Messages

Having owned and drag raced many big block vettes and ripped hell out of everything in the rear , half shalfs, spindles,universal joints etc I happily went with the reliable ford 9". Its all about what your running under the hood ,how much traction will be available and will it stay together under power. If I was going to road race it i would go for the independent rear ,but not for drag racing.(and actually i would rather have a 4 link for that.) Just my 2 cents. Randy  

I think if you like them you should put them on your car as long as the offset is ok. I just got some goodyear 295/50/15 for my 10" rims and some 255/60/15 for my front 8" rims. They look great!. Too many people are trying to get so authentic with a car that I saw exactly 3 actual ones on the road in the last forty years with. Real Cobra's are so valuable today who would be out cruising in them anyway? Do what turns you on. No offence to those who are trying to make their car as origional as possible. Randy  

I am putting a 429 with a c6 in my Hurricane. same block as your 460.I am told it is not the first. I don't know if any others were automatic's or not but i am told stick is ok too with this motor. Mike commented that it was "tight". We will see. Randy

Congrats Jim! I just got hm 1080 delivered today so I guess fuzzys 1081 will come soon . Make sure that you have 4 jack stands and a thin wall socket to get the lugs off of the wheels if you are getting a stage one assembly. The car rolls off the truck and can be pushed by hand into your garage. I used Rich's transport , a very good experience , i would recommend them highly. My car arrived with 11 boxes of parts so make sure that you have a place to put everything ahead of time. Don't freak out if your car is missing some parts. I got a back order sheet with mine because the headers , wheels , and some other parts were not in the shipment. Most of the parts would be used a little later anyway except for the wheels which i really need now so that i can roll it in and out of my garage. Hopefully the wait will be short.

Welcome to the club Jim! I ordered 1080 about 2 months ago and it looks like it will be arriving any time now. Best of luck on your build ,and now you will be able to go to the darkside and get all the advice you need from those who are building or have built their cars. Randy

I want a convertable top because I want to do more than just take it out for short rides. Anybody here who rides a bike knows what it is to get caught with a sudden weather change or go on a trip overnight somewhere and the next day it rains. With the bike ,you wait or get wet, no real harm done but no fun either,especially if you have to be back and its a few hundred miles ! I don't want to damage the car with water and thats why i want a top. Just for overnight travel and emergencies. It does not have to be anything fancy.Randy

Thanks for the info. I will ask Mike about it when i call.I could not use the link its restricted to me. Anyone out there have the top and some pictures you could post , especially of the mounting of the top ?

I read in the Hurricane NEWS section today that a convertible top was offered as an option for $1300 a few years ago. Is it still an option and has anyone ordered and installed it? I don't see it listed as one. :-?

Good luck with your new cobra! Where are you located? Randy

I am in Tuckerton NJ. Where are you located? Are you in NJ too ?

Hi to all and thanks for your words of support! I will most likely get the soft top if its available and if it is,go for the heater option. I've got about 2 months or more before delivery (date not set yet , have to ask Mike) to build my motor the way i want , so I am having fun wearing out the Summit web site ordering parts for it. The UPS man looks all worn out coming to my house. I plan to take many digital pictures , especially of any processes that appear vague in the manual , step by step and post them. Now I have to clean out my garage and move my boats and motorcycles so that I can easily work on the car. It will be all black , even the engine which will be black and some chrome with the replica wheels Hurricane sells. Black side exhaust. Darth Vader look.

I just ordered HM 1080 from Mike. Plans call for a.030 over 429 I am building now in my garage. D0VE block with C8VE Ported heads , Weiand slealth ,if I can find a way to fit it, forged flat top pistons , and a hot hydraulic cam to bleed off some of my low end compression with the iron heads.I will couple it to a C6 I have with a street holeshot converter and 3:50 posi rear. Randy

I have built many  BBC and SBC over the years and I am very familiar with them , but I picked a BBF for my Cobra because I personally think it's the type of car that was born a ford and needs to stay that way.By the way 385 (429-460) series parts for performance are plentifull and not at all expensive. Stroker kits are cheap and the block requires no clearancing like the BBC. Over 500 cubes are easy. Stock heads with mild porting breath well and can be  improved even more with big valves.By the way , I really like the distributor in front , makes it easy to time. Randy:)

I ordered my manual before i placed my order because i don't like surprizes. I don't see any. Things are relatively straight forward. Remember too that reading text to understand what is to be done is harder for most mechanical people than doing it or seeing the process completed or in stages. I have 18 years as an electrical/HVAC instructor and 18 years in the field doing that type of work, so I know where its at with instruction manuals.  

Did any of you guys pass your initial safety inspection with 15" rims in NJ?
I really like these rims and want to order them with my kit but I heard on another forum that the nj inspector said if it had 15" rims he would not have passed it because of run flat road clearance issues. Is the Hurricane far enough off the ground with these rims that it will pass ok? Thanks