AC Cobra Rep - Ford Pinto
Discussion
I have been offered a AC Cobra Replica by a friend of a friend.
His situation is that he has built it and a) cannot store it anywhere as his folks have moved from Surrey to Somerset. b) needs the money.
So with my love of the Cobra and being able to keep it in my garage I may go for it, I’m 33 and really fancy a summer toy!
Right this is the bit, I have been researching these kit cars for a bit now and have always insisted on having a V8. After my research I have found that the decent ones are 12k+ minimum. I can’t reach to that at the moment (baby due in Feb07) so this is why I’m considering his Cobra.
It has white paintwork, has a Ford Pinto 2.1 with twin Webbers, side pipes, about 110bhp, ox blood leather with matching wet weather gear. I believe it was built a couple of years ago. Not sure what running gear it has. I will be going to see it in 4 weeks time and can ask all the questions I need to ask.
So with the help of you guys I need to arm myself with questions.
Last thing is he wants 5k!
What are your thoughts please?
Cheers
Rob
His situation is that he has built it and a) cannot store it anywhere as his folks have moved from Surrey to Somerset. b) needs the money.
So with my love of the Cobra and being able to keep it in my garage I may go for it, I’m 33 and really fancy a summer toy!
Right this is the bit, I have been researching these kit cars for a bit now and have always insisted on having a V8. After my research I have found that the decent ones are 12k+ minimum. I can’t reach to that at the moment (baby due in Feb07) so this is why I’m considering his Cobra.
It has white paintwork, has a Ford Pinto 2.1 with twin Webbers, side pipes, about 110bhp, ox blood leather with matching wet weather gear. I believe it was built a couple of years ago. Not sure what running gear it has. I will be going to see it in 4 weeks time and can ask all the questions I need to ask.
So with the help of you guys I need to arm myself with questions.
Last thing is he wants 5k!
What are your thoughts please?
Cheers
Rob
Hi Robbie.
Chances are the car is Ford based. and depending on the quality of the work done £5-6000 is about right.
Make sure you see the V5 log book and that it states the make of the kit in the manufacturer box. If it says Ford Sierra or Cortina etc then the car has not been correctly registered and will need an SVA test in order to be able to get the car MOT tested each year.
The SVA test is £150 and is a nightmare if you have a car that does not comply.
Good luck.
Chances are the car is Ford based. and depending on the quality of the work done £5-6000 is about right.
Make sure you see the V5 log book and that it states the make of the kit in the manufacturer box. If it says Ford Sierra or Cortina etc then the car has not been correctly registered and will need an SVA test in order to be able to get the car MOT tested each year.
The SVA test is £150 and is a nightmare if you have a car that does not comply.
Good luck.
Rob,
take a look at www.cobraclub.com and ask the question there. Dave is quite right, an incorrectly registered Cobra that hasn't passed the SVA is a nightmare but if its cheap enough its worth spending a few days with the spanners to get it right.
Are you any good with the mechanical side of things and do you have room to play with the car ? Depending on the make of Kit ( and with a Pinto it will be Ford based) it may be possible to transplant say a Rover 3.5 or a derivative into the car and sell on the tuned Pinto to somone with a deranged love of Escorts.......( says he who rebuilt a Mk1 and a Mk3 Cortina)..Find out what the kit is registered as , who made the kit, the year of manufacture and the type and age of donor vehicle. Then ask the questions armed with this information.
If its not a complete horror story at the sort of money you are talking about its very likely to be worth buying, if you can do the work yourself. The Cobra Club has loads of people who can help you with advice and knowledge and if nothing else you are bound to learn something about Cobras.
Cheers,
Tony
take a look at www.cobraclub.com and ask the question there. Dave is quite right, an incorrectly registered Cobra that hasn't passed the SVA is a nightmare but if its cheap enough its worth spending a few days with the spanners to get it right.
