[IsaacW]

Greetings and welcome to the adventure of my first build. This will be my build blog and will be mirrored on my Facebook page, Wilson Cobra Build. 3 years ago I decided to build a Roadster, and eventually narrowed it down to Factory Five’s Mk4 Roadster and a 2015 Mustang Donor. I will repost my posts from Facebook to-date for background info. I have already learned so much after reading forum posts from veterans and I’m looking forward to learning much more.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

Well, the journey begins. It starts with my childhood and my fascination with the Porsche 911 Twin Turbo Carrera, in classic Red. The circa-3-second 0-60 time, the sleek look, the powerful precision of the Mid-Engine German engineering marvel. The Stupifying price tag. Don't get me wrong, in my opinion the car is worth it! I even bet my brother $50 that I would own one by the time I was 35. Ahh, Ambition. (Don't tell him I remember that I owe him $50.) Today, a new 996 would run me $140,000.00. Forget it. Should I then buy a used one? .......................................... 30-year-old Porsches in decent shape run $25k. Not exactly great value.
My other car love is the 1930 to '32 Ford Roadster. Typically built by middle-aged well-off men with mustaches. (Don't fit that stereotype ...lol) I could go that route, trying to find and restore a classic hot rod .... become a slave to the original, years of research and searching out obselete parts. Or, buy a rebuilt '32 from a guy who has put the years of love into it and wants $40k for it. Not particularly appealing.
Fast forward to this year. After tossing through ideas in my mind, I considered building a Cobra, but I want to know what it takes to do this. Maybe my interested is piqued when I see a Cobra at an intersection and hear it accelerate swiftly with that throaty roar.
Then ............


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

My 13-year old daughter comes out with it. "Dad, I'd like to restore a classic car." Eyebrow raised and stereotype laying broken on the floor, my face cracks into a smile. "Really? Hmm" This is the child that laughs at my dumb jokes and cracks her own. The child that had to work harder to catch up academically because her undetected less-than-perfect eyesight caused her to distract herself with social activities. The one that sat up till 11PM doing math homework and slapping me high-5 when her hard work paid off in good grades. The one who inherited her mother's work ethic instead of my 'efficient' methods. I don't know what I did to deserve these two girls in my life, but God smiled on my when he put them here. She also does have mechanical interest, so I know it's not just a 1-off whim.
If you know me, when I have an interest, I educate myself. I buy books on the subject, I research online, I ask opinions, I look up experts on the subject. If something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. My interests have roamed over the years; Porsches, Bass Guitar, Computers, CounterStrike, Business, Poker ..... Car Build? I still have more for the future; Hang Gliding, WingSuit Base Jumping, JetBoarding. Looking over this list you might think I'm a daredevil. I'm not sure; married, 3 kids, house, business, lawn ..... seems like average boring old fat white dude. So what am I really?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

I digress; I wandered way off topic into a college psychology class. Back to the subject. After research on the subject, I have decided that the best project would be a Cobra; but which direction to go? Buy a used one for $30k-$125k? Meh. Go all-out top-end with a complete F5 kit, super-power crate engine and drivetrain, and a $75k price tag? More research. What about a donor Mustang and a base kit? OK, go on.... Price tag of F5 base kit - much more reasonable. What about the Mustang? Well, what am Iooking for? Horsepower, transmission, Independant Rear Suspension, decent brakes; those are the criteria. Mustang Engines come in 3.7L 6-cylinder, 4.6L 8 cylinder SOHC, 4.6L 8-cylinder DOHC supercharged, and of course uber-charged 5.4L and even 5.8L engines. Manual transmission is a must, so do I choose 5-speed? Is there a 6-speed? And you can imagine how discouraged I was after reading post after post about the Mustang's solid Rear Axle. But research usually prevails. After searching through a few sites including one called mustangattitude.com, I found the 2003 and 2004 Mustang Cobra SVT has a Supercharges 4.6L Modular Ford engine, a manual 6-speed transmission, and Independant Rear Suspension. BINGO! Now the search for THE car begins ......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

So the 2003-2004 Mustang Cobra sported Independant Rear Suspension (IRS) a turbocharged 4.6L Small block, a manual 6-speed transmission, and, according to my thought process, a reasonable price tag. Reaseonable appears to be in the eyes of the beholder. Watching for auctions of this particular model is like looking for a Rolex in Walmart. Rare. Time to reconsider.
Revisiting the FFR website, I discover the MK4 replica is compatible with the 2015 - to- present Coyote Mustang ..... but do those have the specs I am looking for? Let's run down the list. IRS? Yes. Manual Transmission? Yes, in 5 gear ratios. Powerful Engine? The stock model has 435 HP, and you can find the occasional Roush Stage 3 version that features a 675 HP turbocharged engine along with upgraded Half-shafts, the Mustang Performance Pack, Tuneable exhust, and a variety of other decorative accoutrements.
Does all this come with a hefty price increase? Yes, expecially if you try to find one in 'Good' shape. But what if you weren't trying to find one in good shape? What if you were just interested in the engine, the drive train, and the Suspension?? What if you could find one that was involved in a rollover or other accident that totaled the car value-wise, but you could still get what you wanted from it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

Let's talk about the Mustang Performance Pack for a minute. Like most upgrade packs, it seems to be about half actual performance upgrades, and half selling you crap you don't need. Is the Performance Pack a good thing, and do I want to watch for it?

