CobraRGuy
Member
I bought Jason Priestley's '95 Cobra R retired IMSA Grand Sports endurance road racer after he moved to open wheel racing. This is #191 of 250. I had to do A LOT OF WORK to this car to make it track worthy again. After Jason was done with it he let a buddy of his run it in SCCA for a couple of races down in LA, then it sat for a while in need of repairs. Unfortunately the SCCA forced him to remove all of the IMSA decals. It had these lousy 16" wheels they were forced to run because the Pontiacs came with 16" wheels and everyone had to run the same tires (Toyo Proxes). I put the Cobra R wheels on it, a new Torsen T2-R diff, new clutch, all new brake calipers, and a seat that I could shoehorn my ass into. Jason is a tiny little thing, probably 140lbs soaking wet. It was a shame because the seat that was in it was a nice carbon fiber MOMO.
I bought the car from Jason on eBay. I eventually sold it to Ron Bramlett of Mustangs Plus in Stockton, CA also on eBay (I kept all of the really good spares it came with). Ron still owns it.
Jason ran with the Zippo team (TF Racing). I was invited to join them at PIR for a race, and was able to lend a hand during pit stops. That was very fun. That's where I got the Ford Racing 100 Years decals I have on my car. IMSA Grand Sports is considered a "Street Stock" series, so they were very limited regarding modifications. They could run any sway bars, brake pads, or shocks, but had to run the stock control arms. Although the car came with the original Konis on it, it also came with a set of trick MultiMatic struts with external shocks. If the car hit a bump under hard braking the top of the strut shafts would punch holes through the hood. They had remote reservoirs and separate high and low speed dampening adjustments. I was told by the TF Racing guys that the car was set up for, and loved, Laguna, but not Sonoma. I found the opposite to be true.
There was a hood pin on the trunk lid. I asked the TF guys why. They said the Pontiac drivers would purposely ram the back of the Mustangs which would pop the trunk open. They'd be forced to pit to close the trunk, and the Pontiacs would drive right on by.
For those younger folks who may not know who Jason Priestley is, he was a star on "Beverly Hills 90210" TV show. He played the part of Brandon Walsh. He had been running a Toyota Celica AWD Turbo in rally racing. I was offered to buy that car also, but declined. Ford saw him as a big crowd draw (which he was), so they offered to sell him the car for $1 in exchange for an agreement to campaign the car for at least two seasons. He had limited success with only a few top 5 finishes. They THREW money at him.
I actually put the plates from my #242 car on it and drove it around on the street a few times. It drew a lot of attention.
Funny story. I had it in the paddock at Laguna one weekend, and a guy stuck his head in through the driver's window opening to get a better look. One of his buddies saw him and said "What are you doin'? Sniffin' the seat?" That got some good laughs...
The last small pic is me heading up the hill towards the corkscrew at Laguna.
I bought the car from Jason on eBay. I eventually sold it to Ron Bramlett of Mustangs Plus in Stockton, CA also on eBay (I kept all of the really good spares it came with). Ron still owns it.
Jason ran with the Zippo team (TF Racing). I was invited to join them at PIR for a race, and was able to lend a hand during pit stops. That was very fun. That's where I got the Ford Racing 100 Years decals I have on my car. IMSA Grand Sports is considered a "Street Stock" series, so they were very limited regarding modifications. They could run any sway bars, brake pads, or shocks, but had to run the stock control arms. Although the car came with the original Konis on it, it also came with a set of trick MultiMatic struts with external shocks. If the car hit a bump under hard braking the top of the strut shafts would punch holes through the hood. They had remote reservoirs and separate high and low speed dampening adjustments. I was told by the TF Racing guys that the car was set up for, and loved, Laguna, but not Sonoma. I found the opposite to be true.
There was a hood pin on the trunk lid. I asked the TF guys why. They said the Pontiac drivers would purposely ram the back of the Mustangs which would pop the trunk open. They'd be forced to pit to close the trunk, and the Pontiacs would drive right on by.
For those younger folks who may not know who Jason Priestley is, he was a star on "Beverly Hills 90210" TV show. He played the part of Brandon Walsh. He had been running a Toyota Celica AWD Turbo in rally racing. I was offered to buy that car also, but declined. Ford saw him as a big crowd draw (which he was), so they offered to sell him the car for $1 in exchange for an agreement to campaign the car for at least two seasons. He had limited success with only a few top 5 finishes. They THREW money at him.
I actually put the plates from my #242 car on it and drove it around on the street a few times. It drew a lot of attention.
Funny story. I had it in the paddock at Laguna one weekend, and a guy stuck his head in through the driver's window opening to get a better look. One of his buddies saw him and said "What are you doin'? Sniffin' the seat?" That got some good laughs...
The last small pic is me heading up the hill towards the corkscrew at Laguna.