Are you any good with the mechanical side of things and do you have room to play with the car ? Depending on the make of Kit ( and with a Pinto it will be Ford based) it may be possible to transplant say a Rover 3.5 or a derivative into the car and sell on the tuned Pinto to somone with a deranged love of Escorts.......( says he who rebuilt a Mk1 and a Mk3 Cortina)..Find out what the kit is registered as , who made the kit, the year of manufacture and the type and age of donor vehicle. Then ask the questions armed with this information.
If its not a complete horror story at the sort of money you are talking about its very likely to be worth buying, if you can do the work yourself. The Cobra Club has loads of people who can help you with advice and knowledge and if nothing else you are bound to learn something about Cobras.
Cheers,
Tony
Edited by Tony427 on Tuesday 26th September 23:04
Dave Dax builder said:
Hi Robbie.
Chances are the car is Ford based. and depending on the quality of the work done £5-6000 is about right.
Make sure you see the V5 log book and that it states the make of the kit in the manufacturer box. If it says Ford Sierra or Cortina etc then the car has not been correctly registered and will need an SVA test in order to be able to get the car MOT tested each year.
The SVA test is £150 and is a nightmare if you have a car that does not comply.
Good luck.
Chances are the car is Ford based. and depending on the quality of the work done £5-6000 is about right.
Make sure you see the V5 log book and that it states the make of the kit in the manufacturer box. If it says Ford Sierra or Cortina etc then the car has not been correctly registered and will need an SVA test in order to be able to get the car MOT tested each year.
The SVA test is £150 and is a nightmare if you have a car that does not comply.
Good luck.
Hi Dave, noted with thanks.
Will check all of the above with the owner and post up the results.
happy jim said:
Robbie,
You may want to think about how the car will feel - compared to your M3 this is not going to snap any necks! - however for the price, it's hard to knock (if the paperwork stands up).
Jim
You may want to think about how the car will feel - compared to your M3 this is not going to snap any necks! - however for the price, it's hard to knock (if the paperwork stands up).
Jim
Hi Jim
For me at the moment the AC does not need to snap my neck, really i'm after that rumble thats why I wanted the V8.
However it's the lines/looks of the AC that I must have at some point in my "car life"
Cheers
Rob
Tony427 said:
Rob,
take a look at www.cobraclub.com and ask the question there. Dave is quite right, an incorrectly registered Cobra that hasn't passed the SVA is a nightmare but if its cheap enough its worth spending a few days with the spanners to get it right.
Are you any good with the mechanical side of things and do you have room to play with the car ? Depending on the make of Kit ( and with a Pinto it will be Ford based) it may be possible to transplant say a Rover 3.5 or a derivative into the car and sell on the tuned Pinto to somone with a deranged love of Escorts.......( says he who rebuilt a Mk1 and a Mk3 Cortina)..Find out what the kit is registered as , who made the kit, the year of manufacture and the type and age of donor vehicle. Then ask the questions armed with this information.
If its not a complete horror story at the sort of money you are talking about its very likely to be worth buying, if you can do the work yourself. The Cobra Club has loads of people who can help you with advice and knowledge and if nothing else you are bound to learn something about Cobras.
Cheers,
Tony
take a look at www.cobraclub.com and ask the question there. Dave is quite right, an incorrectly registered Cobra that hasn't passed the SVA is a nightmare but if its cheap enough its worth spending a few days with the spanners to get it right.
Are you any good with the mechanical side of things and do you have room to play with the car ? Depending on the make of Kit ( and with a Pinto it will be Ford based) it may be possible to transplant say a Rover 3.5 or a derivative into the car and sell on the tuned Pinto to somone with a deranged love of Escorts.......( says he who rebuilt a Mk1 and a Mk3 Cortina)..Find out what the kit is registered as , who made the kit, the year of manufacture and the type and age of donor vehicle. Then ask the questions armed with this information.
If its not a complete horror story at the sort of money you are talking about its very likely to be worth buying, if you can do the work yourself. The Cobra Club has loads of people who can help you with advice and knowledge and if nothing else you are bound to learn something about Cobras.
