buying my fiorst cobra

[paulmon67]

Im Based in shropshire

[V8 BJC]

Originally Posted by paulmon67

As im a virgin i want to spend my money 15K willing to go to 20 fpr spectacular on something for driving to and from work 3 miles in the summer and forgetting all the nappies and sleepless nights i have coming.

Paul

Hi Paul and welcome.

Personally, I would focus on changing your status highlighted above before you worry about buying a car

But each to their own so here are my views:
Spend the max you can now. Myself and most owners you meet buy and then want more and more and more.

Dont worry about the lack of mechanical skills, I was the same 5 years ago when I purchased a Cobra. Compared to most on here I am still bottom of the league but I still manage to do a lot of work myself. Most things on these cars are very simple and doable with a little patience and help from the massive knowledge base available in this forum.

Go for it. You wont get more smiles per mile anywhere else

[paulmon67]

YES my satus is ok ive produced 2 boys and have another hatching in July i was reffering to Cobra virgin, As to mechanical skills i have no time with the new baby to improve my skills so i want robust definately.

Paul

[KevinW]

where about are you - theres bound to be a local meet.
Have a look at a few before you buy - if it looks tidy, especially round the wiring, its probably been well built. But as others have said before

' you arent buying a car you;'re buying a hobby'

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by paulmon67

Saw this online?

£17,500.00


2006 factory build Pilgrim mk3 Sumo granada based finished in Ford Imperial Blue with painted white stripes
350 chevy by british american engines producing 300bhp and 325 lb ft of torque high compression engine
edelbrock performer heads edelbrock intake manifold
edelbrock performer 600 cfm carburettor
tremec tko 500 manual transmission 1st 3.27, 2nd 1.98, 3rd 1.34, 4th 1, 5th .68
limited slip differential 3.62
factory lowered and lengthened seat well for taller drivers
full galvanised chassis
disc brakes all round
twin roll hoops
3 point harnesses
imperial blue paint
image chb halibrand replica split rim wheels with spinners
bf goodrich radial ta tyres
full leather interior
full etb instruments
tax and mot till sept 2008
moto-lita wooden steering wheel
aston martin fuel filler cap
polished aluminium stone guards
double core radiator no overheating
sony cd player with i pod connection
always run on optimax v power
oil and filter changed every 1500 miles

Nowt wrong with Sumo’s…..I’ve got one!

BAE engine are very good from what I’ve seen and heard.

Factor built is not good in my opinion! They don’t know there arse from their elbow!

Superb paint colour (Same as mine!)

All in all that does not sound like a bad deal, as long as it is in top notch condition and has not done a million miles. I’d offer a few quid less and take it from there.

The main problem with any of these cars is that there is a wide scope of builders out there, the best kit in the world could be built by a dimwit with lawn mower spanners and it would be a bag-o-5hite. A slight more “budget” kit such as the sumo could be built by someone with a good degree of care and skill, that would be a much nicer car to own.

Being built by Pilgrim is OK but they won’t have done any of the mods that a lot of people do to a sumo in order to get it just right. Pilgrim are in a dream world at the moment where there is nothing wrong with the car when it is built just as it comes out of the box.
Some people are happy with cars in this state, it depends on what you want, I wanted mine to handle well and I don’t think that they do without some mods. (Notice that I said “I”….other people have their own views on the subject!)
In this case I guess that it has been built well, all be it as “standard”. When checking at non factory cars you should be looking for tidy cable runs, neat brake pipe work, that sort of thing as it tells you a lot about the care that was taken when the car was built.

I notice that in one of your posts you stated that you have no mechanical skills, this will go one of two ways as I see it:-



1, You will end up with some skills as these cars do go wrong in some small ways now and again.

2, You will end up paying to get it fixed and this will cost you a load of money and pi55 you off.

You need to think long and hard about owning a cob, IN MY OPINION they do not make good day to day transport, and they do not stand up to the daily abuse as well as a normal tin top does.

Pete

[paulmon67]

thanks buddy??


if u see anything that screams perfect for novice let me know

paul

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by paulmon67

thanks buddy??


if u see anything that screams perfect for novice let me know

paul

The one that you spotted seemed quite good.

What I'm getting at is that you will not be able to own a cob and not end up with some dirt under your finger nails. Not knowing one end of a spanner from the other should not put you off at all, this forum will help you out loads, I'm not kidding about that at all. If you can't spare the time, that will be an issue!

Good luck, I hope you can spare the time, owning a cob is hard to describe but basically it's bloody good!

Pete

[wilf]

Paul - somewhere above someone said "you aren't buying a car, you are buying a hobby". And they are very right.

Taking on one of these (hand built) cars will mean the odd bit of spannering is needed to keep them going. They will never be as reliable as a mass production car. I have seen the best built cars exhibit a total lack of "robustness" on occasion.

I know that there are people with cobra replicas who have no auto-mechanical aptitude or skills, but it isn't an ideal pairing.

So long as you go into this with your eyes open, fine. But if you ask any seller "is it reliable", then guess what answer you will get?

My own car has never let me down actually out on the road in 20,000 miles, but I have spent many hours in the garage making sure of that, even after it was completed. So if anyone asked if it was reliable, I could say "yes". Whether it would continue to be reliable without a very sympathetic and knowledgable mechanic keeping an eye on it is another question altogether.

Don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, just want you to understand what you are getting into............

[chiffer]

Originally Posted by paulmon67

thanks buddy??


if u see anything that screams perfect for novice let me know

paul

Paul, you have a PM.

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by wilf

Whether it would continue to be reliable without a very sympathetic and knowledgable mechanic keeping an eye on it is another question altogether.

Who fixes your car for you then Wilf?

(This is a joke by the way!)