Here's my story:

It was back in '86 when my father took the family to British Columbia, Canada. We were driving the "sleeper" midsized family sedan - a 1983 BMW, It was a race-prepped-inline-six, turbo charged and intercooled by BAE in Torrance, CA. with 16" rims and, Suspension Technics suspension all the way around, cross-drilled rotors, adjustable engine management system, etc...it was a 12 second FAMILY FOUR DOOR in street tires even with air conditioning. Off the line or on the Hwy, where "turbo-assist" helps even more, I never lost a race (call me lucky). NOS...no problem....they could only race till there bottle ran dry...and from the start....I had NO problem hooking up the rubber...

I was at a stop light (my parents wereback at the hotel sleeping) when a red 427 Cobra pulled up slowly from behind me. I remember seeing a 427 emblem and black stove pipe painted sidepipes...and that was it. I'm sure I would of given him a run for his money.....after all, we were at a stop light.....in the street and not on the strip...the battle was more like who can hook up the tires first....except I just sat there looking at the curves, listening to the engine as the sound flowed out through the pipes. Up until then, I only heard stories and seen pictures of 427 Cobras. I guess you can say I lost the race right there....(100% intimidation)...because we just rolled through the intersection and then rolled through two more stop lights...finally I figured I'd catch him by surprise. So at about 15 mph I hit the gas....and I was off like a bolt of lighting and I figured he wouldn't catch me...by the time he realized what was happening our family four door would be way ahead of him. I WAS WRONG...HE PASSED ME SIDEWAYS as he was shifting into 4th. Real or replica....I wanted one after that!

In '89 I bought my Cobra kit....one year later....I was flat broke....so I decided to put into storage....now it is '99 and I am scraping enough money to buy all my parts at once...I'm 32 years old and I plan to give myself a b-day present next year come April.

[This message has been edited by Robert Duran (edited 06-21-1999).]