Building a Shelby Cobra replica in 25 minutes

Bunch of time lapses stitched together to show you what it's like to build a replica of Shelby Cobra from Factory Five Racing. We received a shipment on March 28th, and a car was titled in Pennsylvania on August 25th. Everything in between was a lot of fun!

[@srobertweiser]

Building a Cobra in 25 minutes is amazing. When I was a kid I remember watching my old man and my uncle Chuck completely dismantle and then rebuild a 1978 Mustang Cobra II in my grandma's basement, and it took them over two hours! This was back in the 80s, when they were both doing tons of the white stuff. Grandma shit a kitten when they finally cranked it up and started doing burnouts on her laundry room floor.

[@MrYogo1]

Lmao

[@JohannGambolputty22]

Now that’s a practical joke we need a video for. Lol

[@jj_horsman763]

This is an interesting comment to find, considering I own a 78 cobra II

[@ChaseThePinballWizard]

Is your pic the DRI logo or a swastika man?

[@seeharvester]

I saw a guy build a chevy motor in his kitchen one time. Obviously he wasn't married.

[@stevejette2329]

You guys must drink a LOT of coffee !! I never moved that fast in my life.

[@Ken-no5ip]

Crack

[@matthgic5166]

😂

[@flinch622]

@@Ken-no5ip They did it wrong: should be trained out on the sofa, and useless.

[@tadeoangulo5700]

😂😂😂

[@EV1N3M]

Little bit of nose coffee

[@umangu]

Boys this is highly impressive work, beautiful car! I wish I had friends/brothers/dad that I could do this with. Amazing! RIP Marshmallow.

[@alexmak1]

Thank you so much!

[@danielweiner9799]

My dad and I built one 6 years ago, bringing back major memories (and a little ptsd ;) )

[@alexmak1]

Yes, some ptsd will stay, but the joy is overwhelming

[@lilbooderfrommaddog3760]

Well sign me up for PTSD then 😆 lol no but for real I would absolute love a chance to build one

[@kentuckystateroleplay8601]

@@lilbooderfrommaddog3760 Same, I am hoping to be able to purchase one in a year or 2

[@plane_guy6051]

What I would like to do is to DRIVE one.

[@rustysteel8714]

@@alexmak1 WOW! What DEDICATION! Kudos to you and your son on this build, and thanks for the video, from a fellow Pennsylvanian. 👍 I pray you two are still TALKING to each other! 😉 🙈

[@Gamefreak8112]

However many times I've seen one of these take shape and it never gets old.

[@willieboy8798]

beautiful build on that cobra bravo!

[@brentftaylor]

Nice build. I have the first Big block chassis shipped from Factory Five over twenty years ago.

[@alexmak1]

thank you!

[@dieselyeti]

What's a big block chassis? Any difference from their std chassis?

[@brentftaylor]

@@dieselyeti sorry, it’s been over twenty years since my build. It’s probably best to contact FFR

[@Simulacrum0354]

it is now my goal to do this with my dad when i get older

[@alexmak1]

This is an amazing goal!

[@scottyb6765]

That was a great video. Thanks for showing exactly what the process is. I'm impressed with your work here.

[@alexmak1]

thank you!

[@wickedcrypto6004]

The smile on his face when he first started the engine was priceless. Epic Thank you guys so much for sharing this.

[@alexmak1]

Thank you so much! the first start was after about 3 hours of fails, so you can imagine the happiness.

[@jareddesousa4691]

Happy to see this. Hope your panels fit good. I try my best to make sure they go together without a problem.

[@brisiobrien1]

Pretty awesome time-lapse video! It took me 2 years to finish mine but it was well worth it. Congrats!

[@alexmak1]

Thanks a ton!

[@kevinwells768]

took me 9 years to get my cobra on the road (but there was a house renovation in the middle).

