Cobra Chassis Race Challenge

[Bruce Robles]

Excaliber and Richard-
Excuse me for my ignorance. Let me see if can explain my sentances better. Let me also say that I am in know way trying to rain on any bodies parade. Driving at high speed is a blast any time for any reason.
I have been looking at replica cars for a short time and I have looked into the ERA car with its Jag. IRS. I've seen pictures of the Everett Morrison car with it's Corvette suspension and drive train. I've heard of Factory Five and thier Mustang Donner Car. I'd seen a JBL in a magazine a while ago and I think Herb Adams built a simuliar chassis.
I'm aware of the reasons for donners and I'm not against anybody building a better more up date piece. Someday, even NASCAR might have go to overhead cam motors etc.

But since for instance, the JBL has 25 year old racing suspension technology for sports racing cars of the day, and 12 inch wide wheels, and the Everett Morrison car has 1984 or 19 year old Corvette road going technology, on 9.5 in. wheels, I think there is a large gap in thier performance potentcial. The critira to put certain production cars in production car based racing classes, is in thier perfromance potentcial based on a number of things considered. That is how they come up with the rules. In un-production car rules they stipulate what you can build within certain guidelines, open wheel verses closed, wings, ground clearance, weight, front engine, rear engine etc.
Original Cobras were built as race cars, but they also had to build street prodcution cars as per FIA GT car specs at the time. In 1964 at the USRRC race at Riverside, Ken Miles drove a Prototype 427 Cobra in the sports racing class against the Jim Hall Chaparrel's, Lola T-70's, McLaren MKII & III's, a Factory GT-40 spyder and whole field of strange cars called Genie's and believe it an "Old Yeller"was in there. Miles and the 427 Cobra were not competitive with the state of the art racing cars, although he was ahead of the Old Yeller before he retired the Cobra. This was a racing test for the 427 Cobra, they knew it couldn't beat those other cars but they ran for testing purposes. It wasn't legal for the A Prouction race because there weren't production 427's yet. Miles also drove a 289 Cobra earlier in the day in the A-Production race which he won.
I guess that what I'm getting at, is I can't see how your going get a level playing field. The JBL to me is like the 427 Cobra at that race. If Shelby had shown up with a 298 in a longer wheel base car with just Coil Over Shocks, not to mention Rocker arms, a lower CG and roll center, a stretched and lowered body compared to a A-Production legal 289, they would have had to run it in Sports Racing Car or (C Modified) race too. Same as the 427. The 427 ran in the top 10 but I think Miles had a lot to do with that, it was faster than the 289.

It would be fun to see all the results of all the cars, and I guess that is what Richard is trying to do.
I don't know what times guys with real 298 and 427 Cobras do around Willow today, or if they are really pushing it.
Back in 1969 I'd say 1:33 or :32 on the track as it was and with the Goodyear race tire of the day. They ran A and B Prod. and A sedan in the same race heats. We were in B prod. and that sounds about right for AP times then. It's got to be quicker now with new tires and the track, if they are really pushing it.

Whatever you decide to do, it will be fun and you guys will figure it all out.
Right now, I don't have dog in this fight anyway, so what the h***!