Convertible, a handicap?

[dkhl]

I work in a mechanics shop, and a beautiful.. beautiful '97 Black Cobra came in today.. jesus.. I originally wanted a '03 Mach 1.. but I think I could settle with a '94-'98 Cobra their sweet..

The cobra was a convertible, I was wondering if that would be a handicap if I were to bring it to a drag strip? or race a couple of friends. I definitely know not to race in the streets, I worked too hard to get money to buy a car just to lose it.. Maybe an ocassional burn out haha..

Oh and lastly, anybody have specs on the Cobra for this generation?

 

[tomustang]

well first, the 94-95 cobras are not the same as the 96-98's, the 94-95 cobras have a 5.0 with 240hp. the 96-98 have the DOHC 4.6 rated @ 305hp i'd choose the the 96+. handicaping is all based on what track you run and why type of racing you do. under braket racing at my local strip they handicap on 1/4mi times, not what type of car it is. as for info on the cobra, just google or yahoo search for the specs, there easy to find.

 

[dkhl]

damn, i knew that.. i meant '96-'98 pretty much.. although the 5.0L from '94-95 isn't too bad..

i dunno, but i'm likin convertibles more now, i guess its nice to have wind blow in your hair.

 

[1992 2.3LX]

if you get one be prepared to do a lot more suspension work then you would on a coupe.

i can't wait to get some cash to stiffen the thing up. it's like driving a bowl of jello.

thank the lord for Kenny Brown and the other suspension specialist i will be buying products from.

 

[dkhl]

Assuming suspension is the FIRST thing I do to a convertible, could I ever even hope to attain similar performance a hard top would get?

 

[tomustang]

you're just adding weight to a coupe in comparison. of course a coupe handles better than a vert but there's tons of suspension mods out there that can easily fix that prob

 

[Jackie Chan]

you really only give up a little under 200lbs, chassis stiffening is taken care of by a $100 set of welded in subframe connectors. Once you get into the 12's you should really invest in a 6 point bar which will definately stiffen the car up more than any stock coupe. Verts are cool at the strip, i generally dont have any problems beating guys with the same mods in coupes, but that is just because of the amount of seat time i have now in this car

 

[007]

you really only give up a little under 200lbs, chassis stiffening is taken care of by a $100 set of welded in subframe connectors. Once you get into the 12's you should really invest in a 6 point bar which will definately stiffen the car up more than any stock coupe. Verts are cool at the strip, i generally dont have any problems beating guys with the same mods in coupes, but that is just because of the amount of seat time i have now in this car

What he said. A vert is a slight weight handicap, and needs a little stiffening, but I'd never dream of swapping for a hardtop. Love having the top down so much.

 

[tarch at school]

you really only give up a little under 200lbs, chassis stiffening is taken care of by a $100 set of welded in subframe connectors. Once you get into the 12's you should really invest in a 6 point bar which will definately stiffen the car up more than any stock coupe. Verts are cool at the strip, i generally dont have any problems beating guys with the same mods in coupes, but that is just because of the amount of seat time i have now in this car

reverse burn out

 

[Jackie Chan]

reverse burn out

where are your 15sec timeslips???

 

[tarch]

where are your 15sec timeslips???

they're about to be history

 

[Blev]

It's not a Cobra, but same body style. I wouldn't pass up a vert for a hardtop, not if you live in a sunny state. Please ignore the 4x4 look, it's getting dropped this weekend.