Driving a cobra

[Alfa02]

Our friend Dan55, is just the latest (Of many) to know what a Cobra can do when you least expect it. Dan knew the road, was NOT driving over his head, and still damn near killed himself and his passenger. You can add more to the story Dan. Many of us here, have long racing history (I've raced cars for over 40years, two time national champion) , have been around high performance cars our whole life's. But a Cobra is a whole different animal, these are like no other car I've every driven. I hear her whispering "I can kill you at anytime" And I believe it. The best advice is "Know your limits" Drivers school is a must for a Cobra owner, even if you never set foot on the track. Isn't there a flag, with a snake on it that says "Don't tread on me" words to live by. Cheers Tom.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Danr55

Why do folks feel like they have to prove their Cobra is fast? I had a guy pull along side in San Diego at a stop light and he wanted to race. I passed and caught no little bit of crap from him and his friends in the car. (65 GTO). At the next light, the same thing. I politely pulled two hundred dollar bills from my wallet and said "Ok, here's my stake. Where's yours? Or would you rather race for pinks?" At that point he quickly began to back peddle and offer many reasons why we should race for FUN. I told him to come back when he had cash or could afford to lose his ride.

I've had many pull up along side and want to race, even from stop light to stop light. I just smile and resist the urge. I know what it can do - I don't need to show off to prove anything.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. -- Sherrilyn Kenyon

[66AC]

I like the fact that my old Cobra is quick. I do like taking off from a stop with a "whoosh" as it were. Entrance ramps on highways are my most favorite if there is no one ahead of me. When you get to the top of the entrance ramp it can be terrifying as the non assisted breaks require a good tromping on.

Having had my 428 rebuilt recently after about 55K miles the new version with roller cam, lifters and roller rockers and a new clutch has been a real breath of fresh air for the old ERA.

I really enjoy bopping round town in primarily 1st or 2 gear. The torque is incredible and steering is and has been wonderful. I am running the Krause Goodyear Billboards and they grip well but if you do not roll the car a foot or two every 5 days, well the Billboards will assume a flat spot for a few miles. Next set will be Avons for sure.

My SPAX coil over shocks are original with the Eibach (sp?) springs. I had the shocks recently tested and they were fine after all these years!!

Still, the Cobra is not as quick as my Tesla, or as fast.
Both are fun to drive and are on opposite sides of the sophistication curve.

[Ron Scarboro]

Imminently controllable. You guys are doing it wrong.

https://youtu.be/peT4Vvp5_lQ

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by blykins

BTW Hauss, I PROMISE you that you have more than a .060" lift camshaft.

I hope that is tongue in cheek, .

Gary

[DanEC]

I have no track experience - well except for a foray to the drag strip about 48 years ago - no training and never was a roundy-round guy to begin with. After all, growing up with muscle cars, a lot of us were only impressed with acceleration and didn't care a lot if they could corner or stop. Watched a few gymkhana events in parking lots as a kid but preferred to go out and boil tires in a straight line. Loved to run down to Ward Parkway on a Sat night in Kansas City and be in the front row at a stop light with 3 or 4 more muscle cars all lined up and ready to drop the hammer when the light changed. And now - not sure I could even pull off a good power shift. So I drive nice and slow - but my ERA rides real nice as the scenery rolls by while I leisurely wind the motor out to 3500 in the gears while slow shifting and keeping a cautious eye out for the soccer moms on their cell phones and piloting their 3 ton SUVs.

Sorry - old peoples digressions. I believe these 90 inch WB cars do have a wicked side to them. So drive with care.

[Bartruff1]

They handle ok at relatively low speeds but it is a " come to jesus" moment (for me) to go 100 or more.....combination of short wheelbase and no downforce is scary as hell...the men that raced these things at speed were very brave and very skilled....

A modern Porsche or Corvette is very comfortable at top speed....on the track or in some controlled environment.

Like Dan....I just enjoy a comfortable cruise...on the right road ….in the right weather...

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by Bartruff1

...the men that raced these things at speed were very brave and very skilled....

....and the men that raced original Cobras in the '60s didn't have 427 Windsors or 482(+?) FEs with 600hp under the hood either.

I started a thread a few years ago called "How much power is enough?" and the consensus was that I was a bit of a 'girlie' for even posing that question.
Seems that the tide of opinion has turned a little (for some ).

Cheers!
Glen

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by xb-60

....and the men that raced original Cobras in the '60s didn't have 427 Windsors or 482(+?) FEs with 600hp under the hood either.

I started a thread a few years ago called "How much power is enough?" and the consensus was that I was a bit of a 'girlie' for even posing that question.
Seems that the tide of opinion has turned a little (for some ).

Cheers!
Glen

I've mused about tweaking my engine a bit for more power. While many aspire for bragging rights about massive HP, and I could certainly go there, that would detract from what I bought the car for - cruising. Keeping the basic character of the car as a cruiser is more important to me than creating a track ready beast that's a pain to drive in traffic.

There's also the issue, of course, of the 'weakest link in the chain' - add HP and I then have to deal with all other aspects of the drive train (e.g. cooling, transmission, U-joints, axles, etc.) and whether they're up to 600+ HP.

I also have no need to compensate for any inadequacy of my anatomy. YMMV

[keezling]

So I was out for a drive and a Dodge Viper pulls up next to me. Light turns green and I....oh, never mind.

[RB60]

I taught an Audi what big block HP was all about this past summer.
I'm getting too old for this stuff though (but once in a while...)

[wanab5150]

Glad to see most of us are on the same page.

On a simile also note, I had the scariest incident with my Cobra this year in Atascadero, Ca with the Bay Area Cobra Group yearly trip. Bay Area meaning the San Jose to San Francisco area. This was a typical group trip with about 30 cars.

Below is my post regarding my spin out and damage resulting from a L rear wheel bearing while the slight (but not over the top) excelleration on those smooth on ramps to highways. This happened at about 30mph before I got up to speed and there was zero warning and it was so fast and violent I had no chance of a pretty recovery but due to the low speed damage was minimalized.

Below is my post regarding the incident and the frustration of finding parts and one-off machining due to Superformance no continuing to make parts for cars 10 years old or more.

I copied the first post here.....but if you Superformance owners wish to pick up som rebuild info on the rear bearings etc you can find the full post at “Superformance hubs, bearings and bushings” in the search box.... Tom


Superformance hubs, bearings and bushings

While everything is fresh in my mind I'm adding important information for anyone having issues or replacing axle, bearings and bushings in the rear.

On a trip recently with our Cobra group going to Atascadero I made a hard right sweeping turn onto Hwy 101 and seemingly out of nowhere the car took a violent hop to the left then back to the right. I assumed it was just heavy foot but once home realized the left rear wheel bearing let go. Unfortunately it went home on a AAA tow...after the lock-up again...oh, and the fire....That's another story.

Anyway when that happened the brake rotor which is (attached to the hub) started flopping around due to the bearing failure while the caliper (attached to to aluminum hub carrier)remained aligned and rigid. As I turned right onto a freeway the bearing let go and the left rear brake locked up causing a violent slide to the left then back as the same wheel was now acting as an anchor.

The damage was actually not that bad and so far I need a new fire extinguisher ( I had to use it), rear brake pads, rotors turned, L/R SS brake line (burned up), CV joint boot and clamps(burned up), all 4 green bushings used in the lower control arm pin that connect the hub carrier to the lower control arm, a new right wheel from curbing it when it slid back to the right and bent the living S#!t out of it beyond repair, and complete disassembly of both cv joints (the grease caught on fire) and I'm sure Ill find more as I go.

It's not been easy finding parts and/or numbers for this series of Superformance #2769. These are some of the things I have determined....

1. The axle nut is 36mm. With the wheel adapters in place and the wheel on the car, the socket won't fit through the adapter. If you remove the wheel and the spinner adapter and have a 5 hole wheel that fits, you can lower the car onto the ground and bust you back trying to get that nut off..... I ended up removing the 6 allens from the axle to the differential and removing the axle along with the hub carrier all in one part. I then took it to my favorite tire shop and had them blast the nut off with 200 lbs. of air and a Mongo air wrench............ Using the bolt pattern on the differential end of the axle, bolt a 4 foot pipe to it so you can hold the axle in a Mongo vice or get a 400 pound dude to stand on the pipe.....I'm putting it on the same way when I'm done.

2. The brake lines don't exist either at Hillbank or Olthoff Racing but Dennis Olthoff is making me one.

3. The large pin mentioned above uses 4 green bushings that don't fit all cars but may fit mine. They are replaced by RED ones which Hillbank says are bigger and will have to be "sanded down". Dennis says they're the same but better material. I gave him the pin size of .825 and he said they are the same...just up graded material.

4. The CV joints are a nasty mess to disassemble but quite simple to service. They too have been changed and anything pertaining to axles, boots, CV joints Olthoff say's to go through "The Driveshaft Shop" near Olthoff in N.C. as the old ones are no longer stocked.

5.The rear wheel bearing is really important as they're two different bearings depending who you talk to. Don't buy a Ford Racing 510010 which is very close to the correct bearing. The #Timken 51010 is .015 larger OD than the correct Timken #513058. Pressing the 510 bearing would surly explode the hub carrier even though is looks exactly the same to the naked eye.

6. The CV boot is almost impossible to find but Olthoff thinks he may have one. If not I'll have to buy a universal fit and cut it down.

7. When removing the pin don't forget to remove the allen under the hub carrier which helps secure the pin in place. Regardless of the allen I had to beat the pin out with a 5lb. sledge. Beat is an understatement. I have some clean up and re-threading to do and may have to turn the pin (demention 8.25 X10) inches to make sure its still round...........Nightmare getting it out!

8. If you have single piston calipers for cars after #2769 the rear pad number is Wilwood #150-9184K. I use BP-20 compound in the rear and the Wilwood Matrix pad in the front. When the cars changed over to the small single caliger near my car number the brakes in the rear (in my opinion) are very inefficient. I use the weaker Matrix pads up front along with a proportional valve so I can turn down the front bias and allow the backs with the small caliper to work harder. Before I added the valve the fronts would lock up uncontrollably. The back still suck but it's better than it was 12 years ago when it was built. They should have stayed with Dynalights in the rear.

I have disassembled everything and cleaned everything in solvent. I have most of the parts but I will add anything required to complete the job to the thread as all this info is a crap load of work to find.
__________________
Tom
I miss my Tazer
Last edited by wanab5150; 06-05-2018 at 04:53 PM..

[Ron61]

Tom,

You were fortunate that you weren't up to a high speed and that the wheel stayed on long enough for you to get the car under control and stopped. It could have been much worse. Trying to find parts can sometimes be a real trial.

Ron