Top end speed

[Jim Kellogg]

JB, we certainly have had some fun at SVRA ;-)

In case I haven't mentioned it recently, you have a beautiful roadster! Great color, and the classic "look". Maybe someday I will have one (after the SPF GT-40 I would like to have....)

Last year at Glenora, I was leading, with a Pantera GTS on my tail, then the Shelbys. I lost the GTS (and the rest of the pack) on a 180 switchback, as I powerslid around the corner while he headed for the ditch (no damage done, he was able to collect it).

A reminder for all who have not been driving for awhile.... be safe out there!!!

Look forward to catching up with some of the Cobra drivers in upstate NY this year.
Jim

[JBCOBRA]

LOL Jim!
Look forward to seeing you soon!
JB

[CHANMADD]

Well people always ask..How fast can it go?? I mostly respond that it goes faster than I am prepared to go!

[greg schroeder]

My Cobra gets to 140 mph in about 12 seconds with 3.73 rear end, 1.0 4th gear and 28 inch tall rear tires. I’ve never tried it, but I think the car might blow off the road if I continued with the .64 5th gear. With about a .45 coefficient of drag the carburetor might become way to lean with the resistance of wind. It's pretty smooth at 140 mph in 4th though.

There's a 1/4 mile pass video in my signature below and a G-tech graph representing a lower DA in my photo gallery for reference.

I don't think it's a good idea to go faster in a Cobra.

[JBCOBRA]

Hi Byron!
That is a crazy looking motor! How did you come up with it?

[ByronRACE]

How...or why? Why is the question I ask myself every time I drive it. I don't have an answer except that I was inspired by many years of dynoing peoples hot street cars and seeing the look on their faces when they didn't make the power they wanted to for bragging rights or needed to for 1/4 mi times. When I set out to build a mill for my late friend Charlies dream car (died at age 45 from heart failure, I purchased this car in body/frame form from his estate...he had it rat holed since 1982). I decided to do it up big.

How is a pretty simple recipe really. Take a 460 block, convert it to 4 bolt mains, put in an forged industrial 429 crank and some billet rods and forged 7.88:1 pistons. Top it with max-effort ported Blue Thunder B heads with the big chamber and big valve option with some cometic head gaskets, and fuel inject/supercharge it. I'm using OEM Ford injection (because I like it) and a Vortech V7-JT supercharger. I built all the blower and accessory drive stuff as well as the hat on the intake manifold, the side pipes, and a host of other stuff...it's a FrankenCobra.

Byron

[Rick Parker]

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the entire day with Dick at the 2006 WSCB. One of the burning questioned I had was how the 198 was achieved, and it was pretty much verified and described in Big Guys story above, except as I recall the tires were growing to 28". Extreem RPMs were limited to 4th gear only and he wasn't one to use the gearbox to assist in slowing down. Dick had gained his driving style with the throttle after having driven 356 Porsches and Carrera 4's years before, he used the throttle to steer the car. According to his mechanic who was also at the Friday night dinner where Dick was a guest speaker, the RPMs were approaching 8000 but only in 4th gear.
It made for entertaining conversation.

RIP Dick..........

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by greg schroeder

My Cobra gets to 140 mph in about 12 seconds with 3.73 rear end, 1.0 4th gear and 28 inch tall rear tires. I’ve never tried it, but I think the car might blow off the road if I continued with the .64 5th gear. With about a .45 coefficient of drag the carburetor might become way to lean with the resistance of wind. It's pretty smooth at 140 mph in 4th though.

There's a 1/4 mile pass video in my signature below and a G-tech graph representing a lower DA in my photo gallery for reference.

I don't think it's a good idea to go faster in a Cobra.

I took mine to 147 in 4th (actually going up a grade) and the car was still pulling hard. The car felt very smooth, but I would not take it much further. I was playing with an AMG Mercedes and after about 120 he was very far behind me and I did not feel the need to push it any further. My car is set up very similar to yours.

Very nice pass BTW. What tires were you running in the video?

[thudmaster]

Byron, I think the car came out great. I got soooo tired of seeing it with dust all over it. When you took it out of Kens you didn't have the computer dash in it yet. Is the picture in your gallery that computer?

[BossCER]

Hey Ed,
I would guess that is a picture of a computer screen.

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by CHANMADD

Well people always ask..How fast can it go?? I mostly respond that it goes faster than I am prepared to go!

Drive only as fast as your guardian angels can fly.

-Dean

[anchor2]

I broke 150 on a long stait - the car was still pulling strong but my nerves gave out. Later on I was a bit upset with myself for doing something so stupid.

[Tony Ripepi]

Fastest Cobra Ever.....

Certified 200MPH plus and going for more in a Kirkham.

http://blogs.kitcarmag.com/6237963/k...ith/index.html

The magazine is out and I read the article last night......there may be somebody out there faster than this but, this is a seriously fast Cobra.

Tony R.

[JBCOBRA]

Unless you are driving Morris's car, a Buckfitty seems to be fast enough!
100 very easy, 120 easy, 140 starting to get light, 150 light. after that...........not sure I want to know. LOL

[RICK LAKE]

After seeing the well engineered car that Morris built and the cool driving style of his brother Steve. I seen no problem with this cobra hitting the 200 mph zone. They just need enough flat surface and no breeze. I just hope Steve doesn't fall asleep in the car at this speed. The car tracks so well and is glued to the ground, it's just a question of the HP under the hood pushing it. Besides Morris, mom would get mad at you if steve got hurt, and you would never let this happen. Rick L.

[Bluesman]

I could get a little over 140mph with a 351W, 300 hp, DNE 4+1 and a 3.31:1 rear end. The calcs say 158 mph at 6500 rpm. Never could get there. I have never felt comfortable past 120.
I would never promote hi-way racing but I never lost a top end run with the few camaros, mustangs and others that took the oppertunity to go home with bragging rights that they outran an AC Cobra.

[Silverback51]

Once you get up in the 100 to 120MPH+ range the outcome will generally be the same if something goes wrong. It's just a matter of how far a distance the wreckage will be scattered over.

[John Owen]

Sorry guys, but potential is not having done it. Morris has a fine car, and probably had little control over the journalist, but the only speed reported in the article was 185 with no documentation. Dick Smith is still on top.

[CSX3183]

Well I agree, and have always said it about the same way. My version is the following: if you're over 100 and something goes wrong, or if it's 150, the only difference is how many and how small the pieces of your body will be.

At anything over 120, I assume the pieces get very small and numerous.

[csx wnab]

170@7200 rpm on highway 280 north bound between pagemill and alpine. 2pm on a thurs. light traffic. not recommended on public roads but i couldnt help it.