Paul - jeez, you guys are brutal! The crazy thing about me not driving my own car on the runway was that I didn't have a CAMS license. This must automatically mean that I don't have a clue about motorsport (if you can call going fast in a straight line motorsport). When I was told that I wasn't allowed to drive it, I was standing with a group of guys at the motel. I asked if anyone wanted to drive it, and the first person to put their hand up caught the keys, and away they went. They'd never even sat in the car, let alone driven it at near-top speed. Who do you think might have been the safer driver at that point in time???
I was pretty pissed off, but I know that rules are rules and in any case, it was fun to hear it from the outside for a change.
Jason - The guy in the gold Cobra is Rob Armstrong. The car has a nitrous small block chev, and has run a string of high 9 second 1/4 mile times. I've never seen him get in and out of the car with the mass of roll-bar tubing around him, but OZVENOM and I have spoken before about how dangerous it looks in the event of a rollover / fire.....
Who does have a pocket full of money? I haven't requested financial records of anyone else in the Cobra Club, but I know that guys up here respect each others car whether they built them car using loose change lying around the house, or whether they had to beg, barter and borrow to get the car to completion. In case you consider it relevant, OZVENOM could tell you how many years we could have saved in the construction of my car if money was no object. ACAndy and AussieMike will also attest to my home being no palace, and pretty conclusive proof that the sum total of the last few years of my life is tied up in this car.
Anyway, maybe I'm being touchy and you weren't really having a dig at anyone here....
The Cobra on the oldest page of my gallery is my 1991 RMC. It had a 351W, T5 and Jag rear. I put a new body on this car, and sold it locally. The old body in this photo is the one on my current car.
Les - If you want to buy an Eagle or Scat rotating assembly anyway, you'd be crazy not to get the larger 3.7 (or 3.75) stroke. Rod length / stroke ratio is fine, the pin isn't down into the
oil ringland, everythings fine with them. Depending on your choice of valvetrain, you'll have a motor that makes LOTS of torque, can rev like you wouldn't imagine, and all with stunning reliability. If you already have a good stock crank and rods, there's absolutely nothing wrong with them in a street motor up to 6000 rpm.