Took my '94 Cobra autocross car to the drag strip

Killercanary

The car that set the bar.
Founding Member
Nov 29, 1999
5,676
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Altoona, PA
I got tired of people asking me what my car makes for power or what it runs in the 1/4 and not having an answer so I took it to my local track tonight. I had no idea how it would run considering the 155K miles on the shortblock, it isn't tuned, autocross suspension, 3.08 gears, stock clutch, etc. Well I didn't think it'd hook at all so I mounted up my 8+yr old ET streets and aired them up to 25lbs. I launched it around 3000rpms and quickly found out that the torque arm does a great job of planting the tires, however the stock replacement clutch gave up way too soon. It slipped BADLY on each and every run. I'd let the clutch out and it'd just howl and begged for mercy as it slipped and smoked as it tried to put the power down. The car was at FULL weight minus the lower part of the rear seat, the spare and jack. I ran it exactly as I drive it on the street minus the rear tires.

The engine combo is as follows:

-stock 155K mile shortblock
-morpheus power pipe
-65mm TB
-cobra intake port matched to heads
-AFR 165cc 60cc heads
-stock cobra 1.7 RR's
-stock cobra cam with new timing chain
-FMS shorty headers
-offroad X pipe
-summit cat back with magnaflow mufflers
-AFPR set at 45lbs of base pressure
-stock EEC
-255lph intank pump
-stock clutch and T5 with a pro 5.0 shifter
-stock rear with 3.08 gears

In my heart I hoped it'd be a low 13 second car and trap at least 104mph. Here's my two best passes.

60'.....2.044
330....5.600
1/8th..8.568
MPH...82.33
1000'..11.131
1/4.....13.28
MPH...105.26


60'.....1.985
330....5.558
1/8th..8.539
MPH...82.09
1000'..11.108
1/4.....13.26
MPH...105.04

I have no doubt if I add some gears and get a clutch that will hold the power that I can get this into the 12's as is. If I add a light weight battery, drag seats, shortbelt, etc I can only imagine how far it'd go. I doubt I'll head back to the track until I swap out the clutch, but you never know. All in all I'm happy how it ran especially for all of the limitations I have right now with this combo. You all know me well enough to know that I won't be happy until my autocross car can click off a 12 second time slip at the track. :nice: I'll put up videos later. It was weird crossing the traps in 3rd gear!
 
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Matt- Thanks! Its been nearly a year since I've been to a drag strip even to watch so I'm definitely rusty, but at the same time my knowledge from racing for years has me very excited as I know just how much is still left in this car. I didn't expect it to run this well, especially not right off the bat. I want to get it tuned now to add in more timing up top, get rid of the timing retard/tip-in, and nail down the AF ratio. I completely guessed at the tune when I put it together and just threw 45lbs of base fuel pressure at it. if anything, I would expect it to be on the rich side of things, but without a wideband or more 1/4 track tuning I won't know. I kicked myself for not taking my tools with me to play with fuel pressure and timing last night.

Desertcox- As of now I have no plans to swap gears. Our courses see top speeds between 65-70mph and I am able to run the entire course in 2nd with the 3.08's. if I had 3.55/3.73's I'd have to shift into 3rd as my friends do now with their gear'd fords. The problem is they have to shift but they are only in third for a short amount of time. For the location I run at, 3.08's seem to be perfect for the car and its powerband.

Ive seen cars get into the 12's with 3.08's, including mine.


I have no doubt that if I could get a clutch in the car that would hold that I could get it into the 12's. There is just no way to get the car to 60' any better than it did as the clutch slipped all through 1st gear which I carry out well beyond the 60' mark with the 3.08's. The power is there as is the traction, I just can't get all of the power to the rear. The only 60' I had the entire night that fell below a 2.0 was the last run and the clutch had enough by that point and the drop off in MPH and ET through the run showed it. How much power were you making when you went 12's with the 3.08's?
 
