Even though I sold the 'Bird to Dogcharmer, I still visit the site. Thought some of you might be intrested in the progress I've made on the Cobra. I've already decided that I didn't like my brakes, so I bought a set of Ford Motorsport 13" front and 10.6 rear Cobra R brakes. I have the rear installed, but the front calipers are on back order, they should be in next week. The rears were sort of difficult, I had to adapt the Cobra calipers to the '89 TBird rear suspension with a special adaptor.I had the dash covered in real leather, the console will also be leather covered, with the rest of the interior covered in the same color vinyl, with the carpet a silver grey. . Here's a couple of photo as she sits now.
John
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/progressapril1806003Small.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/dashmay28Small.jpg)
wicked, lets see that motor!
wow...freaking beautifull man. someday, when i have a house and garage of my own i want to build one as well. you are gonna love the brakes. im super impressed at how well they stop my car. i highly recomend the stainlss lines as well, it does a ton for the pedal feel....
Holley 650 DP on a Victor Jr intake, Ported Edel Perf RPM heads with 2.02 intake valves, Comp Cams 280H cam, and all the usual stuff. 331 C.I. Ford motorsport block, JE pistons, custom crank, etc.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/progressmay6006Small.jpg)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/progressmay6007Small.jpg)
Thanks! Not only do I have stainless steel braided lines at the wheels, the entire brake system as well as the fuel system is plumbed with stainless steel tubing, using A/N type fittings.:D
Freaking hot as hell, dude. If I'm not mistaken, those little things are pretty light, aren't they?
About 2400 lbs full of gas, and street legal :evilgrin:
Yikes! I love those cars so much. What are those back tires, 305's or something?
You guys should hear it run... That thing's gonna be a beast!
Hey John, good to see you're makin progress on the Cobra. I like the leather covered dash with the Cobra lettering embossed. I noticed in the first picture the car is sitting on the right side of the driveway. does that mean you've sent the body off for paint?
BTW, The bird is runnin great, I fixed the low speed surge/miss. It turned out to be an EGR problem. I've gotta get a side exit exhaust before TX will register it. For some reason they don't like the turn downs, heheh...
holy cobra..
which kit? I so want one.. I actually got to sit in a real one, the guy offered to sell it for 500k... the carb was acting up and it was at a garage I drive by, slammed on the brakes and whip around to take a look.
Oh man I've always loved those things. One of these days I'm going to put one together. Maybe I missed it in the thread, but did you say which kit you've got?
How long has it taken you to get to this point?
Looks great :)
Very nice work.
beautiful
Question with those kits don’t tour have to start with a chassis from a used veh, like a pinto or something.
I remember seeing a kit that used a LOT of parts off of a fox mustang. It wasn't a traditional Cobra kit, but it was still very neat.
I wish! No it's not painted yet, but I did drive the chassis up and down the street a couple of times.
Glad to hear she's doing Ok, I already miss that car..
The Cobra is a Factory Five replica. The kit is designed to use a 87 to 93 Mustang as a donor. I'm not doing that since I didn't have one. I'm using all new parts, except the gas tank, and the 89 TBird S/C rear center section, and that was rebuilt with new bearings, gears and clutck packs. There is no requirement to use a used chassis or anything like that. I applied for and received a smog exemption because it is a reproduction of a '65 model car, and only has to meet '65 smog requirements. Only 500 exemptions are allowed per year. This is for California, other states have their own unique rules. When you receive your chassis, you will also receive paperwork certifing where the kit came from. That paperwork is used to generate a title. I've had the car about a year and a half. I think I've made some good progress, even with being gone for two to three weeks at a time with my job. John
i like the factory five kits..
that will be one sweet ride.
gonna be a killer looking car!
What made you decide to use the MN12 IRS and not the Cobra IRS?