What is included in the pack? 19-inch wheels, Staggered-Size Summer tires, Six-Piston front brake calipers, 380mm rotors, a strut bar, a front air splitter, a Torsen Differential, and a 3.73 final gear ratio.

Walking through the differences, what really counts here? To me, the wheels and tires are not that important. In a Cobra Replica build, I am going to want to decide on the perfect wheels and tires, and the Ford wheels and tires are probably not going to fit the bill. The upgraded front brake calipers and rotors, however, are huge in my book. Currently my daily driver is a 2006 Acura TL that has upgraded brakes, and I can witness that those brakes perform an order of magnitude better than the brakes in my truck or my wife's minivan. In a performance car, the braking system is crucial; so the upgraded brakes are an important decision-maker. Strut bar, and air splitter? Again, completely irrelevant to a Cobra build, as they will not have a place on the new body. Differential and gear ratio .... well, you can get the same gear ratio in a different Mustang, so this makes no difference to me.

Bottom Line, the main difference maker to me in the Performance Pack is the Upgraded brakes, at least for the purposes of a Cobra build. So it this Pack a necessity? For me ... Absolutely. I want those upgraded brakes.

Now ...... Back to Roush considerations .....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

So how does one go about getting a used mustang for a project build? The best way tht Ihave discovered is through an Insurance Auction that handles large Insurance carriers' wrecked vehicles. This ensures a large enough supply of vehicels that I will be able to find one that fits the bill and I'm not going to have to fight off 5000 other searchers. Now, the Auction of my choice will remain unnamed, but you can find it online, its one of the few biggest out there.

A couple hundred dollars will get you a 'Public' account, which will allow you to bid on about 1/3 of the vehicles on their site. Various regulations will not allow Public buys to bid in certain states, and the state of being wrecked will disallow other vehicles from being sold to pubic buyers. They also have a fantastic website which allows you to search their inventory and save to a 'Favorites' list, which is a must for me. Currently about 35 cars live on this list from week to week, and a steady stream of 2-5 hit the auction weekly.

Since the Mustang that I drool over is the Stage 3 Rousch Mustang with Supercharger (boosts the HP to 670), I pay special attention to these, of which there are only two on the entire site. I wait patiently for one of them to hit the auction. Its got everything; Supercharger, Manual tranny, upgraded heacy duty rear connecting rods, upgraded differential, specialized field- tuneable exhaust with iPhone app. And the cab is almost the only part of the car that is wrecked, leaving the front end and rear suspension/powertrain untouched. I hope to God that this will not make it as attractive to other people as it is to me. Patiently, I wait .......

 

[IsaacW]

There it is! It's got an Auction Date! That lovely beautiful Rousch Stage 3 Mustang that I drooled over! Will I score? Can I afford it?? Am I going to have a 670 HP beast sitting in my garage raedy to rumble down the street at my command?

Oh no, its got 7 days left and it's up to $6,500. At 5 days left it's at $8,100. My mind reels, can I afford that? It will be at least $1,500 for shipping to my door, and we are already talking over 10 Grand, add that to the cost of the kit.... As 2 days pass by I see the price continue to rise, $12K, $15K, $18K, and on the Auction date the Pre-Bid price is up to $21,000. Forget it. I know by my research the Crate Engine/Transmission combo sells for $18K, and I could sell the other parts off, but I just don't have that kind of cash to put out.

As reality sets in, I realize that Im not going to be the lucky winner of the wrecked Rousch Stage 3 Mustang with 670 HP. Crestfallen. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I can always add a 7 thousand dollar Supercharger to a 435-HP Mustang Engine and achieve the same result, even if it does end up torquing the rear connecting rods.

I dry my tears with the $100-dollar bills that I saved by not buying the Stage 3, and turn my attention to lesser Mustangs.......

 

[IsaacW]

Why does Real Life have to interfere? It's twice now. Twice that my Job has made me miss.

