Lightest Cobra?

[DoneByDoug]

What's the lightest Cobra anyone's built, 427 or FIA? Can anyone beat 2350lbs, and if so, how did you do it?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DoneByDoug

Can anyone beat 2350lbs, and if so, how did you do it?

Here's the results from our "Weigh Day" last summer (Capital Area Cobra Club).

[Bluesman]

Sometime in the early 90's I remember going by to check out the Butler Racing shop in Goleta Calif. Bret (Ron's son) was working on car # 100. I could be wrong on the exact number. He told me that they were building this Cobra to weigh less than 2,000 lbs! I never went back to follow up on the project but I would be interested in knowing who ended up with the car.

[FUNFER2]

What about the man that is building the carbon fiber body ?

[Jac Mac]

I have seen figures for the Flip Top of either 1600# or 1800#, since that was essentially a 289 leaf spring chassis with an ultra lite alloy shell & alloy 390with very little in the way of creature comforts etc its probably as light as they have been--- should never say never though! On that basis you should with all the light bits available today build a SB copy that is down around or below that figure.
Alloy block-Heads-Ultra lite crank rods etc-Mag Case T10- Mag Case 9" IRS-. If you have the $$ I am sure it can be done!
Im sure the sanctioning bodies that decide what roll cage you have to run will be a fly in the ointment though- plus extinguishers-helmets-nomex-fuel cells etc etc, -----all that stuff that was not deemed necessary back in the 'good ol days'.

[john chesnut]

I am close to finishing my new Cobra. It weighs under 2000lbs, complete and ready to roll. I pretty much over built everything, I believe that I can get it as low as 1850lbs. I will be posting pictures and beginn advertising on this site in a few weeks. The new car will make it's debut at Carlisle next month.
Here are some details. I love Cobras but didn't want 60's suspension, wheel, tire, and brake technology. I am 6'2' tall and weigh 230lbs. So I wanted long and wide footboxes and a big cockpit. I also wanted side impact bars and front and rear breakaway crush zones. I designed and built a semi monoque aluminum chassis with a completly welded in trans tunnel that serves as a backbone. I used C5 vette suspension, wheels, tires, brakes and differential. The vette runs a transaxle which I could not use as it would make the trans tunnel too wide. I engineered a new input shaft and conversion that converts the diff to using a driveshaft. The Vette's track is too wide in the rear by 3 3/34 inches and almost 6 inches in the front. I duplicated the Vettes suspension cradles but narrowed them up. I had a new steering rack made and new rear axles as well. The rear cradle has mounting plate (like an engine plate) to which the diff directly bolts to. The trans tunnel is welded to this plate. The tunnel essentially becomes a huge torque (tube). This feature is unique and I am seeking a patent for it.
My chassis has 5 inch ground clearance but places the floor 4 inches lower than a stnd Cobra. I then routed the headers up and over the footboxes which extend completely to the front cradle. I have 48 inches from the back of the cockpit to the pedals face. I sit in the car with my feet straight out. The footbox is 16inches tall and 16 inches wide at the pedal.
I am running a seat 3 inches off of the floor for me. On the passenger side I set the seat height at stnd Cobra height. This allows me to run the fuel tank under the passenger cockpit. This keeps weight low and centered and eliminates weight behind the axle centerline which causes a pendelum affect when cornering.
I am running a dimensionally stock Cobra skin. My body is non stressed, and fits the chassis like a FF body does. My body is hand laid and uses a layer of gel coat, 1 layer of glass, 1 layer of carbon fiber, and another layer of glass. This hybrid body is about 1/8 thick, is extremely light but is stiff and strong. The idea is that you can paint this body with out worring about print through and still have the benefits of carbon fiber.
There are alot of other details but this gives you an idea. I will offer several bodies for the same chassis. Only the front and rear body mounting clips are different. The body choices are the Cobra, a Cheetah, a Daytona coupe, a 23 t bucket, and a Dragon.
As I said I will begin advertising my new kits in a few weeks. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
I think that my Cobra will be the lightest. It is a Modern Supercar wrapped in a Snake skin! John

[Austin_Snake]

OK so we recently had Betty Boop on the scales for alignment and corner balancing. It is a Carbon Car and came in at 1962 pounds. 49% front 51% rear.

Perhaps the weight has to do with the lack of a 427. Rosanne's car has a 351 Windsor, dyno'd at 302 horse power at 5,500 rpm and 321 ft pounds of Torque at 3,700 rpm.

After it get registered surely it will be very drivable and quick at that weight/HP.
Happy Motoring,
Richard




http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/s...0&ppuser=27343

[Got the Bug]

The heaviest Cobra with 450HP+ will make you crap your pants, so what's a couple of hundred pounds.

[Roger Bolick]

Latest test mule 427 SC Carbon car just corner balanced 50/50 at 2150.

Iron 428 FE w/aluminum heads, steel flywheel, ford starter, iron toploader
with hurst shifter. Original suspension. Weight is ready to go, empty tank.

Will be doing a complete flywheel/bell/clutch/trans swap shortly to see if
I can get Miss Piggy on a diet, while adding an extra gear.

(a major issue with the lighter car is the left/right balance WITH driver...)
(believe this may require a much smaller intake manifold and exercise...)

