[QUOTE Kudos to Blitz for his driving skills, to the Tom Kirkham for building a world class car and to Kiethcraft for developing an awesome engine and finally to ol' Shell, for creating the legend.

[/quote]

I second that....

Thanks

Skippy.

The gratification came after reading the comments on the Ferrari boards...

With all the different threads on this site, just pick another one if it bothers you so much...

Wanna bet?

Blitz, you crack me up! Very cool comment...'Nuff said...

But was it really a Cobra vs. the Ferrari?
 

The point is that "today's Cobra" - more on that below - is still pretty much the same car that it was in the '60's: A 90" wheelbase, aluminum bodied superleggera - style car, with an OHV pushrod V8 sending power through a manually clutched and shifted gearbox to independently suspended rear wheels. No driver aids, no electronic engine management and no traction control

Yes, there is some newer-tech stuff in the engine - alloy block and heads along with some porting and machine work that wasn't commonplace in 1965; but all of that stuff is stone age primitive compared to the super-optimized, tech-laden rocketship from Ferrari. No matter how you slice it this was still a raw accelleration contest between a Cobra - in all it's primitive, brute force glory against the latest and greatest offering from Enzo (well, Enzo's legacy anyway ;)). AND - THE COBRA WON HANDILY IN SPECTACULAR FASHION!

As far as the prepped track and Las Vegas altitude, etc; both cars were running in the same air, on the same track. The option of bypassing the electronic autopilot and paddle shifting at max RPM without traction control was available to Tommy but it made no difference. The Cobra was just too fast, period.

The other thing about the Kirkham not really being a Cobra - Thinking about the issue has changed my position. To me now it's just pure semantics. It may not be a Shelby Cobra, but in every bit as much as the original AC car was a Cobra, so is the Kirkham. Corporate politics and shenanigans over the years have determined how the Cobra moniker can be used officially, but little else has changed. The Kirkham car is by all practical reasoning a Cobra - not much different at all from the AC Cobra of the '60's. Just better engineered and way better built. That's the way I honestly see it.

PS: I'm still stuck in Las Vegas (gotta say I'm really enjoying this place) for a few more days with nothing but a basic laptop so posting photos is about the best I could do - sorry Bigga Brudda ;)

blitz

Awesome; headed towards a man-crush...

Blitz, you and Tommy (if he's still in town) ought to join the Cobra guys at Cars 'n' Coffee tomorrow morning? I think it would be way cool if Tommy had his 458 next to your car surrounded by other Cobras, but would the Ferrari crowd disown him? Bring Jess and Elaine.

It's at 8-10 am a few blocks south of 215 on the east side of Eastern Avenue.

:LOL: Good one. You're "Winning...." (a little Sheen reference for those that don't get it) :LOL:

I think some here have missed my point entirely. I'm on the Cobra side of the fence. It's freakin' awesome that essentially old school technology (a visual wrapper with all of the underpinnings of a modern day-built BB) beat Enzo's best. But so would a '72 Vega set-up for Pro Gas. I just think the "eating crow" comment was, shall we say, childish? I thought the cobra crowd was above that, despite whatever they spew on a Ferrari chat forum.

I hope Blitz and Tommy get a lot of press for this (magazines or otherwise). It was a cool showdown representing old vs. new, so it's probably best to leave it at that. And they both have big brass ones that clank when they walk, especially Blitz for not having a lot of seat time on a drag strip and just simply going for it all. That impressed me more than him winning the bet.

Hey ACademic,
You should have taken that bet. You were right. No CSX in the old stable could have beat the 458 (not even the Dragon Snake-11.89secs). You're 'ACademic', you should have known that.:LOL:
Taking the bet would have been settled with history books, not a trip to the strip.

http://parenting.leehansen.com/downl...-ribbon1th.gif - Best Post of the Thread

:LOL:

I disagree with the idea that any csx in the "old stable" couldn't of beat him. In the 60's they took a stock iron block csx and went 0-60-0 in 12 seconds. You dont think they could of posted a sub 11 sec quarter mile? I disagree. It still goes back to how good they can get the power to the ground. I know my new csx is CAPABLE of running that fast if I have the driving ability to get the power to the ground, dont blow a shift etc.

But I have no doubt it was done many times back in the 60's not only with race prepped cobras but also street versions

Well, I'm no 1/4 time scholar but maybe someone can dig up some history of any Cobra doing a sub 11.2 1/4 mile prior to 1968(?).

Oh God, . . isn't this over yet?


.

:LOL:
My apologies.
I'm in waaay too deep on another thread. (Rodknock, no comment necessary);)

CSX3198, the Harr Ford 427 ran in A/Sports with a best time of 10.38 seconds @ 138 mph and, using hi-rise tunnel port heads, in A/Sports/Modified with a best time of 10.02 @ 146 mph.

In 1966. the car helds both ends of the National Record, E.T. 10.86 seconds, 127 mph (A/SP, NHRA), ’66 Winternationals, (Pomona), ’66 Summer Nationals (Indy).

Info courtesy of the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC) World Registry of Cobras.

Foolish move
 

do not bet this dude

Actually, wasn't the old story 0-100-0 in13 seconds?l

Thanks for the history lesson, Ron.
Those times are really something.

Now, what proof will there be that money changes hands?
:LOL:
JK.
It was indeed pure entertainment.

The Shelby World Cobra Registry calls them "Kirkham Cobras."