Jason's 96 Cobra - investigative build

[1BadSVT]

Well, I had a few small life interruptions yesterday but finally made time to pull the steering rack out of the way to get those two front control arm bolts out. What a pita that was! The passenger side suspension went in no problem and everything is torqued to spec. Hopefully, I can get the driver side done tonight and reattach the rack. I'd love to get the new inner and outer tie rods done also but let's see.
Here is a shot of the passenger side suspension done with the new lowering coil.


Also moved the breather oil can and installed a second one to catch the oil spray from the KB SC.

 

[1BadSVT]

Suspension is complete. Front end alignment and rear springs go in tomorrow. Also noticed a little coolant coming from the lower drain plug seal; will have to spec one out when I park the car for the winter or bring it somewhere to flush.

The plan is to shake it off tomorrow near the house and drive it Friday.

 

[1BadSVT]

Well, long story short, I found out the steering column bolt was installed backwards at the rack.... I credibly dangerous. I drove the car around 600 miles like that! Oh well, it's been corrected. The new springs have tightened up the suspension and I love it. Huge change!

The car still runs very rough at start up. I've noticed the vacuum goes crazy when it runs bad and it appears to have a misfire. No codes.... The only vacuum line left to check is the gage. I just thought of it tonight. The plan is to check the gauge line tomorrow and then spray fluid around the engine again to see if the idle changes. I may go ahead and remove the blower and IMRC plates and install new gaskets.

The strange thing is after warming up the car this morning, I cut the key while in gear and turned key back on and the running condition improved, no misfire, but the idle did continue to hunt a bit when clutch depressed or at a stop. It's subtle but there. My son and I took the car to our first car show and after warming it up it drove great there. On the way home, different story... Misfire, vacuum jumping all over. Super strange.

 

[Musturd]

you’ve put 600 miles on this thing with out knowing the tunes good nice

 

[RAU03MACH]

how did it do

 

[1BadSVT]

how did it do

Didn't place in the show but we had fun. Pulled the blower off today because I think the vacuum leak is actually at that gasket between the KB and the plate. Currently, I'm doing some research into the valves as I took a look deeper and see some carbon build up. One looks terrible. I'm hoping to get a year out of this thing before dropping for a rebuild, but might not have a choice.

 

[Musturd]

Didn't place in the show but we had fun. Pulled the blower off today because I think the vacuum leak is actually at that gasket between the KB and the plate. Currently, I'm doing some research into the valves as I took a look deeper and see some carbon build up. One looks terrible. I'm hoping to get a year out of this thing before dropping for a rebuild, but might not have a choice.

driving it around with out a proper tune you’re not doing the engine any favours.

 

[RAU03MACH]

I have to agree with mustard
The tune will clear up a lot of the little issues your having

 

[Musturd]

I have to agree with mustard
The tune will clear up a lot of the little issues your having

He’s just Goona continue to struggle figuring out the issues and Continue driving the thing instead of paying a professional to go over the tune and make sure the cars safe to be driven .

 

[1BadSVT]

He’s just Goona continue to struggle figuring out the issues and Continue driving the thing instead of paying a professional to go over the tune and make sure the cars safe to be driven .

Apologies for not sharing my background.

I'm trying to figure out which programming software I want to go with. Quarter horse seems hard to find and SCT pro isn't set up for running changes.

I used to be on a race team and Dad was a certified Ford mechanic. I've design and fabricated F1 style race cars from the ground up.

I built a Dyno in college, tuned multiple engines in the past, worked in a machine shop for two years, I like carpentry and have built my own wooden canoe. I learned how to weld when I was around 12 with a stick welder on exhaust. I built a 302 from the ground up in high school and installed it in a lowered 92 Ford Ranger. I restored a 66 AH Sprite as well. I made my own carbon fiber seats and panels and Fiberglass panels.

I have a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and an Automotive Engineering Certification. Those last two carry the least amount of weight in my opinion; the experience from my Dad is priceless.

With that said, I'm still human and can make mistakes.

 

[RAU03MACH]

KB will make that chip that piggy backs the main ecm
or as stated before mega squirt
i believe those are your 2 best options
for the year of the car and computer, not to much out there

 

[Musturd]

Apologies for not sharing my background.

I'm trying to figure out which programming software I want to go with. Quarter horse seems hard to find and SCT pro isn't set up for running changes.

I used to be on a race team and Dad was a certified Ford mechanic. I've design and fabricated F1 style race cars from the ground up.

I built a Dyno in college, tuned multiple engines in the past, worked in a machine shop for two years, I like carpentry and have built my own wooden canoe. I learned how to weld when I was around 12 with a stick welder on exhaust. I built a 302 from the ground up in high school and installed it in a lowered 92 Ford Ranger. I restored a 66 AH Sprite as well. I made my own carbon fiber seats and panels and Fiberglass panels.

