‘97 Cobra Restomod

[Makoto]

Okay so some people might think this is kind of nuts but it makes sense in my head. I picked up what I think is a 99 cobra rear with 4.10 gears already installed (it was in a 98 cobra), all I need are the soft lines... and a car to put it in. I hadn't planned on starting this project until after christmas bonus time but ya gotta get while the gettin is good when these things pop up on CL.

Its gonna be living in the barn for a few months.

\

So I think its a 99 rear based on the axle part numbers. Am I right?

 

[96blak54]

I haven't a clue if its 99 or 2009, but i love how you are approaching the build!

There are a few guys here that know their stuff and they will chime in soon

 

[PinkieT]

Love the Cobra IRS. Happy hunting! Long time ago I bought a Plymouth 383 hood ornament at a swap meet and ended up buying a Plymouth Satellite with a 383 to go with it.

 

[01yellercobra]

Pull one of the half shafts and count the inner splines. 28 spline is 99 and 31 is 01.

 

[ForcFed93]

I just recently installed a 99 Cobra IRS into my 97 Cobra. Not as difficult as one might think. FYI, it's either a 99 or 01. I would first make sure that it has the right X-axis joints, and not the recalled one. Your pictures aren't close enough to tell really, but I'm almost leaning toward the pre-recall version based on the surface of the upright. Check here to confirm.

http://cdn.lrsstatic.com/downloads/instructions/IRS-Upright.pdf

If it hasn't had the recall done, you'll either have to run it as is, or buy a new set of uprights for $$$$.

 

[Makoto]

I'm a newb to mustang IRS but according to what i've seen this lip should indicate it has the correct bearings, thus, the correct spindles.
am i right?

 

[evilcw311]

Please tell us your gonna blow that thing apart and replace all those old worn bushings with delrin? That irs looks like it could use some loving care in the way of sanding and paint!! Lol

Question is what’s your plans with it? 99-01 doesn’t hold up well to hard launches due to the weaker half shafts. With the right parts they make for a very fun corner carving rear end.


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[ttocs]

since ya got time there is no reason not to get it all powder coated and perty

 

[Makoto]

Please tell us your gonna blow that thing apart and replace all those old worn bushings with delrin? That irs looks like it could use some loving care in the way of sanding and paint!! Lol

here is the last car i built from the ground up:






So, everything is getting replaced and upgraded. everything.

Question is what’s your plans with it? 99-01 doesn’t hold up well to hard launches due to the weaker half shafts. With the right parts they make for a very fun corner carving rear end.

Here's the idea I've been mulling over for about a year, I guess. I thought long and hard about why I like the cars I do. Why any of us like what we do and it really comes down to two things.

1. the way it looks
2. how much it costs

You can make anything fast or handle well with enough money and time but you can't change the way it looks all that much. Me? I've always had a thing for the SN95. I love clean cars and to be honest I think its the cleanest best looking fox body variant. Then I came across this skirtless GT with a few bits shaved on some FR500's and was sold.

Then there's cost, you just can't beat the mustang bang for the buck. Decent power, parts are plentiful, and cost is relatively low. The only catch was the stick axle. I'm a big fan of Singer and guys like jack olsen. The philosophy is pretty simple. Take something ordinary and make it as good as you can get it without adding a lot of power. You can add lots of power to anything. I've driven four digit horsepower cars. Its terrifying. I know my limits and appetite. a car with around 300 hp that weighs around 3000lbs satisfies that... especially if it has the right gearing.

So, close ratio six speed transmission with 4.10 gears, trim as much weight as I can without sacrificing AC and bare essential interior amenities while making it look cool as hell and handle like a GT3 and I'm happy.

Oh and the joy of resurrecting a worn out thousand dollar mustang somebody is about to scrap because they've given up on it is something that really gets me going.
My boy is about to turn 6. He needs to learn life. This is part of that as well.

Ground up restoration, including bushings, a sweet IRS, gears, full exhaust, and maybe someday upgrade the engine to something a bit more substantial. Basically take all the best parts from the fox platform years and make the best thing I can with them. That's my rule I'm going with... so no coyote... but maybe an all aluminum 2 valve from an exploder?

Half my budget is suspension and brakes

 

[evilcw311]

here is the last car i built from the ground up:

So, everything is getting replaced and upgraded. everything.



