What cobra should I buy/build? I always answer this question with an explanation of the cars history and asking what are you trying to do? Do you want a good resale value, as cheap a build as possible or what?  As you become familiar with the hobby and the vehicle, you learn there are four tiers of cars available to you. Original Cobra: unless you have an unlimited bankroll, this is probably out of your range. At today’s market, 427 cars are going to run you 1-2 million, depending on their pedigree and condition. Continuation & Kirkhams: Often these are one in the same, ShelbyRead More →

These cars are made to be driven. However the elements sometimes can be very challenging. We built ours with a heater and seat heaters, but the open cockpit can really be uncomfortable at 30 degrees and 30 mph. The addition of a ‘lap blanket’ puts all the components into play and makes for a very comfortable ride. The blanket snaps to the underside of the dash, trapping heat into the cockpit. It is under the seatbelts so heat generated by the heater is focused on your lower body. Read More →

Either system, Weber or Injection will require a change in the typical fuel system, they operate at different ends of the spectrum than the typical four-barrel carburetor Weber’s The design of the fuel floats in a Weber carburetor require the fuel pressure be regulated between 2-1/2 to 4 PSI. This requires the use of a fuel pressure regulator as most electric pumps put out far in excess of this. Un-regulated, the fuel pressure will cause the needle to unseat and raise the fuel level, sometimes to the point of overflowing the vents.  There are in-expensive fuel regulators which will work in this range, however theyRead More →

WOW ! When the hood comes up and the eight individual throttles show, the reaction is almost always “WOW!” The FE with a set of Webers or ITB’s (Individual Throttle Bodies) is a very impressive setup, especially when its in a vehicle as small as a cobra. The first use of Weber carburetors on these cars was on the small block FIA cars. One of the many items employed to get more horsepower out of the 289. The next appearance was then on the GT40 MKII however they were short-lived since Ford opted for a single four barrel. I don’t know all the findings asRead More →

HM2023 Induction

Until you’ve owned and driven one, you don’t realize and appreciate how much the car is an instant carshow, no matter where you go. Stopping for gas is never a quick in and out. Everyone wants to admire and see more. To the average admirer, it’s the car and the craftsmanship. But to the gear head / hot-rodder, they want to see the engine. When you lift the hood, the original FE is an immediate attention getter – how’d you get all that to fit in there. But when it’s topped with an EightStack, whether Weber’s or the injected look-alikes,  Oh, man, that’s beautiful. AndRead More →

HM2023 Induction

Today, it finally clicked and I’ve figured out the tuning secrets of the Borla EightStack. I knew how important the linkage settings are and how sensitive they are. I was spending all my time to get the idle right but had overlooked the importance of checking at higher RPM’s. With a little trepidation, I set the RPM to 3,000 and checked the airfow. One side was 11, the other side was 18. Obviously, the cross-linkage was off. But why, it was OK at idle. Then I realized at idle, some of the blades may be resting on the venturi bores and unloading the linkage.  IRead More →

It’s gotta be perfect -or you’ll have issues forever I learned with the Weber setup the importance of good linkage. It’s important to get all four to work together, in sync and at the same position. With the EightStack systems, this is even more true. If the linkage is off even the slightest amount, you’ll have issues. Some tips I’ve learned, starting at the loud pedal and working towards the throttle bodies. Fuel pedal position, stops and movement With carbureted engines, we tend to take the pedal position for granted. If it opens full and closes, that’s good enough. With EightStack throttle bodies, the majorityRead More →

The Over-Riders bolt up to the quickjack mounts with the same  bolt spacing, but the back of the overrider is angle and the back of the quickjack is straight up and down. Takes a little tweaking of the mounting hardware to get all the pieces to line up. The angle of the back matches the angle of the nose opening. If you plan to mount the chrome hoop, to get it to match the the overriders, the angle of the back MUST match the angle of the nose. Different bodies are on different angles and typically, none of them match the angle of the commonly foundRead More →

So, what’s different with the new car? A commonly asked question, HM20203 is very similar to my first car, HM1078. So why and what? Why? Everyone talks about the concept of “if I had it to do over again, what would you . . .” There were few if any things I changed due to this concept. Yes, I did learn some tricks after building the first one, but for the most part, HM2023 is a totally different approach. Maybe the biggest motivator, ‘I like to build’. I just completed an almost three-year project and have a number of years of ‘annual upgrades’ ahead ofRead More →

The rollbar has a third leg that extends into the trunk, attaching to a frame point to provide triangulation strength. The originals had an adapter socket that bolted to the rear framework. The Hurricane Motorsports design has a tube welded to the rear frame extension that the strut slides over. It must slide down far enough to let the main rollbar pass by when it is install. The strut is then slid back up and the retainer bolt installed. All smooth and thought out, except on the trunk side.  Their original design relied on the three legged triangle to hold all the pieces in place.Read More →