Safety Features

[Naumoff]

No war with me.
I love all Fords.[8D]
and I have a short list of GM and Mopars, Just Keep your engines in your bodies and I'm OK.

Tony

Unique 427 #4279480 427s/o Nascar toploader 3.31 Jag IRS

[bomelia]

Well, one thing I hear FFR guys say is that their kits are race tested and thus better engineered (just passing this along). What would you say to someone making that statement? In other words, what kind of development, testing, etc, go on over at Unique?

Mike

[Justin Upchurch]

Unique has been represented very well in road racing events. Just do a search of past Run and Gun events, as well as SAAC events. You will find they are consistantly among the quickest cars.
Keep in mind you can't compare FFR's "race tested" Spec Racer to their's or any one elses street chassis. The cage in the Spec Racer multiplies the chassis rigidness by two to three times the street car.
I too looked at FFR, and was leaning toward the Spec Racer chassis outfitted with opening doors and the street package. However, I decided that the cage looked goofy on a Cobra in street trim, and didn't pursue the idea any further. So, I looked at the FFR street car because it was "safer", "affordable" and had been designed on "modern" CAD equipment.
So, I was seriously considering going FFR and priced it out with options, which came to $23,000 in parts from FFR. I arrived at this number useing the FFR option list and pricing new and rebuilt parts for the IRS (I did not want a solid axle car.) This led me to belive that an FFR is not cheap, unless you build it cheap! This was later confirmed by a guy here in Houston that has built his FFR equivelent of a Unique, ERA, Superforamnce, etc. that cost 50K to put together. This is a very nice car, but not any better done than many of the Uniques I saw at Homecoming.
Next, I went and looked at an FFR here in Houston that had just been delivered. The chassis looked nice, although the "side impact protection" came up to my shin, offering only side impact protection from a car with a bumber 7 inches off the ground. I am not kidding a Miata would hit the door higher than the side impact protection. Not as safe as I had originally thought, but still a good looking chassis.As far as being engineered to be more modern, well the chassis is not of a modern design, in fact it looks more like an original chassis than most I have seen. It was clear to me that the chassis was designed on a CAD not to make the chassis more modern, but to be able to have the small chassis pieces cut out by machine for mass production. This is not a knock on them, in fact it is very savy of the Smith brothers because they can produce parts faster and cheaper. The only real disapointment of the car was the body. The hood and trunk were bowed to the point that they did not sit flush on the body. The passenger side door fit, but the driver's side door needed about 3/4 inch of glass added in the middle to have a clean gap to the rear. These aren't items that can't be fixed, but this is why the body work on an FFR is more expensive.
After seeing the car and knowing what it would take to complete the way I wanted it I looked at some other builders. I was not turned off by the quality of the FFR as much as the resale value when compared to other cars. This became very clear when I found out that if I would spend just a little bit more I could buy a Unique or ERA and get more than the purchase price difference back on resale when comparing either car to the FFR. As a comparison look up a user by the name of Lancair on Club Cobra, he has one of the nicest cars of any brand I have ever seen with amazing attention to detail. This car has been for sale for several months at 45K ( worth every penny and more). Compare this to some small block brands mentioned above that sell in a mater of days at that price.
When it comes to safety, I don't think you can compare a Cobra to a Volvo, but you may fair better that a motorbike in a collision. Every one has their opinions of who makes the best car, but without a doubt no other manufacturer has the Weavers' reputation. And that is why I purchased a Unique. Oh, and Homecoming is within driving distance, that was a deciding factor as well.

[bomelia]

Thanks for the nice, informative response!!

Mike

[eliminator]

Alan Weaver can tell everyone about the safety of a Unique Car: the fact that he is alive today to tell everyone speaks for itself.

He flipped his red car at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the high bank during a track event, and nearly went over the wall, it slid upside down on the roll bar for some time before coming to a stop. When the car was turned over on the wheels, 3 things were apparent:
Alan was a little sore but fine,
the doors on the car opened and closed just fine,
the car would live another day after a little body work.
That car was the red car, still owned by Unique that went on the Homecoming Cruise this year at Gadsden.

Rick
#4279405

[rdorman]

FFR started me looking. You all know the rest!
Rick

http://www.ohiocobraclub.com
http://www.londoncobrashow.com

[Slither]

Seems to me that I remember hearing that Maurice nailed the guard rail [:O] (down at Talladaga?) with their FIA car. That one lives today as well. Anyone know about this, Alan, Maurice... [?][?]

I rode in that car and it seems fine .

Paul

289 FIA

2899464

408 Windsor

Toploader (wide)

3.07 rear

[rdorman]

I think Alan flipped one without a roll bar once. I don't know the details on that one but I see he is still kicking!

Is there a pattern developing here? Kind of like the guy that makes bullet proof vests and wanted to prove they where safe. So, he put one on and shot himself, on camera, and uses it for a marketing tool.

Rick

http://www.ohiocobraclub.com
http://www.londoncobrashow.com

[daveg]

Alan told me the flip story as well - seemed more concerned about the tow guys messing up his car after the accident.....