We’re no stranger to high-performance Mustangs here at StangTV, but its hard to keep tabs on every single killer ride in the country. That’s why we encourage our readers to send in videos, information and pictures of their stellar ‘Stangs so that we can give more and more of the country’s amazing rides the media attention they deserve.
That’s how we came in contact with Jake Conant of Webster, Massachusetts, and his amazing 8-second Mustang Cobra. Unbelievable? Well, just check out this video Conant sent us and see for yourself what an amazing drag racing Mustang this avid enthusiast built. You might remember the video of his wild ride from a couple weeks ago where he narrowly missed rolling over his wickedly fast Cobra.
Thanks to a friend’s encouragement, Conant got into drag racing in 2000. Three years later, he purchased his ’03 Cobra new and began building a dream machine of sorts. But Conant told us, the current setup on the Stang is much bigger than he ever imagined.
“If you asked me five years ago where the car would be today, I NEVER thought it would be going eight seconds in the quarter mile, that’s for sure,” Conant confessed in a recent email conversation. But that’s exactly what the car has progressed to.
Having built the car completely in his own garage with a couple of friends, Conant purpose-built his Mustang to do its very best on the drag strip. To guarantee this, Conant equipped the Cobra with a Teksid block based 281ci engine built by L&M Engines, which features custom camshafts, custom pistons with a 10.5:1 compression ratio, a JLT cold air intake and ported heads. Topping off the engine is a VMP TVS 2.3 supercharger, which Conant runs at 20psi of boost, and the brand new VMP GT500 style throttle body and plenum. Thanks to this setup, which was completed last spring, the car throws down 750 hp on E85 gas.
Backing the power-packed engine is a Frank Lupo Dynamic C4 transmission with a Pro-Formance torque converter. This is tied to an 8.8-inch solid rearend with 3.73 gears.
Under the car, Conant opted for a full UPR setup, a tubular member and A-arms, upper and lower control arms and a coil over kit.
Supplying the car with plenty of pavement grip are 15×3.5-inch front and 15×10-inch rear Billet Specialties Comp 5 wheels with Mac-Fab beadlocks and wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber.
Stopping power comes from Strange Pro Race Brakes.
As you can tell from the video above, this Cobra’s setup is dialed in perfectly, resulting in high 8-second quarter mile passes at Lebanon Valley Dragway in West Lebanon, New York and Conant’s home track, New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire.
At the time of his submission, Conant had piloted his Mustang to a best quarter-mile time of 8.86 seconds, and since he has gotten into the 8.7s.
Unfortunately, about two weeks ago at his last race of the 2013 season, Conant was in an accident when the car turned right in a wheel-stand, causing it to land unevenly on its left tires.
Luckily, Conant walked away unscathed but his car sustained some damage. Below we have the helmet-cam video Conant recorded during the incident. We should warn you he expresses his frustration in the video so it may not be appropriate for all viewers.
Over the last few years, Conant has built an amazing Mustang that could put just about any competitor to shame. And although the car needs some work after the recent accident, we have no doubt that both Conant and his Cobra will be out in full-working order next season!