Auto Speciali AS427... Comments / reviews please

[mattstead]

Hi there, Whilst lookinground and planning a cobra build I've come across Auto Speciali AS427 replica, but can't really find out much other information, certainly not any road tests or build reports.

the photo's of the chassis on their website http://www.thecartoown.com/ actually make it look very much like a larger Caterham seven style chassis, but the only info I can find on the net is that the jury is out on the coilover mounting locations.
I believe that this car used to be the fiero factory cobra replica, but am informed that it has many changes. Does anyone know any more? is building one? or has seen one close up?

Many thanks.

[robinj66]

Seen their chassis at shows and spoken to the guys there. The chassis is very strong and well thought out. I believe the body is still made by the Fiero people.

There was a finished car at Detling show. It looked very smart and had a lovely Mustang engine under the bonnet.

You have a pm

[Purple AK]

Hi Matt and Welcome
Doing a few sums shows the basic Body/Chassis + needed extras coming in around £985 more than the AK basic kit which includes all the extras! And most of the hard work already done That £985 saving would cover the cost of refurbishing the Jaguar components. And you would end up with a proven Jag based car! Of course I may be biased But the numbers speak for themselves

[dinosoar]

I wasn't very impressed with the show car at Stoneleigh. In fact I was a bit annoyed that it had my initials on the Bonnet!
I think the body was copied from a Sumo.
I have to say that we have a local member who is building a fiero factory euro 427 and he has had all sorts of niggles. That is not to say that they are present in this car but I would not fancy being one of their 'product development customers'. Find someone who had direct experience of the product before you make a decision.
At the end of the day there is plenty of choice with the established brands.

Andy Soar

[johnnycobra]

The chassis shown on the website is indeed the same as the old Fiero Factory Euro 427. If the FF people still have anything to do with it you should approach with caution. Its a good simple design but, under the FF ownership, the quality standards and standards of finish were very low (at least in my experience). In the hands of the right people however, it could be a real winner.

[stevey]

both Johnny cobra and I have built Fiero/euro 427/ auto speciali cars (they have been supplied by several companies which are all tied to Fiero apron strings one way or another so see other threads on the forum for that well trodden path!) it is a Sumo copy the chassis is good and strong. the company I dealt with went under which caused a few headaches and caused me to shop around more than I would have liked to. the panel fit needs a fair amount of patience to get right more possibly than DAX/Crendon/AK etc but you can still get a car that looks good. picture of mine with Rover V8 in below and as a final point johnnycobra has a small block Ford in his so they handle power very well. good luck
Steve

[johnnycobra]

Stevey is right, I do have a Ford 302 with a T-5 transmission and it seems to handle the power very well. Whats more the old Sierra XR4i diff hold up well. The finished car weighs less than 2000 lbs and goes like a beast when you put your foot down. The problem with the old Fiero Factory product was never the design; its the poor execution. Its a shame the Euro 427 group couldn't make a go of it. Anyway, not to be outdone by Stevey, here is my Euro 427.

[KevinW]

If you didnt see the announcment in Snake Torque, Keith Kirk who ran autospeciali recently died. I dont know whats happening to his company.

He was a really nice guy, very knowldgeable and helpful when I spoke to him about sumoes, even though he was no longer connected with pilgrim.

Kevin

[craig bastow]

Hi there, Whilst lookinground and planning a cobra build I've come across Auto Speciali AS427 replica, but can't really find out much other information, certainly not any road tests or build reports.

the photo's of the chassis on their website http://www.thecartoown.com/ actually make it look very much like a larger Caterham seven style chassis, but the only info I can find on the net is that the jury is out on the coilover mounting locations.
I believe that this car used to be the fiero factory cobra replica, but am informed that it has many changes. Does anyone know any more? is building one? or has seen one close up?

Many thanks.

Hi l used to work for Keith and john at Auto Speciali but since Keiths passing on l would look for a nother option if you are looking for cost go for a pligrim .
or if performance try gardener douglas. if its what looks araganel then go to Gerry hawkridge

your faithfully
Craig

[Turbo phil]

Hi Matt, thought you might be interested in my info.
I have recently purchased an AS 427, having test driven thier demo car which was a4.5 350bhp monster and it handled superbly, you are right about the chassis, similar set up to Caterham there have been several upgrades since change over from Fiero, the rear suspension mods were designed by an engineer from Mclaron. I have opted for a v6 ford granada 2.9 this should be ample. Am hoping to fit the engine this week. All in all so far I would say this is an excelent kit but there are a few negatives. If you are going to build it yourself you need to be mechaniclly and electricaly very knoledgeable, as there is no instruction manual ( I bought a Sumo manual which helps a bit )and there is quite a lot of personal fabrication required, however Auto speciali will make everything for you at a cost and if you are prepared to waight for supply of parts.The engineer at Autospeciali is very knowledgeable and helpful, so at least there is back up on the phone if you get stuck or hit a snag.Ok so my overall opinion so far good product & looking forward to completion! Please feel free to ask me any questions, I'll try to help if I can.
cheers. Phil.

Hi there, Whilst lookinground and planning a cobra build I've come across Auto Speciali AS427 replica, but can't really find out much other information, certainly not any road tests or build reports.

the photo's of the chassis on their website http://www.thecartoown.com/ actually make it look very much like a larger Caterham seven style chassis, but the only info I can find on the net is that the jury is out on the coilover mounting locations.
I believe that this car used to be the fiero factory cobra replica, but am informed that it has many changes. Does anyone know any more? is building one? or has seen one close up?

Many thanks.