Cobra Jet Question...
 

If cars like the Mustang Cobra Jet, COPO Camaro and Drag Pak Challenger were street-legal would anyone here even think about daily driving them given their unique technical specifications? I wonder how they would even feel on city streets and freeways...

I had the opportunity to drive a GT500 once, it went to the point where the speed was just "Oh, i can go to jail now". Extremely satisfying but the urged to just take it to a track or drag strip was always in the air.

Lots of horses and cold tires will always equal a bad time.

Also i'd dare question how reliable these cars are, over modified engines don't do so well in cold mornings.

I'd love to own a drag racer made legal, but i wouldn't daily it.

GT500's are good fun on an open highway. A buddy of mine had one. It was harsh but fast as hell, and I loved it.

Reliability is always a concern especially with radical and aggressive gearing paired with the fact that the gearbox has no overdrive. On the highway, each car would be turning about 3600 rpm at 75 mph. While that's definitely not for the faint of heart, a lot of hardcore hot rod guys seem to make those kinds of numbers work on the street. My guess is that with proper maintenance, these cars could at least do 75k miles before wearing out.

I guess the real question is is it possible to DD any of them?

No. Because in the end they are still a Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger.

Sounds like someone is a domestic hater...

I imagine you could DD them. There are a lot of high horsepower domestics out there that are used as DDs, they just lack the track-weapon parts that these have.

I used to daily my old fox body with plenty of power, cheater slicks, and 4" Weld wheels up front. That's one definite live and learn setup There was one occasion where I had to emergency stop and the front wheels just gave up, no friction. Full lock to the left and the car kept skidding straight until I stopped. Also, cheater slicks + rain = side of road.

So I would venture to say yes, it's probably doable. But the car should be appropriately prepped for the street.

That's really not that fast - engines aren't terribly stressed at 3-4krpm. Many cheaper/lower powered cars will actually be doing that as well - my 2007 Outback (5spd stick) is turning 4k at 85mph on the interstate, and it's at 117k miles and still going strong (and a pretty good chunk of that was interstate driving).

I don't hate all domestics. The older muscle cars are awesome. The new ones are ugly, overweight, pieces of crap.

With more streetable tires and a less aggressive rear gear, I would think this would actually be a ton of fun on the streets because it's so far out of the ordinary.

You do have a point, but it is a race car. I wouldn't expect it to be terribly comfortable on the streets given that it has a track suspension setup. With that said, they might actually be a ton of fun given the sheer amount of raw power. It's kinda like a car that begs to be floored everywhere.

I guess...I'm just not used to seeing a big, lumbering, domestic V8 sit at those types of revs on the highway.

I gotcha. I hope you didn't take my original comment the wrong way (I like to be sarcastic at times). I completely understand that we all have our preferences.

I would "daily drive" them all, and I have had a chance to drive many. 70 boss 302 factory drag pack was my favorite. Cars are meant to be driven, which is why i have my FR-S. I've driven cobra jets (tooooo heavy) new boss 302s etc, they are all fun, but different in their own way. Anyone who says the newer ones handle like shit clearly can't drive, or simply don't have appreciation for what they are. No, they are not a 2700lb 4 cylinder, nor are they trying to be.

That's the spirit! You've driven one of the newer CJ's? What was it like?

Maybe when I was younger & when cars were less refined--but I'm too spoiled nowadays to drive something w/ comfort compromises those cars have, on a daily basis.

Now as an occasional weekend hotrod...

I think that seems to be the general consensus...