Kit Car

Unique Motorcars 427 Shelby Cobra Replica Grille

Unique Motorcars 427 Shelby Cobra Replica - Made More Unique

Rick Findley's Unique Motorcars 427SC

From the October, 2009 issue of Kit Car

By D.Brian Smith

Photography by D.Brian Smith

Have you heard this one? A man comes up to a Cobra at a car show and asks the owner who's standing by, "Is that a Mazda Miata?"

The owner says, "No, just look at the engine and that will tell you it's not a Miata."

The man says, "I bet those sidepipes are so loud you can't hear anything."

The Cobra owner responds, "That's never been a problem. The car's so fast, all the noise is way behind me."

For Rick Findley of Easley, South Carolina, this conversation actually took place.

KIT CAR first met Rick at the Unique Motorcars Homecoming celebration. He caught us admiring his Unique 427SC roadster, with its British Racing Green paint and tan leather interior. After a few minutes of conversing with Rick, we decided to photograph the Cobra for a feature.

Unique Motorcars 427 Shelby Cobra Replica Headlights

Rick's road to Cobra ownership had a good many twists and turns. His dad owned a Ford dealership in Pickens, South Carolina, while Rick was growing up. In 1965, after reading about the AC Cobras and Shelby American in all the car magazines, he pleaded with his dad to get him one. Frederick Findley Sr., who goes by Fred, wanted his son to graduate college. He made a deal with Frederick Jr., who goes by the second part of the name, to give him a Cobra as a college graduation present. Of course, being the owner of a Ford dealership, Fred knew that Ford wouldn't be producing Cobras in 1971, but he didn't let his son in on this little secret. He wanted Rick to get a good education and not be messing around with exotic sports cars.

Upon Rick's graduation in 1971, used Cobras were already too expensive. So he purchased a new Corvette that he still owns and set his mind on starting a career. Mind you, a '71 Sting Ray is pretty cool. But once you've got the Cobra venom in your blood, the only cure is Cobra ownership. Many years later, Rick researched the various Cobra kits and selected a Unique Motorcars Deluxe Pallet 427SC kit.

A buddy of his had a Cobra replica painted at a shop in Pickens. Maurice and Alan Weaver, owners of Unique Motorcars, in Gadsden, Alabama, referred Rick to another painter, Jodeco Auto Body, in McDonough, Georgia. So Rick decided to visit both shops. At the Pickens location, he watched the painter applying a flame job on toilet seats.

When he went to Bruce Bunn's Jodeco Auto Body in Georgia, two Cobras, a Ferrari, and a Maserati were in various stages of bodywork and paint. The Jodeco quote for a fully finished, professional paintjob was $500 less than the South Carolina shop. What sealed the deal, though, was the fact that Bruce offered to pick the body up at Unique and deliver it back painted and ready for installation on the chassis.

While the 427SC body was being painted, Rick had engine builder Ted Martin of Martin Automotive, in Easley, build a 408ci Ford stroker mill from a 351 Windsor. Ted also rebuilt a Ford C6 automatic transmission for installation in the Findley roadster. Leanne, Rick's lovely wife, requested that the Cobra be an automatic, so she could also drive it. When the drivetrain was finished, Alan offered to install the engine and trans so that Unique could craft the tubular exhaust headers. Rick didn't have to pay for the powertrain's installation-he just had to buy the car's motor mounts.

With the roadster at its new Findley home for the first time, Rick installed the included Unique Motorcars wiring harness. He and Leanne have since put many happy miles on the comfortable cruising Cobra. Rick is constantly customizing his 427SC, which Leanne always agrees to. Since the car is equipped with an automatic, she enjoys driving it as much as her husband. Building the Cobra with a C6 was a smart move, Rick!