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8th Annual London Cobra Show - London's Cobra Show Spectacular8th Annual London Cobra Show From the November, 2008 issue of Kit Car By D. Brian Smith Photography by D. Brian Smith
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The London Cobra Show is a multi-day series of spectacles all geared around replicas of Cobras, Ford GT40s, Daytona Coupes, and their social owners. Enthusiasts from disparate parts of the U.S. and Canada converge upon Lexington, Columbus, and London, Ohio, to partake in the festivities. Ohio Cobra Club volunteers devote much of their free time to produce the LCS and make sure that it's a success. Measured by how many participants and spectators the event yields and, more importantly, how much money is raised to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis, the OCC hits a homerun every year. Serving as a warm-up to the LCS for the last three years, Snake and GT40 replica owners have tracked their cars at the famous Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington for two days of instruction and racing, which we've also chronicled in this issue of KC. Thursday has become the traditional travel day to the host hotels in Columbus. Less than a half hour into... Less than a half hour into our cruise, we made our first stop at a Sonic drive-in (it's tough traveling on an empty stomach). Some of the Jeg's cruisers included Superformance roadster owner Rod Allen and FFR Type 65 coupe and roadster owners Scott and Daphne Shumaker. Scott let KC ride shotgun in his supercharged FFR roadster. An emerging pastime for the LCS is a welcoming barbecue on Thursday night. This gives showgoers with a strong sense of smell a means to find the hotels via the wonderful aroma of expertly burned meat and a reason to arrive in Columbus early to eat more barbecue. For those of us who don't have to do all the hard work of producing the LCS, it appears to be a series of well-planned events that go off without a hitch. Ohio Cobra Club members volunteer their free time to assure that this is so. By tweaking the event this year with additional cruising venues to select from on Friday, changing the autocross Sunday to autocross Friday, and implementing an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on Sunday, the LCS offered more ways to have fun. The LCS 2008 and the Ohio Cobra Club raised $75,000 for funding research to cure Cystic Fibrosis. Perhaps due to our sluggish economy and the seemingly ever-increasing cost of fuel, the Cobra, Type 65, and GT40 car count was down from a high of 320 in 2007 to 250 this year, but no one really seemed to notice. We enjoyed everyone's company, the opportunity to participate in all the kit car driving and showing, the eating, the socializing, and having a chance to win that jet-black, Keith Craft-powered Superformance Mk III roadster. We learned that next year's raffle car will be a Factory Five Racing replica of the Type 65 Daytona Coupe that Bob Bondurant and Dan Gurney piloted to a Fourth Place overall and First Place in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1964. Now that we've tempted you to be a part of all the 2009 London Cobra Show festivities, you'll want to visit www.londoncobrashow.com, www.clubcobra.com, and www.FFcobra.com to find out more about next year's event. Until then, enjoy some of what we experienced depicted here and on the KIT CAR website, www.kitcarmag.com. We hope to see all of you at the London Cobra Show in 2009!  Cobra owners lined up their...  Cobra owners lined up their cars according to which tour they selected: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Hocking Hills, autocross, Jeg's, United States Air Force Museum at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, or an Amish Country cruise.  A sure-fire way to get your...  A sure-fire way to get your car in KC Magazine is to paint your signature on your door. Randall Thomas is a smart man.  Vintage Porsche race car restoration...  Vintage Porsche race car restoration shop Ryan Racing Restorations, in Plain City, Ohio, was the exciting second stop for our group. Owner Kevin Ryan (seated next to the Porsche racing engine wearing the red shirt) gave us a tour of his facility, where he builds and restores vintage racing Porsches of all types for various vintage-racing teams.  Finally, we made it to Je...  Finally, we made it to Jeg's.  Jeg's state-of-the-art distribution...  