Hyde,

I believe that Mike Forte's mechanical throttle linkage solves many problems. A carb or carb style EFI assumed.
First off it's a clean design, easy to see and adjust.
Adjustment - it's two lever arms on a shaft and you can adjust where on the arms you are pulling/pushing from. This allows you to lengthen or shorten the throw and amount of pedal travel you have to work with. More pedal travel enhances the ability to modulate the throttle action. In simple terms you no longer have an on/off switch for a throttle.
From there you can add a throttle stop so that you can't get full throttle. Full throttle = full torque, full torque = spinning back tires, spinning back tires = big trouble quickly. As you learn the car you can change the stop's position. This is just like training wheels.

Go big, the 427 Windsor is a great choice. Then learn how to drive it.

A Cobra is a dream for many, do it in technicolor.

Jim