Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Today's New York Times ran 2 articles today, both in print and online about the new Cobra Jets and the '60s factory race cars still running.

Purpose-Built, and Still on the Track

Racecars Fresh Off the Assembly Line

BTW, former drag racer Norman Mayersohn is the deputy editor of the Times' automotive section.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

thanks...the "Racecars Fresh Off the Assembly Line" ....great article

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

I thought this quote of a comment by John Calvert, driver of the Winternationals-winning Cobra Jet was interesting, coming from the "horse's mouth," as it were....

And, I quote:

"Racing-specific equipment that has been added includes a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 rated at 425 horsepower. Mr. Calvert said he could squeeze 700 out of it “with just a few simple tune-up tricks.” It also comes with a 6-speed manual transmission (an automatic is optional), an explosion-proof clutch housing and racing brakes.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..................................



Bill

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

So, what's your point? That 700 HP number is the same as someone quoted for a 427 in one of the other threads.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Anybody can post anything they want on this board with little or no verification. The validity of comments from "joe racer," or even moreso, from people like ME (who don't race a Class car) mean very little, because you never know where that information originated.

But, when the guy who actually drove the winning Cobra Jet says it, it takes on a whole new meaning.

John Calvert is not someone who throws around numbers (especially, in a case like this) without having the ability to back them up.

THAT's the difference; hearsay vs. what is very likely, factual information, (based on its source.)

.Now, I'm convinced.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Gump,
There is absolutely no 427 Stocker on the planet that can make 700 HP. Who made that comment? Bill's point is well taken. The Ford supporters have been shuffling around that 700+ HP figure for months, and now Calvert comes out with the truth. Good for him. Calvert's remarks line up with the Ford guys at SEMA and FRP. John Calvert does not throw around numbers easily. He has been very measured with his responses until now. So don't fall for that old hearsay stuff. Now there is no pot to stir!

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Arnold Greene posted what his 427 numbers were. I think it was 598HP. I would put his stuff up against anybody!! Far cry from 700+!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

And yet ANOTHER thread degenerates into a CJ bash by the same few......


Come on Challenger, hurry up and get here to give them something new to yang about.

Better yet, come on camaro! Give them something positive and maybe they will see a glass half full instead of the "gm going in the crapper so I hate everything else" glass half empty attitude.

For the record, I thought it was good because;
1) it showed some positive news for a domestic auto maker and
2) because the NY times is normally VERY anti domestic. Their stories usually have casual nuances like "of course being a japanese car the quality is much better" or blatent "gm/chrysler should go bankrupt because...."

ANY POSITIVE NEWS IS GOOD! Involving classracing just makes it better.
Oh wait, it's not because it's a ford...I forgot...yeah ok...

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

I just looked at the national records for AA/S, A/S, B/S, C/S, AA/SA, A/SA, B/SA, and C/SA. All those classes that had a record were a 67-69 Chevy or Ford. Not an '08 CJ or any Hemi in the bunch.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

goinbroke2

No bashing here!!! Just stating facts as Mr. Calvert( and he of all people) knows the true potential of this combo. 427/425 chev 600hp, the new CJ Well read the quote again.

"Racing-specific equipment that has been added includes a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 rated at 425 horsepower. Mr. Calvert said he could squeeze 700 out of it “with just a few simple tune-up tricks.” It also comes with a 6-speed manual transmission (an automatic is optional), an explosion-proof clutch housing and racing brakes

If NHRA and Ford wanted these cars to play in Stock then put them in a class of there own and let the manufacturers show all who can build the baddest stocker of all!

if anyone with an old comb wanted to jump in with them they would have that option!!

Absolutely no sour grapes here just my 2 cents worth

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Exactly my point. Niether one has shown that, yet. But, I will add that you were talking 800 HP for the Mustang a while back.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Maybe the tweaks Calvert talks about forthe 700hp CJ are not stock legal??? I have an A/SA Fairlane theat hasn't been raced in 10 years. It made 578 hp 545 lb ft 15 yrs ago and ran 10.50's @125 so I think there are 650 hp stockers out there but I'm way out of the loop and was never really in the loop to begin with.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

>>>"Exactly my point. Niether one has shown that, yet. "<<<

I imagine that if John Calvert says the car he drove to victory at Pomona is capable of 700 hp, it is.