Jeg's state-of-the-art distribution facility in Delaware, OH, has more than 200,000 square feet of computer-automated warehouse space. These two photos depict the FedEx shipping area and one of the packing areas. Products are picked via a computer-controlled robotic inventory system and funneled down by conveyor belt to the appropriate location in the warehouse for packing, weighing, and shipping.  With all this cruising and...  With all this cruising and warehouse touring, we were getting hungry. So, like every year at the London Cobra Show, we all gathered at Quaker Steak Lube & Tune for some refreshments, sustenance, and socializing.  This year we opted to tag...  This year we opted to tag along on the Jeg's tour, since KIT CAR's editor has already visited the Air Force Museum and rode copilot for the Hocking Hills cruise. Though our gathering of Cobra owners was small, we had a blast driving out to the state-of-the-art Jeg's facility.  Many familiar cars and owners...  Many familiar cars and owners proceeded into London from Speedway. The blue-striped, pearl-white FFR roadster is owned by Mr. Schenck (who's father to Jim, the lead engineer for the FFR GTM project) and Jim's brother, who's riding shotgun. Ohio Cobra Club member Nick Zeyen of Columbus, OH, owns the yellow-over-black FFR replica.  All of this Cobra driving...  All of this Cobra driving and salivating over vintage Porsche racing machinery made us hungry, so our next stop was Handel's Homemade Ice Cream.  The vendor area at LCS included...  The vendor area at LCS included kit and replicar manufacturers, as well as component and automotive apparel suppliers.  Jimmy Myers of Richmond, VA,...  Jimmy Myers of Richmond, VA, filled his glass with a refreshing beverage, while Australian Rohan Smith waited to take his turn at the tap. Cheers!  Before leaving the Jeg's distribution...  Before leaving the Jeg's distribution center, we had a bit of candid camera. From left to right are: Scott Shumaker and his supercharged FFR, Tim Kerry and his FFR roadster, Rohan Smith from Australia, who rode with Daphne Shumaker in her FFR Type 65, (the gentleman with the electric blue FFR roadster could not be identified), father Russ Baumann and son Todd Baumann with Todd's FFR roadster  Shell Valley's display drew...  Shell Valley's display drew a large crowd the entire event, no doubt due to the scintillating Cobra replicas they brought for the London Cobra Show.  Saturday morning's array of...  Saturday morning's array of Daytona Coupes, Cobras, and GT40s for the parade from Speedway Motors filling station into London, OH, was a slithering lineup of mechanical snakes. Serpent owners were excited and couldn't wait to get the festivities started on this morning of picture-perfect weather.  In addition to showing several...  In addition to showing several Cobras and a couple of Daytona Coupes, Factory Five Racing had two GTM supercars on display. Henry Renaud of Marlborough, MA, owns the yellow beauty, which we featured in the May '08 issue.  What with the world premiere...  What with the world premiere of the company's latest vehicle on hand, the BDR GT, and several spectacular roadsters around, the Backdraft Racing display drew a crowd throughout the London Cobra Show.  Brothers Bill and Fred Littleton,...  Brothers Bill and Fred Littleton, owners of Greater Cincinnati Performance Cars, LLC, showed off a couple of the company's hot-selling Backdraft Racing roadsters.  LCS participants raised money...  LCS participants raised money for researching to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis, by making 1/8-mile passes on London's Main Street and charging $20 a ride. Daniel Krueger, of Long Grove, FL, gave an enthusiast a thrill in his Corvette LS6-powered Everett Morrison Cobra.  The best two words to describe...  The best two words to describe someone's beige-over-misty-green paint scheme on their Superformance roadster: unique and classy.  With a paying passenger at...  With a paying passenger at his side, Joe Byers lined up on Main Street to take a 1/8-mile pass in his FFR roadster.  The London Cobra Show 2008...  The London Cobra Show 2008 raffle car was this all-black Superformance Mk IIII roadster, with a Keith Craft-built-and-stroked Ford 351W and Tremec TKO 600 trans. Ohio Cobra Club member Gordon shook the winner's hand while OCC member Bill Dyer stood by. The lucky young man is full-time college student Mike Juhasz, of Youngstown, OH. Congratulations, Mike!
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