Highlights

Freshly restored
2-litre Pinto, manual transmission
30,967 miles indicated
New leather interior
Historic vehicle status

The Appeal

Bigger isn’t always better. While the Cobra may be synonymous with a V8 drivetrain, the V8 models are also unruly beasts – a handful to drive and offering the potential for the kind of accident you can see from space. So when Pilgrim started offering an AC Cobra replica kit that took the Pinto engined Cortina as its donor, it seemed to offer the perfect combination. Cobra looks, sprightly and engaging performance, 30mpg and significantly less chance of going backwards and upside-down through a hedge at 150mph. It’s a win-win.

Here we have a lovely example of the Pilgrim Sumo, lovingly built in the late 80s/early 90s using the owner's Cortina as the base, and recently restored by the vendor (who is the niece of the builder). It looks to have been finished to a very nice standard, with a fresh leather interior and new paintwork. As such, this curvaceous roadster is primed and ready to go, ready for its new owner to enjoy the spring and summer sunshine.

The History and Paperwork

The donor car was first registered in March 1980
Believed to have been transformed using the Sumo kit about 1990
Built by the vendor’s uncle and used as his daily for some years
Garaged for many years after the owner took ill
Acquired by the vendor in 2010
Restored over the intervening years – just 300 miles covered since the restoration was completed
8 owners from new
30,967 miles indicated
Historic status – tax and MOT exempt
Current MOT to January 2024

The Interior

Newly fitted bream leather upholstery to the seats, dash and door cards, with blue piping to the seats
Newly fitted blue carpets with matched ‘Cobra’ branded floor mats
New blue Sabelt four-point harnesses
New wood-rimmed steering wheel
Alloy gear knob and handbrake cover
Smart blue-tinted sun visors
Full complement of gauges, including oil pressure, water temperature and voltmeter
Apparently, the speedo rests at 20mph, so will need to be professionally recalibrated to give an accurate reading
We’re told by the vendor that everything else works just as it should, with no issues

The Exterior

Full respray in metallic blue, with classic white over-stripes
The paintwork presents very nicely, looking to be well finished and smoothly applied
Glass fibre reinforced plastic bodyshell shows well, with no cracking or damage we could discern
The chassis and floor are galvanized, and so are well protected from corrosion
A new black vinyl tonneau cover comes with the vehicle
All of the brightwork, from the bumpers and over-riders to the rollover hoop, looks to be in good order, with minimal wear or pitting we could see
Underneath, the car looks to be in good order, with only a little surface corrosion to the drivetrain components in evidence
Classic five-spoke, 15-inch alloy wheels adorn the car, with black finished centres and polished barrels/lips
We’re told by the vendor that the tyres are new, with Altimax HPs to the front and General Grabbers to the rear

The Mechanics

1,993cc four-cylinder Pinto engine
Twin choke Weber carburetor
K&N performance air filter with stainless steel box
Ford ‘Type 9’ manual five-speed transmission with quickshift kit
Recent service including plugs, fuel filter, fluids, new gearbox oil seal
The vendor notes that the engine bay may need some cosmetic work, but that the car runs and drives just as it should, with no mechanical issues

Summary

Sure to attract admiring glances and expressions of open-mouthed wonder wherever it goes, this smartly finished Cobra replica would be a truly excellent way to enjoy Britain’s B-roads and a few car shows this summer.

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