That's MY point. I don't know of another legal Stocker motor that makes 700 hp. Do you, Gump?

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

And you have a .........?

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Gump,
I really think you have no point in this debate. Nor do I think you have a dog in this hunt. You say you have an AA project. Please tell us about it. And are you, like me, really close or just a few years away from getting it to the track. You said that someone posted a remark about the 427 making 700 horsepower. Who was that? You can't come on here and double talk forever without someone calling you on it. Secondly, I'm not backing down from what I was told by the Ford guys. If you notice my post on this thread said 700+ Horsepower.

Bigshow,
The CJs have been to two races. And set one trigger already for a review for the ahfs which, as we all know is a joke. In the second race a CJ put down a 9.78 with a 1/8 mile speed of 109.80 (no GM or Mopar Stocker has ever gone that fast in the 1/8 and that is after forty years of work) and as John Calvert said they still have some "tweaking" that can be done.

Nothing is going to change the minds of those who are involved in this debate. This is a cooked deal.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

My point is the same as it has been from the beginning. I like these cars and I think that they are here to stay. They are in violation of no existing rules that I have seen. I also feel that once they show what they can do that the NHRA should look at the weight breaks.


I would suggest that calling someone a liar without proof is not nice. I reserve the right to keep my project quiet for now.


That post must be pages back. Arnold posted his numbers in response.


Something else that we agree on.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Gump,
I'm surprised you can't find the post about the 427 that made 700 horsepower. You're so good at finding quotes. But, I did a little of the leg work for you. And I could not find the post either.

Liar is too strong a word - it is your word. I never called you a liar. But you said that you had a dog in the hunt because you had an AA project in the works. Of course you can keep it as quiet as you would like. Please give us updates on your project - especially when you get it ready to run.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

I couldn't find it either. So there is a good chance that I am wrong on that one. Either way I know that you can take the numbers that Arnold posted to the bank.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Gump asked:
>>>"And you have a .........?"

I am not sure why you asked that question, particularly in view of your refusal to tell us what YOUR car is. Different rules, depending on whom you are, I guess... Why the secrecy; does your paranoia run that deep??? (guess it must...)

My car is just a "bracket," street/strip car. (Can't afford a "Class" car, these days.) And as such, it's really not pertinent to this discussion, but since you asked, it's a 1972 Valiant 4-door sedan with a 1998 Dodge 360 Magnum engine fitted with a V-1, S-trim, centrifugal supercharger, and apparently would run high 11's if I ever got it to a quarter-mile facility. It runs 9.79 @ 106mph in 1,000-feet, with a 3.55 gear, on worn-out drag radials (pathetic 1.81 60-foot times.). The only way that information is pertinent to this discussion is that building and running it has given me at least some understanding of how boost affects horsepower, from a first-person basis. Unblown, it was a low 13-second car.

Ten pounds of boost added almost 50-percent to my engine's "pre-supercharged" output. At 360 cubic inches and pulling a 3,600-pound package to high 11's, it is probably putting out around 480 flywheel horsepower; a very weak-kneed powerplant compared with the much-smaller Mustang factory-blown units that are the subject of this discussion.

Just why you had any desire to know that is beyond me. If you think that my not running an AA/SA car invalidates my opinion, then that's your right. But, the racers' board is separate from this one, and if I was a competitor at this time, with a permanent competition number, I'd be posting over there. This board is for people who don't currently race. You knew that, didn't you? Knowing that as you do, I'm curious as to why you'd have any interest in what kind of a car I have because it has no pertinence to this discussion.

At least, I use my real name, so folks who want to tell me that my opinion is worthless know exactly to whom they are talking. I have lots of problems, but paranoia is not one of them, thankfully. LOL!

For the record, I am REALLY glad the Mustangs have been built; I am REALLY glad the Chargers have been built. I sincerely hope that somehow, some way, competitive 2010 Camaros find their way into this mix. I think it's a very good thing (having "factory" cars in the Eliminator).

