427 Unique for sale

[excelguru]

Sold!

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/data/500/85_MPH_Blur_1.JPG

Many thanks to everyone who showed interest, but a deposit has now been made and the final sale is pending.

[Naumoff]

Very cool pics.
Beautiful Cobra.

[excelguru]

Decided to reduce the price today. It's not expected to last very long at this price. Gonna be somebody's lucky day! :)

I also added my phone number to the listing for serious inquiries.

[Brent]

WOW!!!!!!!!!

What a deal.

It would cost 60K to duplicate. You can not buy the pallet kit and build a stroker 427 for that price.

[will butterworth]

estimate we did--pallet kit--finish it yourself, was in neighborhood of 43, 000 bucks. Will-alabama

[eliminator]

Will,

Can't start to do a 427 side-oiler , 2X4 car, with pin drive wheels and coil-overs for $43,000.

Engine and transmission is over $20,000.

[gasman]

Keith, Have you thought about selling the motor for $20K, put a 5K crate motor in it and sell it for your reduced price. You might come out better.

[JeepSnake]

Correct - estimate I put together was for smallblock car.

The only real places you can save $$ that I've found are if you

1) Do the body prep & paint yourself.
2) Build the engine/tranny combo yourself.

[will butterworth]

your right, Gasman has a good idea, might do the trick.Will-alabama

[eliminator]

Zach,

If you want a good straight body and paint job a novice can't do it with a Unique Body, 427 or 289 car.
Yes, it may look OK at 20' but that's it.
I spent nearly every Friday with my body/paint man and he does excellent work, I know what it takes. I doubt if there are a handfull of people on this site that could do a car that would impress a "keen eye for detail". There is a big difference in good and great.

[juanone]

Even painters with a good reputation can't do it. I found out the hard way.

Spend the money with a professional whose work you have inspected up close beforehand.

[YerDugliness]

Zach,

If you want a good straight body and paint job a novice can't do it with a Unique Body, 427 or 289 car.
Yes, it may look OK at 20' but that's it.
I spent nearly every Friday with my body/paint man and he does excellent work, I know what it takes. I doubt if there are a handfull of people on this site that could do a car that would impress a "keen eye for detail". There is a big difference in good and great.

That is disappointing, as I was hoping to be able to accomplish even this part of the build myself. However, as I am a believer in taking good advice, I'll just sub out that part of the build. What I would really like to do is find a body shop willing to do the prep part and then spray the project myself; however, most body shops don't want to do just the prep, they want the whole job or nothing at all.

SO MUCH of the "impact" a roadster replica makes is that first impression--as much as I hate to do it, I'll swallow that bitter pill and pay somebody else to do the work. I want the first impression to be a real "Wow".

BTW--just in case anyone out there does feel like tackling this part of a build themselves, I have a source for a low cost/high quality paint "system". Check out this website: http://www.smartshoppersinc.com/ When I questioned the party who informed me of this company about the quality of the products, his response was that he had used this product to paint two of his projects and was satisfied with both.

HVLP equipment highly recommended.

Doug

[Justin Upchurch]

Doug,

I feel very strongly that a novice can in fact do the bodywork on a Unique and have a VERY good paint job.
The Unique body really is quite a bit better out of the mold than most other bodies; I looked at just about all of them when I was deciding which one to buy. There are a couple of areas that will need some body filler, mostly around the footbox area. The best thing about the Unique is how well the doors, hood, and trunk line up from the factory, they are excellent for a glass car. Some of the other brands need MAJOR surgery and frequently need glass added to stretch the doors, sometimes up to a couple of inches.
My neighbor just did his 32 ford, and for the most part he did it himself. The body on his car was straight in a couple of areas, but the trunk and rear deck was off by a country mile. Of the 150hrs in that car a solid 100 of the hours are in the rear deck and fixing all the gross imperfections from the manufacturer. There was an unpainted 427 from Unique on the hauler when my car was delivered and my neighbor stated that if his car looked like that out of the mold than it would have cut his bodywork time by 65%.
Jerry, the neighbor, finished his car about a month ago and it is damn near perfect, and I am very picky. He did have someone spray the car, but everyone knows that the bodywork is what made it look so good, it only took 3hrs to spray the damn thing.
If you get a chance to come by my house you can look at both of our cars and all of the pictures Jerry took. Should you decide to go this route it will take about 60 hrs of very messy work. There are also some good painters that we have found in the Houston area. I would use the guy that James used on his red and silver FFR coupe.