[@davidthompson6017]

Just caught your little video . September 7 , Alls I can say is omg omg omg my all-time favourite car I always wanted one of those maybe one day I can afford one who knows but for now I’ll just dream and watch you guys build them LOL it’s amazing thank you

[@PompeyMatt17]

that's a great build! I always marvel at the size of garages in the US as that's the size of an average house here in the UK 😁

[@alexmak1]

hahaha. oh well, you know, it's a big country

[@allanmcelroy9840]

u have small houses then

[@onefortheroad2291]

5 months from kit delivery to titling? You guys knocked it out of the park! I picked up my kit January of 2016 and titled it October of 2020 lol. Funny thing is 80-90% of the build was done the first 9-12 months, then our first child came, work got busy, etc (you know how it goes haha). What’s the plan for the color?

[@alexmak1]

yeah, I can imagine how life can get in the way. for us the lockdown was a sort of big help, so we could just focus on the assembling process, working/studying from home and spending the rest of the time on Cobra. why I sometimes call the car 'quarantine cobra" ) I'm thinking on the solid viking blue, no stripes, with black exhaust pipes and roll bars. should be pretty close to what Shelby had in 1963-1964.

[@isharyadigalacakra6365]

Amazing

[@spurcrawler249]

Imagine a world where governments can “lockdown” free men.

[@jayc3110]

That was fascinating to watch.- beautifully done time lapse! Thanks, and good luck with the car. Best wishes.

[@alexmak1]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ditzydoo4378]

An epic course on what is involved in building the Factory-Five Icon.

[@RobS32]

Brilliant! 👌. Really enjoyed it and a great project. Thanks well done 👌.

[@alexmak1]

Thank you!

[@henrymorgan3982]

I was waiting for the tire shredding burnout! Good job!

[@barneybetelgeuse6273]

Bloody nice job ( looks pretty intense) happy driving 👍😀

[@alexmak1]

Thanks 👍

[@cabe58]

Great work!! Here in Argentine only in dreams.

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

Good job on the build I hope you enjoy your ride.

[@peetywondr3256]

CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done!! From FFR3712K in Las Vegas

[@alexmak1]

thank you!

[@inflaminator]

Wow, that is one cool Lego set!

[@alexmak1]

thanks!

[@inflaminator]

Seriously though this is my dream car and I’ve watched this video so many times. Thanks for this. Your car is incredible.

[@alexmak1]

@@inflaminator awwww! Thank you so much! in the final paint it's even better looking, I think :)

[@johnsimon340]

Love it!!

[@davidskaar3232]

I am glad people have the gift to do such projects.

[@alexmak1]

Thank you!

[@reaper378]

Great video I really enjoyed it ! Wish I still had my DAX ! May have another one day ....

[@benjaminrodriguez9968]

Awesome build beautiful job all you guys did can’t wait to get mine

[@alexmak1]

thank you! good luck with your kit!

[@cokesbr7671]

Also did you have to install catalytic converters?

[@alexmak1]

@@cokesbr7671 nope, cars like these are excluded from environmental regulations. although if you for for a Coyote engine, for instance, the engine's electronics will demand them

[@chipsutcliffe7110]

You can enjoy the car for a while, and then your son will have it. The car is pretty cool, but what you both will like the most will be the memory of building it together.

[@bbb462cid]

Beautiful car and great project; great vid. My soul screamed every time a tool rested on the body. And yes, I know the car will still need bodywork and paint. Still.

[@alexmak1]

Haha! yeah, I understand, it's a bad habit. I'll make sure that in the next project I won't be doing this!

[@PaulJersey]

Wow! That’s a lot of work!

[@alexmak1]

It is, but it's also a lot of fun!

[@kiplindsay8413]

Awesome build. Even more awesome with your son.

[@alexmak1]

Thanks 👍

[@collins3844]

Awesome...I’m inspired...thank you

[@lauriehead]

That was very well done.

[@alexmak1]

Thank you!

[@anthonylevan7508]

Brilliant, extremely envious. Enjoy.

[@alexmak1]

Many thanks!

[@ValidViking]

I want to give more than 1 thumbs-up for this.

[@McNabbula]

Here you go. I’m with you! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@magnum357225]

Does the kit come with all the nessesary documents for registration, and do they ship internationaly?

