2003 Mustang Cobra - King Of The Cobras

The interior is beginning... 

   

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The interior is beginning to look more and more like a race car's. The NHRA nine-second certified cage, gauges, and B&M Pro Stick shifter tell you something wild is going on here. Richard has the two-step set for a 3,500-rpm launch. Anything more and the tires go away in a hurry. Shifts with the C4 automatic are made at 6,500 rpm, and the finish line goes by at more than 7,200 rpm. Yes, the valvetrain is stock!

Everything came together for Ken, Richard, and Greg at WFC6. The car ran a record-smashing 9.59 at 143 mph (1.36 short time) on its way to being proclaimed the quickest '03 Cobra in America. Remember, that's with all the options the car was delivered with and a race weight of well over 3,700 pounds. Since then, the car has continued to win. Case in point is the recent Clash of the Titans race, where Richard entered the car in the Cheap Street class. It came down to a stroked big-block Chevelle with a fogger system and Ken's Cobra. The Cobra won with a 9.70 in 110-degree heat!

"These motors-stock-can take over 1,000 hp, easy," Richard said after a season of testing Ken's '03 Cobra. "We've pulled 680 rwhp and over 800 rwtq on this thing already-without the nitrous. When you try to spray it on the dyno, you don't think they make enough straps [to hold the car down]. You think the tires are going to get pulled right off the rims!"

Of course, there will be other '03 Cobras that step up to the mid nines by the time spring rolls around, but Ken and Richard plan on being far below the nines by that time. You see, Ken is dying to put a turbocharger on this thing. By the time the '04 Bradenton NMRA event rolls around, expect to find a turbo-charger, a big intercooler, a FAST fuel-injection system, and a ladder-bar rear suspension under this car. Oh, yeah-the team is also planning on running this thing with the stock long-block in Super Street Outlaw, with expected times in the 7.90-8.10 range! We told you the '03 Cobra was special.

This is the king of the Cobra jungle for 2003. Its stock long-block has never had its cam covers off nor has it ever been removed from the engine compartment. The main modification is the Kenne Bell Blowzilla twin-screw supercharger pullied for 18-21 psi (Metco lower and KB 3-inch upper with Metco idler) and the Accufab throttle body and inlet. The cold-air system is from UPR, painted yellow to match the car. Richard uses a Vortech Aftercooler icebox located in the stock battery area to provide more fluid exchange to the stock intercooler. The stock fuel system works with a Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump and MSD 50-lb/hr injectors. Other goodies include a Meziere electric water pump, Autolite 764 or NGK TR5 spark plugs, a Kenne Bell Boost-A-Spark, a DiabloSport chip by Strictly Performance, Kook's 131/44-inch long-tube headers, a Dr. Gas X-pipe, and Flowmaster mufflers. The fuel of choice is VP C16. Richard has custom built the nitrous system for this car using NOS components designed to work with the returnless fuel system. He hits the nitrous fogger in front of the stock 90mm MAS. And he believes the cold gas on the mass air makes the computer go into a richer performance mode. With his success, who can argue? The car has been dyno tested to 849 rwhp and an estimated 1,000-plus lb-ft of rwtq.