920s and 1930s vintage Fords and other American vehicles since the mid 1930s.
Installing a Ford V-8 mill in the AC Ace Bristol roadster and calling the new car a Shelby Cobra made all the difference. The Cobra was quicker, handled better, and had a top speed at least 40 mph faster than the AC Ace, and this was just the jump from the Ace to the 260-ci V-8 Ford engine that powered the first Cobras in 1962.
The current art of engine building provides small-block and bigblock V-8s to choose from in either cast iron or aluminum. This enables Cobra replica builders to achieve significantly more horsepower and torque out of modern engines that are more reliable and weigh less than what was available when the Cobra was new, from 1962 through 1967.
There are many professional engine rebuilding companies in each of the 50 states that can build a top-quality, high-performance, and reliable powerplant for your Cobra project. Many of these shops offer computer-controlled engine building equipment that is state-of-theart and also offer engine dyno and chassis dynamometer testing capabilities. Some of the companies only build engines using new components, and they provide solid multiyear warranties.
Some engine builders across the country specialize in a specific brand of American engine. There are Blue Oval builders, Bow Tie experts, and plenty of Mopar machinists. There are even pro shops, like Bill and Susan Parham’s Southern Automotive, that focus only on Ford FE bigblock mills.
To assist you with engine selection, here are several of the prominent U.S. Ford engine companies. They sell crate engines, are new engine specialists, and/or are rebuild experts. If you wish to put Mopar or Chevy power in your Cobra kits, you’re on your own. I’m a Chevy-ina-Chevy sort of guy and a Ford-ina-Ford fan. What you choose is up to you.
QMP Racing Engines
The QMP stands for Quarter Mile Performance. This pro shop’s specialty is building high-performance racing engines that can take whatever any drag strip dishes out in a 1/8-mile, 1/4-mile, or what have you. After we selected a Dart race-series aluminum Ford 351W engine block and Dart’s Pro 1 CNC aluminum cylinder heads as the foundation on our engine build, we needed a top builder. Dart’s Advertising Director, Jack McInnis, highly recommended QMP Racing Engines to build the engine for our Cobra replica. McInnis then kindly introduced us to Brad Lagman, the owner and founder of QMP Racing Engines.
All of the services that QMP performs are done in-house; no machining is ever farmed out. QMP offers a direct approach to building the best engines possible. That philosophy is summed up succinctly: “Tell us how fast you want to go, and we will make it happen.” That’s music to our ears and our three right feet.
Smeding Performance
Smeding Performance crate engines are designed from the ground up with value, reliability, and performance in mind. Only 100- percent new components, including the block, are used in Smeding-built engines. Every engine is individually balanced, engine dyno tested, and tuned with a lengthy break-in procedure. Smeding engines have one of the lowest warranty-return ratios in the industry.
The company, founded by pro engine builder Ben Smeding, specializes in Ford and Chevy engines ranging from 340 to 800 hp. And they all run on 91-octane filling-station fuel. Customization is available; the most popular are polish packages and multiple carburetion. Smeding Performance crate engines include carburetion, ignition with wires, and engine dyno tuning, providing a true turnkey package. Smeding guarantees their engines with a twoyear, unlimited mileage warranty. An assortment of front-drive accessories for air conditioning, power steering, etc., are available installed as options.
As evidenced by a Ford 351W 427 stroker mill the company built for us that made 555 hp and 557 ft-lbs of torque, Smeding Performance builds reliable, proven, high-performance engines that last and get your vehicle going fast.
Keith Craft Performance Engines
Keith Craft, Inc., founded by Keith Craft, has been in business since 1984. I have several friends with Cobra replicas that are powered by Keith Craft’s engines. They all swear by Craft’s professionally built powerplants. These guys do have some sweet rides, and the mills inside them make prodigious power. Keith Craft Performance Engines builds and sells engines for street cars, performance cars, mud trucks, race cars, Cobras, restored vehicles, hot rods, show cars—just about any sort of vehicle you can imagine.
Roush engines are a popular choice for Cobra kits or any Ford-powered performance vehicle. Jack Roush has built a reputation for winning in various professional auto racing series, so it’s easy to understand why many Cobra replica builders select Roush mills for their roadsters.
