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Kemp Mustang Cobra II Racer
[SIZE="5"][B][CENTER]IMSA Kemp Cobra II[/CENTER][/B][/SIZE]
[I]Charlie Kemp builds a Ford-based Monza beater
by Joe Rusz[/I]
Charlie Kemp has a better idea. It's part of his plan to end the imported car's dominance of IMSA's Camel GT Challenge which, with a few exceptions, has been the domain of Porsche, BMW and Datsun. Charlie's better idea is a four-letter word that spells Ford. They're the original better-idea people who in 1973 brought America the Mustang II. Kemp wants to bring the Mustang II (Ford calls its new version the Cobra II) to the Camel GT series which already sports some new Detroit-bred machines, the All-American GT Monzas. "Our cars are similar in concept to the Monzas," says Kemp. However, his Cobra IIs, unlike the Monzas, will be straighforward and not nearly as fragile as their Chevrolet-based counterparts. "In IMSA you have to build strong cars because you get pushed off course a lot. Everytime a Monza gets pushed off course it's through for the day," snickers Charlie. He should know because he's been there - off course, that is. In 1974 and 1975 Kemp raced a Porsche Carrera RSR in IMSA's Camel GT series and before that he drove a Porsche 917-10 turbo in the now defunct CanAm. He knows what it takes to make a car strong enough to survive those off-road excursions. But what makes his new Cobra II so good?
Well, to begin with there's the engine, Ford's 351-cu-in. Cleveland powerplant, "a tremendously strong engine," according to Kemp. "That's the main reason we started this project," he confides. Also, the Ford "puts out more horsepower than any other 350-cu-in. engine being built." Conservatively speaking, Charlie expects about 560 bhp from his engine which is equipped with Kinsler timed fuel injection. At least that's one of the engine options available to the buyer of a Kemp Cobra II racer. The other induction system is the standard Weber setup many Monzas use. But even in its carbureted state the output of the 351 Ford is formidable. "Gapp and Roush, the fellas who are doing our engines, are former national Pro Stock drag racing champions. They're getting 700 bhp out of the 351," explains an excited Kemp, "and that's on carburetors too."
For short tracks such as Lime Rock, where handling and braking are more important than sheer horsepower, the 351-cu-in. engine can be swapped for a Boss 302. In the exchange, IMSA rules allow the car owner to deduct 200 pounds from the car's overall weight of 2500 lb. It's a small concession for the horsepower loss, about 100 bhp with the smaller engine. But even if the Boss 302 puts out "only" 450 bhp which, Kemp admits, "is just a bit less than the Chevy 302-cu-in. small block," still the Ford is stronger mechanically. "Look at NASCAR and see who's winning," prompts Kemp in order to bolster his argument.
The strongest, most powerful engine in the world is virtually useless if it's mounted in an inferior chassis and clothed in an aerodynamically inefficient body. Kemp readily admits that in stock form "the Mustang II (Cobra II) is a brick." That's why he called on Bob Riley to design the streamlined body panels and the chassis for this Monza beater. Riley, in case you didn't know, was responsible in part fo the success of the Ford GT-40s and the J-Car. In recent years he's become one of the hottest and most sought after championship car designers as well as the talent behind A.J. Foyt's USAC Coyote racers. Riley's approach to the Cobra II centers around a tubular platform frame with a rollcage that reinforces the entire structure. In conformance with IMSA rules, it features a stock 96-in. wheelbase but a widened track. Presently the chassis is equipped with a NASCAR-type Frankland rear end, a full-floater that mounts through the frame rails to lower the car's center of gravity. However, Kemp is considering a new Hurst rear end that is presently seeing limited use in NASCAR circles.
The Cobra II's suspension setup is rather conventional ("I don't like radical cars," claims Kemp), with unequal-length A-arms up front, a live rear axle and coil springs over shocks all around. At the back, the entire assembly, Frankland and all, is anchored fore and aft by dual links and laterally by a Watt linkage. Kemp's racer uses Hurst-Airheart disc brakes all around with 12 x 15-in. wheels at the front and 17 x 15-in. wheels at the rear. A Hurst-Schieffer clutch is coupled to a Ford road-racing 4-speed. Ford rack-and-pinion steering is also used.
A lift-off front nosepiece, along with other Riley-designed body panels, makes the Cobra II race car quite slick. "It's only 44 in. high," says Kemp. He confesses that, unfortunately, "the car has a bit more wind drage around the radiator than the Monza." But the Monza body traps a lot of air inside of the car, something the Cobra II doesn't do. "We've let out most of the trapped air by slotting the tops of the front fenders," he adds. "With that feature plus the slick body work and a few other tricks our car should be capable of 200 mph," boasts Kemp, reminding us that the Monza's top speed is a measly 185.
Although the Cobra II race car is being marketed by Kemp's International Motor Cars Corp, PO Box 2441, Jackson, Miss. 39205, the machine is being constructed in Royal Oak, Michigan by Ron Fournier's Racecraft Inc., an establishment that has previously built a few Brand M (as in Monza) race cars. Located in suburban Detroit, Fournier's shop is virtually at Ford's back door so Ford engineers sneak over periodically to check on the car's progress. Does that mean that Ford is interested in the Cobra II race car? "Very much," says Kemp, who quickly points out that the company has "a very difinite anti-racing policy." But that doesn't keep the engineers away, nor does it bother Charlie who admits, "I didn't count on any help from Ford when I started this project." With or without help, Charlie says it's going to be "downright interesting" to have Ford and Chevrolet racing again - and winning if Charlie Kemp's Cobra II idea car lives up to expectations.
[URL="http://www.mustangii.net/articles/cobraii_imsa.asp"]IMSA Kemp Cobra II[/URL]
