I was attempting to make my post very short as this process has been going on for several months now. I am very close to the family that built this Cobra. The father built this car and then had a company in NC replace the motor. That company specializes in FFR builds and was a part of a lawsuit that was recently settled. I am unsure of all of the specific details of the suit as they really didn't matter. The fact it happened in the first place is what has placed this liability concern on the owners mind.
Get ready for this as it will boggle your mind and I assure you all of your thoughts are the same I had as I heard this being told by him.
Short recap- Cobra built and then sold three different times. This company along the way did some engine work and updates. The most recent owner allowed his very young son to drive the car. That individual was impaired and wrapped the car around a pole and was seriously injured and I believe his girlfriend is now a quadriplegic. The family sued every owner of the vehicle as well as this company and all settled out of court. Now this should have gone to court and a much different result would have come as the liability for the injury was not on the builder of the vehicle, rather the impaired driver!!! But we all know how insurance companies will settle for less than a lengthy court process to save money in the long run regardless of the facts of the case and winnability.
So...…...Due to these factors my situation was created. The owner was not even going to sell this car, rather was going to just have it destroyed. I was able to convince him to let me have the vehicle and at the very least pull the drivetrain and use on another project. Along the way I decided I would rather keep this vehicle as it is an incredible car. I have since been attempting avenues to reduce/remove his liability. I myself am in law enforcement in North Carolina and have a good friend that works for the state as an investigator in DMV/Motor Vehicle theft. There is a process where the state will issue the vehicle a new VIN completely removing the old VIN and association with previous owner. This investigator advised that he completes 1-2 of these for FFR vehicles each year. I initiated this process and then presented the owner and he has again refused the process. Which leads me back to here, I have to find a mkIII frame or find a shop that can build one. FFR has been very helpful, but very clear that the vast majority of parts will not transfer to the mkIV frame.
Sorry for length, I promise I have been just as baffled and irritated since starting this process as I am sure you are in hearing about it. As a side note I had approval from the boss(wife) to engage in minimal cost of swapping out the frame and/or just starting a different process using the drivetrain. We however are not in a place to take on starting from scratch at this time. Again thanks for all the responses and input, any and all assistance is appreciated.
