By Dean Larson

Photos: Seller, Craigslist

Here in the Midwest, we’re under a couple feet of snow, and hobby cars like this Backdraft Cobra aren’t trading hands, they’re tucked away in garages awaiting the summer driving season. And while it’s not summer in Florida either, cars are trading hands in warmer states, and this Backdraft is a screaming December deal down in Jensen Beach, Florida.

Boynton Beach-based Backdraft Racing has carved a niche for itself in the Cobra market by offering turnkey-minus roadsters with contemporary features and design cues. Unique elements include larger diameter wheels, deluxe interior features, more radical color combinations and the use of BMW E36 suspension components. Backdraft has positioned its product at a medium price point, somewhere between homebuilt kits and more expensive completes, often attracting buyers who want a factory built turnkey-minus vehicle over a secondhand homebuilt.

The market on a secondhand Backdraft varies a bit depending on specification with most cars asking under $60,000. Good deals can be found around $50,000, but they’re few and far between. The going rate on new examples is up around $70,000, all of which makes this Backdraft an enticing buy at just $46,000.

Its appearance is a familiar one, with shades of blue and white coupled with 17-inch Halibrand-style wheels and chrome trim. Power comes from a tidy, 385 hp Ford 351 Windsor with a TREMEC five-speed transmission. Mileage comes in at just 3,200, and we’d assume it to have its kinks mostly worked out by now.

The interior seems to be the only shortcoming on the car. Everything’s in good shape, but a few elements let it down, chiefly the steering wheel, gauges and stereo head unit. But even after remedying these items, I still think you’re money ahead on this one. Check it out here on Treasure Coast Craigslist.