So how do you justify putting a Chev in a Ford legend???!!!

[Merv and Sharon]

I am thinking that there may be a reasonable limit to the horsepower 'race' for street Cobras. They seem, in my admittedly limited experience, to reach a point where bragging rights can be obtained about huge horsepower, but the driveability of the vehicle may well be compromised. For racing, the story may be different, but I note the regular success there of the smaller capacity Toyota motor as well.

[Aussie Mike]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

I am thinking that there may be a reasonable limit to the horsepower 'race' for street Cobras. They seem, in my admittedly limited experience, to reach a point where bragging rights can be obtained about huge horsepower, but the driveability of the vehicle may well be compromised. For racing, the story may be different, but I note the regular success there of the smaller capacity Toyota motor as well.

I reckon that limit is around the 400RWHP mark. Looking at the times at the nationals and Shelbyfest and you will often see that big HP doesn't equal big performance. The guys that work on the whole package are the ones at the front of the pack.

[Twig]

The required power to weight ratio is very interesting.

Growing up in Echuca a mate of mine by the name of Jim Verrall had a 289 Robnell with a top loader and a jag rear.Now I may have been young but by God the thing used to throw you back in the seat!!!

I don't know if it ever happened but Jim had genuine dry sumped injected 302 Gurney Eagle he was going to put in the car. It was a beautiful engine.

With low vehicle weight I reckon engine torque is the key,not hp.

Cos thats what puts you back in the seat!!

[StewbieC]

The guys over here have the same discussions week in week out.

I'm going old school.

[Xavier]

How do you justify it?

- Immediately have parts you have familiarity with and a possible inventory of.
- Save 10% to 40% nearly on every part.
- Do not care what other people think.
- At worse case you keep your hood up and still 50% (at least) of the on-lookers could not care less and do not know a Ford from a Chevy engine nor care about the herritage.
- Simply keep the hood down and it still looks beautiful.

I am not for it, it would trouble me more than it would anyone else, but certainly it is very simple to justify.

[BBfangs]

For me it is familiarity of engine and parts, performance I want, and I built it for me and my wants, and like it was said before, even if you have a ford engine in your car, there are a lot of owners that have parts in other areas of the car that weren't in the original AC specifications. So why does the make of the engine bring so much attention? I appreciate (may not be what I like but) all builds if it makes the owner happy. As for resale value, yes, I think having a ford base will bring a bit more return but it is an acceptable trade off for me. This is similar to a thread I started not too long ago about a disgusted spectator.

[john chesnut]

I have always loved the Cobra shape. I also love the new Corvette engines, drivetrain and suspension. I scratch built my replica and used the complete drivetrain, suspension from a 2003 Z06 Vette. I changed the diff from having a transaxle into accepting a driveshaft and went with a T56 6 speed. Although not authentic in any way I love the way the car drives and handles. It also gets 33mpg on the highway. It's also plenty fast. I say if you aren't building an exact replica build it the way you want! It's all good.