The auctions for Totalled Vehicles run Monday through Wednesday's and a lot of the locations are not in the West Coast Time Zone. Auctions usually start about 9-9:30AM, resulting in what is often a 6-6:30 start time. Depending how many vehicles are in the auction, the one I am looking for may be selling at 8AM, 8:30AM, or 11AM to 1PM. The ones that are totalled from a rollover and are being sold for parts only usually roll up about 8:30. Right when my day is at it's busiest. Can I take time out of my day to sit down with a tablet and bid on a car? Yes. Who's going to love that? Nobody but me.

So today was a miss. Checking at 7:30, had 96 cars to go. Checked at 8:25? Already sold. Second miss. Well, I'll try again, soon. Will it ever come to me? This is the testing time, when we find out what I'm made of.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

Half a second too late.

The perfect price, the auction going so well. It started at $2575, and pretty quickly made it's way up, but slowed to a crawl right at $4800. That's my opportunity! I clicked bid, and the box turned green. The words 'My Bid' appeared by the amount of $4900, and for now, I took the lead. A second later, the Words disappeared and the bid amount was displayed at $5000. In response, I clicked the Bid button and 'My Bid' again was displayed alongside the amount of $5100. After a second they disappeared again. If I wanted to win this one I needed to bid $5300. Not a problem; the average cost of a wrecked 2015-2017 mustang has been $7500-$14000, so $5300 is a decent deal. I reach for the Bid button on the screen, anticipating the Victory and receipt of a Ford Mustang to disassemble.

Half a second too late.

The words 'Recording Buyer ID' appear.

I have missed.......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

Finally, Success!! After over 1 year of patience, and several unsuccessful bidding attempts. I have finally landed the one! It is a wrecked 2015 Mustang 5.0L with Performance Pack. Damage to the front and the back, but unclear exactly how bad until it gets here on Monday. It appears to have no block damage, no suspension damage, and no interior damage, but I will reserve judgment until the car arrives. Once it arrives I will be pulling the engine, transmission, IRS and rear differential, as well as engine electronics. The best part? The winning bid price of $2900 and shipping of $1200 bring the cost to just over $4000, which is less than the 5.0L crate engine would cost! I expect that selling off usable parts will bring my net cost to near zero, and I get the parts I need for the build. WIN!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

Had to take a 6-month break while business priorities took over. Back to it ...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

Starting to disassemble the 2015, we have the doors off, and taking out the seats. Will be selling them online, we will see if they bring anything. I think one of the headrests may have a bent support rod.









Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[edwardb]

Welcome and an interesting read. Looks like you scored a decent deal for that Mustang. Man it took a beating. But looks like you'll be able to get what you need from it. Lots of comments come to mind, but here are the bigger ones.

- I've done two Coyote builds, both with the Ford Performance Controls Pack. It would be plug and play with your engine. The one that would fit your engine (each generation is different) is M-6017-504V. There are aftermarket solutions available as well. I personally don't have any experience, but I've watched several builds where guys have tried to make the Mustang wiring harness and PCM work. Usually they give up. Apparently getting the PATS (security) function tuned out is pretty common. But you still need most of the components on-line, and even then can be challenging. Another big issue is the fuel system. The stock Mustang is a returnless system, meaning a special computer controlled pump, tank, etc. Ford converts this to a return style system for the crate motor which is simple and can be run with common in-tank or in-line fuel pumps. Good luck with this one. Not to be negative, but I'd predict that if you get it to work (that's if...) you'll easily spend the $1500 cost of the controls pack in time and effort.

- I assume you know for the IRS the only components you'll use from the donor are the center section (diff), and the knuckles/hubs. You mentioned CV axles in one of your posts, but the Mustang ones (stock or aftermarket) aren't the right length. The IRS option from Factory Five includes the proper length CV axles.

- The donor brakes should work. I personally, haven't gone that direction, but many do.

- The Getrag MT-82 that's used in a Mustang is another area where you'll have some work to do. The shifter is way too far back, and requires some kind of mechanism to move it up to the proper location. I've seen some guys work this out with some fabrication. Just recently, there's a commercial option available, but it's not cheap. https://www.formacars.com/store/mt82shifter.

- Related to this, the driveshaft on the Mustang is a 2-piece assembly that's of course way too long for the Roadster. But the bigger issue is the transmission end uses a different adapter than the slip yoke commonly used on the Tremec options. This has to be sorted out as well. Pretty sure Factory Five doesn't have any solutions or support for the MT-82 itself or the driveshaft.

- Going with a base kit will give you lots of opportunities for choices on things like gauges, wiring harness, pedal box, fuel tank, radiator, steering rack, etc. Factory Five of course has parts for all of these, but you could choose to go elsewhere. But one area I'd highly recommend going only with the current Factory Five parts is the front suspension. Use their lower control arms (LCA's) and 2-piece spindles. Both are purpose built for these cars and are a big improvement over any of the Mustang donor options which used to be pretty common but aren't so much any more. The difference they make in how the car rides and drives is significant, including basically zero bump steer. Very much worth the cost IMO.