The ONLY problem I have is what seems to be the unfairly low HP factor that was assigned these Ford cars. It spoils everything with regard to their place in the Stock and S/S racing they are intended for. I think they're, to put it mildly, "mis-classified."

That fairy-tale factor needs to be changed, and not in the "slow-as-cold-molasses" AHFS, time-eating, way. The NASCAR hemi got horsepower from NHRA Tech before one ever hit the strip. Don't say it's unprecedented, or can't be done... ask Joe Teuton.

The 2010 CJ's need a dose of that to make this "new factory race car" business viable. As it stands, it's just a bad joke, but the joke is on the cars owners' who have to run those factory 'stangs heads-up, in class, or in the Eliminator.

My opinion, only, of course.

Thanks for listening.

Bill

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Not at all paranoid. I have my reasons.


My name is Daren Poole-Adams. My IHRA competition number is 9043. My cell phone number is 704-692-0860. If you had done a search you would have found all of that information posted on here. I go by Gump because that is what a lot of my racing friends like to call me.

Take Care,

Daren

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Just curious.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Bill or Bruce, Cobra Jet #26 is for sale on e-bay now, if you're interested.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Gump wrote:

>>>"Not at all paranoid. I have my reasons."

You and Floyd Lippencotte Jr.... :)

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

If I bought one, NHRA would add 247 horsepower to its factor before the ink was dry on my bill of sale...

That's my luck...

Probably still be competitive, though... LOL!

Bill

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

[QUOTE=bill dedman;


You and Floyd Lippencotte Jr.... :)[/QUOTE]

I remember that name.....LOL Top Gas Dragster driver.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

"Bill or Bruce, Cobra Jet #26 is for sale on e-bay now, if you're interested"


Who's car is this!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Dang, Terry; how old ARE you???? LOL!

Bill (12/20/'38)

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Old timer Quiz, what was Floyd's real name and why was he FLoyd?

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Bill and Terry, Floyd Lippencotte(sp?) was a pseudonym so his parents wouldn't know what activity he was involved in. What was the racers real name? Operating strictly from memory(always unreliable) my guess is Bob Muravez.

I think we can declare this thread unequivocally hijacked, but hearing no objection from the floor, I await your replies.

Ken

Oops, sorry John. I must have been typing when you posted

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

It was Bob Muravez. I believe he didn't want his parents to know he was racing. It was Top Gas at Bristol, in I believe 1965 or '66.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Almost 63......Been a drag race fan since before I was allowed to drive. The 409's were brand new cars when my dad took me to Aquasco Drag strip in southern Md. to see Dave Strickler in his '61 "Old Reliable" byscayne in a match race. I remember the finish line (shut down area) after the speed traps was DIRT. My Uncle gave me stacks of HOT ROD mags. dated from back in 1948-1949 and newer to read and I almost read the print off of the pages....lol.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Terry,

That is SO COOOOL, that your family provided you with transportation to the races and magazines with all the technical info so you had a "basic training" in the tech field and could get into the classification/safety area of working on the tech crew, a little later... I learned it the same way (magazines and hands-on experience) and was the "Stocker-line" tech man at Carlisle (Arkansas) drag strip from '59-'64, Little Rock drag strip (alternate weekends) from ''60-'64, and Des Moines (IA) drag strip from '65-'68. Peeked under a lot of hoods during those years... and have never gotten over this disease.

My dad only ever went to the drags once.... and, unbeknownst to me. When I got home that night, (still unaware that he had been there) his only comment was, "GOT BEAT, DIDNT YA..." (in regards to our having had our asses handed to us on a platter in B/Gas.)

I just walked out of the room. We never talked about it again.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Bill...In 1965 I had a new 426 street wedge Belvedere and won quite a few trophies. My parents didnt want me to race such a nice new car so I used to tell them that the trophies belonged to a friend who had a 1964 Sport Fury that was the same color as my car and the fact that HIS parents didnt want him to race either.....lol.

Re: Cobra Jet article in NY Times
 

Terry,

Maybe you should have entered it as Floyd Lippencotte, III

LOL!