Hey guys, figured I would share my winter project with you all. Over the years I have tried to do a few mods to the Cobra to keep things fun. Two summers ago I did the NA_SVT short runner intake, and custom tune. With just a catted x-pipe, SLP catback exhaust, SRI and a custom tune I hit 300 HP to the wheels. I was excited as the tune was safe.
I will say the SRI is the x-factor for these cars, and would not of hit that number without it. Last winter my project was replacing the stock seats with some Termi seats, and then dressing up the engine bay. When all was said and done, I was happy with the result:
But why leave well enough alone right? Honestly I have been debating for years to go boost or not. So a few months ago I pulled the trigger on a brand new Vortech V3 tuner kit
To say I'm excited would be an understatement. But I, much like many on this forum suffer from "while I'm there syndrome." So of course before I bolt this bad boy on, I wanted to take some steps to clean up the engine bay even more. The motor currently has 62k miles, and has a stock bottom end. So will only be running 6-8 pounds of boost. First on the list was the spark plug wires. Thanks to Red Monster's COP conversion kit, I decided to delete the spark plug wires. Also picked up a set of COP valve covers from RaceBronco and had them powder coated Red with a show clear coat.
The process of removing the valve covers isn't too hard, its all about taking your time.
Once removed, I taped the crap out of the new valve covers and installed on the engine.
Handsome Rob gave me the idea about replacing the stock bolts with a kit Proweld offers, so I went with a matte black bolt set
Once everything was bolted back up, I started her up and it runs great.
Once I knew it ran correctly, I started tearing it down again. I painted the EGR body black as it was looking old and crusty
Simply removing the spark plug wires creates such a nicer looking engine bay. Props to Red Monster for offering this conversion to all of us 96-98 Cobra owners. At this point, I am currently working on cleaning up all the wiring. Over the years the loom and electrical tape has been getting a little tired. I want to hide the wiring as much as possible. Also have a stock lower intake I am working on cleaning up the ports with some 80 grit sandpaper. My goal is just to smooth out the ports. Not sure if this will improve flow, but it will make me feel better knowing each port is nice and smooth. Plan is to paint the outside of the lower intake black, remove my NA_SVT SRI, and install. Once all the wiring is cleaned up, and the stock lower is cleaned up and installed, I will begin the process of bolting on the Vortech. With the Vortech, here are the other components I have that will be going on at the same time:
Tuning will be done by Horsepower by Herman. I'm hoping to get between 380-400 to the wheels with 6-8 pounds of boost. My goal is to spend no more than 6k on this build. I have been getting really good pricing on everything and should be able to stay under that amount(going to be tight). That's it for now, but will continue to update this thread as I make more progress.
I will say the SRI is the x-factor for these cars, and would not of hit that number without it. Last winter my project was replacing the stock seats with some Termi seats, and then dressing up the engine bay. When all was said and done, I was happy with the result:
But why leave well enough alone right? Honestly I have been debating for years to go boost or not. So a few months ago I pulled the trigger on a brand new Vortech V3 tuner kit
To say I'm excited would be an understatement. But I, much like many on this forum suffer from "while I'm there syndrome." So of course before I bolt this bad boy on, I wanted to take some steps to clean up the engine bay even more. The motor currently has 62k miles, and has a stock bottom end. So will only be running 6-8 pounds of boost. First on the list was the spark plug wires. Thanks to Red Monster's COP conversion kit, I decided to delete the spark plug wires. Also picked up a set of COP valve covers from RaceBronco and had them powder coated Red with a show clear coat.
The process of removing the valve covers isn't too hard, its all about taking your time.
Once removed, I taped the crap out of the new valve covers and installed on the engine.
Handsome Rob gave me the idea about replacing the stock bolts with a kit Proweld offers, so I went with a matte black bolt set
Once everything was bolted back up, I started her up and it runs great.
Once I knew it ran correctly, I started tearing it down again. I painted the EGR body black as it was looking old and crusty
Simply removing the spark plug wires creates such a nicer looking engine bay. Props to Red Monster for offering this conversion to all of us 96-98 Cobra owners. At this point, I am currently working on cleaning up all the wiring. Over the years the loom and electrical tape has been getting a little tired. I want to hide the wiring as much as possible. Also have a stock lower intake I am working on cleaning up the ports with some 80 grit sandpaper. My goal is just to smooth out the ports. Not sure if this will improve flow, but it will make me feel better knowing each port is nice and smooth. Plan is to paint the outside of the lower intake black, remove my NA_SVT SRI, and install. Once all the wiring is cleaned up, and the stock lower is cleaned up and installed, I will begin the process of bolting on the Vortech. With the Vortech, here are the other components I have that will be going on at the same time:
- Walbro TU227HP Fuel Pump
- Kenne Bell Boost a Pump
- Siemens 60 pound injectors
- Anderson Powerpipe
- Reische 170 Themostat
- Bassani Mid-length headers
- 1996 Cobra Water pump pulley
- Autometer Phantom 2 Boost, Temp, and Fuel Pressure Gauges
- MTX Air/Fuel Wideband
- Various engine dress-up components (coil covers, etc.)
- McLeod Clutch
Tuning will be done by Horsepower by Herman. I'm hoping to get between 380-400 to the wheels with 6-8 pounds of boost. My goal is to spend no more than 6k on this build. I have been getting really good pricing on everything and should be able to stay under that amount(going to be tight). That's it for now, but will continue to update this thread as I make more progress.
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