[@donaldwarren3071]

Man I have the most respect for you but aftr seeing I don’t want to build one I’ll just purchase it. Omgoogness lots of work.

[@jdlsantos00]

Awesome!!! thanks for sharing!!!! hopefully i will be on it soon

[@alexmak1]

Thank you!

[@steveafanador6441]

What a satisfying feeling when the body went on. I felt like it was my own car. 👍👍

[@nickp6472]

Very nice. FFR roadster is on my bucket list. I like seat heater idea. Good for those cool nights. I'll have to keep that in mind if/when I ever get the chance to build one.

[@alexmak1]

Thank you! Yes, they are a must, imo. Of course depends where you live, but I drove our Cobra in 30F and the seat heaters turned out to bewitch a life saver, expanding the driving season significantly

[@davidfrank6666]

electric vest? yes?

[@trymints3657]

Nice, original or replica doesn't matter cause the car is an awesome legend.

[@madman-xo3ru]

Either coke or coffee but you guys are awesome 🤣 that car looks amazing

[@3dmax911]

great work !! really amazing

[@alexmak1]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@GoateWalker]

Very good video, great work fellas 💯

[@alexmak1]

thank you!

[@armcchargues8623]

Congratulations on your persistence. I think I would have settled on manual steering after all you went through to plug leaks!

[@alexmak1]

my idea was that at some point my wife may want to drive it, so power steering would def help her

[@user-xn4lt4cp2p]

Wow!!!! amazing bro

[@terrygreuel5296]

You guys did a great job. The one issue I have is the body. I figured you were going to paint the car. The reason I thought that is because of the seams at the joints of the body parts. They are really noticeable. Do the final prep to those seams and have it painted and it will look perfect. The kit makers should have fixed those when the body is not going to be painted.

[@alexmak1]

That’s the part I’m really bad at, so we will have some professionals to do the body sanding and other prep before it’s painted. So seams will be gone and the car is going to get some proper color finally

[@peterkater4292]

@@alexmak1 Why not having the body prepped and painted BEFORE you assembled everything? Seing those ugly panel "welds seams", I reckon not only sanding but BRUSHING will be necessary to get a mirror like finish. Introducing dust all over the car and even within the components you want to keep clean. I am totally wrong here?

[@alexmak1]

@@peterkater4292 the body has to be adjusted on the frame first - to make sure it sits properly, all the panes are trimmed and adjusted as needed. it's a fiberglass, so it's not perfect, and needs to be adjusted properly. that's why it's recommended to assemble the car first, and do the proper body fitment. Then body is removed, a lot of sanding, priming and more sending is performed, and then it's painted. after than a painted body is installed back on the frame and final assembly is done.

[@peterkater4292]

@@alexmak1 thanks for your long and detailed answer. I didn't know at all it was fiberglass! All the way, I thought it was aluminum or some (fine) steel sheet panels... Now it makes 2 things a lot clearer for me: 1) why those cars are so damn light! (hence the unbelievable power to weight ratio) 2) why you are looking at professionals for the prepping / sanding etc.. (without proper expertise in fiberglass, one would be either a crazy person or a genius to try and diy it..). Being the owner of a 77' Stingray and a 97' Viper GTS, I am praying all gods to never ever need to repair / touch up anything on those fiberglass bodies. It would be a tremendous pain in the a...

[@alexmak1]

@@peterkater4292 part of me wishes it was an aluminum (especially polished one looks so cool), part of me thinks about perils of maintaining aluminum look and I'm like NAH! also it's super expensive. the cheapest cobra aluminum body I've seen was at least $25k. and yes, it's possible to work on FG body, a lot of people did it with their replica kits. but they also are the ones sharing stories about red dust in their nightmares.

[@dannyhughes8187]

Thank God for good friends.. that's a serious show of love for a friend..

[@dennisweisser9099]

Great video of your build. I wish I had done one for mine. Are those head rests aftermarket or did they come with your seats? If aftermarket would you share where you got them?

