Looking for build suggestions 94-98 Cobra (Canyon Carver)

[lwarrior1016]

All the new edge cobra's have IRS. The 99-01 Cobra has 28 spline axles and the 03-04 has 31 spline axles. Either one of them you get will dramatically increase handling. With them though, you need to make sure to get a full bushing kit for it. The bushing kit frees up a lot of binding that you get from the stock rubber bushings. The down side is that they can get expensive.

Full Tilt Boogie Racing

By far the best place for IRS parts. Check out the site and watch their videos.

 

[D3VST8R96GT]

Honestly the best thing you can do is look for a complete but wrecked 03-04 cobra and buy it. Next get an SN and swap it all over.....

Its sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it too and frankly the terminator fits the bill.

Next best bet is a wreck 99-01 cobra and swap it into an SN. You will face the weak rods but have some of the comforts of the IRS.

There is alot to think about and I could easily spend your money for you lol

Whipple S/C are nice and quiet too.

 

[MrE]

Thanks for the kind words man!:cheers: I sure you can find some nicer area to drive up north or more toward Vegas. I have heard good things about the drive in Northern Cali. One area that comes to mind is the area around Neptunes on Pacific Cost Hwy in Malibu (the place Paul Walker stopped off at in F/F 1.)

As for your irs question, yes, 99-04 is all IRS. Stay away from 99 as it was still in the early stages. 01 02 is good, but the 03 04 cobra irs is considered the most desirable of them all.

At your budget you should have no problem. LMR.com has all the parts to upgrade/renew The IRS if needed.

Summary of Suspension List:


Ford Motorcraft HD Motor Mounts (LH & RH)

UPR Chrome-Moly K-Member Kit With Coil Overs & VikingSprings

UPR Steel 4-Bolt HD Caster Camber Plates

New Steering Rack (Rack & Pinion)

Tie Rod Ends

Koni "ORANGE" Sport Strut & Shock Kit

UPR Rear Coil Over Kit With Viking Springs


Some of the other misc stuff thats on their helps like stage 2 clutch, Alum. flywheel, Short throw shift, 4.10 gears subframes etc. Full write up in the link below in my sig if your interested.

Im on PCH 4-5 times a year if not more. I catch Supercar Sunday about 9am and cruise after.
Been to Neptune's Net a bunch of times when i can afford to "pay for my own shrimp" or the guys i drive with are around.
The Snake is a cool section of Mulholland. you can usually spot Jay Leno Driving around in something insane.
Mulholland drops you right at Kanan RD Where there are some Tunnels. Car guys love Tunnels.
From there you catch PCH north to Neptune's. The cops are out in force though. They are pretty cool about it but speeding is a no-no. Especially once you're not on The Snake. Its about a 7 hour cruise with stops. Current cars seats are a PITA, literally, So i take many breaks.
When i get the Cobra ill take some trips up north. Ive been eyeing a Cobra in Oregon. Its the wrong color for me but its Mint and the price is right. We'll see. Gotta sell off two other cars before i commit.


I checked out your build thread. Pretty good start.
I notice you have struts
I was under the impression coil overs would replace the struts

 

[MrE]

Honestly the best thing you can do is look for a complete but wrecked 03-04 cobra and buy it. Next get an SN and swap it all over.....

Its sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it too and frankly the terminator fits the bill.

Next best bet is a wreck 99-01 cobra and swap it into an SN. You will face the weak rods but have some of the comforts of the IRS.

There is alot to think about and I could easily spend your money for you lol

Whipple S/C are nice and quiet too.

I think im fine with the stock motor of a 96-98. The fun is in building the car. Back in 2000 i was doing a build sheet for my V6 and decided against it. I still have those idea in my head tho only now the parts available are so much better.

As i'm making this new build sheet i'm thinking Termi Swap isnt out of the question but i think that's a much much later thing to do. Unless somehow an engine just fell from the car gods into my lap.

