Thanks for the great article by Matthew Litwin and Larry Slevin. I've been the proud owner of a 1969 Q-code Torino Cobra for over 28 years.
 
It was originally purchased from Jim Blair Ford in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada,
 
and was campaigned at the "local" drag strip in Cayuga, Ontario under the banner "Gary's Gift" by a fellow named Gary Chapelle.
 
After fifteen years of racking up it's super-low mileage the hard way - a 1/4 mile at a time -
 
my friend Hans Duldner acquired the mint condition, low-mileage rolling chassis.
 
The 428 Cobra Jet engine, C6 automatic transmission, driveshaft, Detroit Locker gearset and 31-spline axles for the 9" nodular Ford rear-end had unfortunately become "donor organs" for another dragstrip or street machine project.

With the acquisition and drive-back of a South Corolina 1969 Torino GT "parts car",
 
the original Q-code Cobra re-emerged the next year freshly repainted in it's original 1969 Ford Candy Apple Red colour,
 
only now donning a meticulously recreated and painted-on white C-stripe that was found only on the GT cars.
 
The 351W V8 was severely warmed-up to the tune of 375 hp with all of the best go-fast goodies money could buy at the time.
 
It's a hardcore, match-ported and polished, balanced and blueprinted smallblock, backed up by a close-ratio 4-speed Toploader.
 
The original 9" nodular rear-end remained in the vehicle, and a 3L50 (3.50:1 Traction-Lok) gearset and replacement 31-spline axles were installed.

A fully-functional ram-air unit, which started life as the bottom half of the air cleaner housing assembly from a 460 cubic inch engine out of a Lincoln Continental Mark IV,
 
lies under a stock '69 hood snorkel with integrated turn signals and correct 351 badges, most likely from a '69 Mustang GT.
 
The ram-air unit works flawlessly from about 80% wide-open-throttle right on up to nearly 7,000 rpm.
 
I've never come across any other small-block engine as nasty-sounding and free-revving as this beast,
 
and it has the wildest idle exhaust note I've ever heard for a strictly street car.
 
My old neighbours out in Niagara-on-the-Lake used to hate it when I fired that thing up at 5:45am on the days I'd drive it to work.
 
I'd get on it pretty good out on our Firelane early in the morning just to piss them off. Mennonites - go figure.

The interior is black vinyl, with flawless bucket seats, console, dash, headliner, door panels and carpeting.
 
An aftermarket AutoMeter guage cluster was mounted below-dash ahead of the console.
 
The large Sun tachometer is steering column mounted.
 
A cool B&M t-handle shifter knob from a manual valve body automatic transmission shifter was fit onto the Hurst Competition Plus shifter.
 
I like it - it feels good in your hand and can be turned and locked in any position.

L60 rear and H70 front bias-ply tires are mounted on stock Ford GT 14" painted steel wheels with stock GT caps and rings
 
. Hedman headers, custom dual exhaust with h-pipe, four-row radiator, front power disc brake conversion, and killer Jensen stereo round out the ride.
 
The true mileage on the complete body and chassis is still only 23,400 miles. Seriously.
 
The car's driveline has roughly 15,000 miles on it since the mid-80's.
 
I've driven lots of 60's and early 70's musclecars with big blocks and automatic transmissions,
 
and to be honest none of them have the same sound, feel and ability to put a crazy-ass grin across my face the way this bad-ass, four-gear, Cobra-turned-GT car does.
 
Maybe one day a big-inch, high horsepower engine will find it's way under the hood, ideally in a Pro-Touring project. 

There's still an almost-complete, disassembled, rust-free southern car at my disposal as well.
 
It's only a decent driveline away from being a complete vehicle.
 
So how is it that a career "lifer" GM Engine Plant construction millwright actually owns a vintage Blue Oval boulevard brawler? You tell me!