By Dean Larson

Incomplete Cobra kits on Craigslist are almost always a treasure trove of mysteries. In most cases, no one remembers who manufactured the kit, but they’re willing to bet it’s a good one. The appeal is in the price, as these cars are often cheaper than dirt, but you always have to take a good close look at what you’re getting for your money.

This time around, we’re looking at a fiberglass roller with some suspension parts, brakes and a drivetrain installed. The seller believes it’s an Everett-Morrison chassis, but makes no comment on the body. Some aspects of the chassis do resemble the Everett-Morrison chassis, including the 4-inch round-tube main rails and the square-stock floor areas, but it’s almost impossible to tell without a closer look at the rear suspension. The body looks good, all things considered, and all the fiberglass looks to be in great shape. However, there are no doors cut into the fiberglass body, so the builder will likely be creating his own openings and door jams.

The builder sourced Chevrolet parts to get the car up and rolling, including a small-block Chevrolet engine, Turbo-350 transmission and Corvette brakes and suspension. The front suspension appears to be C4 parts, but not much else is shown. The SBC looks to have been rebuilt recently and is even topped off with aluminum heads. It’s hooked up and ready to go with a TH350 trans and a driveshaft, should that combo suit your tastes. If not, a donor Ford 302 and T-5 transmission could likely be found for what the Chevrolet driveline can be sold for.

When you get down to brass tax, buying a secondhand kit like this one is a bit of a mixed bag. The price is definitely cheap, as base kits from Shell Valley and Factory Five sell for $9,995 and $12,990 respectively, but that’s not the whole story. This Cobra on Craigslist does include suspension components and a driveline (albeit used/refurbished items), where base kits do not, but this car lacks plenty of items you’d get in a base kit like plumbing, steering, gaskets, fasteners and wiring. Today’s kit cars are also designed to be assembled at home, where an older kit like this would be much more challenging. It's really the difference between completing a well-designed process and constructing a vehicle from raw materials.

There are plenty of options with this Cobra kit. Build a cheap and dirty Chevy-powered Cobra to aggravate blue oval fans, or selectively rebuild it with proper Ford parts on the cheap. At the end of the day, it’s tough to compare these secondhand cars to today’s kit offerings dollar for dollar. But these cars do sell, and we’re sure this one will move to its next owner soon also.

See the seller's ad here on Saginaw, Michigan Craigslist.