I have a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and an Automotive Engineering Certification. Those last two carry the least amount of weight in my opinion; the experience from my Dad is priceless.

With that said, I'm still human and can make mistakes.

Great information . Still doesn’t change a thing about what I said . You’re driving a boosted car around with out a working wide band with your knowledge you should know that’s a terrible idea . The tune is the most important part . You’re literally throwing parts at the car day in and day out trying to solve symptoms and not getting better results. Anyways Hopefully you get it tuned and running right .

 

[1BadSVT]

Great information . Still doesn’t change a thing about what I said . You’re driving a boosted car around with out a working wide band with your knowledge you should know that’s a terrible idea . The tune is the most important part . You’re literally throwing parts at the car day in and day out trying to solve symptoms and not getting better results. Anyways Hopefully you get it tuned and running right .

I hear you and appreciate the words of caution. I didn't want to invest in a tune until I had the basics sorted. I didn't want to tune it with a vacuum leak or a sticking valve or bad sensors, etc. Also, I hadn't decided if I wanted to tune this car myself this time and invest in software or eventually take it to a dyno. I haven't been stomping on the car trying to destroy it. I guess I've been putting faith in just knowing/hearing/feeling the car and engine from years of racing experience. I should have at a minimum replaced the AF gauge.

 

[1BadSVT]

Gauges installed in the pillar but not wired in. I have a few parts arriving Friday and Saturday so I can finish the final wiring to my liking. Hopefully I can make some time Sunday to finish cleaning the valves and get the supercharger reinstalled with the new gasket. There were a few areas with evidence that was the vacuum leak the whole time. It's my fault for trying to reuse a gasket so I own that.

 

[96blak54]

Looks good.

 

[1BadSVT]

Looks good.

Thanks! Today, I pulled the rear springs out and discovered I forgot to buy rear isolators. I really want to replace the quad shocks but going to wait a little while.

The new isolator set arrives in 2 days; however, the cleaning brushes and vacuum attachments arrived for the valve cleaning.

I turned the crank to close most of the valves and sprayed the cleaner to soak. I put the cleaning brush into a drill to agitate the carbon. I checked for any bristles or debris after vacuuming and they look SO much better.

I forgot to take an after photo and already made a new gasket and reinstalled the blower. I installed the bolts and single nut on the stud "finger tight", let the gasket set for an hour and then torqued them all down. I won't be able to crank the car until tomorrow or after the gasket cures for 24 hours. (No, I didn't make the marks on the lower side of the blower. I'm guessing the previous owner used a sanding pad to remove an old gasket. Please don't do that to your mating surfaces!)

Other than that, I tidied up a few wires with loom and reinstalled the hoses and oil cans I removed to take off the blower.

 

[1BadSVT]

I finished up the wiring for the gauges but think I picked the wrong spot for the headlamp dimmer. The gauges don't dim but change colors instead.

Anyways, tomorrow I need to remove the wideband sensor so I can calibrate it. I forgot to do it before install. It may have been calibrated from the factory but I need to know it's correct.

I played around with the TPS and I can get the car to idle better but I don't think it's a TPS issue. I think that's just adding fuel to a lean mixture at idle when I change the position. The assumed lean condition is from a vac leak and I suspect an intake or IMRC gasket at this point. It could even be the IMRC plates themselves. The last thing I'm going to do before pulling the blower and lower intake out is to try to retorque the bolts if I can reach them. If that fixes it, new gaskets are going in.

The isolators for the rear springs arrived tonight so I just threw them on. The car sits level and feels much stiffer. Just changing the front springs made a huge difference in handling so I can't wait to try it with all four corners!

 

[1BadSVT]

Haven't posted in a while, but long story short I have a theory. I posted a while back the previous owner ran the car for a while with crank case vent going straight into air filter which led to oil accumulation under intake. Evidence showed majority of oil from crankcase was being sucked into 4 and 8. The fuel injector for #4 appears to have been working on and off with varying levels of combustion, based on plug inspections. I believe the oil clogged the injector(s) over time which has lead to random misfires and vacuum. (Not 100% on the vacuum part) I had put in a new plug at #4 and verified spark, but that plug looks brand new after idling for about 30 minutes total over the last few days. I doubt it's water steam cleaning from a leak because the piston looks unchanged.

A cooling system leak down test was already performed but I'm planning to do a quick compression and leak down test before pulling out the injectors.

Also, a new fuel filter and passenger side exhaust gasket were installed. There was no gasket in there and I was able to remove all of the rtv. Yuck

The whole goal of this car has been to enjoy repairing and working on it, hopefully drive it for a year, then drop the engine winter of 2025. Let's see if she makes it.