Words & Photos: Clive Branson
I cringe whenever I see a magnificent sports car being desecrated by a conversion into a 4-door sedan or another amorphous, sausage-squeezed-out SUV. What’s next, a minivan? Thankfully, there are still some cars that haven’t succumbed to a maelstrom of similarity. One such car is the robust AC Cobra.
Bill Monnon doesn’t own an original AC Cobra; they are simply too rare and one would require a savings account equivalent to Fort Knox to afford. Nevertheless, Bill has the next best thing: a Factory Five ’65 AC Cobra Roadster replica.
“It was love at first sight,” confesses Bill. “My wife and I were members of the Motorsport Club of Ottawa and competed in local auto-cross courses.” These were time-trial obstacle courses using orange traffic cones set up around an empty parking lot. It was during one of these events that Bill had to eat some humble pie as a Lotus Super-7 decimated his track time. But it was the success of a Sunbeam Tiger that endeared Bill to high-powered, small convertibles.
“I had always wanted a performance car and I was an admirer of the AC Cobra’s lore.” However, it took 10 years before Bill and his wife found it financially equitable to purchase a kit car. “I was very close to pulling the trigger on buying a kit from Contemporary Classics, but then another roadblock to my dream came up. We suddenly decided to move house to a more desirable neighbourhood, and I would, once again, be taking on a large mortgage. This put another 18-year delay in the dream.” That’s a long time to dream. “My wife thought that eventually the dream would die, but she was wrong.
“Finally, in 2010, I was financially secure to entertain the idea of obtaining a kit car.” Contemporary Classics had long since gone, but the new kid on the block was Factory Five. “I was lucky enough to be taken for a ride in another locally-built Factory Five Roadster and that cemented it! I had to have one of these cars. I finally made the purchase in the fall of 2011. I chose Factory Five on the basis of the quality of the kit cars, the availability of parts and support and the likelihood of the continued survival of the company for future service.”
The Factory Five Mk4 Roadster, their marketing claims, is the world’s best-selling, best engineered and best performing replica of all time (about 8,000 Roadsters worldwide). Originally, the Cobra was rooted in AC’s Ace of 1954, a British open two-seater sports car with a 2-liter Bristol engine. American driver/designer Carroll Shelby persuaded AC to incorporate a 4.2-liter V8 instead, courtesy of Ford. He proposed that left-hand-drive cars should be built without the engines at AC’s factory, then shipped over to California, where he would install the power units. It became known as the AC Shelby-Cobra.
That was in 1962. By the time the Mk4 came around in 1983, the engine had been upgraded to a 4.9-liter V8 and the company, now owned by Ford, was called Shelby-Cobra.
“I travelled down to the Factory Five plant in Wareham, Massachusetts to discuss my options. My `design plan` called for a light-weight, high-performance version of the Cobra that would be suitable for some lapping days at the race track, on the Auto-cross track, or of course for cruising on the street. Those criteria precluded the use of a big-block motor like a 427 due to weight constraints and handling concerns. Most of the parts are from the `performance` catalogues for 5.0L fox-body Mustangs. There is an option to build your kit for less money utilizing used Mustang parts from a `donor’ car, but I decided to go with all new parts. With that in mind, I ordered a fully built Ford 302 `crate motor` from Fortin`s Engines in Chilliwack, BC.
“I specified the need for a motor to deliver modest low-end torque for street-ability, lots of top-end power with a wide power band for track days, and had to run on 91 Octane as that is all that is locally available for me. Fortin`s delivered in spades, handing me a nice little 302 that is tame enough for the street but puts out 375 HP and has a very broad torque curve. Nice!”
When Bill turned on the ignition, a giant orgasm of sound emerged, similar to some wild mating call that suddenly drew the attention of every car lover within a mile radius to start drooling or accidently walk into lampposts. “I did have an initial concern that the car would generate some negative reactions due to the loud exhaust and possibly from the ‘eco-crowd,’ but this has not been the case at all. A typical drive will result in numerous thumbs up and friendly waves from oncoming traffic, shouts of compliments and requests for photographs while idling at traffic lights. The scary times are when people are driving beside me and unconsciously drift into my lane while photographing the car.”
Bill is no stranger to restoring vehicles. He initially modified a 1973 Pro Street Vega drag car, then converted it for street driving. Nonetheless, he spent 800 hours assembling the Roadster kit: 450 hours on the mechanical assembly, 250 hours on the bodywork, and about 100 post-build hours on tuning and further finishing/detailing.
“I was able to build the entire kit myself in my own garage. Careful use of lifts and hoists allowed me to do the whole thing. The only time I actually had help was the day the motor was installed, as a friend helped steady the motor in the lift to avoid hitting the body. Other times – when we were lifting the body on/off the chassis. I also had the patient tutelage of a body man, Greg Pelletier, who coached me on how to do the bodywork myself. He also painted the car at Autocentrics in Ottawa when I lost my nerve to do that myself for fear of ruining the paint job.”
I ask Bill what took the longest to assemble. “That would have to be the installing of the aluminum panels to the frame. Careful fitment, drilling of holes, cleaning of those holes, and then to silicone and rivet each piece in place, spanned weeks. There were over 2,000 rivets hand installed. Setting the angle between the driveshaft and the transmission and differential (known as ‘degreeing the pinion’) was also a challenge primarily due to the very short driveshaft and the limited access to it. The most post-build hours have been spent on custom-tuning my EFI system.” Greg Pelletier repainted the car a scintillating gold prism over silver metallic. When it catches the light, it is dazzling.
It is always a pleasure for Bill to see others enthusiastic over his car, but his greatest pride is when he does laps at Calabogie Motorsport Park, enabling him to let the car off the leash. “That is beyond exhilarating.” We take the car for a spin, and immediately, I can feel the power of the beast. “Driving in the sun with no roof is a very uplifting experience and a good exchange for my having stopped riding motorcycles a few years back.
“This car has re-ignited my deep love affair with all things performance car related.” In his youth, all his working hours and money were directed for one thing – performance vehicles. “That was in the B.C. (before children) era. Then came the long hiatus from performance cars, although I am proud to say I survived raising a family without ever having owned a mini-van. Now with my children having moved out and having more available time, building and driving this car has re-connected me to my roots and has opened the doors to meeting a whole new group of people with similar interests. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