With the stock engine i prolly wont change much. Even though i have the cash to do it from jump, i likely won't even supercharge til later on. Its an easy to get part and its kind of the icing on the cake.
Break it out in stages like Roush would do

Stage 1:
General maintenance. Determine if the car could even handle boost down the line.
Looking into custom building some side pipes to get it exhaling properly with that V8 gargul. Muffler shops are usually much cheaper than ordering online.
Short Throw Kit
Appearance. Likely swap seats with an 03/04 or a '10 GT500 just to give it a custom look. Center dash bits from an 03/04 to take a larger stereo.
Stipes of some kind if i get '10 seats with matching stripes.
Style Bar
Speedster Cover (I go back and forth on if i will go through the trouble of paint and whatnot for a pretty non functional part... but it looks cool. might do it at the end of the biuld)

Stage 2
Once im sure about how the car drives, IRS and coil overs will be done.
Once i settle on suspension ill go shopping for wheels and tires. I like them wide and deep dished. (If you think it would be pretty safe to buy wheels before im set on suspension let me know. Hoping whatever car i get already has some decent wheels though)
Lower the car to keep the wheel wells full of rubber.
If i havent blown too much cash at this point a big break kit is a must. Willwoods or Brembo's whatever is cheaper

Stage 3
Kenne Bell 2.1 6psi maybe 8psi but have to deal with octane booster for that. 91oct is all ya get in California.
Meth Kit for sure. I dont think its strictly needed going off the forums and my driving style but safety first.

After that i think id have myself a pretty solid car. I keep googling rides and this one keeps showing up :thumbsup: to who ever owns it. Top two favorites ive seen as far as what id like to emulate.

The other car I really like is slammed almost tucked which is somewhat counter to my goals but damn it looks good

Stage 4 (BIG IF)
Going full 03/04 drivetrain Engine/Trans/Drive Shaft
Might get a carbon fiber drive shaft just to brag at car meets lol i mean hell if im doing a Termi swap its all bragging rights stuff at that point lol



Not that this build sheet is locked in stone. Every boxer has a plan until he takes a punch. Still looking for some additions i may have not thought about. Your suggestions are more than appreciated.

 

[1998cobrasvt]

Im on PCH 4-5 times a year if not more. I catch Supercar Sunday about 9am and cruise after.
Been to Neptune's Net a bunch of times when i can afford to "pay for my own shrimp" or the guys i drive with are around.
The Snake is a cool section of Mulholland. you can usually spot Jay Leno Driving around in something insane.
Mulholland drops you right at Kanan RD Where there are some Tunnels. Car guys love Tunnels.
From there you catch PCH north to Neptune's. The cops are out in force though. They are pretty cool about it but speeding is a no-no. Especially once you're not on The Snake. Its about a 7 hour cruise with stops. Current cars seats are a PITA, literally, So i take many breaks.
When i get the Cobra ill take some trips up north. Ive been eyeing a Cobra in Oregon. Its the wrong color for me but its Mint and the price is right. We'll see. Gotta sell off two other cars before i commit.


I checked out your build thread. Pretty good start.
I notice you have struts
I was under the impression coil overs would replace the struts

Im on PCH 4-5 times a year if not more. I catch Supercar Sunday about 9am and cruise after.
Been to Neptune's Net a bunch of times when i can afford to "pay for my own shrimp" or the guys i drive with are around.
The Snake is a cool section of Mulholland. you can usually spot Jay Leno Driving around in something insane.
Mulholland drops you right at Kanan RD Where there are some Tunnels. Car guys love Tunnels.
From there you catch PCH north to Neptune's. The cops are out in force though. They are pretty cool about it but speeding is a no-no. Especially once you're not on The Snake. Its about a 7 hour cruise with stops. Current cars seats are a PITA, literally, So i take many breaks.
When i get the Cobra ill take some trips up north. Ive been eyeing a Cobra in Oregon. Its the wrong color for me but its Mint and the price is right. We'll see. Gotta sell off two other cars before i commit.


I checked out your build thread. Pretty good start.
I notice you have struts
I was under the impression coil overs would replace the struts

Sounds like a blast man! One day i hope to travel west in the cobra if i can ever find 2 weeks off lol.

As for the color, do not settle! The car you are looking for is out there! What color would you want?

You have the right idea on the coilovers, their are two types of coilovers, the one you have in mind is where the strut is already integrated.

Thank you for the compliments [MENTION=21143]MrE[/MENTION]. I am very happy with the progress made so far. Much Much more to come. This build is only getting started!

 

[MrE]

Sounds like a blast man! One day i hope to travel west in the cobra if i can ever find 2 weeks off lol.

As for the color, do not settle! The car you are looking for is out there! What color would you want?

You have the right idea on the coilovers, their are two types of coilovers, the one you have in mind is where the strut is already integrated.

Thank you for the compliments MrE. I am very happy with the progress made so far. Much Much more to come. This build is only getting started!

In honesty id like Grabber Blue lol. But im not going to paint the car. I dont baby my cars, paint just seems like another thing to worry about.

Black it is! Throw in some blue accents and im good to go.

