And another thing: noise. This thing trumpets better than Dizzy Gilespie, especially at freeway cruise rpm. The idle is surprisingly quiet, yet with an enthusiastic burble, and unleashed, the roar is Wagnerian poetry. But the freeway cruise is anti-social, with the ever-present din blaring off the car next to you (people on the freeway move over a lane, if possible) and booming off tunnel walls with such gusto you notice it with the windows rolled up. Every neighbor within two blocks knows when you come and go, too
Braking was good, but we think it would have been better with a little pad maintenance. They felt a bit glazed and would likely retard better "once the smoke was let out of 'em" as we've heard one braking expert put it. With Hydraboost, the pedal was just the way we like it, good and firm with little travel.
But in the end, it's the effortless power that keeps drawing you back. We reveled in freeway merging, as any cluck could block us all the way up the ramp, then mindlessly move over lane after lane, except with this car we didn't have to wait around to absorb the full measure of their inconsideration because we were gone, outta there, making tracks. With this kind of power, you wait for no one.
Secondary road passing was another highlight; safely and easily done every time. In the remaining aspects, this is a real car, with good hot rod driveability. The body was tight, the ride refreshingly compliant for a hot rod, and with a little less noise and a taller Sixth gear we could strongly recommend it as a real-world rocket.
But for now, it's just to get excited about.
Mr. Whipple?Relatively new on the Ford scene is the Whipple supercharger, thanks to FRPP carrying its supercharger kitted for late-model modulars. If you're familiar with Kenne Bell's Lysholm-screw design blower, then the Whipple blower will be familiar. Whipple and Kenne Bell are fierce aftermarket competitors, but the internals of both blowers-the twin screws, drives, and so on-are both sourced from the Swedish Lysholm concern. That makes both high-efficiency, positive-displacement blowers. Packaging, manifolding, and accessories are unique to each company.
Speeding TicketHere's a list of the parts FRPP put on its SVT Cobra project. Just remember, there is no labor included here, and even if you do the work yourself, there is some engine management work you'll need to farm out. This could easily include an aftermarket engine management system, and dyno time for tuning.