The original GT-40 and AC 427 were not legal to be driven on the street. Yes, there were street versions of the 427 car which replaced the 427 with a 428 and ran the exhaust pipes out the back and not the side pipes.
While there were some special cars made by Shelby American, such as the one for Bill Cosby, Ford never sold a 427 AC Cobra for street use.
CSX3014 was not a street car. It was a full blow race car with headlights. Someone would have to be a little off kilter to drive it on the street.
eagl, there are certainly cheaper ways to build a fast car. Kit Cobras are money pits, but they are some of the best looking money pits around. Many of them have nice stereos in them. Not sure why as you cannot hear it over the exhaust note 20 inches from your left ear.
Some have A/C. Works fine when you are at a stoplight, or if you snap on the roof. Almost all of them have heating which is meant to extend the "fair" weather driving time.
Some have power steering. With over 50% of the weight being on the rear tires, I have no idea why they need it.
Some have power brakes. Good option. Disc brakes take some leg to work at slow speeds.
The thing about the kits, is you can have it anyway you like. You can be historically accurate or eschew that for more comfort and a safer driving experience (i.e. put a speedometer on the dash, put in high back bucket seats to keep your head from crashing into the roll bar, get rid of the wood steering wheel in favor of a leather wrapped one...).
Yes, you can take Miata and put a big engine in it. At the end of the day you have a Miata with a big engine in it. If all you want is a high horsepower to weight ratio, then that certainly would be a cheaper route. People (like me) who pour money into kit Cobras are looking for a bit more than that. If you do not have a passion for the car, you would not understand it and that is fine.
