Trading 355 for a Cobra

Jason- I lived in Europe for 14 years. I have more hours above 100 mph than you do seconds. The slowest car I owned over there was a 308 GTS.

The point is the 355 and my Maranello are very comfortable at those speeds and your Cobra, regardless of how fast it got there, is not. Especially if there is any dampness, which does not bother the Ferraris too much. The Cobra was built to go like stink from corner to corner on race tracks, the Ferraris were built to go for hours at very high speed. Not many places left now like there were in 80s, though. The Europeans have clamped down on speeding and are worse than we are now with speed cameras, etc.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

the Factory Five concept is to use as much from a mustang as possible. The way to make them better is to use as little as possible We have changed so much on the car since we started, it's hardly the same underneath.

We debated on the independent rear, and there are several ways to do it. The live axle is bulletproof and hooks up well with the high power to weight. Levy recommends it over the IRS; not sure I'd go that far, but the watts-link is far better than the Mustang suspension design. The car is fairly comfortable but handles really really well. At least 80% of its life has been on track.

I always liken it to one of those pod racers from that star wars film. It's exciting, but part of the excitment comes from the lack of sophistication and the sense of danger. The 355 is simply in another league as far as refinement. It just depends on what you want.

 

J- It certainly has to be better than the parallelogram IRS of the original AC Ace and early Cobras. That had to have been fun trying to get the power down coming out of a corner. The later cars had normal A arm suspension, IIRC.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Boy, if you guys start picking on Porsches (which ARE common) you will have met your match. Those guys are really proud of the toys they own..

Cmon, Lets see it......You'll be balled up like kitty cats in 5 seconds

 

Porsches are great cars. First car I owned was a 57 356A. Have had three more. Plus 10 Corvettes 1961-2008, all great cars.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Its not that they cant be made correctly Jason. I have built a good many race cars over the years and the body on them means little until about 180MPH. Hell, I have a BBC CanAm, McLaren bodied, tube frame Special that holds the old Riverside track record.... it has smaller brakes than a new Honda. That is why it came apart when I bought it, I have no intension of racing it that way.

My statement was made in relation to the cars I ran with when tracking the IMSA 348, a 360 and an F40. Fast? No question about it, until it came time to turn. No, the original BB Cobra's were no better, we used to run circles around a big block car with an original Independent Comp. 289 Cobra.

 

Hot damn. Cars are cars. I got big respect for those that really see it. I love Ferrari, but I love just about all cars, muscle cars, whatever, right down to little hot hatch backs. I wish we had more of those in the US... I'd love to drive an RS3...

 

This is my former Superformance. I sold it and bought a Euro 308 GTB. Obviously a big step down in power, but both are a ton of fun in different ways. I miss the Cobra from time to time, and wish I could have kept it and the Ferrari, but it wasn't possible at the time. I'm glad I had a chance to experience it, but it takes a certain kind of person to run a Cobra as their only "fun" car. For me, as thrilling as it was, it just wasn't usable enough and I couldn't enjoy it as often as I'd like to. For me going to the 308 was the right move. Still on the raw side, but much more usable in the real world. To each there own.

The other thing I will add is that the Superformance is a very nice car. Yes its a replica, but don't kid yourself into thinking they are poorly built pieces of junk. I can say first hand that in many ways (not all) they are better put together than my Ferrari.
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Joshua,
Believe me, I am here!! Reading it all. This has been very informative to say the least. I think the outcome is, they are 2 totally different cars. Which I knew. I really enjoy reading from the guys that already have one of each! I havn't heard back from the seller in a couple of days. I see the car is on Ebay, so he may be waiting to see how that goes. I am not committing to anything. Just tossing the idea around. And, as usual, I drove the 355 this weekend and do get wrapped up in it's sound, feel and aura! We aren't doing any trading yet......

 

That's a stretch regardless of what model you own.

Those of us that were hands dirty on the originals look at them and highly respect the beauty and craftsmanship but I for one have a hard time calling it a Cobra, there is only One Cobra. What is a Cobra but an AC that Shelby transplanted another engine in. Raw? I delivered an original BB Cobra from Mpls to BC after the repairs were completed (drove it at the owners request) and pulled over in SoDak to remove my shoe laces and make a cruise control to the throttle linkage. The soles of my tennis shoes had started to melt on the throttle pedal.

My BBC CanAm car is a "Replica" in its own rite. The original builder was putting together BB Cobra's and crewing for the King Cobra effort at the track by day while working for Shelby. In the evenings he was building his own King Cobra in the garage at home with "donated' parts from Shelby. I have no problem with replica's but they are what they are.

A copied creation is a very high compliment to the original builder (it wouldn't be copied if it wasn't thought of very highly) but it will never be as good as an original. It can easily be faster, smoother, far more refined and reliable, hindsight is a powerful tool but....... there is something special about the old English chassis work that cant be duplicated. I am going to great lengths to duplicate that feel in the restoration of my Lotus 19 Special but have failed to date. I think it is that failure that gives me so much respect for the original builders and what they gave us to copy.

Comparing that to a Ferrari.... in any respect.... it's a stretch at best.

 

If you're going with a Superformance anything, go with their GT40. It is truly epic. Great a/c, drives well, handles brilliantly, and you feel special every time you drive it. Another Cobra replica is just that, another (of the 10million) Cobra replica.

 

I agree with all of this. The only reason to have a replica is to build it yourself, which makes it special (to you and only you). I love driving mine but wouldn't have any interest in another persons car, no matter how nice. I think that is why I am not a big Superformance fan.

 

Want a power bump? I have a 751 HP Roush motor that will make that car go!!!
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