Reply to "Cheapest and easiest way to get approx 600HP"

I second Georges advice. I was always a proponent of you can’t have enough horsepower until recently. I’m just finishing up a cobra replica that will weigh about 2200 pounds wet but without a driver. I was planning on building a Dart based 9.5 in Windsor block stroked to 454 cubic inches, putting out about 650 horse power and 600 ft/lb’s of torque. Recently I ran into Bob Bondurant at Infineon raceway (formerly Sears Point) before doing the engine build and told him of my plans. I expected Bob to applaud my plans as those of you who know him know he is a wild man whether it is in his helicopter, his various motorcycles or a car.

He has also had a fair amount of experience in Cobras, both the originals and replicas so I highly regarded his opinion. He knows my driving abilities as well as I received my pro racing license from his school and he was one of the sponsors of our old racing team. His response surprised me. He suggested that the engine produce no more that about 400 rear wheel horsepower max. Most of his reasoning was similar to Georges regarding controllability and drivability issues as unlike the Pantera, the Cobra drive train was going to be upgraded to handle the additional horsepower which is difficult and expensive to do with the Pantera. Or maybe he just thinks I’m a lousy driver. In any event I’m now putting a 347 cubic inch stroker in the Cobra.

For what its worth, I’m just finishing a 408 stroker for the Pantera and in keeping with Bob and Georges thoughts its set up to keep the horsepower and torque in the 500 to 550 range and the rpm’s below 6500. Otherwise you’re just going to be constantly fixing the weakest link, which, if it’s the ZF, is a rather expensive proposition.