Welcome Cobra Kit Researchers!!!  Stay tuned for one large spreadsheet with ALL PARTICIPATING manufacturer info laid out side-by-side for a more easy comparison.  Until then, here are DIRECT LINKS to these quality Cobra kit manufacturers' PRICING INFO:

Dream Garage must be reality, wife says "No Cobra till garage is built!"
Cobraphile creates custom quarters quick!

FREE Cobra!     In order to supplement my Army retirement check, the wife and I have begun collecting rental homes.  We currently have three--one more and we can trade them in for a hotel!       In a nutshell, we intend to use every penny of equity we have to purchase rental homes as fast as comfortably possible.  So, instead of saving thousands to put down on each house, I'm buying a Cobra and putting as much extra cash into paying it off as I possibly can.      If the finished Cobra appraises for $35,000, and I have paid $5000 toward a $25,000 car note, as an example, I wind up with an instant $15,000 in equity!  My bank will allow me to use every penny of the vehicle's equity in place of money down on the purchase of more rental homes.  Each rental is simply financed on its full sale price--and pays for itself in 20 years.       After insurance, repairs and taxes on each home, I still always make money each month on each home.  The car I'm left with is a bonus!  I could watch thousands seemingly go away in the form of rental down payments, but if each home is going to pay itself off in 20 years, and I don't need them paid off before then, where's the fun in that?!       Instead, that money goes toward paying off the roadster and continually makes more equity available for the purchase of more homes, which in turn pay for themselves.  This is a no-brainer that even the wife couldn't dispute!  Instead of saving thousands to put down on the purchase of these rental homes, I get the same result and have a roadster to boot!       *For the skeptics, yes, this does work.  I have an '84 Corvette in the garage right now that I used to purchase two of my rental homes this way last year.  What a racket--I need a bigger garage!

'84 Cross-fire Injection, 4th generation Corvette. The Corvette's 4th generation began in '84. The '84 is also the only 4th generation Corvette with Cross-fire Injection (thank God!). Me, my post restoration junker, and pre-Army retirement goatee!

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*Old news: below is my pre- B&B decision FFR story...
Phase #1: Fund Building: School of Hard Knocks
Daytona Coupe build officially underway...almost!

     You just can't beat free training coupled with a healthy kit discount. Thanks to the Montgomery GI Bill and Factory Five's kit discount, I'm now several car lengths ahead toward completion--and I haven't even ordered the kit yet!
     The Mott Community College build school in Howell, MI, costs $699, and that, coincidently, happens to be how much the Montgomery GI Bill will pay me to attend.
Travel, hotel bill and food should cost around $400. I, like many others across the country, plan to make the trek to "The Winter Wonderland" later this year--hopefully after the motto no longer reflects the state's actual...state.  
     "With a focus on all aspects of the build, from donor car disassembly to final paint, the instructors at Mott share their multi-faceted automotive experiences while tailoring the seminar to the skills and background of each individual student," according to the Factory Five's web site.
     The school teaches students to organize and manage the process of constructing a replica kit car by actually assembling a car in three days! Students learn automotive concepts and theories such as steering and suspension systems; actual chassis wiring layout, including vehicle instrumentation and lighting; brake systems design and layout; actual fiberglass body finish and paint preparation processes; and safe shop practices.
     With the $500 Factory Five kit discount for build school attendance, after my travel and related expenses, I look at this as actually making $100! The build school is free for me, paid for by the Montgomery GI Bill. I'm now closer to finishing something I haven't even started. 

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Complete Rolling Chassis or Build-Your-Own

Today's forecast calls for continued research and a flurry of email!