The chassis is set up for the TBird outer bearing carriers, The Factory Five lower A arms and the upper camber links will bolt directly to the TBird bearing carrier. There is no real world advantage to using the Mustang Cobra parts, the Cobra center section is aluminum and will bolt in, but is not quite as strong as the TBird iron unit, and requires special tools to change gears. The complete TBird IRS only cost me $300.00 plus the 3.55 gear set and about $150 to get rebuilt. Here's a photo of the fabricated A Aam and upper camber link. I'm also using the FMS Cobra R brakes.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/irsSmall.jpg)
Another alternative to the aluminum carrier, if youre interested, is the Mark VIII, but im pretty sure you already knew that, since it seems youve done your homework for quite some time.
Everything looks great, you get a thumbs up from me, and thats rare i give a thumbs up.
hows the progress on this? i was thinking about it the other day. im thinking about going down to factory five and tour the shop as they are in massachusettes. im trying to get my dad to buy one ;)
Haven't done much lately, been bogged down with work. I did fab up some pusher fans and a rock guard for the front of the rad, finished up the wiring, and ordered new seats. The seats that come with the car leave alot to be desired. I hope to get the suspension aligned this week. Here's a photo of the pusher fans I built. They are available as a kit from a couple of different vendors- for a price. I built my own for about 1/3 what the fan kit costs.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/pusherfans001Small.jpg)
realy awesome man. id gut my stang for one in a heartbeat if i already owned a factory five kit....okay, i wouldnt go that far but i would so love to be lucky enough to be able to build one...
Took the Cobra to the dyno last Monday, here are the results. The amazing thing about these numbers is that they were made on 87 octane California pump gas. Right out of the box with no tune, the 331 produced 356 HP @ 5955 RPM, and 328 ft lbs Tq. @ 5517 RPM. Went up from 73's on the secondary to 76's and it produced 372.8 HP @ 6156, and 340.5 ft lbs torque @ 5262 RPM. These are rear wheel HP numbers, corrected with a standard correction factor. This is a low compression, 9.25 to 1 motor, Holley 650 DP, Stock Edelbrock Victor Jr manifold, Edelbrock Performer RPM heads with 2.02 intake valves, and a CompCams 280 dur, .560 lift cam. The only changes made to the Holley other than the secondary jet changes was to go to a slightly larger pump shooter on the primary side. here's the chart from run #3. This thing is gonna be crazy! 372 HP and a curb weight of 2300 lbs! John
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/dynorun3page1aSmall.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/File0016dynochartpg2copySmall.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/dynographresizedSmall.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/Dynoday004Small.jpg)
372! nice! Looking good, keep the updates coming John :) I can't wait to see some video of this badboy in action! Very nice lots of luck with her ;)
Those are some nice numbers. That torque curve is nice and flat, gotta love that Comp cam! That thing is a beast! Got that body out for paint yet?
Hay! how's my old 'TBird doing?
The dyno operator couldn't believe the torque curve, said it was more of a "torque line" and not a curve. He said it's common to see that on a larger motor, at a lower RPM, but usually small blocks producing this much power tend to be peaky. This thing is unbeliveably loud at 6000, he said it was starting to hurt his ears. This engine shows that you don't need high compressiion and race gas to get good numbers.
I've been completing some of the things I needed to do before I send the body out. Finished up the electrical stuff, insulating the pen 15pit, installing sound deadner (Dynamat) and getting it aligned. I'm shooting for sometime next month for getting the body out for the body work and paint.
John
Your old bird is doin fine. It’s a great car. I’ve got all the gages under the cowl hooked up and lighted. I swapped out the oil temp gage for a vacuum gage. I’ve gotta get a side exit exhaust welded up so I can register it. TX doesn’t like turn downs (I do). I’ll probably do that next month now that the day time temps are coming down to reasonable levels. All the little stuff is pretty much done on the car. The only thing’s I’ve had to replace have been the steering rack (blew a seal) and the fuse block on the battery box (melted). After I get the exhaust done and the car registered I might dig into the engine and probably replace the cam with a Comp xe258 or 266. Not sure which one yet.
I get compliments on the car all the time. The other day a guy walked right past a new C6 vette at the gas station to check out the Bird. That was cool, heheh…
Btw, I talked to a body man friend of mine about the rear window trim. He told me to use etching primer before I painting it. so I removed all the old paint, masked it off and primed and painted it on the car and it turned out great. It's lasted all summer with no signs of blistering or peeling. I guess the etching primer made the difference.