Here's the idea I've been mulling over for about a year, I guess. I thought long and hard about why I like the cars I do. Why any of us like what we do and it really comes down to two things.

1. the way it looks
2. how much it costs

You can make anything fast or handle well with enough money and time but you can't change the way it looks all that much. Me? I've always had a thing for the SN95. I love clean cars and to be honest I think its the cleanest best looking fox body variant. Then I came across this skirtless GT with a few bits shaved on some FR500's and was sold.

Then there's cost, you just can't beat the mustang bang for the buck. Decent power, parts are plentiful, and cost is relatively low. The only catch was the stick axle. I'm a big fan of Singer and guys like jack olsen. The philosophy is pretty simple. Take something ordinary and make it as good as you can get it without adding a lot of power. You can add lots of power to anything. I've driven four digit horsepower cars. Its terrifying. I know my limits and appetite. a car with around 300 hp that weighs around 3000lbs satisfies that... especially if it has the right gearing.

So, close ratio six speed transmission with 4.10 gears, trim as much weight as I can without sacrificing AC and bare essential interior amenities while making it look cool as hell and handle like a GT3 and I'm happy.

Oh and the joy of resurrecting a worn out thousand dollar mustang somebody is about to scrap because they've given up on it is something that really gets me going.
My boy is about to turn 6. He needs to learn life. This is part of that as well.

Ground up restoration, including bushings, a sweet IRS, gears, full exhaust, and maybe someday upgrade the engine to something a bit more substantial. Basically take all the best parts from the fox platform years and make the best thing I can with them. That's my rule I'm going with... so no coyote... but maybe an all aluminum 2 valve from an exploder?

Half my budget is suspension and brakes

You had me until skirtless..............only thing I like to the skirt ripped off is my wife!!! Lol

I like everything your looking to do and that 240 is clean as fawk!!!!!! I’ve yet to see a sn skirtless that won me over so I’ll keep a close eye to what your doing!!! Obviously you can see from mine that going stripped down wasn’t my thing!!!


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[Makoto]

The sideskirts were literally an afterthought. they tacked them on after the concepts and before production. The cobras look weird without them but I like the GT lines all clean and pretty. My initial inspiration for this build was "what if someone took the middle child of mustang history and gave it the kind of detail/care that Singer does their 911's?". This is the car that pushed me in that direction pretty hard.

 

[evilcw311]

Isn’t that [MENTION=17070]Tony[/MENTION]’s old car?

The problem is the ugly pinchwelds nobody has found a way to hide them and smooth that area out.

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[ttocs]

it also becomes a fair bit of work to just remove the skirts. By the time you fill and paint all the mounting holes you are going to have more then a few hours into it.

 

[Makoto]

Isn’t that [MENTION=17070]Tony[/MENTION]’s old car?

The problem is the ugly pinchwelds nobody has found a way to hide them and smooth that area out.

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I can think of a couple.

 

[ForcFed93]

I'm a newb to mustang IRS but according to what i've seen this lip should indicate it has the correct bearings, thus, the correct spindles.
am i right?

Yeah, should be good. Just double check and make sure it has a retaining ring that you can remove.

In my IRS build, I replaced the subframe bushings, all control arm bushings, X-Axis joints, sway bar bushings, and I put MM toe links in it. I did not replaced the diff bushings (yet), and I plan to at some point install the 03-04 front brace.

I'm happy with the feel.

Edit: Also, I hate to burst your bubble, but no matter what you do to the suspension, it isn't going to handle as well as a GT3 short of making it a full blown, non street legal, race car. I've put a decent chunk of money into the suspension on my 97 and it doesn't handle anywhere near as well as even my Focus RS.

 

[Makoto]

Yeah, should be good. Just double check and make sure it has a retaining ring that you can remove.

In my IRS build, I replaced the subframe bushings, all control arm bushings, X-Axis joints, sway bar bushings, and I put MM toe links in it. I did not replaced the diff bushings (yet), and I plan to at some point install the 03-04 front brace.

I'm happy with the feel.

Edit: Also, I hate to burst your bubble, but no matter what you do to the suspension, it isn't going to handle as well as a GT3 short of making it a full blown, non street legal, race car. I've put a decent chunk of money into the suspension on my 97 and it doesn't handle anywhere near as well as even my Focus RS.

