Dang! Looking at the car, it is amazing you weren't injured more severely or even killed. The car looks like it was probably junked with a few parts saved. I've fantasized about getting a reproduction Cobra but with a small-block motor. I'd probably do something really stupid if driving a 427.
Take a line from the top of the hoop to the top of the engine (front most immovable object in a Cobra. If that line goes within 3 inches of the top of your helmet, with the harness tightened until it hurts, then don’t take it anywhere near a racetrack. This rules out most Cobras, unless you are a midget. You are one very very lucky dude.
You can see the car swaying left to right after the corner. Something was obviously not right. I would have stopped to go to the pit. It’s not like it’s a competition. You’re not losing anything by going to the pit to check up.
At approximately 5:52 was the single piece of debris glancing angularly front to back noticeable to you? It's apparent inertia makes it seem more than cardboard or paper.
Glad you survived! This is scary to watch. I've worried about the strength of roll hoops but this video seems like proof they do offer protection with 3 points - they didn't collapse or bend much. From materials science, fibreglass is stronger than the same weight of steel. Imagine what this would have looked like in a steel body. Your chassis was pretty strong. I'm watching to make my own journey safer - so thanks for sharing this vital footage. Can't have been easy to go through. But this video helps others including me. I'm adding ABS to my Cobra, because I've seen too many lock wheels. I want to change my chassis to the XCS 427 with patented constant camber and anti roll suspension. Double roll hoops. Probably going to upgrade the doors too. Thank God you're OK. That harness and helmet sure did their jobs that day. Tysm 🙏💪💛
Did not even warm up the tires at the beginning someone must of put sand on the track there is still a God with Jesus blood 🩸 protection all around you , and no HANS Device, praise Jesus Christ grace amen 🙏.BigAl California
My first impression was “why is he wearing a firesuit at a DE?” My second was “ Oh that’s why. This is a fire breathing monster and he likes to go really fast.” My third was “I don’t like how that shoulder harness is attached to the roll hoop with the much thinner metal bar one bit”. My fourth was “Fortunately, it was strong enough”.
Wow. The way he described it "it felt loose and then it felt tight again." was exactly like how my 79 toyota felt before it veered into a guardrail at 70. I'm not comparing our situations. My truck never flipped and even if it did I had a real roof. It's just uncanny. Some broken ribs and maybe some tears over my dream project truck and I was fine. Funny thing is I was gonna do the bushings and go though the front suspension next weekend. I was so upset I released the title to the towing company to pay the bill and never went back for my shit.
First and foremost, I am glad to see that you walked away unscathed. I have seen many crashes with Cobra replica's, most of them seem to be Superformance cars. They have the best fit and finish of any replica manufacturer I have ever seen, but their handling is like that of a school bus. I won't give my name, but I have been under many of them, and have set a couple up for the track. The company is very good about addressing weak places when they are pointed out, so kudos for that. One car that I worked on had a true 427 side oiler in it, and no front anti sway bar, but a huge one in the rear. Who does that, I have never seen such an ill handling car in my life. So I outfitted the car with a front anti sway bar, then went about reducing the size of the rear, and it performed a lot better. I also lowered the rear and raised the front each by 3/8 inch, and that balanced it better. I have an Everett Morrison, running a C4 Corvette suspension, so I have no problem keeping pace with the newer cars, like the C6 or C7 with the Z51 package, and Vipers, but not the last ACR they made, that car actually makes downforce, which is something my car does not do. For the most part I think that the Superformance is a pretty safe car, a friend spun on the street and clipped a tree at about 80 mph, and only received a collapsed lung. I would like to compete, but I do not know what class I would need to enter. I did meet a guy at the Detroit Autorama some years back, and he raced his, but I don't know what hoops he had to jump through, to have his car accepted in to the antique class that he claimed he was in. Sorry, I didn't spell check or proof read. Now I am ready to hear everyone who owns a Superformance, call me a jackass, and this and that, even though I didn't really knock the car, just the handling. I can make it handle much better than they do when they are first delivered to you, but I don't want to open myself up to any liability, so I will keep the F/R weight bias, and the front and rear wheel alignments to myself.
Handling seems to be the last on anyone's list on these cars (in general not talking about this video). Idk why. Race cars are designed around the tyres and traction. I know shiny engines and ridiculous hp levels are cool. But power without control is weakness imho. This was a mechanical failure which I'm sure can happen to anyone. I'd love to talk to you about your setup. Tuning suspension and handling takes more time and knowledge than bolting in huge engines. So mad respect to race teams that do all that work. The one I built was forced to have too many compromises by my co-builder. For racing anyway. His standard was "does it start?". Does it stop is my first question. And how does it stop.
The only reason this happened is because something broke on the front suspension steering, this sort of thing happens when you buy a badly designed kit car
Seen this a bunch. Im sorry you wrecked like that, but at least your alive. And, you knew the risks of having it on the track. Was a nice looking car !
Cars can be replaced, that was a spectacular rummage sale! Now, WTF broke? Did your left rear tire blow? Nice to know the roll bars work in the Cobras.
