The Official Hot Rod Thread

[RustyHornet]

No ignorance at all on your part, I had to Google the Super Cobra Jet. This Shelby is a '68 so it should be a regular Cobra Jet. I will double check today and try and get a picture.

Good deal. I knew nothing about these cars till about 2 years ago. My boss has a 69 Mach 1 428 Super Cobra Jet, has special oil coolers and couple other things. Then a customer has a 69 Torino Corbra with 428 Cobra Jet. Same basic engine, just not the same internal parts to make power. I doubt a Shelby is stock anyway...

 

[RustyHornet]

Ready for a road trip! Davenport, IA here we come!



Cockpit. No radio or AC. Also have to use the GPS as a speedo because the needle fell off awhile back...



Cant have a road trip without a hula girl.

 

[tmschuller]

that is going to be a great road trip. Thanks for sharing pics ! Safe travels.

 

[Gluemanz28]

Sounds like a great trip to me.

 

[rhino]

Heck Rhino.....it is hard to get me inside a door these days.
I am a bleeder.....

Have you checked for power..??
Have you spilled anything in the controls..??
Do the windows work at the assigned doors and not from the master or just not work at all..??

They quit working one at a time. Switches are good (replaced them once), motors are good. If you jump power to the motors, you can make them go up and down. The guys who spent a couple of days chasing the problem finally gave up and said I'd need to go to a dealership for help. I am allergic to dealerships.

Way way back in the day I had a 1968 base model Nova. I mean base model. It had a cigg. lighter. Period. Banana yellow with chrome reverse and baby moons.
It had an L-79 in it from the factory with 3 peddles.
I swapped the intake for a single plane Tarantula/750 Holley and put a set of "Hookers" on it. 4:10 gear set and "Lakewood" T-bars. Chassis dyno tune up.

That damned car was stupid fast. I would roll to the bottom of a merge ramp on 465 and stop. My buddy would watch for an 18 wheeler rolling hard and when it was even with my nose he yelled "Go" and It was a flat out drag race for the merge.
Note the speed limit was 70 and 80 was the norm and the ramps were pretty short.
I never lost.

That was merging

Nova's were great sleepers. Most everyone was all about SS Chevelle's and Camaros. The Nova was a light bodied car that had plenty of ability to be very competitive. Like you said, a few bolt-ons and you were ready to go. I would add some stickier tires to your list.

Oh, and I have always liked chrome reverse and baby moons! Still mad at my mom for not letting me buy a '70 GS 350-4-speed with baby moons and chrome reverse. She thought I couldn't afford the gas since her '67 GS 400 used so much. I tried to explain that mine was only a 350 and the manual would improve fuel economy. She didn't buy my story. lol.

The one an only ticket I ever received was earned behind the wheel of a borrowed '68 Nova with a 396 and three speed. It had a cool orange paint job with two wide black stripes on the hood and trunk. The paint, the height of the back end, the wheels and tires, plus the sound it made sort of made it a magnet for cops back in 1981-82. On the bright side, the ticket I got was just for the speeding . . .

Ready for a road trip! Davenport, IA here we come!

Cockpit. No radio or AC. Also have to use the GPS as a speedo because the needle fell off awhile back...

Cant have a road trip without a hula girl.

Vrrrooooommm! Have a good trip!

 

[MuttX7]

Good deal. I knew nothing about these cars till about 2 years ago. My boss has a 69 Mach 1 428 Super Cobra Jet, has special oil coolers and couple other things. Then a customer has a 69 Torino Corbra with 428 Cobra Jet. Same basic engine, just not the same internal parts to make power. I doubt a Shelby is stock anyway...

We have had Monday visit us on Wednesday so I have too busy to look but I am pretty sure the engine is just a Cobra Jet. We had an oil change come back as leaking which turned out to be residual oil dripping. What was supposed to be a reman compressor show up as a new made in China compressor ( which when ordered as a new compressor is $100 cheaper), people deciding after 2 days that they do want their car repaired yesterday, and more assorted hi-jinks.
Have a safe trip and have fun in Iowa. I know a couple guys who live in Ft. Dodge and Ft. Madison. The turn-table bridge in Fort Madison is pretty cool to watch.

 

[Leo]

Nova's were great sleepers. Most everyone was all about SS Chevelle's and Camaros. The Nova was a light bodied car that had plenty of ability to be very competitive. Like you said, a few bolt-ons and you were ready to go. I would add some stickier tires to your list.

Oh, and I have always liked chrome reverse and baby moons! Still mad at my mom for not letting me buy a '70 GS 350-4-speed with baby moons and chrome reverse. She thought I couldn't afford the gas since her '67 GS 400 used so much. I tried to explain that mine was only a 350 and the manual would improve fuel economy. She didn't buy my story. lol.

I had several Novas, both 1st and 2nd generation. I never owned a fast one. They were inline 6's except the green one had a 307 2 bbl. I know, "snooze". I have ridden in a few fast ones, what I remember is they were pretty scary when the big power kicked in. It seemed like they were pretty violent hooking up and did not want to stay straight as the power rolled up. We will not even talk about panic stops that got things unsorted. Exciting yes, but they seemed to be a handful to drive.....maybe that is what helped make them exciting.