Wow, that's awesome! I would be happy with either one of those numbers. What is that like 6:1 power to weight (or is it weight to power)? :D
6lb / 1 Hp I s how I was told they do it. By the way, BADASS project. Are you giving rides to every one on the forums???
I've only driven the chassis up and down my street a couple of times, it's actually pretty docile, as long as I keep it under 3500 RPM.
As for rides, you get a ride if you look good in a short skirt:ies:
I dont think you really want him sending you pictures of him in a skirt... do you? :grinno:
what ever works right if you cant make it to the corner that night hoe your self on the fourms!:tetas: :ies: :shakeass:
:grinno: the thing i say that are only funny to me.:grinno:
I had to ask for a ride :flame: You could ask my girlfreind to wear a skirt though:tg:
omfg i want it sooo bad but id opt for a bigger motor, im a cubic inch fanatic, but man that is commin along sooo sweet, but i think ill stick to my 66 mustang coupe 351w 405 hp
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c384/boss3512/08-26-06_0651.jpg)
I'm game....:shakeass: Now where'd I put my skirt....
Nice:tetas: :moon:
The body's all mounted, it went on the chassis without any major issues. The shop that is doing the body work and paint is about 150 miles from where I live, but he does awesome work, Usually takes "Best Paint" at the Knotts Berry farm shows. I'm using two of the backup lamps from a late model Mini, they usually use one lamp, but some of the California inspectors require two. It's going to take them about two months to complete the body and paint work. I'm going to have to make some small changes to the chassis befor the body goes on for the final time. I have to re mount the brake and clutch reservoirs, and a couple of other small things. It's going to be Ford Redfire pearl with metallic gray stripes, and the interior will be medium gray leather, with dove gray carpet.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/bodyonchassis001Small.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/bodyonchassis003Small.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/bodyonchassis002Small.jpg)
I want.......:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:
Wow :bowdown: :idhitit:
:tetas: Sweetness
That is a very Hot car man.
Hey John, I've got a really nice 86 bird I'll trade for the Cobra when you're done... heheh.
That snake's lookin real good, I cant wait to see it in paint!
how much did that cobra kit cost? i have seen them for $14,000.
how long have you been working on it?
Decided to upgrade the brakes. Wilwood 6 piston in the front, and 4 piston in the rear. The spot caliper on the rear is the parking brake. The body is finished, but I can't install it until April 5. My job keeps getting in the way! I'll have the car at the Knott's Berry Farm show in Anaheim on April 28 and 29. If you are in the area, stop by. John
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/Wilwood%20brakes/FrontWilwoodbrakes005Medium.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/Wilwood%20brakes/RearWilwooodbrakes003Medium.jpg)
Mmmm... brakes. Nice. :D
One of those calipers cost more than I gave for the Sport I'm building.
Still need to add a few details, but here she is! Still need to have the interior done, but that's going to wait until after my wallet cools off a little. John
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/Painted001Medium.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/jpersons/Painted004Medium.jpg)
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HOLY shiznit!!!!!! I FREAKING LOVE IT MAN!!! Nice job with it
Wow..... just wow. How's she drive?
Since it's not licensed yet, I just taken it up and down the block a couple of times. The acceleration is "breathtaking".
BTW, the color is Ford redfire pearl, and the stripes are a BMW color that the painter selected.
Freakin' Beautiful, man. Nice work. :)
Wow it really beautiful.
Does that mean "oh **** it's so fast I just ped my pants" fast?:D
I could only imagine :hick:
Sweet! She looks awesome!
I'm sure your neighbors are pleased with those... sidepipes. :D
That is just Too Cool.
Johns331
are you a member of http://www.ffcobra.com/ ? I can't say I reconise the car from there (there are so many on that site)
Sick. I've always wanted to build a badass aluminum headed 331 mill for a car. It's such an underestimated motor.
I log in on that site as J Persons. I posted the same photo over there a couple of days ago.
wow thats beautiful.....
so whats new with the cobra? any videos yet?