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As The Stripes Fade
The Performance Car, Ten Years Later
by Bruce Caldwell
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The image haunts you. You know you've seen it somewhere before, or was it just a dream? The bold blue stripes running the full length of the sparkling white body - you couldn't forget a vision like that. Maybe you're getting things confused because you seem to remember the deep, throaty, exhaust sounds of a licentiously lumpy cam emanating from a barely muffled exhaust system, yet what stands before you is as quiet as any luxury car. The size, shape, and name all seem so familiar, yet different. Then you mind snaps. Now you remember - the Shelby GT 350, the showroom racer of ten years ago. What seemed like a demented case of automotive deja vu was only the stirrings of almost forgotten pleasures, rekindled by Ford's '76 Cobra II.
Based on the regular production Mustang II, just as the Shelby GT 350 was based on the production Mustang 2+2, the Cobra II represents Ford Motor Company's performance image for 1976. Visually, the Cobra II gives the impression that maybe the old Shelby has been resurrected, but a quick return to the government-imposed realities of the Seventies tells you that it just couldn't be. And, of course, it's definitely not the performance car of ten years ago, or even five years ago. The stripes of muscle cars have faded, their springs have gone soft, and the multitude of scoops, spoilers, tachs, hood pins, and 150-mph speedometers have withered to cosmetic vestiges. All of this sounds pretty gloomy, but in fact things aren't nearly so bad. Lifestyles have changed, and the performance car has evolved with the times. A car that will do 130 mph isn't of much use on congested 55-mph freeways; economy and passenger comfort have become more important to many buyers than brute horsepower. It appears as if the anti-enthusiast trend has bottomed out and auto manufacturers are again building cars that appeal to one's individuality. The sales success of the Cobra II have shown Ford that a market still exists for personalized transportation. The outlook for better, more interesting cars is quite good, given the difficult parameters designers have to work within. The performance car of ten years ago had its primary focus on performance, often relegating functional transportation to a distant second. Today, the priorities are reversed, although there is still much an enthusiast can do to alter the ratio of functionalism to performance with aftermarket parts.
For our comparison test we used a '76 Cobra II and a '66 Shelby GT 350. We first tested an automatic version of the Cobra II since it was available before the spring introduction of the four-speed equipped model. The Shelby only had 50,000 miles on it and was completely original except for B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires, which replaced the no-longer-available Goodyear Blue Dot original equipment tires. The Shelby was a four-speed model (there were automatic Shelbys in '66, but not many) and we also tested a four-speed version of the Cobra II (the Cobra II features the reverse of the Shelby with many more automatic-equipped cars).
The original Shelby was designed to be a limited production model to satisfy SCCA rules for class racing that required 100 examples of a car be sold in order to qualify as a production racer. In 1965 (the first year of Shelby production), 562 units were produced, which was more than enough to satisfy the production status rule. In '66, 2,378 Shelbys were made (936 of these were special black and gold versions made for Hertz Rental Cars), hardly enough to excite the bean-counters at Ford. The car was a success in that it accomplished its main goal: Drawing customers into the showrooms to buy other Mustangs. That is the same goal of the Cobra II, although it is doing so well that it has surpassed the planners' most optimistic forecasts. Ford had hoped to sell 5,000 Cobra IIs, but it looks like they will top 20,000 before the end of the '76 model year. That compares very favorably to the six-year Shelby total of 13,765.
Although both cars are basically optional versions of the standard Mustang, the approaches are entirely different. The '66s were delivered in a semi-complete state to Carroll Shelby at his Venice, California shop where all the body, interior, engine and suspension changes were made. The options available were very few, limited to types of transmission, size and style of wheels and tires, radio, limited-slip differentials, color, rear seat, and Rallye Stripes. There were more parts available from Shelby-American in their aftermarket line, including multiple carburetion and Paxton superchargers. The '76 Cobra II is based on the Mustang II fastback. The modifications are done by Motortown Corporation in Dearborn, Michigan to Ford specifications. Carroll Shelby is not directly connected with the Cobra II (his name is not used in conjunction with the car, although many people still associate him with it, which is a reflection of the original project's success). The Cobra II comes in white with traditional blue stripes or the reverse combination, and the newly-released Californian version with gold stripes on a black car like the Capri II "S" and the '66 Hertz GT 350. In ten years the car has changed from a limited production, semi-hand built car to a popular option package. We'll compare other aspects of the two cars section by section.
EXTERIOR
The Cobra II is both lower and shorter than the Shelby, measuring 49.7 inches tall to the Shelby's 55.0 inches. The Cobra II is 70.2 inches wide and 175.0 inches long vs. 68.2 wide and 181.6 for the Shelby. The Shelby also has a longer wheelbase at 108.0 inches vs. 96.2 for the Cobra II. While the exterior sizes are very close, extra sound deadening and safety features push the Cobra II's weight to 3305 for the four-speed model (the automatic adds another 250 lbs.) vs. a curb weight of 2800 lbs for the Shelby. The scoops on the Shelby are functional (including the rear brake scoops) while the Cobra II scoop is only cosmetic. The Cobra II has front and rear spoilers which the Shelby doesn't have. Paint schemes are almost identical, although the Cobra II is bolder about advertising its name. The rear window louvers on the Cobra II have the advantage of an opening window underneath. The Shelby hood and scoops are fiberglass, while only the spoilers are on the Cobra II. The Cobra II has the very popular hatchback which makes it convenient to load and carry bulky objects.
