On the Street
It's all about feel on the street, not numbers, so to get that feel Miles and I paired up and "street raced" from 25-mph rolls beginning in Second gear. Using handheld radios to count down the start, we began with the Mach 1 and the Cobra. The Mach jumped to a one-plus car lead and pulled ever so slightly on the Cobra. I was in the Cobra and couldn't even begin to even things up with the Mach. Interestingly, the Mach went through Second gear, then shifted into Third and maintained its distance on the Cobra. It seemed as though Miles short-shifted the two-three slightly, but he was working with a lower redline too. I stayed in Second in the Cobra, and just as I was nearing redline in that gear, I began to pull a tad on the Bullitt. But by then the test was over. After all, if a street car can't do the job in two blocks, it's not going to, and we have quarter-mile numbers if you want to know how a proper drag race would turn out.
Then we turned around and went again. This time the start was more even, and the two Four-Valve cars pulled evenly. We both stayed in Second gear, and there was no change in position. Still, the Mach got the initial jump of about a quarter car length and stayed there. The Cobra could do nothing about it.
Miles and I concluded the first start had been jumped by him, or late by me. Still, the cars seemed dead even, so anyone street racing these things better be an ace on the start, because he's certainly not going to chase down the other car with it.
Next, I got in the Mach and Miles got in his Bullitt. We still used the radios to count down and aimed for 2,500-rpm, Second-gear starts. The Mach pulled the Bullitt by at least a car length, and that was that. We did this twice, and the second time I lifted and got right back on it again on purpose just to see if the Bullitt could make ground if the Mach 1 driver flubbed the start. This let the Bullitt out in front a tad. The Mach did start to pull it, though not really enough to be totally comfortable in a two-block knife fight. However, if the race had any length to it, the Mach would win every time.
Because the Cobra and Mach were so even, we didn't take the time to pair the Bullitt with the snake.