Quality of 818C hardtop

[Wbflyer]

Hey Guys,

I have always wanted to build the Cobra kit until I noticed the hardtop 818. My question is, how is the quality of the kit and fiberglass compared to the roadster? It seems the fiberglass is thinner or more “kit car" than the cobra. I could be way off base since I have never seen the 818 in person but i have sat in the cobra. You can see the fiberglass from certain angle when you are in the car from what it looks like in the pictures.

Also, does the kit come with all fastners that you will need?

Thanks!

[STiPWRD]

You may want to find someone locally building an 818 in your area and check it out in person, but I'm not sure where you're located. You do need to reuse some fasteners from the donor vehicle throughout the build, particularly for the suspension, but the kit does come with the rest of the fasteners you'll need.

[wleehendrick]

My question is, how is the quality of the kit and fiberglass compared to the roadster? It seems the fiberglass is thinner or more “kit car" than the cobra. I could be way off base since I have never seen the 818 in person but i have sat in the cobra. You can see the fiberglass from certain angle when you are in the car from what it looks like in the pictures.

Join the party! AFAIK, the fiberglass is the same process, but the 818 uses individual panels, while the roadster is a single bonded body. If properly prepped an painted, both look great. You can't go paintless and look good with a roadster because of the seams, while the 818 can look OK with just polishing panels. I your perception is biased by the fact that most roadsters end up with a high quality paint job, where as most of the 818's you see online are still a work in progress and many don't bother to paint at all.

[RM1SepEx]

You need to temper your expectations:

There is no way anyone can just polish the 818 panels, they still need bodywork... My second set of panels are about the best that I've seen and they delayed my pickup by a few hrs to allow some touch up! Most 818's have panels with voids or unfinished edges, they all have areas where the panels are wavy that you will want to do bodywork if you desire a "show quality" finish. Yes the panels are much thinner and more flimsy, many builders have come up with ways to better support the panels on their cars. As far as looking "kit car" you can pretty easily purchase products from our online vendors to eliminate the hood pins and improve the car's appearance.

It is very hard to get the same level of performance for the price and there is a very high level of enjoyment/accomplishment to build it "your way" as no two cars will be alike.