Cheers,
Tony
Edited by Tony427 on Tuesday 26th September 23:04
Hi Tony,
I have joined the the AC Cobra club the other day, im in there as Robbie. Just thought i'd post here first. I will add this post over there.
On the mechanical side of things the anwser is no, but I fancy giving it a go and getting my hands dirty. Could always do an evening/weekend course on the basics.
I have a double garage so plenty of room for tinkering.
Poping a Rover 3.5 V8 in at some point down the line would be fantastic! And as you say could sell the pinto on to help fund it.
The way I see things if all stands up with the paperwork it's my way of getting onto the Cobra ownership for not a lot of money and build up/move on from there.
Cheers Guys - Great Help
I ahve a personal distain for cobra (or any other replica's) that fail to capture the feel of the original. Surely if you want an economical 4 cylinder sportscar (and theres nothing wrong with that ....I do!) then you could go for something original. The cobra replicas are done so often (arguably too often!) that people will just laugh if you have something made out to be a snarling 7 litre muscle car and you're being left by the Marlins 
Chris71 said:
I ahve a personal distain for cobra (or any other replica's) that fail to capture the feel of the original. Surely if you want an economical 4 cylinder sportscar (and theres nothing wrong with that ....I do!) then you could go for something original. The cobra replicas are done so often (arguably too often!) that people will just laugh if you have something made out to be a snarling 7 litre muscle car and you're being left by the Marlins
Each to their own. Robbie is trying to get a foot on the Cobra ladder. What right do you have to slight his attempt? Yes in a perfect world every Cobra would have a 289/427 BUT this ain't a perfect world. Laugh if you must, but give the guy a break.
I thought Chris's was a considered reply - there's no flaming going on!
It's a good point. A Pinto will move it from A to B, but will not contribute to a 'replica' experience. An understanding of the difficulty involved to swap the engine for something V, 6 being good, 8 being better will be essential to weighing up this car, and will also determine it's resale value.
It's a good point. A Pinto will move it from A to B, but will not contribute to a 'replica' experience. An understanding of the difficulty involved to swap the engine for something V, 6 being good, 8 being better will be essential to weighing up this car, and will also determine it's resale value.
jim..c said:
A Pinto will move it from A to B, but will not contribute to a 'replica' experience.
In which case there must be approximately zero Ferrari replicas that can contribute to the replica experience!
All depends on what you consider the replica experience is I suppose, there will aways be a significant number of people who won't know the differece and will just be wowed by the looks.
Mr2Mike said:
jim..c said:
A Pinto will move it from A to B, but will not contribute to a 'replica' experience.
In which case there must be approximately zero Ferrari replicas that can contribute to the replica experience!
Yup. The things that you refer to just look similar - they don't feel, or sound, or handle, or go in a similar way. They only contribute to the rebodied MR2 experience.
A replica replicates. An MR2 with different panels isn't a replica - it lacks that level of ambition.
Purple AK said:
Chris71 said:
I ahve a personal distain for cobra (or any other replica's) that fail to capture the feel of the original. Surely if you want an economical 4 cylinder sportscar (and theres nothing wrong with that ....I do!) then you could go for something original. The cobra replicas are done so often (arguably too often!) that people will just laugh if you have something made out to be a snarling 7 litre muscle car and you're being left by the Marlins
Each to their own. Robbie is trying to get a foot on the Cobra ladder. What right do you have to slight his attempt? Yes in a perfect world every Cobra would have a 289/427 BUT this ain't a perfect world. Laugh if you must, but give the guy a break.
Just saying I (personally.... me!) don't understand why you'd want a V8 muscle car without a V8 or indeed muscle. There are so many good pinto powered original sportscars out there I'd go for one of them. Strikes me that from the drivers seat the cobra experience would be largely defined by bellowing exhausts and ferrocious acceleration (and '1960s' handling). To me it wouldn't feel like a cobra because of that, so I'd rather not be bound to that one design. And yes, I would say the same thing about the GT40 replicas based on beetles and all those chevy camaros with Ferrari bodykits on!!
