Aquiring a 5.0 from a 93 Cobra

[Scudly]

My friend has a 93 Cobra with a built 302 in it, but its not the original engine, thats laying on a crate at his place. So I asked him about it and he says he will just give it to me. So I was thinking, oh wow what a find, the engine makes about 235 stock if I remember correctly. I am sure the engine is going to need a rebuild but that is fine. So I had a question, the 5.0's in the 93 cobra's were some of the stongest built right? Since I do finally have a daily driver other than my stang I wanted to hear some build ideas, carb, pistons, ect. I don't think I want to bother with EFI since he did not have a spare harness or anything.

So thoughts?

Oh he also said he may give me the T-5 when his new transmission comes
(he said something about a 6-speed viper transmission and a procharger.... didn't know a viper tranny would hook up in a mustang as easily as he says)

 

[5.0ina66]

I wouldn't jump to conclusions. If the built motor has been in there for a good while, the stocker might not have enough wear to need a rebuild.

Heck, my '87 5.0 shortblock with 90k miles on it wouln't need to come apart if it had the good pistons that HOs and Cobra motors did. This motor has no ridge at the top of the bores, and you can still see the factory hone marks in places.

If I wanted to warm that motor up a bit and stay carbed, I'd swap in a Trickflow #1 cam and the corresponding springs, add a set of TriYs, and a PerformerRPM or Wieland Stealth intake (your current carb would do).

I'd also port the heads a bit (concentrating on the exhaust ports), and get them milled a little to get the compression up a few tenths. You wouldn't have to port them if you didn't want to (that would be a pretty healthy motor without it), but it's more or less "free" horsepower if you do it yourself.
HTH
--Kyle
PS: Yeah, they make a Viper-spec T56 that will bolt in a 5.0, easy as pie, as long as you open up the wallet
PPS: Why does this d@mn computer keep switching to Arabic while I'm trying to type? Oh well, it's not mine anyway.

 

[Scudly]

Just wondering about those Tri-Y's or any other headers for that matter. How does clearence work for power steering if I put in the headers, what do I need to do.

Also when looking for headers, I look at 5.0 ones now instead of 289 right? And not by year as well....

 

[5.0ina66]

For 99% of headers, you'll need a powersteering drop bracket to clear the headers (bolt it in and weld around all 4 sides to keep it from tearing the frame). There are some headers that advertise that you don't need a drop bracket, but these seem to be a bit of a challenge to find, and are usually scarily expensive. (I guess I have an advantage here, I can decide PS or not since my car is so far apart, and I decided not.) :grin:

For headers, 289/302 headers work fine, and you go by the car that the motor is in when picking out headers.
HTH
--kyle

 

[347Fastback]

The motor should have gt40 heads that you can take off and get ported. You can also add a mild camshaft like the trickflow stage 1( I like comp cams). The motor should also have cobra rockers. You have a great foundation to make a nice motor....The potential is up to you... I would slap on a air gap and a demon carb.....

 

[Scudly]

Hmm... I always forget about how much upgrading one part requires the upgrading of another. If I do build up the engine I need to do drive-train (9 inch and gears), transmission, probably braking, and suspension.

I just looked at summit for 9inches and they look like they will be costly. I can't remember if any mustang places sell the complete rear end. I guess most people just get the rear ends out of junkers, I guess I will do the same. How much does it normally run to redo a rearend?

Ahh its always a project =]

 

[ddonaca351]

Dont forget that the stock "cobra" cam is actually a little smaller than the regular 5.0 cam, so even a stock 5.0 cam is worth a few ponies, any good aftermarket will really wake a cobra motor up. Im not a big fan of the "alphabet" cams, but in your case (imho) an E would be a good choice for a quick and cheap upgrade.

You dont want to get too agressive or the 1.7s will have to go in favor of 1.6s. (or else its off to the fly cutter for the pistons)

Fule injection isnt that hard to deal with, the harness can be bought from most good wreckers, or new from painless, or 5.0 resto, or motorsport, or .... etc.... etc....

I just passed emissions first try this week with a Lunati 51017, it's not as bad as most of the "experts" lead you to believe. (218/228 @ 50 .536 on 112)

Go injected, it pisses the carb guys off (deep down, they wont admit it out loud) because they aren't smart enough to figure it out.


(now donning nomex undies)

Dave-