[john chesnut]

I agree that a "heavy" Cobra with 450hp can make you crap your pants! I like cars with razor sharp handling (with out race car harshness), steering and braking. My new chassis is an evolution of a chassis that I have been building for Dragon. At run n gun th car proved to be an exceptional performer. With stock 405hp and stock suspension it won the road racing, drag racing, and autocross. I am not a "driver" so the performance is even more impressive. For small block powered cars with street tires, I won the road racing by, I think 5 seconds per lap. I also beat any big block time. There were alot of Cobras in the event. The second place car was a Dragon. As an added bonus my car gets over 30mpg.
I love Cobras of all types. New suspension technology offers many advantages. Some of the design considerations are roll center, scrub radius, anti dive, anti squat, center of gravity, bump steer, camber gain, roll steer, scrub radius, king pin inclination, and there is more! Get it right and the car becomes an extentsion of you. That feeling is majic.
Just being light isn't enough and by itself doen't insure a great car. Every thing else has to be right too!

[Naumoff]

The attraction of a Cobra is its beauty, brute speed and seat of the pants thrills.

John you build an incredible car but it misses the spirit of the original Cobra.

A comfortable, great handling and good fuel economy car ain't no Cobra!

[Dwight]

My Lone Star 5.0 EFI weights 2315 with no gas or driver. 46% front and 54% rear. 120lbs of gas changes the front/rear ratio.

Dwight

[Dwight]

The lighter you get a Cobra, the wider the tires need to be. A 2100 to 2400 pound Cobra is one hell of a street car and the size of the motor does not matter. Good tires and better brakes are what you need on a Cobra. 225 RWHP will make a rocket out of these little cars.
With 400 RWHP you do not have to fear any street car. Yea threre are 600 hp rice burners out there that can blow you away but they don't have the beautiful lines that we have.
Race track, different story.
IMHO Dwight

[john chesnut]

Hi Tony, I think my Cobra will still give the "seat of the pants thrill!" Serioulsy, I know my car will appeal to a small percentage of Cobra buyers. That's OK, I don't do my cars to make a living. I do it for the fun of it and because I like to do things my way. Like I said, I love them all, appreciate the history, and support anyone that build their own car from scratch or kit.

[Buzz]

John, sounds like you are developing a very interesting Cobra. The chassis and what's under the skin will make it handle and perform. Get the "look" and stance right and you will maximize it's appeal to buyers. Often, those who endevour to reinvent and redefine the Cobra engineer and build a great platform then go and slap on a vaguely "cobra-like" body that only includes the cursory design elements - sidepipes, oval grill opening, bulging fenders, etc as styling cues. What they miss is that the visual appeal of the original car comes from the relationship of form to function - nothing there was ever a "styling cue". The rear fenders bulge enough to wrap and enclose the wide tires and to accomodate suspension travel. The resulting look is athletic and appealing from all angles. The big drawback of some of the new "cobras" is a rear fender that bulges way above and inboard of the tire - no functional relationship whatsoever -resulting in a look that may appeal to some hot rodders but looks odd and awkward from almost all angles.

Austin Snake's carbon fiber car is a beautiful example of a new Cobra that has the look right. Check out that fender shape and wheel to body relationship. Pure automotive art.



Sorry for the sermon Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Joe@KMS]

We have weighed Kirkham cars with aluminum small blocks at under 1900 pounds. This is with all the lightweight goodies like aluminum door, hood and trunk frames etc...

I know a place that I could remove another 40 pounds - your situation may be different.

[Slick61]

my Backdraft weighs in at 2240 with an aluminum 427 Windsor stroker... near-perfect weight distribution (can't recall the exact figures right now)

[Austin_Snake]

Originally Posted by Buzz

What they miss is that the visual appeal of the original car comes from the relationship of form to function - nothing there was ever a "styling cue". The rear fenders bulge enough to wrap and enclose the wide tires and to accomodate suspension travel. The resulting look is athletic and appealing from all angles. The big drawback of some of the new "cobras" is a rear fender that bulges way above and inboard of the tire - no functional relationship whatsoever -resulting in a look that may appeal to some hot rodders but looks odd and awkward from almost all angles.

Austin Snake's carbon fiber car is a beautiful example of a new Cobra that has the look right. Check out that fender shape and wheel to body relationship. Pure automotive art.

I have to agree with the awkward or forced shapes on some cars. These Carbon Cars are a piece of art. This Guardsman Blue car belongs to my friend Rosanne so I will pass on the compliments. I'll eventually get some photos up with the hood on. BTW this car has under the car exhaust. Drgas.com has an awesome muffler only 2 3/4 in. thick X 8 x 13. The rest of the pipes are 3" ovalized tubing.
My Carbon Car is at the paint shop and I am looking forward to getting it on the road this summer! Hopefully it will be a lightwieght screamer as well.

Regards,
Richard.

[john chesnut]

Hi Buzz, I agree with you! I am trying real hard to keep the authentic Cobra look. That's one of the reasons that I kept the stock wheel base and track. Thanks for your "sermon" I will be posting pictures very soon than every one can critique my work! I agree that the carbon fiber car in the picture is beautiful and a real work of art! Thanks, John

[Naumoff]

Originally Posted by john chesnut

Hi Tony, I think my Cobra will still give the "seat of the pants thrill!" Serioulsy, I know my car will appeal to a small percentage of Cobra buyers. That's OK, I don't do my cars to make a living. I do it for the fun of it and because I like to do things my way. Like I said, I love them all, appreciate the history, and support anyone that build their own car from scratch or kit.

Hey John. Look forward to seeing your Cobra.
I will be in Carlisle Saturday of the Import/kit meet. I will look you up. See you then.