Thanks to some of the guys for their input.
And thanks for fighting my corner!
As was said each to their own. I love the shape/stlye of the Cobra thats why im getting one. The engine comes second. I will use this as a third car to drive to work on a nice sunny day. I will be finding out if the car can take a V8 in the future, which is what I plan to do. For the money its up for (5k
) it's the perfect way to start off owning such a car. I have never owned a kit car nor a replica of anything, been driving M3's for the last 3 years and now an Alfa GTV. The Cobra is a classic icon and if you don't like it then thats your taste but I find it hard to believe. I've got plans to work on it over the winter i.e retrim leather and replace dash, get some dark blue stripes etc etc. I will post up some more soon, just for you Chris 
And thanks for fighting my corner!
As was said each to their own. I love the shape/stlye of the Cobra thats why im getting one. The engine comes second. I will use this as a third car to drive to work on a nice sunny day. I will be finding out if the car can take a V8 in the future, which is what I plan to do. For the money its up for (5k
) it's the perfect way to start off owning such a car. I have never owned a kit car nor a replica of anything, been driving M3's for the last 3 years and now an Alfa GTV. The Cobra is a classic icon and if you don't like it then thats your taste but I find it hard to believe. I've got plans to work on it over the winter i.e retrim leather and replace dash, get some dark blue stripes etc etc. I will post up some more soon, just for you Chris RobbieM-Evo said:
Thanks to some of the guys for their input.
And thanks for fighting my corner!
As was said each to their own. I love the shape/stlye of the Cobra thats why im getting one. The engine comes second. I will use this as a third car to drive to work on a nice sunny day. I will be finding out if the car can take a V8 in the future, which is what I plan to do. For the money its up for (5k) it's the perfect way to start off owning such a car. I have never owned a kit car nor a replica of anything, been driving M3's for the last 3 years and now an Alfa GTV. The Cobra is a classic icon and if you don't like it then thats your taste but I find it hard to believe. I've got plans to work on it over the winter i.e retrim leather and replace dash, get some dark blue stripes etc etc. I will post up some more soon, just for you Chris
And thanks for fighting my corner!
As was said each to their own. I love the shape/stlye of the Cobra thats why im getting one. The engine comes second. I will use this as a third car to drive to work on a nice sunny day. I will be finding out if the car can take a V8 in the future, which is what I plan to do. For the money its up for (5k
) it's the perfect way to start off owning such a car. I have never owned a kit car nor a replica of anything, been driving M3's for the last 3 years and now an Alfa GTV. The Cobra is a classic icon and if you don't like it then thats your taste but I find it hard to believe. I've got plans to work on it over the winter i.e retrim leather and replace dash, get some dark blue stripes etc etc. I will post up some more soon, just for you Chris Hi Robbie,
Go for it! Hope to see you at some of the Cobra meets & thanks for saying hi on CobraClub! Good luck with the Pinto, for £5K it's a brilliant car for a fantastic price. I'm hoping to pick mine up sometime this month and it'll be my only car through the winter.
Plus if you're spending that little on it you'll have no qualms about improving all those little bits and bobs with the engine, trim, seats, wheels....etc! (if you want to)
All the best & post a piccie up when you've got it!
Hannah.
Chris71 said:
Strikes me that from the drivers seat the cobra experience would be largely defined by bellowing exhausts and ferrocious acceleration (and '1960s' handling). To me it wouldn't feel like a cobra because of that
Well I used to own a Pinto powered Sumo and later I test drove the AC Cobra CRS prototype, and driving the AC actually felt strangely 'familiar'. Obviously the noise and performance of the real thing were better, but in normal driving it didn't feel all that different behind the wheel. So if you can get a good Pinto powered replica at a decent price I'd say get it and have some fun.
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