No choice but to succumb when struck by the Cobra

Johannesburg auditor Shamlan Naidoo is so particular about his cars that after he has taken one of them out for a run, he lets it cool off then washes it, parks it in his garage and covers it with a flannel sheet and a car cover.

Naidoo, 42, of Kelvin, is undoubtedly a perfectionist when it comes to his cars - a 2013 BMW 520i, a 1980 Chevrolet Corvette and his prized 1966 427 AC Cobra replica.

He fell in love with cars as a boy when his father and uncles introduced him to his "dream cars".

"When I was 12 years old, I spent weekends and school holidays at my uncle's auto-body shop.

"They introduced me to my first V8 American muscle car - a Ford Capri Perana and 7.4L big-block Chevy-powered 1981 model Pontiac Trans Am.

"Shortly after, I indulged in a new hobby of collecting and building scale models of these cars and reading up about them in Hot Rod magazine," he said.

Naidoo's enthusiasm for the automotive industry led him to pursue a career in it once he had qualified as an electrical engineer. He works for a car company in Johannesburg.

His girlfriend, Sangeeta Singh, and their seven-year-old daughter, Simran, share his love of cars.

Simran, especially, just loves it when daddy fetches her from school. "I usually fetch her in my Cobra or Corvette and the smile on her face is priceless," said Naidoo.

"My father, Manny, on the other hand, screams louder than the brute 6.6l V8 engine in my Cobra whenever I take him out for a drive."

Naidoo said there was "something special about a small car wearing mechanicals that are too big, causing the body to arch and bulge over the machinery".

"The delicate sound of thunder played by an orchestra of eight huge pistons while being conducted by a camshaft that is overkill for street use makes it awesome.

"After being teased by a mesmerising blast as a passenger in a demo replica Cobra from a dealership in 1988, I was set on getting one.

"An original back then cost $600000, so a replica was the only option," he said.

Shortly after starting his first job as an apprentice automotive technician in 1992, he placed his order for a bare Cobra body shell and chassis. He received his order two years later and building the car began.

"Dave Miller, who has been building street and track-driven Cobras and other high performance American V8 engines, helped me with this project.

"After getting the Cobra running and before it could be painted, the V8 bug led to me buying my next classics - a 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback for my dad as a birthday gift, which became my next project.

"I also bought the Corvette and used it as my daily runner for five years."

Naidoo said the Cobra had 4-inch sidewinder exhaust outlets on either side of the car pumped by a 6.6L Ford V8 engine - the Sony/JBL sound system in the cockpit was the secondary sound system, he joked.

There are 11-inch Cragar Daytona rims in the rear and 8-inch rims fitted in front.

The car has a modified Ford FMX transmission with a high-stall torque converter operated through a B&M Quicksilver ratchet shifter.