Vehicle Description
No car guy's bucket list is complete without a Shelby Cobra. You
could rattle off 50 other cars and you'd still get an incomplete
without one. It's the most recognizable sports car ever built, and
faithful copies can be found at every price point from DIY kits to
high-end builds like this awesome Bright Red roadster. Packing a
thundering 545 cubic inch Stroker V8, a 5-speed manual, 4-wheel
disc brakes, and a surprisingly spacious and comfortable
blacked-out cockpit, this Cobra Replica makes no excuses and takes
no prisoners.
This fantastic-looking snake comes from West Coast Cobras (formerly
Kellison, makers of the Stallion and other cars), and it's been
professionally finished to give it a classic Cobra look. The
Stallion-type body is a slightly more elongated and sits up higher
on the frame, which means the car just feels a lot more substantial
overall. The fiberglass bodywork is reinforced in all of the
important areas like the fenders and doors, and it has the iconic
bits and pieces that make the Cobra a perennial favorite, including
the bulging fenders fore and aft, the small doors at the profiles,
thundering side-pipes, and the open-mouth 'catfish' front grille.
Someone who cared about getting it right laid down the hotrod
Bright Red paint and the White stripes with great care, faithfully
replicating the original look. With just over 11k miles on the
body, this roadster has obviously been driven and enjoyed, but any
signs of use are minimal. Bottom line, this is a top-driver quality
Cobra with beautiful curb appeal, and minimal imperfections that
would really require close examination to spot. Other classic Cobra
ingredients include a wide chrome roll hoop that covers both the
driver and passenger, a quick release fuel cap on the decklid, plus
chrome bumperettes/jack-posts in the rear (the front unit is comes
with the sale if the next owner would like to install it) that make
it look race-ready.
Inside you've got a pair of black bucket seats in an all-business
cabin, but you can expect a lot more comfort than usual. The seats
are bolstered and plush, with pleated inserts that provide all-day
comfort, and the upholstery itself is soft and in great shape. A
thick-rimmed Grant teering wheel swiftly takes in all of your
commands at the head of the cockpit, while a full complement of VDO
instrumentation looks like it belongs on a fighter jet and lets you
know exactly what's going on in the engine compartment. And taller
drivers don't have to worry, because the foot boxes were dropped a
bit to increase legroom, and the wheelbase is longer than most
kits, resulting in one of the more comfortable Cobras we've driven.
We love the tactile feel of the raw toggle switches in the dash,
the cowl-mounted mirror, and the forward-canted sporty shifter that
manages the 5-speed manual gearbox below. This is a driver's cabin
for sure, although you do get some 'amenities' via a Pioneer
AM/FM/AUX head unit that powers aftermarket speakers, an auxiliary
USB charger in the dash, and a set of seatbelts for both the driver
and passenger. It's also got a good-sized trunk that's fully
carpeted, so this car doesn't look or feel like a home-built
special.
Cobras were all about big block power, and nothing delivers a big
hit of torque like the 460 cubic inch V8 installed up front -
punched and stroked out to 545 Stroker V8. Rebuilt just 460 miles
ago, it's plenty potent with upgrades like dual Holley 4-barrel
carburetors, a performance high-rise intake, HEI ignition, an
aluminum radiator, and long-tube headers that feed those cackling
side-pipes. It's tuned right and runs great, and thanks to finned
Cobra valve covers, a giant Cobra air cleaner, and even
steel-braided lines, it looks just like 1966 all over again. The
chassis is another strong point, with lightweight control arms,
rack-and-pinion steering, and coil-overs up front, along with a
heavy-duty rear sway bar, sporty shocks, and 9-inch rear end out
back. The 5-speed manual gearbox handles all that added power with
ease, and because it has an overdrive gear this roadster performs
well on the highway. And, of course, what Cobra would be complete
without a set of howling side pipes, with these sounding especially
luscious because they're being fed by a genuine Ford big block, not
some facsimile. Gorgeously polished 15-inch American Racing Torque
Thrust chrome wheels fill the wells perfectly thanks to 255/60/15
front and 295/50/15 rear Cooper Cobra white-letter radials.
You'd be hard-pressed to build this awesome Cobra for our asking
price (especially since West Coast Cobras in no longer in
business), and even if you could you'd have to wait. This car is
incredible, it's beautifully built, it looks great, and you can
drive it home today. Call now!