Good luck.

 

[IsaacW]

Yes, it did take a beating. Only body panels not ruined were the two doors. Thanks, Edward for the advice, and I have some more specific questions that I’ll ask, but after I get the thread updated to current status. I have not reposted completely yet.... I’ll ask the questions when I’m up to date. Appreciate your input, and look forward to more of it in the future.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Alan_C]

Welcome Issac. Seems like a fair price on the donor depending on mileage. In September 2017 I bought a 2017 GT at auction for $4700 plus fee, broker, and transport that delivered the car to my door for $6500. The engine and 6R80 transmission alone are worth double that, so a good find. Turns out PCM said mileage since last reset was 2635, so I think that was the mileage on the car, sweet. In my case the drivetrain will go into a 1970 Mach 1 restomod. As a donor, I will only use the engine and transmission, the rest will be resold. I got such a great bargain as the car has a junk title making it good as a parts car only. The interior and instrumentation had been stripped out together with trunk lid, tail lights, and various other trim. The car only suffered damage from the firewall forward. No damage beyond the front sway bar, so engine was untouched.

Good luck on your project, the Coyote should put that cars 0-60 time in the low to mid 3's. My 4.6L DOHC engined car was dynoed by the new owner at 299 HP at the rear wheels and does a 0-60 just a shade over 4 seconds. With the Coyote, your Cobra will move really good. IMO, powered adders beyond the stock Coyote are only good for bragging rights and smoking the tires. The 2nd Gen Coyote with a tune should get you more than 400 HP at the rear wheels, more than enough for the 2300 lb roadster.

Alan

 

[IsaacW]

Disassembly of a wrecked car is more work than it sounds like, and it sounds like a lot of work. So, items we are salvaging from the car for use in the Cobra are the 5.0L V8 engine, the IRS differential, and the rear suspension knuckles. A little back story, it appears that someone (probably the former owner) was starting to remove parts of value from the car prior to me buying it. Parts that I wanted to use were missing, namely the IRS half-shafts, and the Brakes. That really irked me, most of the reason for me to choose the Performance Pack Mustang was to get the upgraded brakes, including 6-piston fronts. Whoever was working on this car before me took the entire wheel brake assembly, Calipers, pads, the whole bit. Growl. It appears that the engine was possibly in the process of being removed, as the aftermarket exhaust manifold on the drivers side was bent slightly, the engine mounts were unbolted, and the transmission mounts and brackets were partially removed. The intake manifold was also somewhat damaged in the area of the CMCV system at the rear of the Intake, and the Throttle Body was flat missing. Here's a few pictures.














Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

Using a borrowed engine hoist, we managed to get the engine and transmission out. Surveying the powerplant, I make a few observations. The exhaust headers are not the stock headers, someone must have installed some aftermarket headers. The fuel injectors are missing! I'm guessing that before the car was turned over to the auction house, the previous owner tried to remove all the parts of value that they had installed in the car. This is frustrating as I feel the auction house should have made this notation on the vehicle description. With missing brakes, the wrong wheels, and other parts missing from the car and engine, they should have added Theft/Strip to the description. In addition, the cam covers are both damaged; one of them has a penny-sized hole and the other's oil fill cap is missing and there is a chunk out of the fill hole. The Throttle Body is missing, one of the idler pulleys is bent, and the oil cooler has a tube that is bent beyond repair. I need to order some replacement parts for the engine.


















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

The parts I need for the engine are;
Cam Covers
Oil Fill Cap
Idler Pulley and bolt
Serpentine Belt
Throttle Body
Fuel Injectors
Intake Manifold
Air Intake Duct with Filter
Moroso Racing Oil Pan
Moroso Oil Pickup
Thermostat Housing Bolts
Assorted hoses

Order placed with Summit Racing and Tasca Parts, now to clean this engine block up!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IsaacW]

After some miles, this engine block has accumulated some oily funky buildup, both on the outside and in between parts like the intake manifold and the intake port landing on the head. We removed the existing intake manifold and engine wiring harness along with the fuel rails. After taking care to block the intake ports and other engine orifices, we took an angle grinder armed with a wire wheel to the flat smooth surfaces to get rid of the gunk and polish them up a bit. The exhaust headers are bent to the point of being useless, and besides, we are going to use the straight headers that are signature Cobra. Off the exhaust headers come, and the scraping tool takes most of the stuck-on gasket material followed by a quick trip over that surface with the wire wheel. Removing all the pulleys and alternator and the coolant tubes get it ready for washing prep. Next step, taping.


















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk