Aluminium Frame for the SC cobras?

[john chesnut]

Just to throw my two cents in. Any weight reduction has a very noticable effect on not only track performance but also on street manners. If you haven't driven a 1900lb sport car you should try it! That being said the keys to optimum performance is a chassis that is torsionally stiff, suspension that maintains constant and optimum tire contact, has a low roll center, has zero scrub radius and zero bump steer through normal travel, center of gravity, has 50/50 weight, and with no significant weight infront or behind the axle center line! If you go through the expense of building an aluminum chassis you want to make sure that you address everything else too.
As I see it Cobra owners fall into a few different classes. There are the guys that only care that the car looks like a Cobra, those that want an authentic reproduction, and those that want the optimum performing super car with the heart pounding Cobra shape. I personally want the latter. I have always loved the Cobra and appreciate it's history buy want the ultimate in performance with out spending huge dollars to get it.

[strictlypersonl]

I regard chassis stiffness more important than any (very) small weight savings. There are many better ways to save weight.

Aluminum Chassis

[Roger Cormier]

Instead of Alum. how about Titanium ? Stronger and lighter.

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by Roger Cormier

Instead of Alum. how about Titanium ? Stronger and lighter.

How about uranium? Heavier, extremely expensive and radioactive.

[CobraEd]

One of the things that made the real Cobras so bad-ass back in the old days is that they only weighed 1,900 lbs. Most of our replicas now weigh around 2,300 - 2,400 lbs. That is a 400 - 500 lb difference, or about 25% !!!! That is huge.

Think about how fast our cars are now, and then imagine if you took 500 lbs out of it !!!


.

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by CobraEd

One of the things that made the real Cobras so bad-ass back in the old days is that they only weighed 1,900 lbs. Most of our replicas now weigh around 2,300 - 2,400 lbs. That is a 400 - 500 lb difference, or about 25% !!!! That is huge.

Think about how fast our cars are now, and then imagine if you took 500 lbs out of it !!!


.

I think the only Cobra that was in the 1900 lb weight range was the flip-top, yet I hear people throwing around that number a bit. I believe that the Kirkham cars with their high tech light weight billet suspension parts fitted with an modern aluminum small block engine is still over 1900 lbs.

Perhaps the 1900 lb number is just more Shelby snake oil legend.

Actually I think most replicas are in the 2500 to 3000 lb range.

[SLHetal]

As far as original Cobras and their weights here is what I show:
427 Cobra unladen 2350 lbs.
289 Cobra unladen 2170 lbs.
Autokraft/AC Cobra unladen 2469 lbs.
I'm not too sure about any original Cobras weighing much less than that.
Sam