Steve Juliano's Dragonsnake Cobra

[Mr70]

Is that trailer still rolling today?

[427TJ]

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18 year old new owner..

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Note how high it sat originally and how tall those front tires were.

[Charley Lillard]

Car ran high 11s low 12s. Its a real stage 3 dragonsnake with optional chrome roll bar. only stage 3 ever made. stage 3 bumped it up to a weber car with cobra lettered aluminum oil pan in addition to the 5 spokes. slicks, shaved front tires (look close at center tread), 456? rear, cure ride shocks, hood scoop, side pipes w/rear standard exhaust, and other stuff.

[Charley Lillard]

Here is a email to Steven from the orig. owner about some of his racing exploits. Good reading.


Hello Steven,



There still are some memory cells connecting with the trip to Indianapolis.



Even though we were a late entry, we managed to find a motel in the countryside about 10 miles or so from the track. We took an entourage, the tow car and trailer with Cobra, and a jeep wagoneer with some extra tools and equipment. My brother Don and I, our Uncle, Roy Williams our mechanic, Frank whose last name I cannot remember and a friend of Frank’s.



We drove straight through from Gettysburg to Indianapolis leaving in the evening so we arrived the late next morning. We checked into the hotel, at race time the rooms were by the week so one was available for us early. We went to the racetrack and checked in that afternoon. We were met by some representatives from Hurst who had developed a shifter and gave one to all Cobra teams – good advertising if a Cobra won.



We didn’t know what to do, install it or keep the factory shifter. The “team” decided to install it. I decided to get some shuteye. Across the street from the motel was a Ford Garage. We asked if we could put the shifter in because we figured it would take us overnight and they had lights shining on there car lot pretty late. So in the evening we began installation, being so careful to save all parts for the regular shifter as if the Hurst unit did not fit, we could put it back in. We were visited unceremoniously by the local police a few times asking what the heck we were doing!



We had another chore to do. When the car was delivered, the rear was a 3.XX. I can’t remember exactly what it was, 3.79, 3.8X or something. Shelby’s team brought one for us as we were pretty miffed that we did not have the 4.5X when the car was delivered We actually did not know that until we raced the car at York a few times and were going through the traps in third gear. It was great for speed, but slow on time. We figured if we ever wanted to try a run at the record speed for the class, we would go with the 3.7X.



When we met Ken Miles at Watkins Glen, New York, before the car was delivered, he told us the car had enough torque coming off the line that after a while the stub axles in the differential would twist off. So we figured it was good to have a spare pair. That was a good idea BUT, you needed a 20-ton machine press to get the twisted ones out! You could beat on it all day long with a 12-pound sledge and not move them. In Gettysburg, we used the machine shop that built the body of the trailer for us. It was run by Ernie Simpson, Simpson’s machine shop. So with the geared rear and the n ew shifter, we were off to the races.



The next day was trial runs. Somehow it was miraculous that we got 5 runs in. I felt pretty good as trying to get used to a new shifter and how the car came off the line was all new stuff to me. The new shifter was quite different. It was very short between gears, probably on the order of no more than two inches and the up shift cross to third was very close too. It was almost as though you were jamming your elbow because you were still making the large throw shifts on the mickey mouse shifter.



I spent a lot of time that night making dry run shifts!



We met another Cobra driver, similar to my age, a young fellow whose Dad was also interested in this odd interest of his son. They were mad at Shelby for some similar reason of not getting promised parts. We were not mad because we were having too much fun and would adapt to anything and just do our best. I did not know that their machine was not a drag snake.



The next day was hot and sunny. For the car assembly area, they only let in those of us in the tow car and our other folk had to sit in the stands. But they snuck into the area we were at. No need for homeland security then.



We were ready to go. We had a strategy. Run with the vettes and then about the third run go after Shelby. We would use our last set of spark plugs and get the right hand lane. As the temperature of the day increased (and humidity too), we figured what we wanted to do with the jets and air bleeds for the Webers. We figured for every 10-15 degrees we would go larger 0.05” on the air but let the fuel alone.



