Viper Engines For Cobra's, Yes Or No!!!

[Michael4yah]

How hard would the swap be? Has anyone seen one of these swaps in person??( MORRIS AND ALL YOU ENGINEERS OUT THERE, HERE IS WHERE YOU CHIME IN).

All things being equal would the Viper's engine enhance or detract from a cobra's overall value? Would it help a fiberglass cars value While detracting from an Alum car's value? (NOW HERE IS WHERE ALL THE ORIGINALITY GUYS CHIME IN). Theres enough here for all to chew on so dive in and let me hear it.
Michael

[Excaliber]

Well they don't call Ed 'DV' Combs "Double Venom" for nothing...

Heres a pic from DV's gallery and a link to more:

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/s...at=500&thumb=1

Viper V-10 fits nicely under the hood of his 'Classic Roadster'. I understand one of the critical components to this swap is getting ALL of the electronics associated with the engine and SOME components associated with the CAR it came out of!

DV1


DV2 was a 'flip top' hood, also with a Viper of course!

[thudmaster]

I figure its your car and you can put whatever engine in it you want. As for increasing or devaluing the car I guess that will be up to the next person that buys it. .02

[Excaliber]

There are only a handful of engines I would personally consider 'appropriate' for a replica build, just my opinion you understand. The Viper V-10 is one such engine, perhaps because of it's connections through various people to the Cobra world.

Other interesting motor swaps that are pleasing to MY eye would be a Jaguar V-12 in a Cobra, no particular history there however, except an English connection.

Value? Risky as to re-sale, build it for yourself for your enjoyment.

Bear in mind, Ed, was a professional street rod and Cobra builder at the time of the DV's creation.

[richsd]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

There are only a handful of engines I would personally consider 'appropriate' for a replica build, just my opinion you understand. The Viper V-10 is one such engine, perhaps because of it's connections through various people to the Cobra world.

Other interesting motor swaps that are pleasing to MY eye would be a Jaguar V-12 in a Cobra, no particular history there however, except an English connection.

A handful of engines appropriate for a relica build and this includes a Viper V-10 engine? Maybe for a kit car build that uses a body that resembles a Cobra. For a "replica" that actually "replicates" a Cobra the handful would be a 427 Ford, 428 Ford, 289 Ford, and maybe a few other Ford options if you want to stretch your imagination a bit.

It is strange to say that a "Viper V-10 is one such appropriate engine, perhaps because of it's connections through various people to the Cobra world" but that "a Jaguar V-12 has no particular history". Neither of these options have any history associated to a Cobra.

For your selection, it all depends on the purpose of your build. If you are intending to build a kit car that has a Cobra shaped body then it makes no difference what engine you use. Use whatever engine you like. If you are intending to build a replica that actually replicates the Cobra then you should be looking only at a FE engine.

In regards to resale value, as others have mentioned, that depends on the buyer. Some will not care what motor is in the car because they are looking for a kit car and some will only consider a car with an original type engine because they are looking for an accurate replica. For those that will settle for something that was not used in an original Cobra, the overall quality of the work is going to play a large role in the resale value regardless of what engine you have selected.

I would also say that it depends on what you are doing with the rest of the car. If you are focusing on originality on the rest of the car why would you screw that up with a motor that was never in a Cobra. If the rest of the car has limited attention to originality then a non-original motor will fit with that theme just fine.

[Brent Mills]

Ed let me drive the first one down the 1/8th mile track at DVSF2. Completely different car. Manners yet gobs of torque. It really was a hoot to drive and I appreciate Ed allowing me that opportunity.

[Excaliber]

Torque you say?
Heres a pic of the worlds most powerful hand gun, er, 9" rear sitting behind Ed's Viper V-10. Twisted like a pretzel it was.

[BossCER]

Viper motors are V10's

[Michael4yah]

Seeing that V10 shoehorned into that Classic Cobra with its tiny footboxes makes me think that maybe a larger Cobra would do the deed in better style. I love the looks of a 90 in cobra but for the sake of argument, what would you say to a Viper V10 in a West Coast Cobra? Are its dimensions and LARGER appearance something you could live with as long as you had a V10 under the hood?

Hey Ernie, how much was Double Venom offered to you for?
Michael

[Excaliber]

Oops!!! I stand corrected, of course they are V-10! I've had several Jaguar V-12's and over reached. In fact my e-mail used to be ClubV12.

[CobraDan]

http://www.hunterscobrakits.homestead.com/

Randy Hunter put a Viper V10 into one of his cars for a customer. The car was at the 4th LCS and was for sale.

[CHRIS DAMSCH]

Are you going to London Cobra Show this weekend?

There is one Everett Morrison from the Chicago area with a Viper V-10 in it.

This isn't a LWB Cobra. It is a tight squeeze though. The owner is over 6' tall too.

Torque Monster

[427 S/O]

Why not used a ford V10, not sure of the HP mods but I'll Bet there out there.

[JGC]

If the Viper engine didn't sound like a Triumph humping a Volkswagen I would say go for it.

I think it was Lamborghini's little joke on Dodge suggesting the Viper engine fire two cylinders at a time. They had to know how bad it would sound.

Now, if someone would make a new crank and cam you could wind up with a sweet engine.


JGC

[lovehamr]

Originally Posted by JGC

If the Viper engine didn't sound like a Triumph humping a Volkswagen I would say go for it.

BaaaaaaaaaaHaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Velox]

Originally Posted by JGC

If the Viper engine didn't sound like a Triumph humping a Volkswagen I would say go for it. JGC

He is absolutely correct. I tried everything on my Viper GTS hoping to change or reduce the incredibly droning and obnoxious exhaust sound. Headers, Corsa catback, different cats, nothing helped. Until you have driven a Viper (or a viper v-10 powered vehicle) you have no idea how terrible they sound, JMHO

[Aussie Mike]

It wouldn't detract from the value down here. We stick all sorts of different motors in. I'm waiting for all the purists to chime in and give this as much flack as me putting an LS1 in mine.

I heard the Viper V10 powered DV2 at DVSF2 and thought it sounded odd. Great looking car and well engineerwd but that engine note would take some getting used to for me.

The V10s in F1 used to sound pretty good. I guess you'd have to rev your Viper V10 to 18K RPM to get the same thing. You probably wouldn't be able to hear the engine note after the loud bang though.

Cheers

[Wayne Maybury]

I thought that Ed's DV-2 looked great but the sound was terrible. The sound was so bad that I thought that he had a problem with it. I changed my mind about the problem with the engine later on, when he did a burn out.

Wayne

[Buzz]

Last month I had to fly up to Miami for a few days to pick up some items for a new business and I decided on a whim to book a hotel right on Ocean Drive in South Beach. When I wasn't shopping and shipping stuff out, I basically kicked back in the sidewalk bistros and watched the wild and crazy world go by. Lots of awesome old muscle, the usual parade of modern day automobilia, and plenty of exotics driving by and parking along the street. On sunday evening, a red Ferrari 360 Modena Spyder and a sleek orange (!) Lambo Gallardo Spyder parked nose to tail were the focus of attraction and comments from patrons and passersby. The occasional double stretch hummer, old Stingray, turbo Porsche or muscle car would draw some of the attention and a posse of custom choppers across the road had their own little gathering. As I sat there sipping, eating and thinking that I had seen just about every interesting car under the sun except a Cobra, a deep, ominous, menacing rumble made everyone stop what they were doing. Thinking "Cobra!" I turned to see a silver and blue Viper GTS with a huge wing, IMSA style bodywork and massive rubber swaggering down the street - like a hulking silverback gorilla, ballz swinging, belching, coughing, pharting and spitting with sheer arrogance and impunity - it sounded like a nitro funny car, shaking the ground and setting off alarms as it rumbled by. The sound was hair raising, even for a bald headed Cobra owner. I had heard the disappointing note from Vipers before but this was something else - far from stock and maybe open pipes. Everyone, even the custom bikers, stared in uneasy silence and the owners sitting next to the Ferrari and Lambo basking in the adulation quietly turned and looked the other way much like smaller dogs, wise enough not to risk making eye contact with the growling, strutting alpha-male. After it disappeared from view and it was safe again, everything slowly returned to normal, but I was branded with the memory of one of the meanest, nastiest cars I have ever seen on a public street. Never did see a single Cobra in five whole days.

[CHRIS DAMSCH]

That's Hilarious..............Triumph humping a VW.

I'm using that one............