Bob, I have zero time driving a Cobra, original or replica. However, it seems to me a Cobra will be driven by you in the same manner as your GT500, so ???? trade. Maybe just to have something different or..........? So I feel your angst about making a trade. The Cobra is a beautiful, beast of a race car, but then my GT500 is too. Also, when I owned my '66 GT350S I never got my fill of driving her. Had I been able to afford two cars when my daughter was born I would have kept the GT350 and become a two car family. I feel the same about my '22 GT500. It's such a great piece of engineering and it performs SO WELL, that it's like a real flesh and blood extension of me. It's a genuine treat to just look at my GT500 and an absolute epic sensory overload to drive her. Thanks to all those in this thread who posted the wonderful Cobra photos.
@Zoo You've summed it up well. Maybe I'm just being fickle for sure. I tend to do that with my motorcycles. Lol If I could afford both that would be the answer. Maybe get a Twister Orange Cobra along side mine. lol
Very good point Brett!
FWIW Bob, I think it's very important that you are happy with your decision. But that doesn't mean it's easy to be able to say two years down the road, (pun sort of intended), that you will say "boy am I glad I did this." In my personal life, when ever I had an important decision to make, after all the research, lots of thought, talking to persons in the know about what I was considering it all boiled down to "How did I feel about it." No science, GANT charts, or VENN diagrams - just how I felt. That method never disappointed me. I.E. I knew after reluctantly giving up my beloved GT350, that some day, some how I needed to own another Shelby. Why did I feel that way? Obviously, in large part because of the GT350 experience. I was single and never been married when I bought the first Shelby. The feeling of driving it off the lot at Muldoon Motors in Pensacola, FL was pure joy, great anticipation of the fun I was going to have, and that I was driving a rare piece of high performance automotive history. And having been single since April of 2014, (my wife died from ovarian cancer), there is no reason not to indulge myself, so here I am, a thrilled and very happy owner of another Shelby. Plus when you join a group of folks who are passionate about the same thing as you, you add an extra dimension of enjoyment due to the forums like this one, and by attending the events where you get to meet people who share your interests. Bottom line - be happy!
Pictures truly don’t do it justice. He went back and forth several times before he decided on color and yeah, he loves gray cars. Lol. It was custom ordered and a 6 month build process turned into almost 18 months. He’s owned probably over 20 performance vehicles over the years and says the Cobra by far is his favorite.
Bob if the itch just won’t go away then I would look at a Factory 5 kits which were between 40/50k built used when I was looking. They aren’t the top of the Performance or as clean as most others but if you can swing it keep the 500 find a gently used Factory 5 and then paint it to match your 500. Best of both worlds!
Great advice @Zoo and I'm sorry to hear of your wife. Life is short indeed. I drove my 2013 Boss 302 in School Bus Yellow to the dealer to test drive the GT500. This was in the height of of Covid so I got to test drive alone. I pulled out of the driveway, jumped on it, and within 1000ft knew I was going to buy it, Lol Got back and tried my best to not show the excitement on my face, but they knew I was going to buy it. Lol Used 2020 with 474 miles on it. I was sad a bit on giving up the Boss (and still am sometimes) but overall very happy with it.
Thanks for the lead @AZ21GT500! I assume you are in Arizona? Here in CA we have a much much smaller selection of Cobras we can register. If an out of state car it must be registered as a "1965 Cobra" on the title. If not it needs to have gone through the "CA SB101" process where you can build it, but have to go through DMV, California Highway Patrol, and the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) for an inspections. Then your 2023 build can get a SB101 Certificate to be smog exempt and you can register it. CRAZY crap here in CA.
Thank you sir!
Yes Arizona is my home. I actually looked at all 1965/1966 models because our emissions laws are such that I wouldn’t be required to do emissions. Most of the ones I’ve looked at were registered that way. We have a law that allows the kits to be registered as a 1965 model. I know there’s a ton of them out there that are registered newer. I usually find it somewhere in the ad. Hopefully you’ll find what you’re searching for!
