2007 Pilgrim SUMO

Thanks to a hand-written build journal, complete with photos, the early history of this Pilgrim Sumo “Cobra” kit car is well documented, with the chassis registered in May 2007 and the build beginning on 4 June, using donor mechanical parts from a Ford Granada Mk3.

The original owner from north-west Kent was a carpenter and joiner by profession - not necessarily helpful on a car where the only wood involved is the steering wheel rim - but clearly used to working with his hands and was also helped by friends with more specialist mechanical knowledge.

The other characteristic of the first owner is that he was tall - 6’6” tall to be precise - which, as this writer knows first-hand, can be something of a handicap when it comes to sports cars, particularly with regard to legroom. However, he managed to make sufficient adaptations to the pedal box and seat height which allowed him to fit in and drive comfortably.

In September 2015, the car was sold to a new owner in south Essex, who immediately swapped out the engine, had the new one tuned and also made a few other, mostly cosmetic, modifications such as the racing stripes and decals. As he has a collection of a dozen or so cars, he hasn’t found a great deal of time to put many miles on it since.

In fact neither owner has driven the car very far - but they enjoyed its charms on mostly fair weather days - so its total mileage now sits at 5,461.

The paint finish - according to the build journal - is a Yamaha Deep Purplish Blue metallic overcoated with Ocean Blue Pearl semi-transparent candy-effect plus 7 layers of lacquer. The dozen or so years with limited use have been relatively kind to the paint and bodywork but there are a few scratches and stone chips here and there and a small ding on the top of the rear offside wing.

The chrome fixtures and trims around the car are in reasonable to good condition with just some light pitting. The fuel filler surround is a little rougher and the rear wheel arch protector panels a bit bashed - but then again, that’s what they are for. Better that, than a gouge in the fibreglass body shell.

The white longitudinal racing stripes were added in 2019 as well as various other sticker decals and race numbers. The Sumo sits on 17-inch Halibrand GTD5 alloy wheels with dummy spinners, which are all in fairly good order and fitted with Fulda Carat Exelero tyres all round.

Overall the exterior look is strong and would easily turn heads driving past - even without the fat twin side exit exhausts. Whilst the racing stripes are a classic addition, the other decals should be easy to remove if the new owner wants things lower key. That’s lower not low - it is a rorty, snorty V8 Cobra after all!

The car comes with a folding soft top with zip off side panels. It doesn’t seem to be the best fitting hood but does its job and in reality, is only likely to be used occasionally. As an alternative there’s a cockpit tonneau cover, which also seems slightly too big but with the centre zip can keep the empty passenger seat dry whilst the driver absorbs any unexpected precipitation.

First things first, we must bear in mind that this is a kit car, and a home-built one at that, albeit put together by a man used to working with his hands. This caveat relates to the general level of finish to the interior which could be rated as good by kit car amateur standards but only somewhere just above Tesla in OEM quality control terms.

For example, the trim piping around the centre console doesn’t quite meet and the piping core is exposed. Also, the door trims don’t line up with the cabin side wall linings and the far right corner of the instrument panel covering has been over-glued. This last defect may have been a repair, as there is a chip in the painted fibreglass in the dash top just above it.

However, the interior is a comfortable place - with plenty of driver legroom of course - upholstered in undamaged cream leather piped with a navy blue. The carpets are the reverse, dark blue edged in cream leather or vinyl.

Thankfully too, the original Granada plastic steering wheel has been replaced by a Mountney traditional, wood-rimmed 3-spoke wheel. In terms of safety, both seats have Willans Supersport 4-strap body harnesses and there is a dry powder fire extinguisher mounted between the seats.

Underneath the front hinged bonnet, the first thing you see is the sun reflecting off the chromed Edelbrock air cleaner which sits on top of the Holley carbs and Street Warrior intake manifolds between the banks of the V8. The rocker covers too are gleaming, as are some of the other ancillaries. But there does appear to have been a coolant vent/overflow at some point which has stained some of the block red and possibly caused the rusty look of the water pump, but this may clean off when detailed. There is also a strip of silver duct tape under the lip of the bonnet, which we can only surmise is to keep the folded over ends of the racing stripes in place.

Underneath the car appears in very good order. The chassis itself came fully galvanized and is all but blemish free and elsewhere there is only light surface rust on the wishbones, driveshafts and exhaust brackets. There is slight damage to the fibreglass body shell in a couple of places - a knock inside a wheel arch and a scuff under the rear, but largely the undersides appear intact.

The boot is lined with the same cream-edged dark blue carpeting as the interior and it is in a good condition, if in need of a quick vacuum. Inside the boot are a spare wheel and the zip-off side curtains of the hood.

The car has a current MOT valid until June 2021, which it passed with no advisories, as it has on most of its annual inspections since its first in 2010.

As previously mentioned, the car’s running gear is from a donor Ford Granada Mk3 (and there’s a Haynes manual for this model that comes with the car) but the gearbox is from Tremec and we understand that it has also been fitted with a Cosworth limited-slip-differential.

In late 2015, a brand new engine was sourced and fitted by Southern Engines of Charlton, London at a total cost of around £5.5k. It is a 350cu-in (5.7-litre) small block Chevy 330hp V8. Directly after installation, the engine was tuned and Dyno tested showing just over 325hp at the flywheel.

The engine was fitted with the odometer showing 4538 miles and needs an oil change after 1000 miles use, which is now nly about 80 miles away.

The history file includes all its paper MOT reports and numerous invoices for parts and work done, including copies of the original down payment and purchase invoices for the starter pack from Pilgrim - pretty much anything that’s ever been bought for or done to the car.

Additionally, there are copies of the car’s VOSA type-approval paperwork, the hand-written build journal, some Kit Car magazines that feature the car and some parts brochures.

If you like your sporty convertibles loud and proud, this Cobra deserves a look - and a listen. Real ‘CSX’ Cobras fetch huge prices - Carroll Shelby’s personal car sold for $17.7 million a few years ago.

Thankfully prices for a new Pilgrim Cobra are a little more accessible, costing around £29k including VAT – but that’s just for the kit. You’ve then got to get your spanners out and put it all together. You can get round that by buying a fully built up Pilgrim Cobra direct from the factory but prices for one of those range from £55k to £70k on the road.

Our low mileage celebration of this legendary icon starts and runs beautifully and drives like the hairy analogue animal that it is. We think its classic look and solid mechanicals will fetch between £25,000 and £35,000.

When you compare this against what a build-your-own would cost, why would you bother spending months in a garage when you could be out and about in this with the wind in your hair, a roar in your ears and a massive fly-catching grin on your face.

Inspection is always encouraged, within Govt. guidelines of course, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.