1965 Cobra
Factory Five - 460 - 5 Speed - IRS
Matt Garrett - Dallas Texas
214-878-3823
You can email me at Cadillacman@mcsmk8.com
Click here for EXTREME HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS OF THIS CAR!!!
1965 Cobra. 622 Total Miles. Sorted! 460 - Tremec TKO 5 Speed - IRS. Tube Chassis Factory Five MK3. Professionally Built, brute force all out performance turn key machine. Concourse paint and body. Texas Title 1965 Cobra. Cars specs are below....
What else can you say about the Cobra, it’s probably the most Iconic car ever created. It may have not been created that way new, but over the years it became that. We all know what originals sell for… 50 times more than it takes to build a MUCH better one, or buy one of the much improved late model Shelby CSX series cars. Between those few originals and the very nice but 100K+ late model CSX Continuation Series cars there are many other kit builders that fall in price ranges of much more affordable. Some have big sacrifices as they are just cheap, some offer major improvements even over the CSX series cars while still keeping original style in mind. The Factory Five is a very well built setup that is one of the better and more proven platforms. It offers late model integrity with as much of a vintage setup as practical. In other words is a major improvement over an actual original. Most Cobra guys are familiar with it and know its good points. Nothing is perfect, most certainly not an original Cobra either. No matter how well a Cobra reproduction is, it will never satisfy a total cobra purist. I am not going down that road…. I am just showing a nice representation that is in its own right an incredible car.
The car here is a very well built car using the Factory Five Chassis and Body. You can see more about the company here. http://www.factoryfive.com/ What makes or breaks these cars is the way it’s put together after you order the near 20K bare kit in the case of this car. In a Cobra, you can find all ranges of paint and body. This car is exceptional in that aspect. It is everything you would expect in perfection there with a cost of near the kit just to paint the car and make the body as straight as the best show car. The other things are the options the cobra kit is chosen with. The one here has the best stuff. The FFR IRS (independent rear suspension) and the tubular control arms, which is a BIG cost increase in building one of these cars. The rest of the Factory Five car uses late model ford parts, brakes, etc, so there is nothing that cannot be serviced on this car, and the Factory Five frame, body and chassis integrity is as good as a production car with the strength of a race car. They have built enough to get about as right as it will get.
The next thing is the engine/transmission choice. That is always a personal preference and very debatable issue when you talk to Cobra purists. This car is not exactly a purists car, but its not that far off either in appearance. It could go more that way with ease and the quality in the car is very high either way. Many people use what is considered the engine of choice, the vintage ford FE engines. Preferably the 427 sideoiler. While that is a great motor, its expensive, its temperamental and you are probably dealing with an engine that has had more rebuilds that you can imagine. To get it to run good too, it will have to be a 12:1 compression engine with race fuel to produce the power of what this car does with pump gas. The other popular choice is the 302 or 351. Small and lighter good motors, but the power will not be what you want in an all out car like this unless that motor is built to the ragged edge of reliability. It won’t last long in most cases that way and most will require alternative fuels. The choice of this car is the Ford 385 Engine Family. Namely the 460, this is the biggest ford engine family and can produce the most power and still have long term reliability with do it yourself simplicity. Down side is the weight, but that is not a big deal unless you are trying to competitively track the car with some seasoned pro drivers in very well set up track cars. Even so, you will kill them in the straights so you will probably still win.
Now for the real world, which is the streets and the rest of the turns outside a short wheel base designed race track, the 460 is a contender that would be very hard to overcome. Weighing in at 2400LBS even with the big old heavy engine, the power to weight ratio on this car is out of sight. Give me the big motor any day!
This motor is an early 460, 429 heads and mild build up for pump gas at 10:2:1. It idles easy, its power range is broad and its power produced is in the 550HP range. It’s a mild street motor that will give miles of endless service due to its integrity. The engine build up is not ridiculous in the car, but it’s not cheap either at the tune of about 7K. All list of parts are below. It will outpower just about any similar street motor, idle tame and will be one of the most reliable setups at its power level.
The transmission is the Tremec TKO2 5 speed Transmission - 3:27 First, .68 OD 5th. This transmission is about as good as it gets. Combined with the strong and reliable 3:08 Ford 8.8 independent rear end, the Lakewood bell housing and Dual Disk Clutch, this car has better than the first 4 acceleration gears of a vintage Cobra with 3:73s BUT now even offers the overdrive that does two things; One, you can drive the car without wearing out your engine as the old top loader cars do at higher rpms at low speeds and second, you can get into fifth and red line the engine in the 200MPH+ range if you are crazy enough. The ratio, power and weight of the car will easily allow that for someone daring. This is a no holes barred performance car with driver integrity.
Interior is a very original type setup using a complete set of Smiths instruments including the reverse swinging spedo. Lights are all Lucas vintage type. Headlamps are beautiful as with the entire setup.
As with many of these cars, the cost to build is very high. Although there are much more expensive replica cars out there, just the hardware/kit and finish out is in the high 40K range on this car, counting not one cent for the pro labor put in it. There is no heating, no AC, no wipers, no PS, no PB or even radio in this car. It was built for performance, not a go slow look at me car. However it is totally street legal, easy to drive, inspected and is not obnoxiously loud. It sounds impressive and is very tame until you want it to go. Then it’s beyond impressive. It is also a 1965 title too!
Configuration List;
EASILY CHANGEABLE Wheels/Tires.....BF Goodrich TKDW Radials 275ZR17 front 315ZR17 rear on 5 spoke wheels 17X9.5 front 17X10.5 Rear FFR tubular control arms FFR IRS 4 wheel disc brakes Ford 8.8 with Auburn limited slip differential 3:08 Ratio Ford Motorsport Aluminum Radiator Hayden electric fan 460 Ford (.030 over) High torque mini starter High volume oil pump nodular Iron crank ARP main studs ARP rod bolts Clevite 77 main, rod and cam bearings Chrome moly rings TRW Forged pistons Ford Motorsport A443 Camshaft and lifters Ford Motorsport Valves, valvesprings, retainers Chrome moly pushrods and guideplates ARP Rocker Studs Comp Cams Roller tip rockers 72cc 429 heads, milled, ported and polished Edlebrock Performer RPM intake Barry Grant 850 Speed Demon Carb Barry Grant Fuel log Moroso Valve Covers Edlebrock air cleaner Headers w/side pipes Ford Motorsport extra performance ignition system (MSD) with 7000rpm rev limiter chip March Pulleys Carter Electric fuel pump Summit engine dampner Ford Motorsport Flywheel Ram dual disc clutch Ram pressure plate Lakewood bellhousing Tremec TKO2 5 speed Transmission - 3:27 First, .68 OD 5th Smiths instruments (Complete set) Lucas Lights Moto Lita steering wheel Original style bucket seats Simpson 4 point harnesses Driver's side roll bar
Click here for EXTREME HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS OF THIS CAR!!!
Click here for EXTREME HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS OF THIS CAR!!!
You can email me at Cadillacman@mcsmk8.com