Part 1: The Saga Begins...
well, sort of... actually, for me it started a long time ago. It's funny how the small things sometimes can have a large impact on the way things go in life. Of course, the big things do too! Such is the case with my car. By way of introducing the project, and as a first post, I will give a little primer on how I got to where I am with the project. As we go along, a bit later, I will tell you about a few small things that made a big difference. So here we go...
In the beginning:
I saw my first issue of Kit Car Magazine back in '84 or '85, though I cannot quite remember which. I do, however, remember that there was an issue with a white NAF 289 on the cover, perhaps with a Contemporary 427 and a Beck 550 Spyder inset or inside, as well. I was in awe! I was bitten, and bitten hard. I would build a car someday. I had several false starts. Over the course of the next 15 or so years, I would chase the Spyder, the Speedster, the 427, and finally the 289 car. Though never a Spyder, I had two unfinished Speedsters along the way. Yet, something was pulling me toward the Cobra. So I planned a Contemporary 427 for a while and collected 427 sideoiler parts and a 428SCJ, but Contemporary went under. I ended up moving south for grad school, and thought if I do build the Cobra, I should check into Unique Motorcars.
One day, we found out that we were starting a family! That was quite a moment, as many of you know, and it seemed that the car concept was no longer very important at that point. I took a trip to sell all of my FE stuff... BAM! all of it - gone... family first! While I was a new man, I did miss the idea of the Cobra.
Then, low and behold, a couple of years after my son was born, my wife says to me that she thinks the Cobra would be a great project for us guys to work on together. How could I disagree? In about a microsecond I said that's a great idea!! I planned a Unique 427 car. But when stopping by Unique Motorcars's shop, I saw their 289FIA car and that was it. I made the transition to the small-block car.
Along the way, one of the hardest things was discerning the color. When I planned the Contemporary 427, it was to be Guardsman blue with white stripes. The Unique 427 car would be black... all black, like Tony's 8-ball car - awesome! In fact, Tony and his 8-ball got me past another dilemma - more on that later.
In that time frame, I thought about an all red 289, just like the luscious paint on the CSX2430 poster. That is an awesome car! But it is not an FIA body. I liked the Viking blue FIA cars with the yellow team stripe, a lot, too. Yes, blue again... that's the ticket. I will paint it blue with a yellow team stripe across the front. Yikes! Too many choices! Anyone who has been through this can verify that the color is one of the hardest decisions. While I liked the Viking blue/yellow combination, it seemed very common. There are just so many in that great color scheme. It is tough!
In any event, I got my deposit down with Unique and was going to have a graduation present to me! Hoo-hah!!
Months later, before my Deluxe Pallet Kit was done, Katrina hit and wiped us off the map. Major delay... the Cobra parts I had at home probably ended up in Northern Tennessee or something! S!&@^ Regardless, it didn't matter, it was all gone.
In the next installment I will pick up on the project restart after the storm...