[@alexmak1]

Thank you! The headrests are “aftermarket”, in a sense that no, they didn’t come with the seats, the original seats and the ones that come by default are low back seats. So in order to improve the seats safety we had to do this side project where we got the head rests from a junk yard, and had to come up with a way to mount them to the seats frame. The head rests are from the 2004 Audi A4 model, I believe.

[@mariapires7170]

Building a replica ´s one of the most iconic,beautiful and fastest american sport and racing car in the earlysixties of the last century! Even today, the Shelby Cobra 427 is a masterpiece of the engeneering of the Faboulous Man, Mr.Caroll Shelby! Thank you all! Stay safe!

[@mariapires7170]

I perfectly know Sir, but as Ace,the car was known only in UK an d as Cobra the cars were famous in the entire World,with tha victories in races in the States and Europe,and these cars were not comparables as theAce Bristol´s Stay safe!@@martinprice9119

[@mariapires7170]

@@martinprice9119 erm I think the americans and Mr Shelby only took the body from Ace,everything else, chassis,suspension,brakes,engines and gearboxes,wheels were american, at least the latest 427´s! Thank you Sir,stay safe!

[@bobertkallahan4392]

Love how the old folks were out there for the carb rebuild LMAO (Also, RIP Marshmallow!)

[@alexmak1]

Yes gotta bring the big guns for that carb! (Thanks! I still miss him)

[@schillingchevySS]

OHHH here come my friends.....as soon as my cars almost built lol awesome vid

[@derektassie1479]

this is so awesome. how are the instructions? does it come with any?

[@cliffcox7643]

You built a car in 25 minutes!!! That's a world record.

[@ParFive]

No way I could do that in 25 minutes. Those guys work so fast!

[@alexmak1]

we did our best

[@billmcgarry3300]

Dammm you guys are quick….I’ve been building my Sunbeam Tiger for years now (COVID actually accelerated my progress :) Obviously I just gotta figure out how to Fast Forward 😜 Have fun Playing with it…just be careful of power induced oversteer!!

[@jerrybates5748]

Awesome job.

[@alexmak1]

Thanks!

[@pp_h]

how did you go about making the body panels?

[@MrJdsenior]

Yeah, it's impressive, but I'm too old to move that fast and build that quickly any more. :-/ Nice work. Kidding aside, it was cool to see the time lapse, gives a good idea how much time, percentage wise, was spent on each different aspect of the build. And in the text I think you mean brake lines, break is definitely not the goal. Kidding, again. Is that framing at all accurate to the original or just a kit manufacturer design from scratch?

[@yiannishayabusaofficial]

Perfect Amazing Fantastic Exelent Magical The Best Ever 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

[@peterbonnez]

Excellent

[@alexmak1]

Thanks

[@polygamous1]

Super cars hyper cars or whatever the may like to call them the Copra beats them ALL hands down on looks my ALL time TWO favourite cars on earth the Copra n the Elan, Amazing job guys

[@tarsneyisleestrelas4659]

Love the Video,your fast workers lol.I bought a pilgrim sumo cobra in 2007,I live in Ireland,Over here and the uk they seem to use donor cars,to save on costs.Love working on the car.certainly are special.What color are you planning? just subscribed

[@stuco81]

makes me chuckle that people write off the newer reproductions as 'kit cars'. when the original Shelby was a mash-up of lots of different parts from various British cars and then an American Ford engine.

[@tarsneyisleestrelas4659]

@@stuco81 have to admit greatest mash up off all time.

[@francisdrelling4060]

25 minutes. That is amazing. It would take me months.

[@alexmak1]

but if you drink as much coffee as we did ...

[@francisdrelling4060]

@@alexmak1 I think you were gulping down energy drinks as well. Great video with really practical advice.

[@ahmadtoism]

love it

[@toddjohnson7133]

Where did you get the Goodyear billboards?

[@charlesgreer7245]

These factory 5 cars have came a long way. I remember when they came out in the 90s they were one of the cheapest ways to build a cobra replica bc the base kit was a body and frame and interior only. Everything else came from a 5.0 foxbody that's where the factory 5 name came from. Nice car always loved the cobra and always wanted to build a replica.