Matt- Thanks! Its been nearly a year since I've been to a drag strip even to watch so I'm definitely rusty, but at the same time my knowledge from racing for years has me very excited as I know just how much is still left in this car. I didn't expect it to run this well, especially not right off the bat. I want to get it tuned now to add in more timing up top, get rid of the timing retard/tip-in, and nail down the AF ratio. I completely guessed at the tune when I put it together and just threw 45lbs of base fuel pressure at it. if anything, I would expect it to be on the rich side of things, but without a wideband or more 1/4 track tuning I won't know. I kicked myself for not taking my tools with me to play with fuel pressure and timing last night.

You've got enough time down the track that even rusty, you're probably still well above your average, occasional racer. I thought about it not too long ago, and I haven't had my 95 down the track since summer of 99! :eek: I need to get this thing running right and hit the track! You wanna talk about rusty? :rlaugh: I bet once you nail down the tune and get a fresh clutch in it, you're probably looking at a mid 12, with a 105 trap speed. You put your old AFR 165's on it, right? I thought I remembered reading that somewhere before, but after just working nearly 14 hours from 7 PM until just shy of 9 AM, it could very well be my sleep deprivation kicking in...
 
You've got enough time down the track that even rusty, you're probably still well above your average, occasional racer. I thought about it not too long ago, and I haven't had my 95 down the track since summer of 99! :eek: I need to get this thing running right and hit the track! You wanna talk about rusty? :rlaugh: I bet once you nail down the tune and get a fresh clutch in it, you're probably looking at a mid 12, with a 105 trap speed. You put your old AFR 165's on it, right? I thought I remembered reading that somewhere before, but after just working nearly 14 hours from 7 PM until just shy of 9 AM, it could very well be my sleep deprivation kicking in...

You are probably right Matt as I've been down the strip quite a few times in my day. LOL! I know the trap speed will come up when the clutch holds as I know it was hurting both ET and trap speed. I do have my old AFR165's on the car, but it still has the stock cam, shortblock, stock computer, etc. Eventually this car will have all of my old combination from my '95 from back when it ran 12.03 at 112mph except for the intake and gears. I'm keeping the cobra intake and I will not put 4.10's in this car as they will be too much for the type of duty it is built for. I need to make up my mind on what to tune it with as I need to get rid of the timing retard, and get the timing and fuel correct.
 
:OT: BTW anyone ever notice the difference driving in rush hr traffic between 3.08's and 3.90's and up (not that I do often)? It is sooo much easier with anything 3.90 or up. 3.08's constantly pushing in the clutch.
 
Bosko- Thanks! I cleaned out a few PM's. I'm so busy anymore that PM's and such fall way back in the priority list and I only seem to remember them after someone asks me about something I never responded to.

Ryan- I looked at this clutch when I had the engine out of the car and it appeared to have been replaced at some time, and based on what i know of the previous owner it would not suprise me in the least that it was replaced with a ford stock replacement unit. I don't know what clutch I'll be replacing it with. I was shocked, and frankly pissed when I saw how much the king cobra clutches went up in price. I need something with near stock pedal feel, but something that can easily be driven on the street by my wife and that will hold at the track. I don't know what my best option is, do you have a suggestion?

Pokageek- Its weird but I feel these are a hell of a lot easier to drive on the street with than my 4.10's are in the other car. It takes some getting used to though that I can get 72mph out of 2nd gear before the limiter kicks in and ruins the party. :)

Charlie- you can't beat someone when they don't even bring a car out to race. :)
 
Nice work!

Not to be "that guy" but how is the turbo project going?

Adam

LOL! That's a more than fair question, especially concidering that I have had it since 2005! I'm at the point now that the car doesn't feel fast any more. I want to put a MM K member and A arms on the cobra and I will need new tires next year, but I'd like to have the turbo on the yellow car by next season. I'll need to swap out the gears, the cam, get my TKO 600 fixed and installed in place of my old school TKO that is in the car now, and finish the fuel system. It's going to be a real stretch to get this all done for next year but that is my plan.
 
thats a lot of work you have to do a week before Carlisle Paul...maybe this year you can start a little early? maybe give yourself 2 weeks?

as far as clutch though, i don't know but not Ram. i hated my ram, the pedal felt like a 60lb weight. why don't you call Walt up again and get something from him?