Dick & jo's most excellent cobra adventure

[Justin O'Rourke]

Hi; I bought the car wrecked from the original owner, fixed it and sold it. I did not have it more than maybe 4-6 months (I think). I only had the one motor that came with it, and sold it with that motor. I believe that I was 32 when I bought it. That car has weathered a few storms in its day,and still keeps coming back for more. Regards.

[lamaluv]

The weather in Savannah was great and we got the Cobra out of the trailer and checked out a track that is on Hutchinson Island. The track had been used for vintage races in October and there was plenty of rubber in most of the corners and a few spots where the tire tracks went out into the pucker brush. There was a gate but it was opened so we went around the course a couple of times. We went at parade lap speed mostly as there were several places that traffic could get onto the track. it is a 2mile road course that is between the resort hotel and golf course. We didn't want to have a run in with a golf cart.









I did a video but will have to post it later once I figure out how to download it. It is a very cool course but in serveral spots there are concrete jersey barriers on both sides that don't look very forgiving.

On Sunday we met Flip Clifton at a car show in Claxton, GA. Flip has a nice red and white SPF with a stroked 427 FE engine. Flip's car and ours were the only Cobra's at the show and we both went home with "Top 20" trophies. They also had a trophy for long distance and when they found out that we had traveled from ID via CT for 4,300 miles we won that one.
























Cruising in the Cobra was a great way to see the Savannah area and though cool in the evening it was 70 by 10 am.

We are settled into our winter home in Riverview, FL and are looking forward to hooking up with the Deep South Cobra Club gang this winter. Over the next few weeks I will do a recap and update of our great adventure.

Dick

[flipscobra]

Hi Dick I was glad yall came up to the car show everyone was in awe of your fuel injected Cobra its awesome hope yall had a good time, the weather was just right, you got some good pictures of the race track at Hutchinson Island. Good to hear you made it to your winter home. Wish I had went with yall to the track. If you pass back bye Savannah give me a holler an I will cook you up a Low Country Boil. Have a great time Flip

[Bobcat]

Dick ... glad you found the track ok . The faster cars topped out at about 150 mph , but the Audi was in the 160 range . The BMW M1 I rode in reached about 135 mph according to the driver . They also let street cars run some laps under "controlled" conditions between races . The driver of the transporter told me they were hauling a$$ . I believe the cost is $40 to run the track ..... supposedly not at racing speeds . They tie this event in with a Concours d`Elegance over on Hilton Head if you`re interested next year .
As you said , there was plenty of rubber on the course , but no bent cars at all .
Claxton is a really neat town to visit .... guess you stocked up on fruitcakes for the holidays ??
If you`re interested , I can post a few of the pictures I took during the races .... unfortunately , no Cobras . Please post your video when you get the chance .
Welcome to the South !

Bob

[lamaluv]

Flip it was great meeting you and next time we are in the area we will sure take you up on that good " Southern Cooking".

Bob please post your track pictures and I'll try to get the vidio up soon. I'll bet the races were fun, especially riding in the BMW at track speed. I've had my car up to 140 on the long straight at Reno-Fernley but can't emagine going that fast at Hutchison Island.

The only complaint so far about our winter home is that I got hot and sweaty while unloading everything this afternoon





My wife says I better not be complaining about the heat.

[d_ford]

Glad you got it all ironed out Dick. Now the ol' girl can run like she's supposed to. Have a safe trip.

[lamaluv]

Thanks Doug, we plan to do some cruising at our stops in Lawrence, KS and Colorado Springs where Jo has relatives. When I get home we will try to get the laptop back up and running. Then I will get all the notes that I took on our fall trip East organized and sent to each of you prior owners of EXP002 as promised. Many interesting stories and pictures to share. I am really looking forward to having the cars life history published this summer. Have you sold the Mustang yet or did you decide to keep her?

Dick

[Don]

Dick......nice to read a successful ending, as many of us can relate to the tribulations

At some point in the future with your recap, would help if you could itemize the final configuration of your FI set up and the electronics......thanks

Have noted the route you took after leaving CT to head South, will try it on the next trip.

[d_ford]

It hasn't sold yet Dick so I'm sure I'll be just as happy keeping it.

[lamaluv]

Well we are back in Idaho and the car is still running fine but the weather has been rainy and cool. Not cruising weather yet. I guess that the Florida weather has spoiled us a bit. We were able to get the car out and do some cruising in Colorado Springs. I had planned on taking the car to the top of Pikes Peak, but at over 14,000 feet, the rain in town the day we arrived equated to 12 " of snow on the Peak. Didn't have snow tires for the Cobra so settled for cruising in the Garden of the Gods.









Also the computer guy was able to recover the files off of my crashed lap top so I'm back in business for completing the history of ERA EXP002 and all of her past owners. As I finish the story of the birth of EXP002 in 1980 and follow with each of her owners I will post info to this thread.

Happy Cruising Everyone.