[@alexmak1]

they still have a "basic" kit that requires a donor, but fox body donors are quite expensive these days

[@charlesgreer7245]

@@alexmak1 yes the price has gone way up. I have a 83 convertable glx, a 87 gt, and a 90 lx hatch. Just a roller in good shape is around 3grand now. I bought the 90 right as prices were going up. It was running good but paint and interior were shot. They were asking almost 4 and I told my wife if I'm going to get one I better do it now bc a year or so ago I could have got a better car than this for that money. We looked it up on Kelly and she said hell no this is saying 1500 so we happen to be at books amillion I went over and got a collector car book and looked it up and the price was dead on with that book. We offered 3000 and he took it. I paid 2500 for the 83 it ran and had 96thousand miles the guy I got it from got it from the original owner. It spent most it's life in storage the top was rotted and the paint needed to be freshen up had a ding or two but a solid car. Lucked out on that one. Reason I got it so cheap was its v6 not 5.0. Year later my wife found the 87 gt on Facebook for 1500 it ran but needed a fuel pump all it would do is idle.l so seen that it was cheaper than a decent roller I snatched it up that day. My wife said no more till I get finished with these 3. I guess we all have our addiction.

[@bikerchochis50]

Nice!!!

[@kennethbowry1521]

And very nice too.

[@rymnzz]

what are those noticeable seam lines on the body?

[@landrodaoud1531]

Clean garage

[@cliffordkiehl3959]

Very interesting. At the end, before painting, was the body finished and wet sanded to remove the seams and any other imperfections? Did you paint it, and if so, did you remove the body?

[@alexmak1]

No, the body is not painted yet, it's scheduled for the paint this year with a shop. they will be doing sanding the body seams, etc. Yes, the body will be removed for painting, but prior to that all panels will need to be adjusted by the person who knows what they are doing

[@dr.mikeschultz9975]

I am about to start my build project. I like the seat head rests. Did you get those directly from FFR (I understand that headrests are not an option with FFR?) or elsewhere? Thank you.

[@alexmak1]

Hi, these are headrests from 2000 Audi A4, grabbed at a junk yard.

[@bagdaduk]

lovely car and colour... BUT!! thoes panel lines @ 24:45 are horrible. Is that stock or comething you have to fix with a body shop?

[@aurktman1106]

Will be doing this in the future!

[@amalfi460]

Great work I have always wanted to build one. I just don’t know much about wiring

[@alexmak1]

us neither. It was challenging but not impossible.

[@therealfredwardbenson7295]

wiring is the type of thing where once you scope it out, you'll know the basics, I know u can do it

[@Turn2222]

Very nice.

[@alexmak1]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@allenlane5000]

Did you find a template for that body rolling stand or make it up yourself?

[@alexmak1]

There’s a plan for this rolling pad on thefactoryfiveforum.com, so we used it, but decided to raise it so there’s space underneath to store the parts

[@daveyelmer3222]

LOT of work ! And a lot of re-working !! I used to want one. Now, I'd just buy a new Vette.....

[@bcbarc7044]

Bravo! How many actual working days? How many of you? What motor, trans package? Im jealous! Amazing project, thanks for posting

[@Accost2u]

For PA initial inspection I thought you needed wipers, defroster and reverse lights?

[@alexmak1]

We had wipers for the initial inspection, but they are removable, so we took them off. Not sure about other requirements, but we didn’t have neither defroster not reverse light, and it was fine

[@WindsorWoodworkingNS]

did it come with the plywood frame to set the body on while you work on the rest of the components?

[@alexmak1]

Nope, we built it

[@kirkthejerkthe1st]

What wiring problems did you have? Was there a wiring manual included with the kit?

[@alexmak1]

The wiring manual is included, it comes as a part of Ron Francis harness, which is the harness FFR is using in Mk4 kits. To this day I’m not 100% sure what the issue was, being torn between a bad ground somewhere and a faulty switch, which caused the harness to go haywire. (As a result, we had turn signals pulsating together with a fuel pump, which is a peculiar but not a very practical effect). Dropping the switch solved it, so there’s that

[@KauBoySL]

That camaro in the back is nice :D

[@alexmak1]

thank you!