Author Commentary, Feb 13, 2005

     Blazing sunlight crisscrossed the hood as we thundered through twisting, rolling Ozark elevation changes toward a growing grey horizon.  The scent of spring rain evoked a growing sense of imminent soaking ahead but my senses were already drenched in raw horsepower and g-forces.  Then it began to fall--her stinging words rained down on me like an unstoppable torrent, "Honey, don't you think we ought to turn around--there's rain ahead."
     For once in my life I was a step ahead.  I'd done my research.  I knew what was coming. 
     Confident in my decision, we rocketed around an inclining bend toward apparent disaster...and my mind began to wonder.  I thought about how my research into Cobra kits had saved thousands on paper...and that some guys never do enough research before they buy.  They see what appear to be clear answers about who makes the best pre-assembled rolling chassis for the money and wind up assuming that lesser-priced kits aren't well engineered.
     Build your own or buy a rolling chassis?  Just how much can you save if you build your own?  Who makes the best rolling chassis for the money?  A week or so on a couple of forums, coupled with listening too much to the guy at work with his brand new, shiny-blue Cobra replica can spell disaster.
     I compared four manufacturers whose products caught my eye recently.  First, let me say that I've never seen a Superformance roadster in the flesh...but I HAVE been invited to fly ON THEIR DIME to Dynamic MotorSports, the Superformance dealer in Ohio, to view their product after a particularly flattering and lengthy post I made about a friend's Backdraft at Club Cobra. There's nothing more I'd rather do than spend the weekend drooling all over beautiful SPF vehicles...it's just this pesky job I've got--and my family time--that keeps getting in the way.  
     After the Run and Gun in Saint Louis this year I'll have some solid experience to stand on, but until then let's just assume what we've all read, and what most have seen first-hand: Superformance Cobra replicas are top-notch vehicles, up there with the exclusive 3 or 4 in quality and functionality...that the working man really can't afford. 
     Let's also assume that quality and craftsmanship are identically top-notch, or at least close, between Backdraft and Superformance Rolling chassis.  I've seen and drooled over the Backdraft in person, and it truly was a clean work of art...except for the spittle I left all over it.  So, how much more perfect, how much more beautiful can the Superformance roadster be compared to the Backdraft?

     Can you say, "$8,000 more beautiful"?
     Armed only with that information, I'd have to say that the winds would have me headed directly toward the Backdraft.  Why would anyone spend $8000 more for the Superformance vehicle if the Backdraft is just as nice?  For the name?!
     How about because Superformance uses all new parts. The Backdraft has a used BMW rear end. So knock off a couple hundred bucks--the Backdraft is STILL far-and-away the best deal, right?
     Both vehicles are "race-proven"...whatever that really means.  Bubba's home-made, cobbled-together Cobra can enter and drive in a race!  Then he can trailer his cobbled Cobra home for some additional Bubba engineering. Yes, race-proven vehicles obviously wind up more refined as time goes by--but lots of Cobra replica manufacturers race their vehicles.
     Both come standard with IRS, wind wings, sun visors, and wipers/washers. Many unassembled, build-it-yourself kits don't come with these standard.  No leather, LOTS of used parts, dozens of major headaches and gallons of sweat along the way are to be expected with all base-priced unassembled kits. Imagine trying to remove a COMPLETE wiring harness from an old, beat-up Mustang. Not my idea of a fun-filled afternoon. Then, of course, you have to use that spaghetti mess in the brand NEW kit you may now be regretting you ever purchased.  Soon, the new replacement parts you begin opting for over the used ones really start adding up!  Wait--we're talking about pre-assembled replicas, not kits right now.  You can't really save that much dough building a kit anyway, right?
     The Superformance vehicle comes with a lot of other good stuff too: black soft top & side curtains, black tonneau cover, leather seats, and lots of proprietary engineering, to name some big ones. But are these worth $8000 more to me? 
     If you're asking yourself some of these question too, it's time to start a new spreadsheet and begin comparing the price of the exact vehicle you want with the exact extras you want on it, as built by each of your preferred manufacturers. *While you're at it, start another column for an unassembled roadster kit from Factory Five with independent rear suspension (for comparability sake), and don't forget to add-in the other new parts that come standard in the Superformance and Backdraft packages.  And start a final column for the Cobras N Vettes C3/C4 "Cobray" kit--just for good measure.  Stop freaking out--this is just a simple comparison study--and it's MY editorial!
     No, sorry, you can't figure-in the cost of your labor to build the FFR or the CnV kits--that's pure enjoyment anyway, right?  But don't forget to add about $3000-$5000 for great paint unless you enjoy doing that yourself too.
     I've already completed my spreadsheet for my four preferred competitors.  My elusive Cobra replica will cost $25,707 for the Factory Five roadster of my dreams--almost as much as the base-priced Backdraft--and I still have to build the FFR!  No soft top with the Backdraft or FFR, either, but I did figure in tonneau covers.  The Backdraft with my extras is $30,195. The basic, nicely-equipped Superformance vehicle costs $36,000.  Don't forget to add in about $10,000 for your favorite small block/transmission package--stay away from those big blocks--they're much too heavy, b