The Double Venom Spring Fling is a wonderful event that raises money for cystic fibrosis research and brings together some 300 Cobras in the tiny hamlet of London, Ohio, in the name of charity and friendship (see Spring Fling 3, January '04 issue of KIT CAR).
With 25 dozen Cobras to choose from, it is difficult to select one as our Editor's Choice Car of the Show. I was in a quandary until I saw the House of Kolors Galaxy Gray Factory Five Snake of Henry Arnaud. After closely examining his car's Orion Silver ghost flames and surveying the beauty and lines of this kit car, the choice was made and the trophy was given to this very deserving car and its owner.
Renaud is an engineer from Marlbrough, Massachusetts. He has been a Cobra lover for years and was looking for a Snake to replace the FFR Roadster he bought and sold a few years earlier. On this project, Renaud's wife, son, and daughter would help, so he wanted this one to be finished off with perfection.
During the one-year build, he was away in the military for seven months (Middle East tour of duty as a Major with his Air National Guard Unit), but when he was finished, he knew he had something special.
He started with a stock FFR chassis and added a '95 T-bird IRS with 3:73 gears. He added an antiroll bar, front and rear, and Pro shocks to go with the Ford SN-95 spindles, '95 Ford Mustang Cobra master cylinder, Mustang front brakes and pedal assembly, Wilwood proportioning valve, Flaming River steering box, and Tri-State Motors steering column.
For the Cobra hiss he installed an '01 Ford 351 crate motor that has been machined out to 392 ci. A Finish Line engine cooler, Ford Racing heads, Barry Grant 750-cfm carburetor, and Circle Track racing breathers help push the mill to 430 hp at 5,000 rpm.
He added MSD electronic ignition, coil, and wires and went with FFR four-into-four headers and ceramic-coated silver exhausts. The system has been graded at 400 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm.
Renaud finished off the guts of his Snake with a Tremec TKO tranny, McLeod bellhousing, and FMS clutch discs.
All of this makes the car hum and shine performance-wise, but it is the exterior that makes this Cobra replica stand out from the crowd. The fiberglass FFR Type 65 body is equipped with an aluminum hood scoop. Station Road and Body of Sudburg, Massachusetts, then took over, and Tom McGinley painted it, ghost-flamed it, clear-coated it, pinstriped it, and waxed it. Voila...Car of the Show.
The interior shines too, thanks to Auto Meter Phantom gauges, black carpet, Clubman seats, Simpson seatbelts, and the FFR sock dash.
We think we couldn't have made a better choice. Nice family project. This is one Flamin' Sizzlin' Snake.