Quote:
Originally Posted by lovehamr
I love the story, even though a POS chebbie won!!  |
My mistake when I had the chance was to buy CSX2109 the 289 Cobra that was owned by Larry McALlister at the time. It was for sale for $3,000.00 with the trailer , spare motor and trans , Weber's , duel quads , single quad , and other assorted rear end parts. I could not get the Bank financing on that car because the Banks did not loan money for race cars.
After my time working with the GT-350 Snoopy I was sure that the 289 configured in that car would not be as strong as the 327 Chevy. Both the Gt-350 and the Cobra especially were much lighter cars but back then it was both a blessing and a hindrance. Making power from a small block Chevy was easer then from the 289. Today the new Mustang 6 banger is making 305 HP by comparison to the GT-350's 289 all decked out from Shelby was only making 306HP. In the right hand a Brigs & Stratton can be made to go like hell. What the Corvette had in extra HP it lost in the weight break against the 2,000 + Cobra. Jenkins was the master at getting 2HP per CI out of the Chevy and that was not possible at that time with the design of the 289. The later Ford 350 proved much better design. I made a lot of money street racing against the "Feared Street Hemi". Boy could they suck a lot of air into those 2 X 4bls and make a lot of noise , but they had a front row seat to my back bumper. Even the 289 Hi-Pro Standard Mustangs could beat them. But again in the hand of Jerry Stall and Sox and Martin they could fly. And Jenkins was right with them with his 350 / 327 Nova. The thing about the 350 Hp motor was the Hydro Lifters RED LINED AT 6,000 RPM. By changing the design of the lifter innards you could go up to 7,500 .