In for a penny, in for a pound - '98 Cobra Build Thread

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Getting down to the wire now. I got my rear tires mounted and balanced today. They are Toyo proxes tq's in the 315/35-18 variety.





They are a bit to wide for the IRS subframe bolts so it ground the head of the bolts down to get them to fit and will be ordering low profile bolts to take their place.








So now I need to get the car scheduled at the exhaust shop to get the y-pipe trimmed to fit around the magnum better. After that it's fix any leaks and get miles on it before having it tuned.
 
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just adding to the reasons i want a cobra... fantastic ride man great work on the build

My Cobra wants to be like yours when it grows up.

Thanks fellas! It's been a long build but hopefully it pays off here when it gets tuned. Cars going to the exhaust shop Thursday so I should be able to get it tuned later this month or early June.
 
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Got the car down yesterday and took it for a spin. Found out the clutch pivot ball needs adjusted. My pedal is way to high and the clutch is slipping really bad. So back in the garage to get the trans pulled back out and adjust the pivot ball.


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I took the car into an exhaust shop to have the exhaust fitted to the car. They did an outstanding job so now there are a couple of small stuff to take care of but overall the car is finished. As of yesterday I have put a whopping 10 miles on the car so 490 to go before I can have it tuned. I decided to go with Lee Blankenship as it's closer to me then Kurgan up in Chicago, plus I am not sure when Kurgan will be back up here. Downside is Lee is 8 weeks out so my tune appointment is scheduled for July 13th. Should give me more than enough time to put the miles on it and iron out any issues.








 

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That looks really subtle with no dish to the wheels but that big meat out back. Wondering if you are happy with the Weldcraft quality? They look very nice. I have been contemplating widening the polished Cobra wheels on my car this coming winter as I would like a wider wheel and tire in the back. Would be nice to be able to stick a 300+ tire outback.

Awesome ride also!
 
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That looks really subtle with no dish to the wheels but that big meat out back. Wondering if you are happy with the Weldcraft quality? They look very nice. I have been contemplating widening the polished Cobra wheels on my car this coming winter as I would like a wider wheel and tire in the back. Would be nice to be able to stick a 300+ tire outback.

Awesome ride also!

I couldn't be happier with how the wheels turned out. Weldcraft's quality is second to none. I wouldn't hesitate sending them another set to widen.
 
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Thought 8 weeks would be plenty of time but as it turns out I'll be pushing it lol. Car had a small oil leak that I needed to find. Turned out to be a loose AN fitting in my relocation line so that was simple enough. Then I got to start driving, needs 500 miles before the tune. Car drives decent for a start up tune but runs pig rich. Like 6 mpg 0.65 lambda rich. So I'll be glad when that's fixed. A couple issues popped up though. First being a strange fluttering noise, like an exhaust leak, once you get above 2000 rpm. I've checked the header gaskets and all the v band connections and nothing seems to be leaking. The second is the IRS lets the rear wheels flex a lot when going up and down inclines at an angle, like my driveway. So the rear fenders needed rolled. I finished that last night but some of the paint on the inner fender lip cracked so I need to touch that up to stop rust. All in all its going decent but I still need 200 miles on the car by Wednesday.


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Sounds like you better get to driving lol. Glad everything is working out and your getting to enjoy it a little bit
 
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Sounds like you better get to driving lol. Glad everything is working out and your getting to enjoy it a little bit

For sure I just need to get it out and drive, unfortunately the weather seems to not want to cooperate lol.
 
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Wow long time since I updated this thread. Lots has happened, some good some bad lol. So the original dyno day was the 13th of July, go the car there and Lee upon listening to it start said it sounded like I was low on compression in a couple cylinders. He was right and it turned out I was without compression on two cylinders and one was 30 psi so needless to say no tuning that day. I should have known there was an issue but with everything being completely new and not having driven or listened to the car in three years I just didn't. In my defence the car drove smooth for the most part and gave no real symptoms of severe misfire. But alas the engine had to come back out to go to my builder to see what was wrong.

Williams (my engine builder) figured out that tolerance stackup in the valve train was causing some to hang open so the valves needed shortened. He took all the valves out and put them in middle of spec for length and had the engine back to me in two weeks. Couldn't say enough good things about how Williams handled the entire deal and stood behind his work by fixing everything and not charging me a dime for labor. I had him put in new head gaskets, even though mine had only 500 miles on them, for added insurance which I paid for the gaskets.

Fast forward to today and the cars back together with a couple changes. New tune appointment is scheduled for Sept. 26th. I replaced all the fragola fittings and lines that I couldn't get to seal in the cooling system with aeroquip and also ditched the factory expansion tank for a s197 tank.




Also took the car for a test drive to make sure it's leak free and man does it drive 1000x better than before, and before I thought it drove well. Didn't have time to wash the car but took some pictures anyways, 1. because the car was leak free and such a nice day and 2. for this months ROTM lol.



 

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Man! Sorry to hear about the engine coming back out, but Im glad to hear its working out for you. Now you get to enjoy it some more!
 
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Man! Sorry to hear about the engine coming back out, but Im glad to hear its working out for you. Now you get to enjoy it some more!

Yeah it was pretty serious punch to the gut but part of building cars I suppose. As long as the car hold together and makes decent numbers come dyno time the pain of tearing the car apart and putting it back together will be quickly forgotten lol. I am ready for this build to be done and the enjoyment to start for sure.
 

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I love the S197 expansion tank! That is something my fab guy discussed doing with mine. I'm very tempted to do the same. Is it pretty straight forward mod?

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I love the S197 expansion tank! That is something my fab guy discussed doing with mine. I'm very tempted to do the same. Is it pretty straight forward mod?

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Super easy, all I did for mine was mount it to two L brackets that are secured to the fender well with riv-nuts. It is as sturdy as the stock tank, as for the coolant hose I am running a 99 gt lower hose which fit no problem.

Hardest part was getting the height set so the hood can close.
 

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