The first 1,000 miles. A rookie’s impressions

[Greg Haile]

I managed to live through the first 1,000 miles and wanted to give my impressions from a rookie’s point of view to those in the build process or thinking about starting. Those of you already on the road know the feeling. I thought that waiting awhile would allow me to get past the initial gee whiz stage and reflect with an unbiased mind. I realize now that philosophy is flawed because the thrill of driving this car never goes away. The perfect analogy is like dating the prom queen. Drop dead gorgeous, built for speed, lots of compliments, tons pictures, many thumbs up, pats on the back, and all your buddies want a turn at her. But now I realize that much like the real thing, this girl comes with dangerous side. Complacency is the enemy. Just when I thought I knew what I was doing, the car unexpectedly swapped ends in less then a second under hard acceleration leaving me looking at oncoming traffic. It is in every way an adrenalin pumping surge machine capable of fulfilling your wildest dreams and worst nightmares. But here I am alive and addicted. I now get depressed when I don’t get seat time, whine when the weather is bad, and go to sleep thinking of the next time I can turn the key. This new obsession is all consuming, and is as dangerous as any drug.

I can’t say enough good things about the Everett Morrison Generation IV replica. It’s solid as a rock and is designed with an eye on performance engineering. For overall value, I’ll put it against any manufacturer out there. The build was about what I expected at an estimated 600 hrs. Since the Gen IV is designed for the FE engine, I incurred an additional 100 hours for the mods required to fit a 460 under the original style hood. After 24 years the Everett family has decided to sell the business, and I wish them all the best in the future. It was a great experience dealing with Brett and the EM crew.

I went with the 460 Super Cobrajet from Ford Performance. I had to build on a budget and honestly could not afford a 427 side oiler, so I went with the most bang for your buck philosophy. It’s met every expectation and has performed flawlessly for these first 1,000 miles. Power delivery is smooth and until the secondarys open up then all hell breaks loose. The acceleration is a kick in the ars and is complimented by excellent street manners with the 750 Mighty Demon. I had to use an Edelbrock Torker II intake manifold in place of the Victor Jr that came on the engine in order to fit the 460 under the hood. The only problem is keeping header and sidepipe gaskets intact. Excellent support from the Ford Performance guys. Why do I already want more power????

After all the TKO concerns last year, I promised JimiG that I would leave feedback, positive or negative about the TKO 600. I’m happy to say it has performed to perfection and makes driving the car a pleasure. Shifting is positive without excessive force and works great with the Spec clutch. I went with the .64 5th gear which is exactly what I wanted for highway cruising (75mph @2200RPM). My wife jokes about the 460 sounding like a freight train when it’s chugging along at low RPM. Thanks to Keisler for the prep and advice.

The MSD 6AL ignition with a Performance distributor and coil provided a perfect first 500 miles. However, the last 500 were nothing but trouble. After chasing an intermittent ignition cut-off problem for three weeks, I finally decided to follow the MSD directions on the back of the box and run the heavy red and black wires directly to the battery terminals. So far it seems to have worked.

Totals
Build time – 1.5 years / close to 600 hours
Rides given – 23
Burn victims – 5 (2 victims got both legs)
Hours removing burnt polyester and pantyhose from the sidepipes - 2
Ricers wanting to race – 7
Total willing to step up to the plate (1/4 mile legal strip $$) – 0
Pictures taken at stop lights – 8
Is it real questions – 18…..lies told answering 4
Questionable offers for rides - 3
Car shows - 4
Fecal resulting scares – 1
Kid smiles - 100
Bums spilling beer on seat – 1
Time on CC researching and learning – 2 years (a sincere thank you to all who provided guidance)
Blown exhaust header gaskets – 4
Blown sidepipe gaskets – 2
Gawking lane incursions – 7
Wife smacking my arm for accelerating too fast – 32
Hooters girls on the hood at one time – 5
Noise sensitive neighbors – 2
Unforgettable memories so far – 1,000

[Ital-cobra]

Greg

Congrats.......and I wish you many, many more safe and happy miles.

Joseph

[lovehamr]

Greg that was a great write-up man! Thanks for taking us along. I loved the totals thing and though I like the idea of Hooters girls on my hood;

I know the steel hood of my Boss will take it, I don't know if I'm going to want to try with my BD!

Steve

[MaSnaka]

Nice write up Greg. You really should warn your passengers before entering and exiting your car. Thats a lot of leg burns. I like your "buy the numbers list".

John

[ratsnst1]

Nice Car Greg, I Am Just Finishing My E M Car, Just Waiting For The Wheels, I Am Running The Same As You , The Componotive Wheels, How Do You Like Them, My Centers Are The Bright Silver Ones.

[rokndad]

I thoroughly enjoyed your take on the whole thing Greg. And being relatively new myself, concur in your observations. The grin just never stops, except when you mash the go pedal a little too much and the back end does crazy things. Thanks for your clever insight and congrats on a great car.

[Bill Bess]

Greg, I really enjoyed your "Rookie Impressions" and your "total", ....you are right on.

I especially like the wife smack..32 times, I myself have several brusies on my right arm and continuous verbal threats from my wife when she is in the cobra. Her threats are, " don't you dare punch this thing, if you do I'll never ride in it again". Well, I smile, slow down, shift smoothly and say, aint this crusin fun!...and then goose it a little, thats when I get another smack.

Have fun, Bill

[JBCOBRA]

Hi Greg!
I Really enjoyed your post LOL
The stats are priceless!!!

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by Bill Bess

Greg, I really enjoyed your "Rookie Impressions" and your "total", ....you are right on.

I especially like the wife smack..32 times, I myself have several brusies on my right arm and continuous verbal threats from my wife when she is in the cobra. Her threats are, " don't you dare punch this thing, if you do I'll never ride in it again". Well, I smile, slow down, shift smoothly and say, aint this crusin fun!...and then goose it a little, thats when I get another smack.

Have fun, Bill

Sounds to me that the solution is obvious. Just nail the hell out of it, and she will never ride with you again.

[Greg Haile]

Ratsnst1,

Be selective when you get a shop to mount the tires. Ask specifically if they guarantee their work against damage. You'll like the compos. What tires are you running with them?

Greg

[Greg Haile]

Silverback51

She was none too happy about the end swap. The antisubmarine belt (hers) is still wet and my arm still hurts. I'll keep working on it.

Greg

[Dwight]

What brand of tires do you have on your Cobra?

Dwight

[Greg Haile]

Dwight,

I went Sumitomo for a couple of reasons. 1) ratings, which are consistantly high. 2) Price. Spending big dollars on high priced tires didnt make much sense when I'm still working the alignment, camber and traction adjustments.

Greg