Well, this pro driver would beg to differ...
https://www.maximummotorsports.com/tech_rear_susp_irs_faq_royce.aspx

Throwing money at a car is only part of the process. It took me a couple years to really dial in my SC300 (full bushing replacement, custom toe links, new rack, MKIV supra struts, springs etc).

You can make any car that isn't fundamentally flawed handle exactly how you want it to with enough time, thought, and patient tinkering.
That's what hotrodding is all about

 

[lwarrior1016]

Well, this pro driver would beg to differ...
https://www.maximummotorsports.com/tech_rear_susp_irs_faq_royce.aspx

Throwing money at a car is only part of the process. It took me a couple years to really dial in my SC300 (full bushing replacement, custom toe links, new rack, MKIV supra struts, springs etc).

You can make any car that isn't fundamentally flawed handle exactly how you want it to with enough time, thought, and patient tinkering.
That's what hotrodding is all about

I like the way you think! We need to get you in a car, I want to see you build it!

 

[Makoto]

I like the way you think! We need to get you in a car, I want to see you build it!

The christmas bonus is going to that end. I'm currently stalking CL ads right now to determine who I can lowball the hell out of in a couple months

 

[Makoto]

Yesterday I was at the farm so I tore down the IRS a little bit. Ford built this thing pretty different from what I've messed with in the past. supras and 240's have the camber bolts at the subframe and the toe linkes on the front of the knuckles. My guess is this is probably more common in european designs circa 90's or something like that. Total guess, could be wrong, whatever. Nothing really wrong with it except that it makes adjusting camber a little more difficult, from what I can tell. Now I get why ford ran the exhaust the way they did, or maybe the exhaust is why they put this where they did.

ANYHOW, I think I do have the GOOD knuckles as it looks like the recall has been done (or this is a 2001 unit, still not entirely sure about that).





Nothing but good news to report, honestly. the rotors, pads, calipers, springs, and even shocks are still good. Everything is just dirty, no leaks to speak of, abs sensors and wires look good.

I didn't have a breaker bar and wasn't sure about how to pull the axles (I just found out they just pop out) or vise grips to hold the swaybar endlink shafts still while the nut comes off so I had to stop at this point. My goal is to pull the pumpkin, check out the diff, and get the thing easier to transport.

So, still not sure what kind of diff it has but I suspect its probably just the stock clutch type. If I open this pumpkin and find a torsen diff... a pair of kittens will be had, i assure you.

Some are probably wondering about detailed plans. Here's the timeline as money permits.

- clean it up
- seam weld and brace the subframe weak points
- delrin bushings throughout
- ford racing pumpkin cover (I plan on adding a cooler later)
- stainless lines
- verify 4.10 gears internally
- get it ready to go in a car
- get a 96-98 GT 5spd with ABS to throw this into.
- throw it into that car
- through the floor subframe connectors
- do delrin bushings on the front of the car
- cobra or mach 1 steering rack
- coilovers with bilstein shocks
- Y2K cobra R front brakes
- gut the interior
- remove all non essentials (in Texas AC and power steering is essential )
- make it look clean and awesome
- rebuild interior to be better and simpler than what it was
- rip out the drivetrain and clean up the engine bay
- clean up the engine/trans, replacing seals and inspecting it
- reinstall drivetrain

long term plans

- tremec magnum close ratio 6spd
- full exhaust
- maybe a PI or 04ish V8 explorer engine (all aluminum PI motor, basically)


Some may be wondering where the big power adders or engine swaps with crazy power levels are. Well, don't, because I don't really care about having more than around 300hp. Nimble handling is where its at for me. I can make 300ponies do a whole lot if the chassis is sorted.

 

[Makoto]

Picked the frame clean to inspect all the bits.

pumpkin out. one axle has a little rust on on the inside shaft (not where the bearing rides) which will need to be knocked off.

I was hoping for a torsen but it looks like I'll be replacing some clutch packs along with all the bushings.

Didn't see any markings on the gears so they definitely aren't stock and everything looks to be in good shape other than the disgusting fluid.

next steps are cleaning everything up real nice, getting it all ready for restoration.