1966 Cobray C3 - Hot Rod Cobra

To create an affordable hot rod Cobra that provides plenty of interior room, comfort, and gobs of performance: Jeff Classic founded Cobras N Vettes in 1997 with these lofty goals in mind. Original and reproduction Cobras typically offer plenty of power and handling, but the cockpits aren't so accommodating if you're tall and/or big. The original's 90-inch wheelbase and set-back engine meant that a wide transmission tunnel necessitated narrow footboxes for the driver and passenger.

Cobras N Vettes selected the Corvette C3 foundation, a 98-inch wheelbase chassis with a 59-inch-wide track produced and enhanced from 1968-82, for its Cobray-C3. They reasoned that building a stretched Cobra-esque body over a C3 chassis would yield an interior that's more comfortable for the car's occupants. With eight inches more working room, the engine could still be well back in the bay, offering ideal front-to-rear weight distribution, and interior space wouldn't be compromised in the process. Over a half-million C3 Corvettes were sold, so the chassis is a proven, developed platform to build upon.

At KIT CAR Performance Day, we witnessed and photographed a Cobray-C3 tested on a 420-foot slalom with cones spaced every 70 feet, a skidpad, acceleration from 0-60 mph, and braking from 60-0. Cobras N Vettes brought a Cobray-C3 to the El Toro Marine Base, where AMCI Marketing performs testing of new cars and KIT CAR examines replicas in the aforementioned four driving categories. The Cobray-C3 had a turbocharged small-block Chevy V-8. Cobras N Vettes decided to turn off the turbo by setting the pop-off valve to zero psi. They wanted to show how well a normally aspirated small-block V-8 would perform in testing, but they didn't realize until after the fact that setting the valve to zero would yield less than normally aspirated performance. What we're getting at is that the car did reasonably well in the four tests, but it likely would have performed better with either a carbureted or fuel-injected non-turbo engine than with one with diminished airflow due to a closed pop-off valve. At the second KIT CAR Performance Day, we bet Cobras N Vettes will show up with one or more non-blown cars for our high-performance examination.

Since the '68-82 Corvette weighs 1,000 pounds more than the Cobray-C3, the donor chassis spring rates should be changed to optimize the Cobray's handling. Cobras N Vettes provides computer-designed spring and shock packages calibrated to your car's drivetrain selection/placement and the vehicle's new gross weight. The handlaid fiberglass Cobray body has the same eight mounting points to the C3 chassis that an original Corvette has, so the car build time is reduced and the process is simplified.

For the big day on the tarmac, Cobras N Vettes' owner piloted the Cobray-C3 on the acceleration and braking passes and had a good buddy of his, Steve Mulvey, drive the slalom and skidpad. Steve's no stranger to racing, so he could handle these two more demanding disciplines with ease. Given the fact that the Cobray ran with the dreaded closed turbo pop-off valve, the car still posted respectable numbers. There's talk that Cobras N Vettes may invite KIT CAR out to Arizona for some seat time. We wouldn't be opposed to that. As James Earl Jones' character Terrence Mann in the movie Field of Dreams promised when he ventured into Kevin Costner's Kansas cornfield, we'll happily write about tearing up the Arizona desert in a Cobray-C3. And Jeff, if you promise us the keys and a full fuel tank, we will come.