98 Cobra Family Cruiser

[jfisher]

Very Nice car. sucks to see that 6 bolt in there that's definitely an oddity. I too found out a few dirty little secrets about my car too just have to accept it/fix it and move on. Really excited to see the progress on it!

Quick question did you notice anything by swapping to the H&R vert springs? I've got so called coupe springs on my car.

Exactly. Nothing I can do about it now. If I find a Cobra 8 bolt engine on the side I may pick it up and rebuild it as I have time, but for now I'm over it.

I went from Eibach Sportlines on stock shocks that were on the car when I first got it to H&R vert specific springs with Bilsteins so it's tough for me to make a comparison. To say the car rode like ass when I first picked it up was an understatement. I was actually in disbelief how poorly it rode and how much the seller made it sound like it was a solid riding car. That should have been my first sign... But the spring rates are for sure different. By how much I'm not really sure as H&R doesn't advertise their rates. I'm sure it's pretty minimal, but if the option was there I was taking it.

 

[apsmith49921]

hmm good info i may look into it. plan was to use strange shocks/struts with my current cheap springs but i may upgrade

 

[jfisher]

hmm good info i may look into it. plan was to use strange shocks/struts with my current cheap springs but i may upgrade

It just all depends on your goals with the car. I had a 93 fox that was a more street / strip car and had stranges front and rear with H&R's out back and coilovers up front. It rode really well. But I really like the H&R / UPR coilover / Bilstein HD combo on this Cobra. Makes for a solid riding street car.

 

[jfisher]

Quick update on the Cobra. I had a leaky head cooling mod fitting on the passenger side which lead to the car over-heating and I believe popped a HG several weeks back. I haven't gotten a chance to pull the engine out yet, but I've got some nice white smoke out of the exhaust and the car won't ever get up to temp. I've got one of those big white funnel coolant kits where you can adapt the funnel to the reservoir cap. It just never stops lightly bubbling. I was pretty bummed about that and started looking at my options for the repair.

I was pretty set on just pulling the engine out and replacing the head gaskets until I ran across an engine on FB and ended up picking that up for a good price. I have a feeling the engine I'm going to be pulling out is a Mark VIII engine, which isn't a huge deal, but it will be nice having a Cobra engine back in the car.

New unit:
Teksid block
04 Cobra crank
Je Pistons
Manley H beams
Melling Oil Pump
ARP Main studs, rod bolts, jack screws, head studs and cam / crank bolts
DB 9 Thread C heads
New valves, guides and BTR SP008-32 valve springs
Stock 96 Cobra Cams
Mach 1 "lower" intake manifold

Not sure if I'll have the car back out this year or not, but happy to be moving in the right direction again. I have a bunch of mod motor parts for sale if anyone needs anything.




It's all new, but going to have Barker Machine and Fab take a look at everything for me and make sure it's all good to go.

 

[Maximum95]

Nice looking 'vert my friend! Quite a list of strange issues too. I enjoyed reading about it. Just when you think you've seen it all!

That new motor looks fantastic.

I do have a question regarding tunes on these. I have a '95 with a QuarterHorse. Is the '98 still tuned with a chip on the J3 port? Or is it a flash tune?

 

[jfisher]

Nice looking 'vert my friend! Quite a list of strange issues too. I enjoyed reading about it. Just when you think you've seen it all!

That new motor looks fantastic.

I do have a question regarding tunes on these. I have a '95 with a QuarterHorse. Is the '98 still tuned with a chip on the J3 port? Or is it a flash tune?

Appreciate it! OBD II came out in 96 so anything 96+ will be via a flash tune / OBD

 

[jfisher]

Got the engine back from the machine shop last week. Super happy with how it turned out.

Decided to do a few things extra while it was all apart:

-all new OEM Ford timing parts
-Wonder Racing timing chain guide pins
-Wonder Racing modified Primary tensioners
-GT500 windage tray
-shaved off the knock sensor bosses

 

[jfisher]

Ended up getting rid of the Pacesetter LT's and X pipe and swapped them for some Bassani Mids and X pipe. LT's are just a pita and cramps everything. Even if I lose some HP I really don't care that much. Fitment on these Bassani's seems to be great so far so looking forward to getting the drivetrain back in the car. Just waiting on a pilot bearing and I'll be ready to put the flywheel, clutch and trans bolted up. It'll go in the car after that.

 

[jfisher]

I still need to think about what / if I want to do a catch can setup. I like the Motion Raceworks kit a lot, but just not sure I really need all that right now. If anyone has any pics of their 96-98 car with C heads and their catch can setup I would love to see some options.

I am also doing an SCT BA5000 slot MAF in the JLT intake tube so will be a blow through setup.

 

[cobrajeff96]

I ran full Bassani with my old Teskid setup and the convenience the slip-on header collectors provided was excellent. They're a bit tough at first but after a few temp cycles they're easy to work with. Only problem is just the individual primary square gaskets tend to flake away over time (order spares!).

 

[jfisher]

I ran full Bassani with my old Teskid setup and the convenience the slip-on header collectors provided was excellent. They're a bit tough at first but after a few temp cycles they're easy to work with. Only problem is just the individual primary square gaskets tend to flake away over time (order spares!).

Those stupid square gaskets were a pita lol. If I had to do it again I'd do a tiny dab of high temp rtv to hold them in place. They kept shifting around when installing the headers. I'm using those square gaskets in addition to new OEM MLS exhaust manifold gaskets. Hopefully no leaks.

 

[cobrajeff96]

It'll sound badass though. Totally worth the hassle.

 

[RAU03MACH]

catch can
i ran mine to the driver side corner fender and brake resavore out of the way , plumbed in to pcv valve and intake on driver side
the catch can i used is a little smaller than a beer can it is a universal

 

[jfisher]

It'll sound badass though. Totally worth the hassle.

I really hope so. The PS LT's and X pipe were super quiet. Too quiet really. I am hoping it is much louder with this setup.

 

[jfisher]

Found some time this weekend to mess with this thing. Got the clutch and flywheel on. Went with the Mcleod Super Street Pro and a Ram Billet Alum flywheel



Got the trans bolted up and was able to get everything in from the top even without dropping the K member like I had to do with the old long tubes



Test fitting the Vortech coolant crossover and a couple other things. Intake manifold is just mocked up. Going to have it cleaned up before it goes on permanently

 

[jfisher]

Got this adapter off a dude on SVTperformance forums. This allows the use of the stock B headed upper intake lid on a C head "lower" intake manifold. This allows me to use the stock throttle cable, air intake, etc. It's probably not ideal for flow, but I really don't care and just loved the way the 96-98 upper intake lids looked

 

[ju015dd]

This is looking badass brother

 

[jfisher]

This is looking badass brother

Thank you! It's getting there

 

[cobrajeff96]

Does it clear the alternator charging stud pretty well? I know pics can be deceiving.

 

[jfisher]

Does it clear the alternator charging stud pretty well? I know pics can be deceiving.

It needs trimming in several areas that being one of them. I'm not really sure why that isn't already done during the machining process, but it is what it is. The guy calls out that the front needs clearance for the intake manifold, but mine needs clearance in the front, rear and for the alt stud.