Newbie looking to identify or confirm a 93 Cobra Engine?

I'd buy up GT40 intakes and intake plates NIB and just sit on them for years.


Or just buy Amazon stock back in the day and not have to store anything. $2.40/share in July 1997.....and $2300 today
 
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Waughoo... Did we help answer your questions.

Have you been able to check which type of GT40 heads you have? Not sure what state of disassembly your engine is in (you mentioned valve covers off) but the casting number for the heads can be found on the underside of the head in the lifter valley. Pictured engine has the 1.7 pedestal mount roller rockers like a Cobra would have from factory.

GT40 Engine.jpg

The way to identify which type of GT40 heads you have are:
- 3 or 4 bars on the front (93-95 Cobra, Early Explorer, Lightning will be 3 bar). GT40P is 4 bar
- Top outside corner of head, does it have 1 or 2 holes? Pic here is of Explorer head with 1 hole. My post above shows 2 hole with air injection port. 2 hole is 93 Cobra (not sure on 94-95 or Lightning)
- Casting number of heads. Found on the underside of the heads in the lifter valley approximately where shown. 93-95 Cobra, Lightning and some Explorer are F3ZE. Published identification charts list F1ZE for Explorer 3 bar heads. I personally have not seen any (my sample size is 3 sets of Explorer 3-bar heads, all F3ZE's)
- Exhaust port air injection bump and holes. All F3ZE have the bump, 93 Cobra has the holes, Explorer heads do not have the holes.

Hope all the info shared in this thread has helped to answer your original question. What have you determined you have?
 
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F1ZE were originally engineered for the 1991 SAAC GT-40 engine package (F1 = 1991, Z = Mustang)

There is also an F4ZE head.

F0JE and F3JE were for industrial and marine applications. The F0J heads were 2 bar. Not sure about the F3J heads.
 
Waughoo... Did we help answer your questions.

Have you been able to check which type of GT40 heads you have? Not sure what state of disassembly your engine is in (you mentioned valve covers off) but the casting number for the heads can be found on the underside of the head in the lifter valley. Pictured engine has the 1.7 pedestal mount roller rockers like a Cobra would have from factory.

GT40 Engine.jpg

The way to identify which type of GT40 heads you have are:
- 3 or 4 bars on the front (93-95 Cobra, Early Explorer, Lightning will be 3 bar). GT40P is 4 bar
- Top outside corner of head, does it have 1 or 2 holes? Pic here is of Explorer head with 1 hole. My post above shows 2 hole with air injection port. 2 hole is 93 Cobra (not sure on 94-95 or Lightning)
- Casting number of heads. Found on the underside of the heads in the lifter valley approximately where shown. 93-95 Cobra, Lightning and some Explorer are F3ZE. Published identification charts list F1ZE for Explorer 3 bar heads. I personally have not seen any (my sample size is 3 sets of Explorer 3-bar heads, all F3ZE's)
- Exhaust port air injection bump and holes. All F3ZE have the bump, 93 Cobra has the holes, Explorer heads do not have the holes.

Hope all the info shared in this thread has helped to answer your original question. What have you determined you have?
Three bar heads with FORD oval cast, GT cast, and Date cast inside in the valve train valley, GT is cast outside the valve cover on the front corner of the head. I can not see the bottoms of the heads. it does not have the 1.7 rockers like yours. The seller said the builder told him it was a 275 HP crate that he thought with the long headers, cold air intake, and Endlebrook intake, 600 cfm carb, was 300 hp range? I wish he had documentation for all of it, but I just have a pretty truck that runs strong for a 302. LOL
 
Waughoo... Did we help answer your questions.

Have you been able to check which type of GT40 heads you have? Not sure what state of disassembly your engine is in (you mentioned valve covers off) but the casting number for the heads can be found on the underside of the head in the lifter valley. Pictured engine has the 1.7 pedestal mount roller rockers like a Cobra would have from factory.

GT40 Engine.jpg

The way to identify which type of GT40 heads you have are:
- 3 or 4 bars on the front (93-95 Cobra, Early Explorer, Lightning will be 3 bar). GT40P is 4 bar
- Top outside corner of head, does it have 1 or 2 holes? Pic here is of Explorer head with 1 hole. My post above shows 2 hole with air injection port. 2 hole is 93 Cobra (not sure on 94-95 or Lightning)
- Casting number of heads. Found on the underside of the heads in the lifter valley approximately where shown. 93-95 Cobra, Lightning and some Explorer are F3ZE. Published identification charts list F1ZE for Explorer 3 bar heads. I personally have not seen any (my sample size is 3 sets of Explorer 3-bar heads, all F3ZE's)
- Exhaust port air injection bump and holes. All F3ZE have the bump, 93 Cobra has the holes, Explorer heads do not have the holes.

Hope all the info shared in this thread has helped to answer your original question. What have you determined you have?
I have even more questions now. The 275 HP Crate motor sold by Ford Motorsports is looking like more of a possibility? The build is 12-15 years old now but only has about 10k miles on it. I bought it to keep me busy and it has done that. I wanted a 55 f100 since my early twenty's and decided to pull the trigger a couple of years ago. I wanted a pretty much turn key that all of the hard work had been done on, just do my finishing touches.

I am rewiring a new 21 circuit panel into it now replacing some of the wiring and splicing what is still good OEM. I just had the AOD completely rebuilt with heavy duty everything and shift kits/stall converter etc. specifically adjusted for the engine and truck.

It is a California truck built in Long Beach and it stayed in the high desert which preserved it wonderfully. A no rust nice straight truck was the build beginning.
I bought it from the grandson of the Packard Automobile President who lives in Sacramento Cal.

Thank you all so much, I know it's not a Stang, but you all were the right group to ask.
 

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I don't remember the exact details, but back in the day Ford Motorsport had a "Cobra" shortblock and longblocks.
I remember the price of $1200-$1300 but I do not remember whether it had the heads or not.
They could have been just using the cobra name to sell engines.
I also could have sworn you could choose a B or E cam.
Any idea where I could look to find any of that literature? Just search ford Motorsports and see what I can I guess. Thanks for the lead.
 
There’s old catalogs on what. Not sure what it’s worth it to you to find this info out.

I just bought a 2003 catalog so I can find out for you when it arrives
 
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Three bar heads with FORD oval cast, GT cast, and Date cast inside in the valve train valley, GT is cast outside the valve cover on the front corner of the head.
That all should be present with factory 93 Cobra heads and Explorer heads. Feel on the back of one of the heads, above the freeze plug. Is there 1 small hole or 2 holes, one smaller, one a bit bigger. Can look with a mirror or maybe take a pic with a phone.
 
Wow Thank You.

Well, I bought it for myself as well for the nostalgia :)

I had a 2003 GT, so the 2003 motorsport catalog was in my backseat for the longest time. I think I threw it out when I sold the car in 2008. That was my "golden age" of owning a Mustang when GT40 crate motors and cobra intakes and 98 cobra wheels could all be bought new
 
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That all should be present with factory 93 Cobra heads and Explorer heads. Feel on the back of one of the heads, above the freeze plug. Is there 1 small hole or 2 holes, one smaller, one a bit bigger. Can look with a mirror or maybe take a pic with a phone.


Hi Kruisr,
I checked the back of the heads and there are two holes above and below the freeze plug to the left and right. There is a small hole on the top and a larger hole on the bottom from what I can feel reaching down behind the head. What does this tell you?
Thanks for taking the time to give me the info.
I am still bugged by not having rollers in it.

My Son had a GT convertible back in the day that we rebuilt as a father son project.
I was so impressed by that 5.0 302 with the roller set up in it from the factory.
It was the first I had seen back then.

We built him a 347 stroker that made that mustang scary to me. Being a convertible you could feel it twist the body.
 
Looking at the pics in post #15, put your finger in the freeze plug indent. Move up from there. If there is 2 holes directly above (as shown in the pic) then you have Cobra or Lightning (or possibly crate motor) heads. If there is only 1 hole, then you have Explorer heads. At least it narrows the field of possibilities of what you have.

The Cobra roller rockers can be found on eBay for $150-200, sometimes less, and I would expect possibly lower if someone has them for sale locally. Look around there are lots of them out there.
 
Looking at the pics in post #15, put your finger in the freeze plug indent. Move up from there. If there is 2 holes directly above (as shown in the pic) then you have Cobra or Lightning (or possibly crate motor) heads. If there is only 1 hole, then you have Explorer heads. At least it narrows the field of possibilities of what you have.

The Cobra roller rockers can be found on eBay for $150-200, sometimes less, and I would expect possibly lower if someone has them for sale locally. Look around there are lots of them out there.

Thanks for the help Kruisr!
 
Ah...the good ole days.

I don’t see any particular crate motors that would match up.

Any luck checking to see if there was a VIN back there?

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I have not found a VIN on the block as yet. I have not looked behind the distributor yet since it is a pain to do. I started upgrading the fuse panel and doing a rewire so that has all of my attention at this point. It didn't really need it but I didn't like the way it was done previously. You know how it is, you just can't leave something alone if it's not up to your standards. LOL