right car, wrong time...

After my band broke up in 1997, I was pretty much like a ship without a rudder, and had no idea what to do. I came home with my tail between my legs and decided to help out with the farm, since my dad was busy with his other business and needed a hand. He had a miserable year in 1997 too, losing 2 plantings of corn, and having to leave the farm himself, putting it on hold, while he tended to his other business. I was in charge of managing what was left, and piece-mealing out all of the equipment left over, while watching the Quarter horse mares, the 40 head of Brangus bulls (yeah, no cows, all bulls), as well as managing 5 chicken houses, rental property, and baled hay.

I hated every minute of it.

Although I still had the van (and the Corvette), I wanted a new Mustang, and ordered a blue 1997 GT. Before it came in, this 1996 Cobra was sitting in the showroom. It had 8,000 miles, and was the same price as the GT I had ordered. I opted for the 300HP Cobra. It was more of an escape for me while I was in Pelahatchie, but used it to get to Jackson on the weekends where I partied way too much. Of course, I went the hot -rod route and started spending money of the Cobra, and got:

Eibach lowering springs
Walker Dynomax cat-back exhaust
B&M Ripper shifter
17x9" Cobra "R" wheels with 275/40-17 BFG tires
Saleen rear wing and taillights
cross-drilled brake rotors
and last but not least, a Vortech S-trim supercharger.

The blower turned out to be a big mistake. I drove the car from Mississippi to Walled Lake, Michigan, to have Classic Design Concepts install the supercharger. During the installation, one of the vaccum lines was crimped by a plastic tie that they had overtightened. It was so insignificant, I couldn't tell there was a problem until it was too late.

I had fun with the additional horsepower (about 400HP total) for a few months, and won many a drag race. I also made a habit of hitting 150MPH on my way home from Jackson on HWY 43. I did this one time too many, and as the crimped line starved the motor, it eventually melted the #8 piston, killing the 32-valve DOHC 4.6 motor. Not a cheap rebuild.

I shipped the remains of the motor to Sean Hyland in Ontario, Canada, and $8000 later I had a rebuilt motor that dynoed at 450HP. However, after a week-long stint in the hospital (I had an anaphylactic reaction to fire ant bites while baling hay) I had an epiphany to mend my evil ways and return to grad school to pursue my art and education. Good move.

I advertised the Cobra on the internet, and sold it to a guy who flew down from Michigan and drove the car home. End of that chapter.