King Cobra

[JoeC]

I got an email from the owner who said he is going to restore it back to King Cobra status [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[cobraracer]

Now thats what I like to hear! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif[/img]This is the recent pic that clubcobra has posted.

[cobraracer]

and another one from the good ole days... If anyone knows of magazines with articles on this car could you please tell me what issue & month/year. I have a pretty big collection of old magazines but I really don't want to go tearing through them looking for one or two articles.
Thanks again.

[AutoInsane]

Was there more than one car? Was there also a small block 289 car? The only reason I say this is the quote I lifted from one of the modeling websites mentioned two....

[JoeC]

yes see my first post in this thread

[olredalert]

-------Seems to me that Bruce Larsen raced a small block Dragin-Snake back in the day,didnt he?Also,I remember Larry Megibow at the Glass Car Co.in New Jersey having a small-block Dragin-Snake for sale back in the early 80s!........Bill S

[copo9566aa]

Joel Rosen [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif[/img] with the Motion Perf King Cobra. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

That year, Rosen helped launch the
new operation by running no less than
two Cobras under the Motion Perform-
ance banner. Most of the thrust was
placed on a 427 Cobra owned by Clem
Hoppe and built, tuned and driven by
Joel Rosen. The injected small block Co-
bra took a backseat to the ferocious 427
Cobra dubbed King Cobra.
During Motion's early years, racing
activities were of a low profile nature,
but whenever possible. Rosen usually
drove shop-sponsored cars to and from
the dragstrip, but that wasn't possible
with the injected Cobra. However, the
blueprinted medium riser 427 in the
King Cobra could be managed on the
street. And, Rosen drove it everywhere.
It's interesting to note that Rosen's
first run with the King Cobra netted
him a 11.90 time slip running against
an 11.40 record in the old NASCAR drag
racing books, Later, while running
against this record at a NASCAR sanc-
tioned track, he set a new record with
the King Cobra at 131 mph in 10.64 sec-
onds. Then he tried his luck with
NHRA. At the 1966 National record
runs at Atco, New Jersey, Rosen blasted
the standing record.After driving more
than 3 1/2 hours to Atco in an open 427
Cobra, he changed the plugs and tires
and made his pass. After set ting the re-
cord at 10.67 seconds, he put the street
plugs back in, changed to street tires
and drove back home. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/[/img]

[copo9566aa]

1965 cool Motion Perf cobra 289 story [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Rosen crossed the imaginary
line into the enemy camp-Ford. ln 1965
Motion Performance debuted its head
turning Shelby Cobra finished in Gold
Metalflake and fitted with a Rosen-built
289 cubic inch Hilborn injected small
block. The Cobra and Rosen set a num-
ber of local, regional and national drag
racing records. Prior to Rosen's pur-
chase.of the Cobra it had been a .celeb-
rity car. He bought it from controversial
disc jockey Bob Dayton whose outra-
geous comments abruptly ended his ca-
reer on New York radio.
[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[JoeG]

copoo9566aa,
Great article and vintage photo of Rosen in his shop
Not bad for a young mechanic from N.Y.--- [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif[/img]--JoeG

[sYc]

Yes, Bruce Larsen did race a Cobra, and still has it, as well as a couple of his old funny cars. Bruce told me that he enjoyed racing the Cobra, but his employer, Sutliff Chevrolet, caguht him with the Ford on their dyno, and suggested that it might look better if he raced a Chevy, thus the beginning of a long standing sponsership for Bruce from Sutliff.