Engine 1990 GT - Cobra Intake identification

[2007_Crown_Vic]

Hi,

Can anyone tell based on these pictures if these are legit Cobra intake parts? It says they are off a 1992, but I thought they didn't come on these until 1993. That isn't to say that they were swapped onto a 1992 and that was the last car they were on...

Also interested in some opinions on if these would be worth while on my basically bone stock 1990 GT. It does have an aftermarket exhaust so maybe something to help the engine breath better would be good. I was also wondering if I were to put these on, should the throttle body be upgraded to a larger one too, and if so what size would be good for an otherwise stock engine. Would any of these changes require any work to prevent engine lights and trouble codes or is this a pretty straight forward thing to do?

Thanks!

 

[General karthief]

Looks like a non egr explorer intake, they are cobra 'like' and an up grade from stock but no egr, did the seller state it was a cobra intake? Did you pay much for it?

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

Haven't bought it yet. I had a feeling it might not be an actual cobra intake so I wanted to check it out first.... or have you guys who actually know what you are looking at check it out first, lol.

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

“Cobra like” is right. That thing came off a late 90’s Explorer or Mountaineer. No egr, it would have a hole in the center.

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

Egr equipped intake

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

Thanks for the help guys. I asked if these are real Cobra parts or off an Explorer (knowing the answer) and he did say they were from an Explorer. Not to say they are not decent parts, just not worth the money he is asking in my mind (about $200) and not what I am looking for. Should probably take the Cobra reference out of the ad and just leave it at GT40...

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

I’ve got one that is going to go one my car soon. @Mustang5L5 did a really nice job reconditioning his. $200 isn’t to bad of a price but I think $150 is more like it.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Non-EGR Explorer intake. Pass. It's not a Cobra intake, and not even a GT-40 intake.

Going rate for EGR equipped Explorer intakes is around $75-125 and you can usually get them with the 65mm TB (the early ones can be converted) and the better flowing 19# injectors.

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

That was my opinion too. If it was an actual Cobra intake I would have wanted it but not a non-EGR explorer version. Thanks!

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

Is there a rough HP increase with the aftermarket intakes on LMR? I'm just wondering what kind of gains I could see with an Edlebrock or Trick Flow intake and a larger throttle body. I know there are so many different combos it is probably hard to say...

 

[General karthief]

Very little with stock heads and cam.

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

So this looks like one of those situations where one thing will lead to another and another, and then my stock daily driver turns into a thirsty weekend car. Fair enough. Just thought if it was a relatively simple change to make to pick up some power without really changing the car it might be worth considering. Thanks.

 

[General karthief]

One of the best bang for the buck upgrades is a gear change, stock stangs usually have a 308 or higher (smaller numerical) final drive ratio and can benefit from a 355 gear as a middle ground, some go for a 373 or 8 (whatever the next size is) and that works too. The explorer intake (with egr) is a good upgrade but without better heads the benifit is still minimal. A dependable daily driver has minimal speed parts but is also mediocre to drive. Plan out what you want out of your ride and the associated parts to make it fun. This does include brakes and suspension.

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

I actually had 3.55 (or something in that range) on the list. I was going to being changing the rear wheel bearings at some point soon and figured that might be a good time. I just need to work out what some gears around that ratio will do to cruising speeds. I don't do a lot of highway driving but don't want the car screaming away in 5th gear when I do.

 

[General karthief]

I got 355's in my car, it's also a 5 speed, only a few hundred rpms difference at 60 mph, I did the research on gear ratio and tire size and changed the speedometer gear so my speedometer would be accurate.

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

I already have to use a GPS as a speedometer. It has been way out since I got the car so no big deal there. I was looking around and there really isn't that much RPM difference at highway speeds between the 3.55 and 3.73. If I were to go with 3.73's how would first gear be, and |I guess same question applies to 3.55's. I have heard some people say first gear is basically useless after the gear change, but I think that would be more for the 4.10's...

I suppose one other thing I will have to check is what gear is currently in there. As far as I know it is stock, but maybe it has been changed already at some point. Am I right that the way to do this is jack the back end up and rotate the tire one full turn and count the drive shaft rotations? That seems to be what I recall hearing.

 

[General karthief]

That is the word, my dad told me to mark the drive shaft, rotate the tire 20 times slowly counting the turns on the drive shaft but I think dad was just having fun with us.
i like my 355's, it's a comprise, the more power you have the less gear you need, if you read some of the threads where guys are running a lot of power with 373s and taller gears say first gear is useless. There are so many factors when play'n the power vs traction game you need a score card, literally.
I can torch the tires on my little ride in first and bust 'em loose granny shifting second. Of course I don't run soft rubber, like 300 treadwear at about 30 psi, I just wanna have fun.

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

Cool, I will check the gear this weekend. It sounds like I should be fine with 3.73's. It is not a high powered heavily modified car. This is exciting stuff. The tires already spin fairly easily at low speeds with what I assume is the original gear. I, like you, just have the car for fun and based on reviews for these gears at lower speeds and up through the gears there is a lot more fun to be had. Now I just have to find someone who I trust to do the job. I usually like tackling things I haven't done before but it sounds like if not done right they can be noisy or overheat.

Any recommendations about a break in procedure?

 

[General karthief]

Good gear oil, I use royal purple, some say with synthetic oil you don't need the additive but I did anyway, cruise around for a couple hundred miles then drive it like you stole it.

 

[2007_Crown_Vic]

Ok, this was the kit I was looking at. Comes with Royal Purple. I actually have some Penzoil Synthetic 75W140 i bought for when I was just going to do the wheel bearings. Should I use that oil for the break in period and then change it out for the 75W90 Royal Purple it comes with?

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-4209FRB-K/Mustang-88-373-Ratio-Rear-End-Gear-Kit