worth swapping a fox cobra motor for my 5.0?

J

jons88gt

New Member
Mar 21, 2006
28
0
1
#1
I have a pretty much stock engine in my 88 gt. I was planning on doing all the mass air conversion, intake manifold and all that goes along with that in the next couple weeks. my question is; is it better to stick with what ive got and build it up? or find a cobra motor in it? My plan is to buy a supercharger and pretty much be done with the engine. so which would be a better platform for the supercharger and be the easiest way to go?

Jon
 
#3
84k on old engine. it's not a daily driver. put 1000 miles on it this year. as far as performance I just want a good platform to put a supercharger on eventually. im going to do upgrades like ss brake lines, aluminum radiator, all that good stuff. I dont plan on making it a drag car. but i love superchargers. I had a supercharger on my focus til I sold it all. so something that wont make having a supercharger kill the engine would be great!

Jon
 
#4
84k on old engine. it's not a daily driver. put 1000 miles on it this year. as far as performance I just want a good platform to put a supercharger on eventually. im going to do upgrades like ss brake lines, aluminum radiator, all that good stuff. I dont plan on making it a drag car. but i love superchargers. I had a supercharger on my focus til I sold it all. so something that wont make having a supercharger kill the engine would be great!

Jon
 
#5
my major engine mod will be a supercharger. vortech most likely. I want to either mod my engine, or if it's more cost effective throw a cobra engine in there if it is better for handling a supercharger without modification.

Jon
 
#6
my major engine mod will be a supercharger. vortech most likely. I want to either mod my engine, or if it's more cost effective throw a cobra engine in there if it is better for handling a supercharger without modification.

Jon
 
#9
OK, almighty KING OF THE DOUBLE POST. J/K. Anyway, I know some people would differ in opinion, but I'd be leery of putting boost on an engine that old. Of course, the more boost, the more dangerous. Personally, I'd consider the Cobra motor then add the supercharger on later, especially if this is a keeper. Have you considered rebuilding the current motor to freshen everything up?
 
#11
Do you know someone with a Cobra motor that is available? With the Cobra motor you will get a more free-flowing engine since it has a less restrictive intake and more free-flowing cylinder heads. It really depends on how much power you want to put out and how much money you want to spend on whether or not you should supercharge what you've got.
 
#12
Either way, it's going to cost a few dollars. I had my local Mustang shop quote me to move over a motor and tranny from one car to the next for about $1500. I didn't think it was a bad price, but I'm sure the bulk of the cost was for the engine itself. I have to ask about the notion of finding a stock Mustang with less miles: how much is THAT going to cost? There's just way too many variables involved here. Plus, I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but what about brake and suspension upgrades BEFORE making it super fast? I know this is going to sound like a lecture, but it doesn't sound like the greatest idea in the world to make a car really fast if it doesn't have the equipment to make it stop or handle properly. Last thing on the list for my car: supercharger. I wouldn't even consider it without better brakes. I got into a fender bender over the summer with my old Mustang (wet road + soft tire = disaster). No one got hurt, and the car wasn't totalled, but let me tell you: there's no such thing as a good car accident.
 
#13
Plus, I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but what about brake and suspension upgrades BEFORE making it super fast? I know this is going to sound like a lecture, but it doesn't sound like the greatest idea in the world to make a car really fast if it doesn't have the equipment to make it stop or handle properly.
Click to expand...
I agree, it seems like we always forget this step until something breaks. :nice:
 
#15
+1 Black Sun

Suspension and brakes, IMO, are the first thing this car needs. I've had 2 of these and the first one I was all about bolt-ons and more power, the 2nd one, I did the suspension first. I was MUCH happier w/ the drive after doing the suspension work and leaving the motor bone stock.
 
#16
If you want a cheap budget engine, find an Explorer engine and throw it in...you'll get arguably better heads than the '93 Cobra had (GT40Ps on the Explorer vs. the non-Ps on the Cobra) and you'll get a pretty decent intake along with it.

We've got guys locally running 12s all day with Explorer engines with nothing more than a cam and slicks.
 
#17
I don't exactly consider Cobra engines to be anything special these days.

I always get a chuckle when guys advertise their car as having a "Cobra motor". Most often they are just stock 5.0's with Cobra parts on them than authentic Cobra engines.

Either way, GT-40 heads and a run of the mill Cobra Intake aren't top of the line stuff these days. The camshaft in the Cobra is lovingly dubbed "The emmissions cam" by Ford as it's tuned for passing the sniffer rather than HP. For the cost of the engine swap, you could buy some AFR heads and a Performer RPM , a good camshaft and other supporting mods for your current 5.0. 84K miles is just breaking in for a 5.0. They can EASILY go to 150K+ with proper maintainence
 
#19
85_SS_302_Coupe said:
If you want a cheap budget engine, find an Explorer engine and throw it in...you'll get arguably better heads than the '93 Cobra had (GT40Ps on the Explorer vs. the non-Ps on the Cobra) and you'll get a pretty decent intake along with it.

We've got guys locally running 12s all day with Explorer engines with nothing more than a cam and slicks.
Click to expand...

Not all explorers got the P heads. Just the newer ones. Imo, I would comp test the motor, if alls well, h/c/i with some good aluminum heads, a mild or even stock cam with a wide LSA, a good intake from TFS or edelbrock, and run the blower. If the motor is in good condition, and you care for it, it will live for a little while. You will also be nearing block splitting territory too lol. If the motor goes, just have the block machined, freshen the bottom end up with some decent rods and forged pistons, and be on your way again.

The only problem with the cobra engines is the hyper pistons. They can take some abuse, but not like the forged ones in your current motor.
 
#20
Mid-'97 was when the Explorer switched to P heads

96 and early 97s got GT-40 heads


Still searching the boneyards for wrecked V8 exploders. Every one i find has the engine already yanked :(
 
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