![factory five mk4 factory five mk4](https://www.speednik.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/project-ffr-cobra-jet-challenge-2018-01-30_00-54-35_175967.jpg)
What you should do is make yourself aware that building a car-even a kit car-in a home garage is not easy, and often you’ll have to modify pieces that you never thought you’d have to modify. While that’s a common problem for kit cars, it doesn’t mean that your aspirations of driving a kit Cobra should be dashed before you pull the trigger on your order. I just have the nose sitting there for fitting right now.We’ve talked about kit cars before-mostly documenting the average project’s slow grind into anxiety-inducing garage filler. The fact is that I enjoy going to my shop every day to work on my cars and other projects. I'm retired and if I did a kit it would be for fun. The most common C4 diff has a 2:59 ratio. That's with new drivetrain, Chevy 333hp 350HO engine and Richmond 4 speed. With the price that I'm thinking about for the finished body in Gel Coat and frame it would cost about $25,000 to build the car. The car is simple to build using readily available parts. I'm taking the car and am going to go to some car shows to see what the reaction is. Next Saturday I'm heading to AZ and CA for the winter. I've been thinking about offering a body/frame kit. I only have about 270hp but because the car only weighs 1840lbs its pretty quick. It's only 144 inches long and 42 inches to the top of the MGB windshield.
![factory five mk4 factory five mk4](https://topclassiccarsforsale.com/uploads/photoalbum/factory-five-racing-mkiv-roadster-cobra-replica-never-registered-no-reserve-1.jpg)
Out of all of the cars that I've done this one is my favorite. I'm in the process of swapping bodies right now. Not having to do body work and paint is a huge time and money saver. The result isn't perfect but I think the body is very presentable and usable. I had them take care of the seams and polish it out. I had a fiberglass company make me a body in Red Gel Coat from my molds.
![factory five mk4 factory five mk4](https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/xlarge/sum-csumffc07_sn_xl.jpg)
I drove it with an unfinished body in white with a stripe that I laid out with Duct tape. I finished the car this year and got it registered in NY. I decided to build a car that addressed those issues but had a body inspired by the Cheetah. The Cheetah was a tiny car that suffered from a flexible frame.
![factory five mk4 factory five mk4](https://cdn1.mecum.com/auctions/au1215/au1215-228805/images/au1215-228805_2.jpg)
I loved the basic shape of the 1964 Cheetah race car. I love them but I wanted something unique. I decided to go back to the C4 suspension and Chevy V8 power. The tall engine was an obstacle that I couldn't get around. I then tried building a dedicated frame for the Miata drive train. I couldn't get a look that I was happy with. The seating position is pretty far forward of the rear axle and the engine is tall. I tried stripping the body down and creating an old looking body for it. When a friend took me for a drive in his NA Miata I fell in love with it. A good number of them used C4 Corvette suspension and Chevy power. I've built a number of cars from scratch. I sold it and started building my own cars. I loved the look but to me it had some flaws and I couldn't fit comfortably in it. I wanted a high performance car that looked like a classic car. I love Cobra's and other late 50's and 60's sport racers. I never wanted one that looked like a super car and was powered by a VW. I've been fascinated with Kit Cars for a very long time.