Thanks for clearing up the coil over issue. Any Reason you went with one type over the other?

 

[MrE]

All the new edge cobra's have IRS. The 99-01 Cobra has 28 spline axles and the 03-04 has 31 spline axles. Either one of them you get will dramatically increase handling. With them though, you need to make sure to get a full bushing kit for it. The bushing kit frees up a lot of binding that you get from the stock rubber bushings. The down side is that they can get expensive.

Full Tilt Boogie Racing

By far the best place for IRS parts. Check out the site and watch their videos.

Thank you for the info. Ill keep that in mind.


BTW i checked out a little of your biuld thread. Incredible! :slowclap:

 

[lwarrior1016]

Thank you for the info. Ill keep that in mind.


BTW i checked out a little of your biuld thread. Incredible! :slowclap:

No problem. I did a LOT of reading (months worth) when I wanted to go IRS in my 98. When I purchased it, I pretty much knew what was up with almost every aspect of it so I have a little bit of info about the IRS lol. I never did get around to installing it, times got hard and I had to sell out.

Thanks for the compliment! The car has me kind of bummed out right now so the encouragement helps lift the spirits back up.

 

[MrE]

No problem. I did a LOT of reading (months worth) when I wanted to go IRS in my 98. When I purchased it, I pretty much knew what was up with almost every aspect of it so I have a little bit of info about the IRS lol. I never did get around to installing it, times got hard and I had to sell out.

Thanks for the compliment! The car has me kind of bummed out right now so the encouragement helps lift the spirits back up.

Dont be bummed man. You took on a task that 90% of us would never attempt. What you're doing even old school guys would respect. You are properly Hot Rodding. Good on you. You've given me courage to be able to fix anything. I may see if i can build an engine in the future.

 

[MrE]

Because i spend hours and hours a day thinking about this SN95 stuff. I figured id write down what is my head when it comes to the car. So that someone other than the voices in my own head might see them.

When it comes to these builds it just comes down to "what do i really want?"

What i really want is a roots/tvs supercharger. What i need is a car to put one on, i just happen to really like the SN95 so that's the car, but the most important thing is the KB supercharger i want. So because of that i'm pretty much ditching the Cobra idea. To run the KB on the Cobra means heat soak, low boost, and mandatory octane booster. Funny enough it's the octane booster that annoys me the most. Just sounds like a PITA. If i do a PI swap on a GT the KB makes better bang for the buck. Considering the price difference on the GT v Cobra im guessing id have a faster and more reliable GT for about the same money (mod for mod, pound for pound)

What ive decided is to buy the best/cheapest GT vert i can find. As long as it drives well enough to make it from the owner to my garage and dosent need paint im good with it.

So Happy New Year to yall.

2016 resolutions:
96-98 GT Vert
PI head swap
KB sc w/intercooler
interior upgrades
lowered right height
rims
burnouts
happy faces

 

[B.mad]

If you want to know what a decent handling mustang does on Angeles Crest let me know. But it is not a comfortable ride LOL. its pretty stiff.

 

[nitroram33]

If you love the 94-98 body then I would look into a Termi swap motor. Then do the IRS from the cobra too.
Grab the MM cataloge and start upgrading the suspension

This. Somebody turn off the lights on the way out of the thread. :thumbsup:

 

[nitroram33]

2016 resolutions:
96-98 GT Vert
PI head swap
KB sc w/intercooler
interior upgrades
lowered right height
rims
burnouts
happy faces

Get a '98 (especially later ones) and it should already have the holes for the Cobra IRS and it will be that much easier to swap in if/when you decide to go that route.

 

[lwarrior1016]

The three 98's that I've done rear ends on, didn't have the vertical holes for the rear IRS brackets. I just installed an IRS in my 98 and those holes are definitely not there lol.

 

[MrE]

If you want to know what a decent handling mustang does on Angeles Crest let me know. But it is not a comfortable ride LOL. its pretty stiff.

Might take you up on that one day. Likely after i finally purchase.

 

[MrE]

Originally Posted by CC'S95GT
If you love the 94-98 body then I would look into a Termi swap motor. Then do the IRS from the cobra too.
Grab the MM cataloge and start upgrading the suspension

This. Somebody turn off the lights on the way out of the thread. :thumbsup:

This is one of the best ways to go really. I agree.
I go back and forth on this a lot comparing swaps to swaps.