 

[rhino]

I had several Novas, both 1st and 2nd generation. I never owned a fast one. They were inline 6's except the green one had a 307 2 bbl. I know, "snooze". I have ridden in a few fast ones, what I remember is they were pretty scary when the big power kicked in. It seemed like they were pretty violent hooking up and did not want to stay straight as the power rolled up. We will not even talk about panic stops that got things unsorted. Exciting yes, but they seemed to be a handful to drive.....maybe that is what helped make them exciting.

Steering Novas of that generation wasn't much fun either.

 

[churchmouse]

I had several Novas, both 1st and 2nd generation. I never owned a fast one. They were inline 6's except the green one had a 307 2 bbl. I know, "snooze". I have ridden in a few fast ones, what I remember is they were pretty scary when the big power kicked in. It seemed like they were pretty violent hooking up and did not want to stay straight as the power rolled up. We will not even talk about panic stops that got things unsorted. Exciting yes, but they seemed to be a handful to drive.....maybe that is what helped make them exciting.

1st one was actually 1st gen Chevy II (64) with a 283 4 barrel 4 speed. Factory SS. It was rated at 210 HP and was just fast enough to make you want more.
More came in the form of a small journal 327 block, a special set of mains and the crank out of a 283. A good set of heads (350 L-79 pieces) and the right pistons.
Put a Duntov 50-50 solid camshaft in it add a set of "Hookers" and Bingo........the forerunner for the Vaunted DZ-302 home made. Sold the low miles 283 to pay for the new engine.

Danm, I have thought about all of these cars for a long time.
I sold it before it was completely done but a friend bought it and I finished it anyway. Little unibody was a screamer.

 

[rhino]

1st one was actually 1st gen Chevy II (64) with a 283 4 barrel 4 speed. Factory SS. It was rated at 210 HP and was just fast enough to make you want more.
More came in the form of a small journal 327 block, a special set of mains and the crank out of a 283. A good set of heads (350 L-79 pieces) and the right pistons.
Put a Duntov 50-50 solid camshaft in it add a set of "Hookers" and Bingo........the forerunner for the Vaunted DZ-302 home made. Sold the low miles 283 to pay for the new engine.

Danm, I have thought about all of these cars for a long time.
I sold it before it was completely done but a friend bought it and I finished it anyway. Little unibody was a screamer.

In high school I knew a guy with a '69 Nova with a 302. It's primer job looked better than most finished paint jobs. Then he finished with apple red lacquer. It was beautiful and he a had a 400 ready to drop in it. Until he took it through a cornfield . . . on its roof. It was a sad day in C'ville.

 

[churchmouse]

In high school I knew a guy with a '69 Nova with a 302. It's primer job looked better than most finished paint jobs. Then he finished with apple red lacquer. It was beautiful and he a had a 400 ready to drop in it. Until he took it through a cornfield . . . on its roof. It was a sad day in C'ville.

The best laid plans.......

 

[churchmouse]

If the engine is put into a proper package the high winding 302 is tough to beat light to light.
That was the Trans Am based engine for the Camaro and the Mustang. With stock parts you could ring one out to north of 6500 RPM and make good power all the way.
The factory DZ's that came (in the trunk) with the cross ram dual holley's have been known to make 425 honest pony's on a Dyno.

 

[rhino]

The best laid plans.......

Or was it a 305? I can't remember what the Chevy 5L equivalent was back then.

Wait! I think it said "307" on the side of the car. Was that it?

 

[churchmouse]

Or was it a 305? I can't remember what the Chevy 5L equivalent was back then.

Wait! I think it said "307" on the side of the car. Was that it?

That fits. 307 was a short run engine. Kind of a turd by comparison.

 

[RustyHornet]

Pulled in about an hour ago! No issues with the car. Ran into some severe storms when we got close. It got really windy and the rain was crazy.

 

[Leadeye]

Only pic I have of the Charger burning rubber.

 

[Jeff]

I know CM used to race (or may still), but are there any straight line racers here?

While in the USAF I used to bracket race a friends 69 Cougar (as well as my Z24 Cavalier) in and around Texas.

He went on to be a teaching pro in golf and recently acquired a Ford Mustang Pro Stocker from a former NHRA driver. He has invited me down to Bradenton FL in January or February to give her a try and obtain a license. Sort of a bucket list thing for me.

 

[churchmouse]

I know CM used to race (or may still), but are there any straight line racers here?

While in the USAF I used to bracket race a friends 69 Cougar (as well as my Z24 Cavalier) in and around Texas.

He went on to be a teaching pro in golf and recently acquired a Ford Mustang Pro Stocker from a former NHRA driver. He has invited me down to Bradenton FL in January or February to give her a try and obtain a license. Sort of a bucket list thing for me.

Sweet.

No, we do not race anymore.
I sold the last race car a few months ago.

 

[Leo]

That fits. 307 was a short run engine. Kind of a turd by comparison.

Turd??????

I cannot say anything bad, you are right. Smooth idle, dependable, but I think 307's only made about 140 hp. A six /stick with an attentive driver could best my 307 powered car most any day. It got me to work and home pretty well. Funny how 1971 does not seem that long ago. Your car sounds like a lot more fun.

 

[churchmouse]

Turd??????

I cannot say anything bad, you are right. Smooth idle, dependable, but I think they only made about 140 hp. A six /stick with an attentive driver could best my 307 powered car most any day. It got me to work and home each day.

Reliable....you bet they were.
Power house........Nope. Not that one.