Corvette kits

[Loren L.]

Re: Corvette kits

I think a more pertinent response will be the review in the future of 1957 Chevrolet convertibles. As I understand it, the kits are now available to make a Bel Air convertible out of various 1957 models.
I suspect that trim Tag ID is somewhat less than that enjoyed by NCRS members; bottom line??????...if I owned a 1957 bona fide convertible, I'd be worried as hell....

[Stewart A.]

Re: Corvette kits

My good mate just finished building a quality cobra. I think it was 5 years in total and 80,000 dollars and still counting each time he races it. Its fast, very, very, fast. Oh did I mention it's fast I still have nightmares about my first drive. It kind of feels like a c1 with 600 hp hhmmm not sure if that works. At a local curcuit a 2008 twin turbo Porsche with good race tires and race driver does a 1.36 per lap the cobra a 1.32 with him driving. Looks nice but at car shows I always cringe when I hear people say It's still not a real car. I feel sorry for the people who spend all this time and money and at the end of the day it's still a kit car. Oh and did I mention 5 years of at least 20 hours per week working on it and the countless hours on the phone to the designer of the kit. Better off buying a real car that most of the parts you buy semi fit.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Corvette kits

Yes, I agree Chuck.... finding a quote out of a book is easier than coming up with one on your own. one never knows if it'll catch on.

Marty

Like you, I had always heard the quote and never knew who said it...Mark Twain?...Shakespere?...Soloman? Your reference made me curious and forced me to "google" it. I don't worry about coming up with new ones...smarter guys than me have been saying smart things for a long time.

[Sandra H.]

Re: Corvette kits

Wow Stewart, now that's a car I would truly like to see (or better yet, drive). You're not living if you're not scaring yourself silly once in a while.
The fellows I knew that had the Cobras.....one sold it within a year..it was a mess. The other car gets driven 45mph a couple times a year on city streets. Strictly eye candy, status symbol thing.
This one sounds like it is what it should be.
Cheers, Sandra

[Stewart A.]

Re: Corvette kits

Sandra I drove the Cobra back from a huge car show last year the owner was on drinking duty and he told me I was the only person he trusted to drive it ever. Him being drunk he kept pestering me to take alternate routes on the way home so I could scare myself silly. So like a bird brain I took a couple of back roads and still to this day don't know how I survived it. The Cobras have very short wheel bases and they tend to dart around a bit, no traction control a button clutch and 1000 kilo makes it a nasty noisey mean car you really know your driving the car. First gear I was up around the 60 mph 2nd gear around 100 mph 3rd gear and 4th was up around 150 mph with 2 gears remaining. Never again !!!!!!!

[Sandra H.]

Re: Corvette kits

Stewart, you are a very lucky man......just the description of driving it gives me goose bumps. I've had the chance to drive short wheel based cars on tortuous mountain roads at about 100mph.....you know, the old sliding around the corners stuff, but nothing like a Cobra. Wow.
Cheers, (from an envious) Sandra

[Larry W.]

Re: Corvette kits

Almost 6 years ago I decided I wanted to have an open car, preferably a C1, but could not face a kit which I feel is like decaf coffee or low fat ice cream. By good fortune I found, after looking for quite a while, a 58 that was a hashed race car owned by Bubba & Son. The 58 was reasonably priced and it ran reasonably well (stopping was another question) so driving it home was exciting.
Anyway for the past four years I have been cutting and grinding and removing and replacing and polishing my old profanities (when no one was around) .So I now have the engine out, soon to be replaced by one built by me, my 16 year old son and a couple of his friends.
A kit would have been cleaner and easier but not near the fun. I have the bona fides, a pink slip that matches the VIN on the car and a short history of ownership. We also celebrated its 50th birthday this year.
Great stuff.
Oh and a quote for C1 owners
Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich hart

[John H.]

Re: Corvette kits

Back in the early 90's, I built three Cobras (two E.R.A's and a Unique), all with 358 Windsors and Yates heads - they were lots of fun (scary fast), and immensely impractical. Then I built a D&D tube-frame Grand Sport replica (2300# wet) with a stout 383 - it was also scary fast, and only slightly more practical, but lots of fun.

[Sandra H.]

Re: Corvette kits

Hope you don't mind John...the Talladega photo is now a 'pinup' in my office.
Sandra

[David P.]

Re: Corvette kits

... Then I built a D&D tube-frame Grand Sport replica (2300# wet) with a stout 383 - it was also scary fast, and only slightly more practical, but lots of fun.

Now there's a kit car I could imagine buying- for the right price. Love the free market, and look forward to seeing how the Vette kits pan out. Despite the emotion stirred by looking at that Grand Sport replica, I can't imagine ever being pulled away from my love of the original equipment- the real deals. Long live the Corvette... the real ones.

[Stewart A.]

Re: Corvette kits

John that top photo of the cobra is a work of art. If you take the time to look at the photo the cars proportions are awesome. It could be an inch lower at the front but that might not work with the geometry. The rear tires and pumped out guards are a masterpiece and should be put in the Guggaheim. I think the big chicken farmer did a wonderful thing for petrol heads he gave us a Cobra. In my living time I don't tink I will ever see a car with that much presence. They are a pig to drive with horrible road manners I call that character. Well done on your engineering feats.

[John H.]

Re: Corvette kits

Hope you don't mind John...the Talladega photo is now a 'pinup' in my office.
Sandra

Be my guest . That was the last one I built (a Unique), and I finished it the night before leaving the Detroit area for Talladega for the Unique "Cobrafest" in 1994 - had three miles on it when I left, drove it to Talladega, raced it, and drove it home four days later.

Wound up on the same schedule with the Grand Sport in 1996 - finished it the night before leaving for the KIT CAR magazine "Run-N-Gun" event at Norwalk, Ohio, raced it, drove it home four days later.

Here's my license plate from the Grand Sport:

[Stuart F.]

Re: Corvette kits

Stewart;

Unlike yourself, I'm less inclined to give the "Chicken Farmer" a whole lot of credit. He took an existing light weight car and stuffed an American V8 muscle power plant into it, and did it with enough of them so that they could race them as production cars. Meanwhile, Chevrolet spent tons more developing the C-2 real production car and pulled a few off the line to set them up for racing. Somehow, the Shelby/Ford approach just falls short of legitimacy in my mind. Always has and always will, but then I've never been a blue oval fan. As we used to say back in the day; the Chevy guys got the trophies and the Ford guys (unable to compete) got the girls.

Heck, I put a Chevy V8 in a 50 Chevy coupe in 1956 on "Chicken Feed" all by myself.

Seriously, great looking cars John. Those are the kind you can feel in your chest.

Stu Fox