1)Coyote 5.0 is the most ideal. I can get the engine for less than the Termi... but thats the end on savings. Everything else is 500-2000 a part. Plus fabrication... ughhh

2)The Termi engine...
Ive been window shopping on ebay for days and if i bought something today i could get a 03-04 Cobra motor for 6500-9000ish. Thats a big chunk of change. Puls Fabrication... ughhhh

OR

3)I can buy a complete 4.6 GT 2v PI engine from a 01-04 for less than the cost of a head swap alone. This is the current best plan. Because i can supercharge at a later date and dont have to lay out all that cash at once. That said the supercharger is 5k from KB far as i know. So basically i would have paid for the Termi motor... if you follow what im saying. But waaay less fabrication.... yay!

Option 3 is the most cost effective. If something were to happen and i couldnt complete the project at least i wouldnt have to sell off the car cuz i dropped over 6k$ on an engine to put in a 2k$ car

 

[nitroram33]

Can always keep an eye out on Copart for a wrecked Cobra (usually go for 6500-8500 in decent enough condition for the engine/trans/IRS to be in good shape, less for more severely damaged ones) and get everything all at once.

 

[MrE]

Can always keep an eye out on Copart for a wrecked Cobra (usually go for 6500-8500 in decent enough condition for the engine/trans/IRS to be in good shape, less for more severely damaged ones) and get everything all at once.

Wow! I may not end up with the 03/04 Cobra from there. Ill keep my hopes level but the price to pick up a whole car from http://www.copart.com/ is amazing. Could solve a lot of little issues like interior parts and still come out less than an engine on e-bay. For sure will keep an eye on that site. Thank you Nitro.

If anyone has suggestions on where to get parts (especially if they are in So California) let me know please.

 

[neverenuff]

Originally Posted by CC'S95GT
If you love the 94-98 body then I would look into a Termi swap motor. Then do the IRS from the cobra too.
Grab the MM cataloge and start upgrading the suspension



This is one of the best ways to go really. I agree.
I go back and forth on this a lot comparing swaps to swaps.

1)Coyote 5.0 is the most ideal. I can get the engine for less than the Termi... but thats the end on savings. Everything else is 500-2000 a part. Plus fabrication... ughhh

2)The Termi engine...
Ive been window shopping on ebay for days and if i bought something today i could get a 03-04 Cobra motor for 6500-9000ish. Thats a big chunk of change. Puls Fabrication... ughhhh

OR

3)I can buy a complete 4.6 GT 2v PI engine from a 01-04 for less than the cost of a head swap alone. This is the current best plan. Because i can supercharge at a later date and dont have to lay out all that cash at once. That said the supercharger is 5k from KB far as i know. So basically i would have paid for the Termi motor... if you follow what im saying. But waaay less fabrication.... yay!

Option 3 is the most cost effective. If something were to happen and i couldnt complete the project at least i wouldnt have to sell off the car cuz i dropped over 6k$ on an engine to put in a 2k$ car

Love the idea, just one question...what is your budget? If you have $4k-5k a coyote swap can be done, if you have around 1500- 2k you can do a pi swap, assuming you don't have an engine to work with, but a new Kenne Bell is going to be more expensive than a f150 engine coyote swap, and aside from the exhaust and trimming the inner fender for my new ecu, there wasn't too much fabricating.
Plug and play.....terminator swap, but it's easily 6 grand.
And once you start it's hard to stop....
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[neverenuff]

Im on PCH 4-5 times a year if not more. I catch Supercar Sunday about 9am and cruise after.
Been to Neptune's Net a bunch of times when i can afford to "pay for my own shrimp" or the guys i drive with are around.
The Snake is a cool section of Mulholland. you can usually spot Jay Leno Driving around in something insane.
Mulholland drops you right at Kanan RD Where there are some Tunnels. Car guys love Tunnels.
From there you catch PCH north to Neptune's. The cops are out in force though. They are pretty cool about it but speeding is a no-no. Especially once you're not on The Snake. Its about a 7 hour cruise with stops. Current cars seats are a PITA, literally, So i take many breaks.
When i get the Cobra ill take some trips up north. Ive been eyeing a Cobra in Oregon. Its the wrong color for me but its Mint and the price is right. We'll see. Gotta sell off two other cars before i commit.


I checked out your build thread. Pretty good start.
I notice you have struts
I was under the impression coil overs would replace the struts

Spot on MrE, I'd find a car that you like first then transfer your ideas on to it, almost 30 years of Mustangs and a lot, I mean a lot of the parts interchange, from 3v swaps in fox body's to big blocks in the s197's, the possibilities are endless.
Not to hi-jack a thread but I'm out in Camarillo, maybe we can meet up sometime.

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