Or you could buy the car in this post for a hell of a lot less money than the cost of a new build, you are looking at 60K to duplicate this car. I have way more than he is asking for his in my car without paint.

Justin

[YerDugliness]

Thanks for the encouragement, Justin. Perhaps after I can see the results you mentioned I might change my mind. I am looking forward to getting to meet you and getting acquainted with all your local Cobra buddies. Keep your eyes out for a PM from me pretty soon.

When I saw the reduced price on this replica I seriously considered contacting the individual, but my dream has always been a 289 FIA model so I will stick with building one for myself. I've started accumilating the reciprocating assembly and in another year or so will be able to afford the block. I want to assemble a high winding SBF and b/c I want to build something a bit out of the ordinary I'll be using an aluminum alloy block with aluminum canted valve heads to create what I've begun calling a "small port Boss 302". I'll be using a unique fuel-injection system--check out this website: http://www.mass-floefi.com/ They represent this system as being capable of 1000 CFM airflow with a dry-flow throttle body--that ought to be enough to get the SBF to 7,000+ RPM. There's something about the "snarl" of a high compression, high winding SBF!!

Cheers, Justin! I'll be meeting you soon, I hope!

[Naumoff]

The Unique Body is awesome. My buddy who painted my car couldn't say enough good thing about it. He is a bodyman.I helped on the sanding and was there alot during the process. My car is black and will show every imperfection in the body and I can't find any.
The body is perfect with very little body work.
Pin holes are the only factor and that is with any fiberglass.

[Brent]

It is a beautiful car and well worth every penny and then some.
Great idea on selling the motor and trans and then putting an inexpensive drivetrain in it

If someone wants to start a "paint" thread they should do so and not just dilute the content of Excelguru's ad.

[eliminator]

Good observation Brent, and true.

[excelguru]

Heck, it doesn't bother me! The banter keeps my post high on the list. :D

Been away for a week on a much-needed vacation. It's nice to be home. After helping my dad paint his Luscombe many years ago, I knew that I was NOT going to do THAT again. It was far too much work. It's always important to know your weaknesses and to write checks accordingly. So I paid Bruce Bunn and haven't regretted it since.

And thanks for all the kind works in my absence. Interesting idea on the crate engine.

[gasman]

Keith, Why don't you post your engine for sale on CC just for grins and see what happens? A friend of mine bought the engine for his Kirkham out of a Fairlane. Apparently the owner of the Fairlane could get the same money for that car with a different motor in it.

Going out on a limb here, but I'll bet Alan would help you sell your car as a finished roller.

[Master]

I can't believe this car is still for sale:eek: I have seen it at homecoming two years ago and it is awesome. I wish I had done a stroker. When running my car at Mid Ohio I had a 427 stroker in front of me and I could not hang with him in the straightaways.

[pbrown]

I would buy it right now if I had the cash. I'm about 20K short. Maybe I should get a home equity loan to cover it.

[scott h]

that's what alot of us have done. go for it!

[excelguru]

Master - Thanks for the compliments, but you saw a different one at homecoming. I've been to homecoming, but not with the car. And the torque of the stroker is truly addictive. It is SO HARD to drive this car without putting your foot in it. I figure resistance is futile, so why resist? LOL. :D

I've had some very serious inquiries over the past two weeks or so, but no sale as of this morning.

[excelguru]

Ta-da! Sold.

[Naumoff]

Keith,
What state is it going to?

[Justin Upchurch]

Congrats! Did someone from the forum buy the car?

[excelguru]

The new owner lives in Forsyth County, GA. I don't think he's a regular on the forums, though he did see the listing on the web. I think he saw it on CC initially. The transfer may take place this coming weekend if logistics work out.