[@undertaker4580]

Did you guys build the frame of the car yourself or bought it to

[@amazeddude1780]

Stopping cars etc= BRAKES When having coffee= BREAKS

[@marioalvarez9489]

Me podrías mandar información de cuánto cuesta el chasis o el kit completo sin la carrocería

[@tjhop5887]

I haven't built one yet. But you said you installed "quick jacks". What are those?

[@alexmak1]

It’s the jack stands that you put under a car when it is raised, so you do not keep it on the jack. I don’t know why I used the quick jack term, I probably confused it with QuickJack Lift

[@FooFahFoeFum]

I am interested in the tires with the white lettering. Is the lettering raised rubber or some sort of glue on decal? What model of tires are you using?? What sizes please?

[@alexmak1]

The lettering is just stickers on top of Mickey Thompson tires. 245/60/15 and 285/50/15, I believe

[@FooFahFoeFum]

@@alexmak1 The 15 inch wheels makes the car look more classic. Also, people forget that rubber weighs less than metal..

[@JerryDLTN]

You mentioned the "traveling builder"...does Factory Five send you an inspector to help for ~1 day towards the end?

[@alexmak1]

No, it’s an extra service from a separate guy who does this for a living. It was our decision to have such an inspection, for our peace of mind to make sure we didn’t screw up anything major

[@IamtheLordofDoom]

I enjoyed that. This is something I'd love to do so much. Sadly, don't even own a garage :( But one day...

[@alexmak1]

Thank you!

[@timhitt9541]

How much was the kit?

[@jagitmax]

Yep, I did the same thing, except I prepped and then painted the body first .

[@fabioversari9710]

STRABILIANTE STUPENDA E' UN MODO FANTASTICO X AVERE UNA COBRA ..!!!

[@lucadigrazia9389]

Si ma alla fine sono sempre 50.000!!!

[@fabioversari9710]

@@lucadigrazia9389 ahh però ...pensavo ad uno sconto importante ...ma invece .... dato che uno fa sia la fatica fisica che mentale .....!?

[@lucadigrazia9389]

@@fabioversari9710 Sconto da parte di chi?

[@fabioversari9710]

@@lucadigrazia9389 dalla ditta che ha venduto questo pacchetto...cosi ben studiato .....o no ...

[@lucadigrazia9389]

@@fabioversari9710 Si, ma per $ 19.000 danno molte cose ma maca il ponte posteriore coi freni, ovviamente motore e cambio, poi la carrozzeria va preparata e verniciata. Non bastano $ 50.000, però ce ne sono in vendita complete a meno, poi andranno sistemate. Continuo a non capire la questione dello sconto. Qual'è il termine di paragone?

[@meliponarioelcananguchal1709]

friend, what does this replica cost?

[@Archibald_h]

I've watched this video several time. very cool. what level of machinal aptitude does one need to pull something like this off? and focus!? i get distracted just doing brakes. which is bad... because you know, brakes. (did I put the clip back? did I do the left side?)

[@alexmak1]

Oh, thank you for watching the video several times! :) surprisingly we were quite mechanically challenged when we started the build. We had some minor experience like swapping brake pads or some filters, but that’s it. It’s just a step by step, one step at a time assembly process, with some scary deviations like drilling or sawing, but overall very manageable. It’s just like eating elephant, one small bite after another. No rush, double and triple checking some things just to be sure. Easy!

[@Archibald_h]

@@alexmak1 thank you for the information.

[@tjhop5887]

Do you have a video or a web like to the quick jacks those would be awesome

[@alexmak1]

We used Craftsman 3 ton jacks

[@sharifmetall]

Очень красивая! Мои поздравления Алекс!

[@22sojourner]

Да замечательно

[@Danraabetraininggym]

What was the most difficult/time consuming part of this project?

[@alexmak1]

Nothing in particular. Except agonizing process of choosing a color to paint