Thread: Selling cobra , ready for a 32 !

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Looking to buy a roller complete and have matched up to a chevy BB. Where should I start? Glass bodies are fine with me (as long as they are straight).. Thanks John

This hot rod stuff is a bit different than the Cobra world if you haven't already figured that out. Because of the very wide variety of potential outcomes within the hot rod genre nobody does the "complete" roller concept that prevails in the Cobra replica world (FFR comes closest with their "33" package). The closest would be a body/rolling chassis combo that a few would do. If you buy from certain builders who carry other lines of parts and would be willing to work with you to piecemeal assemble an assemblage something like a "complete" roller package.

All that being said it would be helpful to know what part of the country you're in as shipping costs might be a consideration, and quite frankly, it would be best if you went to the producer and inspected what they offer first hand to see if other's opinions sync with yours. Unfortunately this new software format doesn't show the state you're in and the town name isn't distinctive enough, at least for me.

Also, it would be helpful to know what style body (roadster, coupe, sedan.....) you're planning as well as the "theme" for your build. Are you wanting a traditional car, from what era if you're trying to replicate a long held dream, or would a more contemporary look be what you want? It makes a big difference on whose chassis, and what components you use. It's often noted that there are "no rules" in hot rodding so do whatever you want. Mostly true, but (exaggeration for effect), it's pretty hard to pull off 22" hoops on a flathead powered car...........so there are in actuallity some boundaries to work within unless you want to be looked at as an out of touch poser. Once you narrow down your perameters some you'll get better advice, otherwise we're shotgunning.

Lastly, I don't have a bias against glass cars, I've had a Cobra replica and a glass '32 among others, but the market is changing (note: many will argue with my position because we view the hobby differently). No matter what anyone says, some day the car will need to be sold, either by you or your heirs. The future market for rods as we do in the Deuce world WILL shrink. The buyers down the road will have lots to choose from, and if we accept that history is our guide, steel will be preferred over glass. The '32 is at the top of the heap for desireability so will likely continue to be the premium slice of the pie, but the pie will be smaller. That desireability equates to higher prices for the components that are definitive of the '32. Again, without knowing where you want to be in the realm I don't want to spend a lot of time giving guidance that doesn't apply, but with the economic picture what it is, and the demographics, a new glass based car doesn't make as much sense to me today is it did 20 years ago. There's much much more to consider, unless you've got money to burn and don't have very high expectations, but more info would help before spinning a big web.

I bought a show me rod and custom body myself. Very little body work and everything fits great.

Im in Maryland... Im def looking for a roadster and im a HP junkie (so a Big Block will be in order)...I guess I was looking for someone / shop that could "build" one my way... Thanks John

Originally Posted by cobranomore

Im in Maryland... Im def looking for a roadster and im a HP junkie (so a Big Block will be in order)...I guess I was looking for someone / shop that could "build" one my way... Thanks John

John,
First, welcome to CHR. We've been through this "whose product is best" question several times, and always rehash the same information. Here are some links to past discussions (not necessarily all inclusive - you may find more):
Who makes the best 32 roadster roller
N&N Fiberglass Reproductions
Realistic prices and where to start
pete & jakes IFS chassis for a 32 ford
Gibbon or Wescott 32 3 window
’32 3W Coupe roller package advise/opinions wanted

Bob has given you some very good advice on establishing your end point before diving into the process. If you're not into the actual fabrication process then I would advise you to take a careful look at the market of availble finished cars out there today. There are a lot of very nice cars that can be bought for much less than it costs to build them from scratch. I started my build in late 2009, and I can tell you that I could have easily bought a finished car much cheaper than I built mine, and I would have been enjoying it a year earlier. If you're looking to have a car built to your specs the cost will be even higher (paying reasonable rates for shop time), making your potential savings very large. All that said, I thoroughly enjoyed the build process, and I learned so much from that experience and from the guys & gals here on CHR that I would likely do it again. I get lots of pleasure from the hands on, and some level of pride in knowing that I put some of the parts & pieces together from scratch, even starting with a roller chassis as I did, and I enjoy the learning process of tackling new challenges. Go to some of the bigger shows, check out the ads in NSRA's Street Scene or GoodGuys or some of the many on-line sources, and be sure you want to pay to build vs buying a car. Just my $0.02.

Okay, that clarifies the picture. The who becomes more important that the what. There are lots of good builders out there, a few hang on these boards, so it's a matter of your style of project management and communication skills. Picking a "bad" builder will be a preview of hell, picking a "good" one will be more pleasurable. There's a current thread titled "It's my pleasure to introduce.........". John started that project with one builder that came recommended and it was very painful for him, then found someone else to move the project to that did him proud, plus having to redo a bunch of stuff the first guy did wrong. Sadly that whole experience isn't uncommon in our hobby, you may have seen/heard similar stories in the Cobra replica world. (if you've got the time/interest you can search John's previous posts explaining a small portion of the huge headaches he suffered). While some folks on here might have other good suggestions, I would say you may want to dedicate the entire summer to going to hot rod events, or car events that attract significant hot rod participation, and talk to owners of cars similar to what you seek. Any advice I or any of the other folks that have done this for awhile will be the result of YEARS of incremental learning.................often the hard way................which is difficult to concisely condense into a few paragraphs. You have to devote more time than you might imagine in order to absorb some portion of that learning curve in order to minimize your chances of disappointment. Once you've "surveyed" the marketplace/hobby, you may find a different approach than you now believe optimal.

Edit: I see Roger posted up while I was typing. His commentary fleshes out some of what I was suggesting. He makes some good points about the cost/time considerations of the flood of cars, both finished and unfinished, that are, and IMHO will continue to be, available in record numbers.

Bob and Roger - your take on this is so right on. Your comments should be required reading for anyone that wants to get into a hotrod, be they new to the hobby or not. I've done it both ways, buying and building. I can't really make a decision about a from-scratch build because I'm still only half done with my first one ('32 Chevy 5-window). I've bought several project cars and finished them, however. One has to be really careful with this scenario because you inherit the problems as well as the good stuff. The money issue is something to be considered, along with the satisfaction of your own imagination and accomplishment.