Did someone say Buick?

[Winchester67]

We are in a great time to rebuild a small block Ford (or just about any engine, frankly). The original Cobras that set all the records had a 271 Horse 289 Ford engine. It had solid lifters and a Shelby intake with Holley carb or four Webers. Weber Carbs were intended for racing applications. Anyway, engineers have not just sat on their hands since then. Aluminum heads such as AFR and roller rockers that allow a pretty agressive cam while still being streetable are two of the biggest/best upgrades you can make and still look like a period correct engine. And perhaps the biggest upgrade is aftermarket fuel injection. It is more fuel efficient and VERY responsive, and you can still get by with an engine that looks the part. Here is my 1973 Corvette fitted with FiTech Fuel Injection. When I pop the hood it still appears like a classic muscle car motor but driveability is dramatically improved.

 

[Winchester67]

The Cobra has a Holley carb, and is making a mild, reliable 345 horses on pump gas. And roller rockers means I don't have to adjust solid lifters like the old 60's iron! AFR heads, hypereutectic pistons...just a good RELIABLE street motor that runs great and is mostly hands off.

 

[UC_Guy 1971]

The Cobra has a Holley carb, and is making a mild, reliable 345 horses on pump gas. And roller rockers means I don't have to adjust solid lifters like the old 60's iron! AFR heads, hypereutectic pistons...just a good RELIABLE street motor that runs great and is mostly hands off.

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Yah, I'm not worried about looking period correct. I understand it, but I have a 4-door land yaht. Kind of. My car's only claim to faim is that it is the exact same make, model and color as the one used on the Dragnet TV series. Which is kind of cool. I need rims and caps to make it look completely ligit.

Other than that. My factory two barrel and cast iron intake is sitting on a shelf in my garage and has been replaced with an aluminum Jegs and Edelbrock four barrel. The goal is to eventually go with GT40 heads in the rebuild, followed by headers, dual exhaust, electronic ignition.

I'm currently working on the interior. The front bench is getting swapped out for buckets. This is more to be able to run a center console with an aftermarket stereo and cup holders.

Also on the list of things to do is power disk brakes, suspension upgrades, etc...

 

[Winchester67]

I really like it. Most cars today all look the same because they are all designed in conjunction with a wind tunnel and the results are the same in Germany at BMW as they are in Japan at Honda or here in America at Ford. Your car turns heads and has a real back seat that can be used. I think it would make a great daily (ok, nice day) driver. Couple years back at the Lake Garnett Vintage Grand Prix there was a guy with a 289 Fairlane GT two door that was burning up the track. It put a huge smile on the owners face...bigger than some of the guys tip toeing around the track in a much more expensive ride. I can dig it, man!