Had the pleasure of driving my brothers Cobra from the Gold Coast to Brisbane this morning. My partner came with me for the ride.
Nice having two Cobras at home. Now got to shove that 5 point harness out of the way so I can use the lap sash belt. Check.
Check fit. Squeeze into the race bucket, my backside fits snugly(better not put on any weight if I want to continue driving this Cobra). Can just reach the pedals if I slide my bum forward a bit. Seat is not adjustable. Check visibility, can just see over the drivers wiper blade if I tilt my head back. Now I know what it feels like to drive one of those lowered seat ricer cars.
Ok, partner is in and is sitting 2 ot 3 inches higher than me as she is sitting on a standard MX5 seat. Great.
Now try to get smooth forward motion, not easy now the car has been fitted with the indestructable clutch. Shudder, bang, bang, bunny hop, wheel spin, ok, she is away. Same story at every set of lights, except less than usual wheel spin. Got some very strange looks.
At one set of lights had a guy lean over and say, "do a bit of racing mate" as he pointed to the half a dozen or so scrutineering stickers on the rollbar. "Nah, not my car". About time my brother cleaned them off again. Though they look to be just this years.
Up further I get stuck behind some slow traffic, so decide to drop back a gear and give it a squirt to get around an old guy driving a Camry. Just as I'm whizzing past, I change up gears and the blow off valve vents in anger this time. Out of the corner of my eye I see my partner jump in her seat and the Camry driver next to me swerves halfway off the road. Shoot. The exhaust is effectively dead silent on this car which doesn't help. I just gave the guy a wave...sorry mate.
Dropped into the BP servo about 5 mins after getting onto the freeway. Fuel gauge is pointing dangerously close to "E". Look for that bad arse fuel to give a bit of insurance against detonation problems. Check. 35 litres later the tank is full, hmm it was pretty empty.
Leaving the servo, a HSV Maloo ute(non LS1) decides he wants a drag onto the freeway. I think about it for a second, hmm, I have Mickey's on the rear , some seriously boosted mumbo up front and a feather-weight Cobra. He has no chance in hell, this car is insanely fast on the road. So I just rest my arm on the door and cruise on to the highway with a grin on my face as I listen to him reving the crap out of his engine. I've got nothing to prove.
Nice run up the freeway, my internals are starting to suffer from the battering they have received, I wish I had wound back those shocks a bit. Those stiffer springs my brother fitted, really do feel stiff. Got all the usual looks you get when driving a Cobra. Maybe a few laughs due to my seating height.
Turn off for the gateway arterial and by this time had attracted a young kid in an old Commodore. Go through a couple of nice sweepers at speed, taking it easy compared to the capabilities of the car. The young kid kept up, but I swear I could see his white knuckles as they performed a death grip on his steering wheel. My partner was not impressed and she had to hold on to stop from sliding out of the seat. Oh well.
Nearly at my brothers place and I get held up by a guy on a smokey old Moped that was carrying his weight or more of pamphlets. Get stopped at the lights and I ease into the left lane with a short opportunity to pass. Light turns green and I gently massage the car off the line trying to get it move off relatively smoothly, before I mash the pedal to blow the Moped into the weeds. It's not to be and by the time I get the Cobra settled and moving the moped guy is in front and I've lost my opportunity. I'm sure I can hear the laughs from the cars behind me.
Arrive at my brothers house and had the usual fun trying to get the Cobra up the driveway and into the garage. There are some noises I heard, that I hope I never hear again.
All in all I had a ball.
So how was your morning...
Just another day at the office
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