Ford Racing Performance Parts
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re aware that Ford Racing Parts recently introduced a new lineup of Boss 302 crate engines in two- and four-valve-per-cylinder varieties. Ford Racing also offers several of the venerable and reliable 351W crate engines, in displacements up to the magical 427 ci. They also offer modular engines in the 4.6L variety. If you favor dropping a Ford bigblock V-8 mill in your 427SC roadster replica, there are two brand-new 521-ci Ford big-block V-8 engines to choose from.
Roush Engines
Jack Roush began his career in 1964 as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company. Roush was always interested in motorsports, so he eventually left Ford to pursue this passion. He first formed Jack Roush Performance Engineering, then Roush Industries in 1976, and Roush Racing in 1988. With success in every race series, Roush became the only professional drag racer to venture into NASCAR, SCCA Trans-Am, and IMSA road racing and sports car racing.
Jack Roush is also very wellknown for building a full lineup of Ford high-performance street and racing crate engines. His company manufactures and distributes an extensive array of small-and big-block Ford-based powerplants, from 327 ci all the way up to 588 ci. Whether you wish to run a carbureted mill or stack fuel injection in your Cobra, Roush Engines has an outstanding solution for your roadster.
Carolina Machine Engines
In business since 1984, Carolina Machine Engines (CME) has produced more than 40,000 remanufactured engines and has in excess of 40 years’ racing experience and hot rodding passion. The company sells street/strip, pump-gas high-performance, race, and stock OE replacement engines direct to consumers. CME’s engines are available as complete, long-block and block assembly, from economy to high-end big-horsepower and big-torque versions. They offer Chevy and Ford powerplants.
Speed-O-Motive Racing Engines
With more than 60 years of producing high-performance engines, beginning with the Ford flathead V-8, Speed-O-Motive offers quite a bit of high-performance prowess to those seeking small- or big-block Ford V-8 power. The company offers a wide array of crate engines from various manufacturers. Whether you wish to go with the Blue Oval or some other make, Speed-O-Motive has been delivering the goods since 1946.
Summit Racing
Don’t forget about Summit Racing Equipment. In 1968, the company started humbly and grew into the world’s largest mail-order automotive-performance equipment company. Summit offers a complete line of Ford crate engines, as well as other American V-8s.
Southern Automotive
If you wish to rebuild an original Ford FE big-block mill, Southern Automotive provides rebuilt Ford Toploader 4-speed transmissions and Tremec transmissions.
Auto Parts Stores
Of course, the various auto parts stores across the country provide rebuilt engines. If you wish to go down this road, compare the warranties and price the best solution that fits your budget and power requirements.
McLeod produces blow-proof scattershields and high-performance clutches, while Tremec Transmissions offers spectacular manual transmissions for enthusiast automobiles. Many Cobra builders use the Tremec TKO 600 5-speed manual transmission. The transmission handles up to 600 ft-lbs of torque. It is precise, smoothly shifting, and offers multiple locations for the shifter, which comes in handy when building any enthusiast machine.
Transmissions, Clutches, Scattershields, Etc.
Whether you’re installing an engine and transmission in a Backdraft Racing roadster or you’re creating an ERA replica from the ground up, there are a number of drivetrain components for which you need to do some homework, determine what you want, and select where to purchase.
There are myriad decisions to make, including these:
- Do you want to use a hydraulic clutch or a cable-actuated clutch?
- Do you wish to install a manual or an automatic transmission?
- Do you want to really replicate an original Cobra as much as possible and install a Ford Toploader 4-speed with the reverse lockout T-shifter?
- Do you prefer to purchase a bulletproof and overdrive-equipped Tremec TKO 500 or 600 5-speed manual transmission?
- How about the top-of-the-line Tremec T56 Magnum 6-speed manual transmission that has overdrive in 5th and 6th gears and can handle up to 700 ft-lbs of torque?
- What bellhouse fits best?
- Whose clutch should you use?
- Would an aluminum flywheel or billet steel flywheel be better?
And so on. Don’t be dismayed. Break it down into manageable components, get to work, and you begin to make progress bit-by-bit, step-by-step.
Properly planning your build to fit your budget and be the sort of Cobra replica you wish to create is a monumental challenge. But it’s one that you can master. Two of us aren’t too careful about planning. Yet, we did pretty well. You can make it to the finish line just as we did—step by-step and bit-by-bit.
Written by D. Brian Smith and Posted with Permission of CarTechBooks
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