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February 23, 1999
The Coolest EEC IV Project on the Planet.
(Well, maybe not "The" coolest, but it's very cool.)
It's not the fastest car we've ever built, and it doesn't break any horsepower records, but this Cobra Replica ranks as one of the coolest projects we've worked on for a number of reasons. Mostly because it sounds absolutely evil even with its stock-like idle and driveability.
The car is a Factory-5 Cobra Replica kit that uses a lot of '87 - '93 Mustang suspension and engine componentry from a donor car. Our customer wanted the potential to make a considerable amount of power and keep the car very driveable. So, like many cars that leave our shop, it's equipped with our tried-and-true 351W Sportsman/TFS combo and a Vortech S-Trim.
The TFS Twisted Wedge heads feature our full Street Fighter port job, 1.6 roller rockers and a custom ground Lunati hydraulic roller that we've found to perform extremely well and provide a stock-like idle. The intake is a Downs box with a fully ported GT-40 lower. Currently set up to make only 7 psi, we used the stock Mustang fuel rails. The 36 lb/hr injectors are fed by a large Bosch fuel pump and 1/2" line.
The Vortech on the car is a complete Mustang S-Trim kit with a few trick modifications to streamline things under the hood for a car that doesn't legally require emissions equipment.
The front dress of the engine is something new and very clean that we've never done before: it uses a Crown Vic standard rotation water pump and the alternator was made to fit were the smog pump would normally go on the Vortech cast bracket. This made for one simple acessory belt without the AC deletion pulley, and the alternator has a small slotted bracket on the bottom to allow for movement and achieve belt tension.
The car also features a Borg and Warner T-56 6 speed transmission, which we believe is a first in these cars. The 8.8" rear end houses 3.73 gears.
We developed a custom EEC IV chip / program for the ultimate in driveability and reliability in this combination. The car drives and idles like a stocker, giving no indication that this combo is anything out of the ordinary. But the exhaust note sounds so good that there is no question that there's something evil under the hood.
We were so happy with the way this car sounds and idles that we made a QuickTime movie so that you can hear and see it running in front of our shop.
Click here to see and listen to this awesome car. (2,162k)
With a little more boost, here's an EEC IV conversion that is easily capable of 500+ horsepower with pump gas . . . In a car that only weighs 1950 lbs. Insane is probably not the right word, but it comes close to describing this car's performance potential and what you need to be to stay in the throttle any longer than a few seconds.
If you don't have QuickTime, go get it at http://www.apple.com/QuickTime/.
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