Ford FIA 289 Cobra - Comp Ready Cobra

Go juice is delivered through a single 715-cfm Holley carb atop a repro Blue Thunder dual-plane manifold, which breathes through a chromed Stelling & Hellings air cleaner found inside the aluminum turkey pan. A Mallory UniLite electronic ignition delivers the spark along Moroso 7mm wires, while the exhaust exits through ceramic-coated 1 5/8-inch headers from Unique. The 3-inch FIA-style side pipes and mufflers do the rest. And since Capps builds 'em for a living, he assembled a Ford Top Loader transmission with a McLeod 11-inch disc and three-finger pressure plate, a set of close-ratio gears, and a Hurst Competition Plus shifter (with a FIA-style lever added).

Having done the suspension and tranny work, Butch decided to have Unique Motorsports do the body and paint on his car. Unique's Alan Weaver did the required bodywork before spraying the car with PPG Viking Blue. But being from Alabama, Weaver wasn't about to paint an (Tennessee) orange stripe across the nose of Butch's car, even though that's the way some FIA cars appeared in 1965. So, in a little bit of trickery, Capps ordered up some Poppy Red paint (which is actually more orange than red and the right shade for the stripe between the front fenderwells) and Alan painted it thinking it would end up red-with Butch getting the last laugh!

The interior was next, and the authenticity Butch wanted in the other areas of his car, he wanted in the cockpit, too. Black leather was used throughout, including original-looking hinge covers and door pull straps. Leather was also used on the bucket seats (from Unique), which were outfitted with Simpson belts and harnesses for track days. The dash is filled with Stewart Warner gauges, and a 14-inch AC-type steering wheel can easily be dismounted with the use of a quick-release hub (sold through Sterling Replicars).

With the car completed, Capps began taking it to area shows (the 2001 Cobrafest and SAAC meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as the 2003 SAAC meet in Nashville, Tennessee) and, in the process, began picking up a few awards (Best Paint, Best 289, Best of Show at the Deep South Cobra Club meet in 2002, as well as placing at the SAAC Kit Car meet in 2001).

But he wasn't too interested in expanding the trophy shelf at home, unless it was for racing trophies. An avid racer, Capps has attended 15 different open track events with his two Cobras without any parts failures (though Butch says he's been known to change directions in the middle of a turn for no apparent reason!). Most folks would bleed red when cut but, in Butch Capps' case, he'd bleed blue-Ford blue!