INTERIOR
Outside of its spare tire bulge, the Cobra II cargo area is attractively finished in carpet and padded vinyl. Like the Cobra the Shelby rear seat also folds down and the area is done in carpeting and molded plastic panels. The front buckets in the Shelby are standard '66 Mustang items that sit very low to the floor and offer little support. The Cobra II seats are much more luxurious, with a combination of vinyl with fabric inserts. The Shelby interior is a basic black, no-nonsense affair with a minimum of padding and insulation. Where the Shelby shines is in functionality: 3-inch-wide competition seat belts, large dash-mounted tach, full instrumentation, well-placed walnut-knobbed shifter, and a wood-rimmed steering wheel. The Cobra II's forte is comfort and convenience: full insulation, thick carpeting, padded dash and side panels, vinyl padded steering wheel, power steering, dual remote control side mirrors, center console with padded armrest and storage compartment, digital clock, AM/FM stereo, intermittent windshield wiper control (mounted on the signal stalk), electric rear window defogger, brushed aluminum dash with tach, speedo, amp, and temp gauges (oil pressure warning light), and a map light. The rear seats in both cars are best suited for small children, but the children will be more comfortable in the Cobra II.
Sitting in the Shelby is an experience. You are acutely aware of what is going on around. You hear the busy whining of the gears and the loud exhaust. You feel the 306-degree cam and the carburetor surge when the throttle is stabbed. It takes genuine effort to depress the clutch and brakes, and turn the 19:1 non power-assisted quick steering. The thin seat is so close to the floor boards that you feel most of the suspension action right in the seat of your pants. Driving the Shelby is both exhilarating and exhausting. It's a real kick to surround your senses with such a responsive car. You're always aware of what the car is doing and it perks you up and makes you want to drive aggressively - but it can also get tiring. The noise and stiff ride can wear you out on a long trip, as can the constant shifting in congested traffic.
On the other hand, the predictability of the Cobra II can be very relaxing when you just feel like getting from point A to point B with a minimum of hassle. The clutch and linage are light and loose (even sloppy compared to the Shelby) and only a minimum of effort is required with the power-assisted disc brakes and power steering. The sound system is great and there is no problem hearing it over the engine (an added bonus of the tach is that you can tell if the engine is still running). The Cobra II isn't boring to drive with the four-speed, but it doesn't make any strenuous demands on the driver either.
DRIVETRAIN
At first the drivetrains of the two cars appear very similar - small-block Fords mated to four-speed transmissions. But outside of their specifications, they're not even close. Ten years of pollution laws, high insurance premiums, and expensive, poor quality gasoline have taken their toll on engine performance. The Cobra II has a 302ci V-8 with an 8:1 compression ratio running a Motorcraft two-barrel carburetor, hydraulic lifters, and a single exhaust system with a catalytic converter. All of this churns out 134 horsepower at 3600 rpm for quarter-mile times of just about 17 seconds flat with the four-speed and 17.35s with the automatic.
The Shelby features the same 4-inch bore small-block with a 2.87-inch stroke (vs. a 3.00 stroke on the 302) for 289ci. Yet, this engine puts out 306 horsepower (albeit with a different rating system) at 6000 rpm on premium fuel. All of this horsepower come from having absolutely no smog equipment, but lots of high performance parts like an aluminum high rise manifold with a center pivot float 715 cfm Holley four-barrel, a 10.5:1 compression ratio, tubular headers hooked up to a low restriction dual-exhuast system, solid lifters, dual point distributor wit only centrifugal advance, and a high capacity oil system. All this power is transmitted through a 10½-inch clutch to an aluminum Borg-Warner T-10M four-speed and from there to a 3.89 Detroit Locker rearend. The Cobra II has a cast iron four-speed mated to a standard 3.00 rearend.
The Shelby is a good two seconds faster than the Cobra II with times in the 14.90s. The Shelby pays a premium on fuel economy, but not too much if driven judiciously, which is to say it usually gets around 10 miles to a gallon although it can do better than 15 (our test car got 18.5 on the Champion Spark Plug dyno). The Cobra II gets mileage in the 15 to 20 mpg range depending on driving style and transmission type.
SUSPENSION
Just as there are a great number of driveline differences between the two cars, the suspensions are also very dissimilar. The Cobra II is a standard Mustang II with and improved handling package consisting of front and rear sway bars and radial tires. The car handles well for a '76, but the tires wander on freeway drainage grooves and the rear of the car starts to lift on hard cornering.
In comparison, the Shelby GT 350 handles like it was on rails. This handling ability was built into the car from the start since it was designed to win at road racing. The suspension is lower than stock Mustangs, and features heavy duty springs, front and rear heavy duty sway bars, front shock tower support brace, adjustable Koni shocks (the shocks are a real touch of class and show just how serious Shelby was about handling to include expensive shocks as standard equipment), traction bars, restructured front-end geometry for less understeer and better cornering, quick steering, 11-iche front disc brakes and 10 x 2.5-inch rear drum brakes with metallic linings, alloy wheels, and high performance tires. The Shelby is admittedly bulky at slow speeds and when parking, but at speed on a winding road it is superb. It has the handling ability of a sports car with the acceleration of a dragstrip star.
The two seemingly similar cars end up being quite dissimilar. They are both good examples of performance cars of their respective eras, but the time have changed drastically in ten years. The Shelby GT 350 comes from a strictly performance side and the Cobra II comes from the tame side and both cars meet, however briefly, somewhere in the middle. Depending on your style of driving, the Shelby could use some refinement and taming, while the Cobra II could us some more muscle. As a car for current times the Cobra II is the practical answer but the Shelby GT 350 is just too much fun to forget, so the obvious compromise is to get one of each - a Shelby for fun and a Cobra II for practicality without boredom.
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