Horse Sense: Jim Hodges races under the Addictive Motorsports banner. Addictive refers to Jim's drug detection and rehabilitation business.
It's usually around 3 a.m., while lying on cold concrete under a broken race car, that someone mentions the glamour of motorsports. A bunch of hard work is what it really is, and for that, Jim Hodges and partners Ray Newton and Pete Morlene are dyed in the wool. For while Jim owns the flaming Cobra speed wagon seen here, all three are living the gypsy life in motorhomes and motel rooms as they campaign this eye-catching Mustang in a bewildering number and styles of speed contests. From the Open Track Challenge to Bonneville, Pikes Peak, the Hot Rod Power Tour, numerous shows, the Silver State Challenge, and now even World Challenge racing in 2004, this Mustang was designed to excel on the street, the track, or simply while showing off.
Appropriately, it was at the Open Track Challenge during the spring of 2003 where we first laid appreciative eyes and lenses on the trio's creation. Only a few weeks and 2,000 miles old, their Cobra was in the condition seen here, track- and camera-ready. It's all part of a plan, Jim assured us, when we wandered over for a look-see.
The plan-or perhaps we should say the "torturous plot"-was to outfit a Ford with a warehouse of aftermarket parts in the quest for an incredible range of street and racing glory, the better to earn press coverage for the sponsoring companies. No stranger to promotional concepts, Jim was special events coordinator for Hot Rod magazine years ago. He recently built a PT Cruiser with Ray Newton, who owns PTeazer, a PT Cruiser specialty shop. Wanting to do it again, but faster, Jim initially set his sights on hopping up a Mercury Marauder. But when the '03 Cobra hit the showroom, he quickly switched to the supercharged Mustang.
This is also a good spot to point out that Pete Morlene was keen on the Mustang Cobra, as his company, Kaminari, builds the body kit the Mustang is wearing. Known simply as the "Mus-tang kit" at Kaminari, the front fascias are available in either urethane or fiberglass. This one is urethane for better flexibility and the inevitable damage resistance. The rocker panels should all be urethane by the time you read this, although they are fiberglass on the project car, and the rear fascia is fiberglass. Interestingly, Pete says his company sells considerably more rear fascias than any other part of the kit.
In any case, the only thing special about the body kit as seen here is the addition of the Cobra lettering in the rear fascia to form the first Kaminari Mustang Cobra kit. It's a standard choice from Kaminari now, but it was a one-off when the car was built last spring.
In fact, the car is a constant work in progress. Jim, Ray, and Pete began with the package as shown here during its Open Track Challenge debut, but they continually add or change equipment as time and work-shop space allow. For example, Jim's hometown is Fresno, California, and when the OTC went north, the team was able to camp at home for a change. That meant a quick bit of maintenance at Jim's place too. Later, the car was worked on at both Ray and Pete's shops on the West Coast, or wherever the team needed to take it. This includes such long hauls as Kenny Brown's shop in Indianapolis, Indiana. When you add in the travel for the racing, the three are constantly on the road.
The car began with Kenny Brown's gear. From the get-go, the complete Kenny Brown suspension was installed, which includes considerable chassis stiffeners and suspension bushings, arms, and add-on links, as well as stiffeners for the independent rear suspension cradle and adjustable lower control arms. Bilstein shocks were fitted right away too.
After our photo shoot, the car went to Kenny Brown's for the installation of a full World Challenge-spec rollcage. This was necessary for a possible run in the '04 SCCA World Challenge series-but we're getting ahead of ourselves with that.