Gorgeous King Cobra on Ebay!

Eos · Aug 9, 2004

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2486674737&category=6236

This is one of the nicest II's I've seen on ebay.

cobraii351 · Aug 9, 2004

Someone correct me if I am wrong, I thought all of the later cars had 85 MPH speedo's.

Nice car not completely "correct" but not a bad try.... If I were looking to buy I would rally like to see a shot of the buck tag.

Power Surge · Aug 9, 2004

Tim, you are correct, it should have an 80 mph speedo. I can tell you right now, this car is either NOT a King Cobra, or it's a King that's been redone using parts from another car. I would say with almost 100% certainy, this car is a 76, or possibly an early 77. The interior is completely wrong. It has old style standard door panels, not 78 panels. It has the deluxe seats, but they are pre78 style. It has the one piece rear seat, and 78s had the two piece bottom. It has the 3 piece bumper trim, 78s had the one piece "rolled" insert, and it should have orange striping on that car. The rims are solid silver, and a red King should have red background spokes. There should be no grille snake. It has regular Cobra II wheel centers, not King centers. It has a 76 radiator and fill setup and a 76 overflow bottle. There's more too, but I gotta head to work.

It's a GOOD fake KC. Nice car all the same, just not real.

cobraii351 · Aug 9, 2004

Nice catch on the rear seat! I knew about it but didn't even see it. I knew the wheels were incorrect, and noticed a couple of other things but I wasn't going to pick it apart but yeah you are right. A lot of things are not even close. Like you said it was made form other cars I'd bet both my testies that that the front air dam isn't orginal to that car. As I've never seen a nice front dam with a trashed lower support. Also the bumper trim is incorrect to a 78.

Nice attempt but not quite.......

78 venom · Aug 9, 2004

Very sharp eyes, guys! Notice there's no photo of t-tops installed or of the KC buck tag but there's tons of photos of a hood snake (which anybody can buy). Close look at hoist shots show orange peel in the paint job -- may need more color sanding done. The wrong engine, interior, speedo, wheels and center caps are one thing, but then this seemingly informed seller says the spare tire even has the "wierd seat belt thingie for the spare tire" or some such, it shows that he used the t-top bag (which is missing) hold-down straps on the spare underneath the carpeting! He should have looked in the owners manual ... The low-mileage King he mentioned that recently went for $15K was a real-deal original. This is a cobbled-together who-knows-what with no rust and shiny paint that's being passed off as more than what it is... another lesson in "know what you're paying for"

dmoody · Aug 9, 2004

As you guys have pointed out, this car has a lot of mismatches on it... what the heck is up with that air cleaner? However I think the door panels are correct for 78. My 78 Cobra II which was a good time capsule, at the time I acquired it, had those same door panels. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought I'd share my experiences.

d

Eos · Aug 9, 2004

Wow, you guys are really the King of II's, I didn't notice any of that. lol But I think its a really nice car, and I'd have it. I don't think I'd pay that much for it since it's not a real king though, but it is really really pretty. =)

chromehorse11 · Aug 9, 2004

Another note on the wheels, don't the Kings have two pinstripes around the outer edge? At least mine did. I also find it odd that he never mentions the brake cooling ducts that are KC specific....hmmm, coincidence i think not!!

Eos · Aug 9, 2004

Oh well, maybe someone sold him the car and told him it was a King and he just doesn't know the difference.

welder4956 · Aug 9, 2004

The seller posted additional info on the ebay listing:

"WOW …WOW I opened Outlook today and had about 20 different people asking questions about this car and voicing opinions. Some were very polite (thanks for the feedback) and some surprisingly aggressive in their insinuations. Some asked why I don’t have a picture of the buck tag from the radiator (because there isn’t one there anymore) to why it has a 120 mph speedo or doesn’t have split rear seats. (I don’t know ). One guy says it can’t be a 1978. The VIN# 8F03F177246 on the chassis decodes to 1978, 3 door car made at the Dearborn plant. The Texas title says 1978. I guess it’s a 1978 but surely he knows better. All this in one day. WOW. I had no idea this many people paid attention to an obscure, single year model Ford. I've always loved this car but didn't realize they had such a following. Everyone a least seemed to agree it is a very nice looking car. I do however take it a little personally the suggestion by some that how I am somehow trying to misrepresent what this car is. In the time I have owned it I have done all the mechanical things in the above description, have pressure cleaned the bare wheels and put on brand new rubber, put on a new dome light lens, and installed the rear speaker boxes. I bought the car because it is a really cool looking, over the top muscle car that I could afford, have enjoyed it for about a year now, and am selling it in better overall shape than I bought it in. No more, no less. The car is what it physically is. A whole lotta machine for a little bita scratch. Do your own research, make your own decisions. For me,. I saw, I liked, I bought. I am amazed at how cynical people have become in this hobby. Though I guess its always has been more interesting conversation to have someone on the grassy knoll. All these questions have brought me to ponder this. That there are people out there that believe someone would go to the trouble and expense to maliciously fake a car worth a few thousand dollars. Then stranger still, I would bet that there really are people that have spent $20 to $30 thousand to build a $10,000 car. Ain’t life great. "

It looks to me like a lot of work has been done on the car with non-original parts. Could have been the previous owner. BTW, what kind of tranny yoke is that?

