24' Cobra Info
 

I'm thinking about picking up a 1976 24' Cobra with a 454, Merc 2 and TRS Drive.

Anyone have any comments or insight on this boat?

Thanks,
Matt

I have one the SMIDGEN TOO a 24' Cobra with twin 302 Holman Moody Fords. I bought this classic last year, its in rough shape but its all there. I plan to restore it as it raced back in 1975, it should make a good historic racer. Emerald City Harbor here on Lake St Clair was the dealer. Most were single engine boats and ran well, around 55 to 60 mph. My Cobra with twins ran about 60mph. They were a well built Florida boat for there day.

------H20,,,Any Excaliber similarities or are these two 24 footers completely different??? I would think an Excaliber would be too narrow for twins, but the deck in the stern picture looks very similar.......Bill S

Same 7' beam hull that everyone copied, deck looks similar to a 24' Pantera. With the twin 302 Fords it is tight in the eng compartment. They built this boat to race in the APBA E Stock or [P-1] back then. A year later the Magnum SHORT CIRCUIT with twin 302 Chevy power arrived and dominated the class.

A single with a big block and a Trs would run much better [60++] than my twin's. Just dont over power the Merc trans and it should be a nice package, my 2 cents.

If i did want to go with some nice power, could I swap out the Merc 2 for a Borg Warner?

This one was never a Race boat but looks to be in Nice shape with a Brand New Interior that was stiched up Very Well. Not sure what is done to the Motor. I think its a Summit Short Block so have no Idea what Cam is in it and The prop is definatly not right.

What's a good prop for this boat ... Bravo 1 4 Blade or a Mirage Quicksilver 3 Blade maybe??

h2oboater ... Do you have any more pix of the 24' Cobra's? I'd love to see some.

Hey Guys,i Also Have A Cobra. It's A 1977 And Currently Have It For Sale On Craigs List(eastern Shore). It Has A 400 Small Block Chevy Which Has About 30 Hours Since A Rebuild. I Use It On The Elk River And Down To Lloyds Creek On The Sassafras. It's A Very Fun Boat And Gets Some Attention.

Got a link to it?

You Can Go To Craigs List.org,select Philadelphia,then Select Boats. In The Search Space Type In Go Fast Classic. I Have A Brief Description Of The Boat And 3 Pics. Feel Free To Call Me With Any Questions,my Number Is In The Add. Thanks Jay

Nice Cobra, what drive do you have & what speeds have you run ?

Thanks. It has an alpha drive and my mechanic says it shouldn't be a problem, I'm easy on ithe boat and don't run it real hard .It has a 21p mirage prop which i was planning on changing to a 4 blade 24p, as suggested by the local go fast boaters at my marina.Speed range is high 50's and 60 on a flat day.My intent was to wrap the hull and deck in white and recover the bolsters,sunpad and coaming pads in white vinyl. I've decided though to sell the cobra and my 26' center console angler and move up to a larger boat.

These are the only other pic's I have, as she has been wrapped & winerized. I hope to start the restoration next year.

Cool cool ... I'm finally going to get a chance to look over and hear run the one I'm interested in later on today.

I'll take some pictures too.

Well, i didnt get to hear it run yet cause he's having a new Cam installed. However they will be done with it and the breakin tonight so tommorow will be the water Test.

If all is good, I'll be the proud new owner of a '76 24' Cobra with "Cigarette 1 Racing" emblems painted on both sides in the back.

I'm really not sure why its tagged Cigarette when its a Cobra so if anyone has any reason why It may have been done, feel free to chime in. (I have a feeling I'm going to hear a lot of "Someone forgot which boat they were painting" hahahaha)

Ciggarette Logo's are Vinyl. Thank god. hahahahah

Well, I bought the boat today finally ... I should be able to take some Pix tommorow.

[I'm really not sure why its tagged Cigarette] Everyone can identify with a Cigarette powerboat, only the purest know about the other powerboats!!! Now let's see some pictures of your new ride.

Here are some Pix.
 

I took these pix today at John Montgomery's House. Were waiting for some new stuff from Tyler Crockett.

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More Pix
 

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Nice old Cobra for a 1976.Exhaust risers look like they could use another spacer or 2 in them.Almost looks like the hoses are running uphill.Maybe its an illusion in the picture , but it looks like a canidate for hydrolocking with that little bit of drop in the exhaust.Nice boat .just trying to prevent problems a buddy of mine had a boat that would hydrolock all the time because of this .

Thanks! ... It seems to be in pretty decent shape .. the interior is all Brand new. Yep .. That whole exhaust is coming off. I already got one side Off .. Were putting in Full Hardin Marine system that is double Jacketed right to the tip of the exhaust about 8" through the outside of the transom.

I cant find pix of them on the internet so Ill take some of them tommorow. Its like an aluminum 1 peice Manifold that has the risor built in then you bolt on the straight Stainless Tail Pipe to that and connect the hose there.

[QUOTE=djmadmatt;2664844]I took these pix today at John Montgomery's House. Were waiting for some new stuff from Tyler Crockett.

Your Cobra looks GREAT much better than the one I have. When you see John tell him Mark from EASTERN EXPRESS said Hi. We had some great times when our boats were racing, and with the Silver Cup Series.

Hi Mark ... Yeah, John was saying he knew you. I will Tell him tommorow you said "Hi". I really wish I would have been around in the old race race days. John has told me some crazy stories and I've seen some incredible videos.

Let's get these Cobra's runnin top knotch again!! :drink:

I found out today from John that the Exhaust System is the Hardin P1000. Its completely dry till 1" from exit.

That ought to get some attention.

Some More Pix from Today
 

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We had to cut the Flanges Off because they wernt centered in the holes in the Transom. We got them all Mocked up and Tacked. Ive got a Friend welding them up Tommorow.

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Hmmmmm ... I'm thinking ..
 

I might just have to build a 540ci Twin Turbo Motor for it this winter. I'll keep my 454 so If I ever decide to sell it, I can put the 454 Back in it. Sounds like some fun to me! :grinser010:


<------ I made a new Logo since getting an original may be hard. What's everone think?

Looks good, I still have hope Emerald City may find one.

Thanks. Yeah, That would be nice. I think at this point, anything would look better than the Cigarette sticker on the back of mine.

This weekend is gonna be really nice out so I'm going to try to get some pix and videos of it in the water Sunday or Monday.

Biggest thing I need for it is Steering. The stock steering on it is sooooooooooo loose. I'd really like to get some Latham Externals and run Full Hydraulic. Christmas just isn't close enough. :drink:

Good looking boat.
I can't tel you how close the similarities are to my Pantera.
Look like clones under a different name aside from a few small things.

Here's a short Video from Today.
 

[YOUTUBE]7DQt2-Mvfq4[/YOUTUBE]

Some Pix from Today
 

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