Now in those days, I don’t want to brag, but I had an excellent reaction time. The starting lights were the best at that time, the top indicated the staging area, and then the descending yellows to the green. I just had a knack for the rhythm of those lights as they were not random at that time. The right hand lane had the best traction off the line; with our 5 trial runs, we could tell and the rest of our crew confirmed that the best hole shots were from the right lane.



We were called up. We looked sharp in our team gear. Yellow shirts with COBRA embroidered on the back, with black pants sporting a yellow strip down the leg. The pairings were of course Cobra and Vette. Nobody preburned tires at that time. So up to the line. Unfamiliar track, unfamiliar crew, wow – just look at the people in the stands! But then the world shrunk to about a 70 foot radius. Not even the end of the track was in mind. Staging light on for the Cobra. The vette went too far and had t o back up. Slowly creeping forward pushed by their crew, the staging light was on. Revving the engines, clear out those jets; “Ready now?” the starter signaled. I snugged up the strap on my helmet and nodded yes. Two, four, five, sixty-five thousand RPM on the tack, the lights start to descend - blink, blink, blink, blink – POP THE CLUTCH then GREEN. I shifted by sound, slam into second. Now the Cobra had fantastic front to back weight ratio. It never seemed to the driver to lift much off the line but it sure reeled when it snugged into second. By sound approaching 6 thousand, slam into third – Oh crud, I missed third gear . I shifted too far to the right and missed third. All that practice, all that way to the track and on the first run, I miss third. I knew we should have left in the mickey mouse. Shelby’s team did not change. Oh, no! How disappointed I have made the rest of the crew.



A lifetime was passing. Quick, recover, back into third. I had put such a hole shot on the vette that even with that missed shift, I never saw him beside me! The life time was less than a second according to the time card. Whew! Ok, turn off the track and back to the waiting area.



Ok, that one was out of my system. Now for some flawless racing. About 40 minutes later we were called back to the staging area. Another vette. I was lucky and had the right lane again. Ready to go. Deafining exhaust, both excellent out of the hole. All the way down the track side by side. This is the best race I have ever experienced. Through the traps and sadly, I finished second. The times were the same but the vette tripped off the quarter mile light first and he had a slightly greater spee d. Was it aerodynamics at the 115 mph end? I don’t know. I didn’t miss third!



By the end of the day, Shelby had won and we were packing up. Fun, exciting, and a great experience for an 18 year old.



We continued to have fun at the local tracks. We were often called to run against corvettes as it was a great crowd pleaser. I would say overwhelmingly, the crowd was for the vettes. But this little yellow ungainly Cobra had a lot of good runs.



Our first meet after Indianapolis was at York PA Route 30 raceway. It was an airport runway, in fact, two side by side. They could handle a lot of cars in an evening. Another local Cobra, Larsen was the driver, was also at Indianapolis and had told local folks he made it to the finals. He didn’t and I did not see it myself but I heard he lost in the first round to the same vette that clipped me in the second.



We were set up to make a few practice runs, the first one went fine and in the cool of the evening, we went with a nice big fuel jet. The second run, up to the line, pop the clutch, and going nowhere slow. The car just sort of inched along. The rear axles had twisted.



Now it would not take too much to convince me that the rear we got from Shelby’s crew in Indianapolis was one they had used, they pulled theirs and gave it to us and replaced theirs with the new one. The axles twisted off on the ninth run. We would never have made it to the finals at Indianapolis. When we replaced the axles, we usually got 70-90 runs, enough so that you could predict when to change and then your twelve pound sledge would work to replace them.



I have the program from Indianapolis and should get that to you. In fact, let me know if the Pelham NY address is a good one and I will send it to you this week. I will probably send it and some other stuff via registered or certified mail as there is not a replacement.



I probably rambled too long but it was good to revive the memory bank.



Mike

[sYc]

Verrrrry cool...

[427TJ]

"I probably rambled too long" NO WAY! Great story. I'd love to know the details of the Vette that beat him at Indy.

[Xplantdad]

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"I probably rambled too long" NO WAY! Great story. I'd love to know the details of the Vette that beat him at Indy.

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I agree....way cool!

[John Brown]

Any idea what year the Cobra first ran at the Indy Nationals? Not that it matters much..... just wondering.