Blue coyote · Aug 9, 2004

The rear seat could easily be in a 78...My own 78 with T-roof (not a KC) has the same rear seat as that car, but in white vinyl. Same style as the spare I have out of a 76.

It has the same door panels as my 78 non-KC though, and I didn't think a KC would sport ponies on them.

Power Surge · Aug 9, 2004

The owner is probably bent because he most likely got ripped when he bought the car, and then put a ton of money into it thinking it would be worth a ton later on. There's no bids on it, so it looks like most people are smart enough to know it's not real.

When he says "I had no idea this many people paid attention to an obscure, single year model Ford", I guess that really means "I had no idea that many people would catch on to me trying to sell something other than it appears" .

BTW, I linked him to this thread, so he's surely reading it.

Power Surge · Aug 10, 2004

Hehe, he's edited the auction 3 times since yesterday. He cut out his little rant and just left the part about the car being real because of the VIN. That's funny stuff. I think I've had more IIs with swapped VINs than with originals . He says the VIN on the "chassis" is what's on the title, but I bet you anything he doesn't even know where the VIN actually appears on the chassis, or he wouldn't be saying that . All I can say is that if it IS a real 78, somebody went through a LOT of trouble to put 76 parts in it, both cosmetic and mechanical. Either way, it no 10k King Cobra.

Walt D · Aug 10, 2004

I guess I'm not educated on the small details but my KC has the same door
panels and same 120 mph speedometer as this car. I'm sure my car is a
KC so these parts could be correct.

jeffnoel · Aug 10, 2004

Walt D said:
I guess I'm not educated on the small details but my KC has the same door panels and same 120 mph speedometer as this car. I'm sure my car is a KC so these parts could be correct.

Do you have the buck tag for yours? Or does the VIN on the dash match the VIN on the doortag? Plus there are alot of other discrepencies with the KC on eBay, not just door panels and speedo.

Power Surge · Aug 10, 2004

The King Cobra should have the Cobra style (which was just the deluxe in 78) door panel, not the standard panel, which is what's shown in his car. It may be possible that some KCs came through with standard panels by accident, I really don't know. Regardless, the seats are totally wrong for a 78.

Also, the seller claims he can't show anyone the buck tag because it's no longer on the car. That's funny, because you can see it plain as day in this picture taken from is auction:

http://home.houston.rr.com/zoom2/zj.jpg

welder4956 · Aug 10, 2004

Seems like the question on whether it's a real KC can easily be resolved with a History 999 report from Ford.

cobraii351 · Aug 10, 2004

CobraIILover said:
Also, the seller claims he can't show anyone the buck tag because it's no longer on the car. That's funny, because you can see it plain as day in this picture taken from is auction:

http://home.houston.rr.com/zoom2/zj.jpg

Good Eye Sal!!!!

Tim

stryker · Aug 10, 2004

CobraIILover said:
Also, the seller claims he can't show anyone the buck tag because it's no longer on the car. That's funny, because you can see it plain as day in this picture taken from is auction:
http://home.houston.rr.com/zoom2/zj.jpg

Well I know that when I looked this car the first thing that hit me was the air cleaner and rear seat, making me think something wasn't right, but I know on my 78 2+2 the buck tag is very visable where the white circle is on this picture http://www3.telus.net/rsoffice/Mustang/zj.jpg and I still can't see it even after zooming in.

jeffnoel · Aug 10, 2004

stryker said:
Well I know that when I looked this car the first thing that hit me was the air cleaner and rear seat, making me think something wasn't right, but I know on my 78 2+2 the buck tag is very visable where the white circle is on this picture http://www3.telus.net/rsoffice/Mustang/zj.jpg and I still can't see it even after zooming in.

Look closer.

Gorgeous King Cobra on Ebay!

Eos

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

cobraii351

Power Surge

cobraii351

78 venom

New Member

dmoody

Eos

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

chromehorse11

Eos

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

welder4956

Blue coyote

Power Surge

Power Surge

Walt D

New Member

jeffnoel

Power Surge

welder4956

cobraii351

stryker

New Member

jeffnoel

Attachments

Similar threads

Gorgeous King Cobra on Ebay!

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

New Member

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

Oh Heather Oh yeah... I want your pink taco

New Member

New Member

Attachments

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency