What's up with all the 289 activity lately?

[David Kirkham]

Fellow Car Nuts:

What is up with all of the 289 activity lately? All of a sudden we have been swamped with 289 orders! We usually have some in stock, but I sold the last 2 in stock yesterday and we have 6 on order right now with several, serious pending sales! 3 more will arrive on a container next week! What is happening?!?!?

Could it be that small blocks are getting popular...as in, just as popular as big blocks?!?!?!

Lynn Park called up the other day and told us he had just helped a customer of ours finish our first 289 street car. He said it was the BEST handling car he had ever driven. My eyes got wide??? What, I have seen this guy race Daytona Coupes, 289 FIA cars, several 427 cars…

Then,

Ned Scudder called me and told me he just bought a small block engined, 427 bodied, original COB car. He would have purchased any of the originals he wanted…what was he thinking. So I called him…or dropped him a line, don’t remember which. He told me he had driven the big monsters all he wanted to and he wanted a car that didn’t overheat in traffic and one that was more tractable…

Then,

We had 2 customers recently put small blocks in their 427 bodied cars and I had the chance to drive them...

Ugh, oh…

can i say this—can I come out of the closet…

I was impresssssssed! I sat down and calculated the power to weight ratio of a 330 horsepower small block in one of our new lightweight cars to the power to weight ratio of an original big block...I was stunned--it was within 5%.

I guess most people just don't understand how much power the 427's, (or should I say, the stroked monster 490+ cubic inch engines) are making today compared to the original 427’s. The original was FAST--today we are crazy—maybe a little bit too crazy.

I must admit I love both, but the small block is really, really pulling on me now. The last small block car of ours we weighed tipped the scales at a scant 2046 pounds. The magic 1999 pounds is now within reach and I have a goal to break the 2000 pound barrier shortly.

After driving the small block with the incredibly cool new Tremec 600 (with the almost perfect gear spreads), I couldn’t believe what I was feeling. The 2046 pound car was so nimble and light, we had to reduce the spring rates 3 times to get it to quit bouncing down the road! Acceleration was incredible and dare I say…the fan NEVER turned on! What would it be like to drive one of these babies that didn’t melt your shoe to the accelerator pedal! I thought I was dreaming. I felt we had “discovered” a completely new car. The lightweight small block pushed weight balance of the car back to the rear at a 52% REAR weight bias!

I can’t believe it…even as I am typing this, I just got another order for ANOTHER 289! What is happening to my old Big Block World?

Maybe the English were right…

David

[Cal Metal]

Amen.................

[Power Surge]

David, there has been a TON of 289 car talk on the forums lately. I think a lot of people are getting new info on these cars, and breaking away from the 427 mindset.

I'm not a big fan of the small block cars, although I think the FIA cars are damn sexy. I like visual impact; I'll take huge cubes and mega fender flares any day .

BTW, I still haven't gotten any paperwork .

[David Kirkham]

Sal,

ARRRGGHHHHHH!

Paperwork coming right up! I will let mom know! If not, I will print it myself tomorrow! Feel free to call and bug me!

Cal Metal,

I have to say my narrow view of the world has been shattered...dare I say, for the BETTER!

Let's face it. Same cool car and an engine that is over 10K less to build...and a 10K small block is a KILLER motor. I guess if Jeff Gordon can go 200 mph in a small block...

What is happening?!?!?!

David

[Tom Decker]

David,

The First 358 Yates Kirkham 427 SC (The Boss) is with in 45 days of rocking the world.
Tom

[Tom Decker]

David
$10,000.00 Less, I've been swindled.

FE + $30,000 = 358 Yates

[Cobra Pack]

David,

Have you weighed one of your leafspring 289 fia's.

I am having a 4 bolt main 302 block build with flow ported edelbrock aluminum heads for my leafspring car. We are hoping for 450-500 hp out of a 331 stroker. I have to believe the car is going to be pretty darn light (under 2100 lbs??). I do have a cast iron Cobra scattershield that is adding a little of the aluminum head weight savings back, but I don't think all of it.

Have any of your customers been ordering leafspring cars or strictly Hybrids?

Street cars or FIA's?

Thanks,

Mike

[A-Snake]

David,

Small blocks are in! That is where it all started.....

But Power Surge, no visual impact???

[Trevor Legate]

Hi David

AT LAST - welcome, delighted you have decided to come out. I just LOVE it when I and many fellow Brits are proved right. Or sort of right.....naturally the 'visual impact' guys will never understand, but the visual impact of the small-block cars has to do with aesthetics (or 'class' if you prefer).
The big-blocks are the ultimate trailer queens and drag-strip monsters, although your DVD made the 427 look almost tempting, but for driving fun, gimme the 289's. I still cannot believe that any car with a huge lump of metal located that far ahead of the driver can offer the same thrills as a car that handles. I've yet to step out of any 427 without a sense of relief that its over and i'm still in one piece. Try driving both cars around the country roads from Hawk Cars base and you would never want to drive a 427 again...
I was drooling over Gerry the Hawks black 289 two days ago (a work of art) but I think that when finances permit that your FIA would be the one to go for, unless I get hauled down the MkIV Lightweight route first. I drove one of your FIAs long before it was finished and I still cant believe how fast and driveable - and comfortable - it was.
So that's you and Ned converted to the dark side - who's next?

[DAVID GAGNARD]

To me and maybe others now,when you pull up to a stop light and see a big block/SC car sitting there rumbling,you KNOW it is BAD,you don't mess with it,but when you see a Slab Side sitting there kinda quite and all,you think,nice little sports car,then the light turns green and he stands on it and takes off and then you think, "what in the world just happened"..........kinda like a wolf in sheeps clothing.........or as one guy told me,driving a big block SC car is like going to a knife fight with a 44 magnum,no contest,driving a Slab Side is like going to a knife fight with a 357 magnum hidden under your shirt,suprises the hell out of when you pull the trigger...............That's why I like the "little sports cars" over the SC cars,but they are both great cars,just give me the slab side any day............

David

[Bruce Edwards]

How about the fact you do not have to worry about getting Snake Bit in a small block car. You can drive it and enjoy yourself with out the worry of what the car may do when you step on it to pass slow traffic.
Don't get me wrong I really like the full blown power of a big block car however it does start to wear on one's nerves after a bit. The first 1/2 hour is a blast but with all the traffic in most large cities you do not really have the chance to use all that power under the hood. Forget getting stuck in traffic and dealing with the hot now not happy engine till it cools back down.
The small engine cars are just plan fun and if you run the numbers are now pulling about the same power as the old 427's without the front end dive under hard braking like the big blocks.
Yes for straight line runs the new built big blocks will out run a small block but try to get me on a nice twisty road and you will feel the difference in the way the car responds.
Just my view.

[Adrian472]

What hp/cid would you guys consider to be a nice manageable engine for a one of these cars? example.. 351/350hp maybe? what the up limit to driveability?
Adrian

[Bruce Edwards]

I do not know about the rest but we pull around 425 to 450 from a 351 and it is very drivable and little time has to be spent under the hood.

[RACER X #99]

Hmmmm!

[The Dreamer]

he wanted a car that didn’t overheat in traffic

I must have a magic radiator. Oil is 80 C and water is 83 C sitting in traffic. Oil is 75 C and water is 80 C while driving. Of course, it was only 60 F outside. I like small blocks (lots of power), but in the end, they are not a Big Block.

David, I'm working on the slave setup for the clutch and then I will be able to tell you how the TKO600 works with a BB.

[Dangerous Doug]

David,
You mention two observations in your post: First, you're selling more 289 FIA cars than you anticipated; Second, people are opting for a small block in the 427 chassis.
To the first point, I've been kicking around ClubCobra for a couple of years now, kicking tires. The Cobra I would have purchased when I first landed here is quite a bit different than what I plan on purchasing now. At first, a big-block was the only thing that would do it for me, and my focus was on the 427 body style since that is the most common. Even in looking at Curt Scott's Cobra Guide, I'd just shimmy right past the few 289 FIA's. Then, I got a copy of XK's Unlimited's latest brochure, and spotted that red 289 FIA cornering at speed... Fabulous!

In all reality, the 289 FIA offers the nice wide hips similar to the 427 (well, okay, a 1/2" narrower), has that unique cut-back door style, and the front snout is a snarl, instead of a gaping maw. Sender body, wide hips, hmmm, sounds like a lovely woman...

Anyhow, I digress...

After several years of dreamingly looking at Cobra pictures, as much as I enjoy a nice 427, the 289 FIA is the car for me. By the way, the 289 FIA has a more masculine look to it than the 289 slabside, though it too is a lovely car. The 289 FIA is a 289 slabside on steroids.

To your second point, that people are installing small blocks in the 427 body. This, of course, has been going on for decades with every other Cobra manufacturer. The shift you're seeing is that people are now willing to put a small block into one of the "high end" (read: $$$) Cobras. I'm not sure I can point to any one particular reason for this.

A stroked 351 can be a pretty nasty engine, and for driveability's standpoint, makes more sense than a big block. How many times have I heard about how tempermental a 427 SO can be? Countless! When I fork out big bucks for a Cobra, I want one that I can drive to work and down to the grocery or hardware store. Or better yet, down the Big Sur coastline with my lovely wife or my son.

The last reason for my fixation on the 289 FIA is cost. I can build a very nice, powerful, absolutely stunning Cobra without sacrificing my family's financial well-being. A Kirkham 289 FIA with a Ford crate 302/347 will more than satisfice my need for speed.

By the way, you owe me a call or an email. $

Dangerous Doug

[Stubadger]

Overheating problems aside - and I'm sure that it must be possible to run a big block in traffic without them, it will always be the 289 for me. I have 'only' 270bhp at the wheels on my Hawk 289FIA but on a bendy road it handles very well. Took Trevor out a couple of days ago for a 'round the block' run - and he didn't look too frightened when he got out, in fact he may even have been smiling!
I have always regarded the 427 as a track car - frightnin'

[clayfoushee]

Originally posted by Trevor Legate


I still cannot believe that any car with a huge lump of metal located that far ahead of the driver can offer the same thrills as a car that handles.

Trevor,

All BB vs. SB rivalry aside, I was curious about the statement above. The engine is sitting so far back from the front wheels, and the driver is almost sitting just in front of the rear ones, with a lot of the engine and trannie weight near the middle. So I would have thought that an FE is not terribly as nose heavy as one might think. I'm also told by reliable sources that an aluminum head and intake FE weighs about the same an all cast-iron 289 did in 1964-65.

Nonetheless, the advantage for SBs in terms of cost (and perhaps reliability in most cases) are self-evident, and it's true that too much power is much more than can be used on a road course.

[Trevor Legate]

Hi Clay

Yes I expected to be picked up on that point, but I based the comment from the opinions of the majority of 427 owners and ex-owners I have talked to. I realise that the engine was pushed as far back as possible, at the expense of space in the footwell, and I expect that the weight issue depends a great deal on exactly what engine you run - however, most owners seem more comfortable with the handling of 289s and are happy to abandon the delights of the big-blocks. Or maybe its just psychological...? But those 427s are not easy to drive on many roads in the UK as they tramline over the bumps and painted lines - a steady right foot and constant attention is desirable!!

Hi Stu
Of course I was smiling after our little trip - cound'nt you tell?? Never known to refuse a blat in any Cobra. Mind you, losing my phone into the darker recesses of the footwell was a bit of a pain. So I now have 2 phones and several missed messages. Never mind. We'll have to do it again when the sun shines....

[Stubadger]

Well - at least the phone stayed in the car Trevor! For any one that's interested I've uploaded pics of the Hawk to my gallery.