So do I need the lower intake as well as the upper? Would the explorer intake fit with a cobra strut tower bar?
I can find a complete 5.0 out of a 96 Explorer for cheaper ($800 and local) than I've seen upper/lower intakes. I wonder if that would be worth it to get the heads as well.
Here's the long version. The stock GT manifold upper and lower are only compatible with each other. The Cobra intake, Explorer intake, and tubular intake are all considered GT40 intakes. Once you get a GT40 lower intake (photo attached), all of the different upper intakes are compatible with it. A GT40 lower intake can take a pre-'93 style Cobra upper, '94-'95 Cobra upper, Explorer upper, tubular GT40 upper, and many more. There are many, many different versions of the GT40 but they all share a similar lower. So if you are looking to upgrade, be sure you get and upper and lower intake together. Here's a link with some more info on the different versions.
The "Original" GT40 Intake As our foxes get older and more collectible people are starting to look at what performance parts were available in the early days and this post...
www.foxstang.com