Thanks for making my point. If a Cobra were to be road course competitive in today's world you'd have to make it into something it ain't.
Solo II can be tricky if your perspective is based on tunnel vision and there is always a local hotshoe around that can beat you pushing a wheelbarrow. What you should do is compare your course times overall, and see who beats you. You'll probably find a lot of lesser rides going much faster. If it were not so there would be a plethera of Cobras in Pro Solo and to my knowledge there hasn't been one appear in years. Solo II has truly become a game unto itself.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "open event" unless you mean tuner days at the local course, where you run what you brung. If so, comparisons are much harder to qualify than in a 20 minute event where tenths of a second/lap computes to being lapped.
There are some who say one of the toughest tests for man and machine are the 7/7 events (7 tracks in 7 days) and even then you have to be careful who you root for. Last year's event on the left coast saw a turbocharged Miata (350 hp and 375 ft. lbs of torque) ( www.flyinmiata.com ) ran a close second overall to a well turned out Viper. I don't recall any Cobras in the mix.
Most of this is determined what exactly is meant by "fast". The Cobra is pleanty fast, but from a purely competetive standpoint can be beat by many with current tech. I'm not sure what Region you belong to but here there are any number of RX7's that will show you where the bear went through the buckwheat at a track event.

2002 Z06 Corvette
 

Road & Track , March 2002: 350CI, 405 HP, 6500RPM, 6-Speed, 3.42:1, showroom stock: 13.1@ 111.0 mph, places 8th on the list. Corvette forum postings for those using a non-stock street tire, modified cold box intake, tuning, X-pipe, after market exhaust, Hurst shifter: 11.7 to 11.9 @ 118+ MPH

This post just in from Special K at SAI.

Shelby Cobra just kicked arse and took some names! Check it out!
Ernie

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...120#post341120

7 track event, a very respectable showing for an "old" car. Any given day at any given track ANY car can be beat.

Da Beast!
 

Cobra's STILL rule! :LOL:

Ernie

Before you break out the champagne, check out who was amongst those who finished higher. A 240Z, 2 S2000's, an M3 and an NSX. Oh, and another 4 banger, that aformentioned Miata was only two places behind the Cobra.

I find the list to be BS. No standardation of comparison criteria. I know many of the 60's musclecars were faster than listed. For example:10 1969 Camaro 13.16@110.21 427 ZL1 430 four-speed 4.10 HC 6/69 That test was done with the factory 396 exhaust manifolds, factory chamvered exhaust, goodyear E70-15 wide-tread GT tires, and the wrong carb a 780 Holley instead of the correct 850 Holley. That was the yellow #3 ZL1 camaro. The #1 ZL1 camaro as tested by superstock magazine feb 69 and ran 10.41 @ 128.10 with the single 850 Holley, with a tunnel ram and two 660 Holley's it did 10.29 @ 132.05 driven by Dick Harrel, and campaigned till 1971. One might say that it should only be tested in "as delivered" trim, but who gets a $4900 engine package added to a $2700 car and doesn't add headers and sticky tires to say the least?

That is a bonafide 11 second car, even with the old tires. That motor had 12.5:1 compression

My little 396 chevy, with 9:1 compression, puny port iron heads, tiny valves, unmodified heads, factory crank, rods and pistons, tiny little hydraulic cam, 3.73 gears, in a car (67 chevelle) that weighed more than a camaro by several hundred pounds, automatic with low-stall converter, 750 vacuum Holley tuned by a 16 year old me, upshifting at 5500 RPM, on 245/60/15 winston winner radials, was running uncorrected 13.30's @110, driven to and from the track which was about a two hour drive each way.

LIST
 

I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE SO MANY FOND PONTIAC MEMORIES.

I HAD MY A$$ KICKED BY A FEW CATALINAS IN F-STOCK AUTO '64-'70..

I FINALLY BOUGHT A '69 SD 421 GRAND PRIX AND WHAT A CAR. IT DID LIFT THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL AND TURNED 13'S WITH 14 POUNDS OF AIR IN REAR TIRES.
CAN YOU SAY "HOLY WEIGHT TRANSFER"

I WISH I HAD IT BACK....

B. SMITH

Pontiac
 

I too was a Pontiac. My High School car was a '71 GTO Conv
455 HO 4speed w air. It would be big bucks now. I sold it after college in 1977 with 140,000 miles needing body work, head work and basically a total restoration. It went for $450.00

Rick is right about the Swiss Cheese frames. I went to the Muscle car Museum in Piegon Forge, TN and saw one in person. THe frame had something like 3" diameter holes every 6" to 7" apart. There was very little metal left between the holes. The Hood, bumpers, front fenders and trunk lid was Aluminum. The Glass was thinner or plexiglass if I remember correctly. It had a sluminum Tri-Power intake.

If you ever get near Dollywood in Tennessee you have to see this museum. They also had one of the Aluminum 427 camero's and a Early 60's vette that was put together a few years ago from some Crates found in storage. It seams Chevy would sell a complete Corvette in "KIT" Form for racers to save money on assembly since the car was going to be taken apart anyway.

Grew up in Birmingham Michigan (in the 60's) about 3 blocks from Woodward
(It was THE place to bring your car to race). The cars were phenominal-- Birmingham police had a 427 Ford-- Bloomfield to the North had a 421 Pontiac the Cops would very occasionaly meet and race at about 4 AM on Woodward from 16 mile to Long Lake Road.
The Woodward Dream Cruise Sat Aug 16th will have every car you can think of participating in the cruise. The gathering unoffically starts Monday the 11th and builds all week.

Had a '65 Mustang notchback, 351 Cleveland 4V, Edelbrock, Holley, headers, 3.00 open rear end, top-loader with a Mr Gasket Verti-Gate shifter. Best time was 14.60 @ 97 mph, smoking thru first and most of second gear...at the time, (late 80's) was faster than all the new Camaros and 5.0 Mustangs that were around town. If I ever had some better gears, a Detroit Locker, and better tires, I imagine mid 13's could of been had...

The car is fast, but I love to go slow for the ladies man!

Mr Fixit,

Were those ZL-1s Baldwin Motion Cars, Baldwin, NY?
Bud

Baldwin Motion
 

I grew up a few miles from Motion in Baldwin Long Island. Joel Rosen the owner had some of the most famous cars out there including his famous Cobra.

Now those ZL-1's were not baldwin motion converts. Motion performance did put 427's in camaro's and chevelles and such however, until 1974 when uncle sam couldn't believe that a 454 vega was a street car, even though it had headlights and windshield wipers. The #1 ZL-1 was built by chevy and delivered to Dick Harrel, it was THE ZL-1 superstock drag car. It was also prepped somewhat by Harrel for dragracing, not a box stock camaro, but not too many parts were replaced either. The #3 ZL-1 was sold to Berger chevrolet in IL, it didn't sell for a year, too expensive. That one was box stock, and even was delivered with the wrong carb, a 780 not an 850. There is a lot of informationon the history of those camaros in "The 69 camaro reference book" which I have since it's one of my favorite cars ever.