2003 Cobra LS Swap (8/1/22 - Wiring Chassis)

[Burning]

Got a nice little update since my last one, finally parts are coming in a things are finally starting to take shape. Ended up selling my other 04 Cobra to fund some more car parts! Made about 7k in profit on it, so it was a no brainier to sell.

Had to take time to finish the shop before getting back on the many projects. Got my WeldTables all put together and added a nice welding cart to boot to finish off the revised work area.

Buddy of mine polished the charge pipe, inter-cooler and down-pipe! Turned out killer.

Gutted the car in prep for the new wiring.

Added a Motion Raceworks column, RIFE power glide sensor, billet turn signal switch, and a boost reference block.

Finally got my Kirkeys in, obviously my kid had to take a nice little squat to test it out. Ended up using TeamZ low profile brackets, i just need to get hardware to bolt them to the seats and get the positioning where i need them.

Couldn't get my hands on any ARP fasteners so i decided to take a gamble on BTR's new PointOne fasteners, my initial thoughts are that they are as good if not better quality than ARP.

Found out my unknown balancer i got with the car is indeed a truck spacing ATI.

Lastly, my switch panel and control board finally arrived... AFTER 8 months it finally arrived!

And in other news, the cobra and other cars are about to get a new home. Finishing the final stages in the design but its a 32x32 with a true 8' loft. Im excited and have already picked out lifts to go in as well lol! Cart before the horse but oh well.

I am working on re-configuring the rear trunk to fit both my fuel cell, ice tank, burn down tank and battery. Shouldn't have to do much to fit them in there, might have to rework some of the bracket to make it work but ill cross that bridge soon enough. Also ordered the last little bit of fuel fittings and lines to start plumbing the car. I need to place an order to Low Dollar for the shock sensors, and some various combo sensors.

Ill update more next week!

 

[Burning]

Little update, not much happening in between vacation and sick kiddos.

Ended up picking up a Circle D billet bolt together converter, should be optimal for what we are trying to accomplish. This thing is a piece of art, shame its going to be hidden.

Starting to figure out the wiring of the car.

Using Deutch connectors to connect into most of the factory pigtails.

I am also utilizing the stock firewall connector to run most of the engine bay harness, to make it easier for disassembly.

Got everything i have so far ran upfront from a chassis stand point, still have to wire up everything to the dash and also to the rear. Still have yet to build the Holley Harnesses.

Got my Motion Steering column, wheel and billet turn-signal switch in.

Kirkeys in.

View from the Kirkey, i might raise the seat up just a bit.

Picked up the BTR valve covers, these things are super sweet.

Lastly, we decided to upgrade our family hauler. We ended up with a 2018 Suburban Premier, this things is by far the nicest vehicle i have owned so far lol.

 

[motorheadmike]

Man, I miss my SUV. Might have it back later this week.

Super jealous of all the cool parts going into this build, she's going to be something special.

 

[Burning]

Man, I miss my SUV. Might have it back later this week.

Super jealous of all the cool parts going into this build, she's going to be something special.

We have put 4500 miles on it in the last month, and it definelty is making me rethink our next vehicle choice for myself. It rides so dang smooth, getting back into my daily driver made me feel like i got into a 1993 GEO Metro lol.
It'll either be special or a turd, only time will tell lol.

 

[Burning]

Made some small progress last night. Got the steering wheel buttons all on, along with half of the monocord (quick disconnect),

Started fitting the dash with the screen in place, have to do some minor trimming to level it out and drop it down a bit but this will be close to where it will end up.

Gonna try and wrap up the interior harness tonight, then start working on the Holley integration.

 

[Burning]

Finally got my cam, springs, shims and spring height micrometer in.
Ended up with a custom specd cam from FPP (John Bewley) Cam specs are 239/245 .632/.632 114+5.

Ditched the BTR .660 springs for some SK03s since im going to be spinning this car to 7500 rpm on the shift.

Spring Height Mic so i can shim the springs appropriately.

Picked up my exhaust trim ring, need to sand it down to remove the color and then drill for rivets.

Then tackled mounting the Holley 12.3 dash. I knew i was going to need to do some serious trimming of the dash pad where the stock cluster is mounted. Then i started fitting it and had to trim some metal off the dash support bars. This area was not that structural so i saw no issue with cutting it out.

Money shot! Couldn't have ended up anymore perfect. I did have to make a slotted extension to the column mount where it attaches to the Motion Raceworks Dash bracket.

Was going to wrap up the dash wiring and buttons last night, but i did not have the correct sized pins. So i need to order some DTM plugs and pins tonight.

 

[Burning]

Finally got myself a to-do list figured out. This isnt everything but it is a start to get this thing fired up.

Got that tubes all painted, looks so much better and almost like we are headed in the right direction!

Figured ill do some carbon for the holes in the firewall, so i got myself a sheet to cut and fit to the existing holes.

Got the heads all disassembled, cleaned and then found these valves all rusted. So i grabbed another set locally to throw in to get my by until next year.

Sloppy tip, A37 tapered bearing is a great alternative to drilling and tapping the oil ports on the DOD motors lol.

brought my trailer home to get the car to the fab shop to do some rework on the rear bars so i can fit the Ice Tank and Fuel Cell.

Should have some parts rolling in this week to scratch off a lot of the to-do list!

 

[64nailhead]

1st, and most importantly, I'll bet you're the guy the neighbors love haha. All you need is a couple of donor vehicles to be yanking motors and trans from - a couple of rusted out 2500 vans are my favorite.

2nd, I'm sure you'd be fine with your original spring. I'd call BTR and see if you could shim them tighter for some additional rpm's. I'm a Pac fan. We have a set of Pac 1204X on a .660 cam with no issues. I added an additional .020" based on the cam grinder - and that is way too much overkill considering the motor never sees 7000rpms. Not knowing your cam, I'd strongly urge to use the spring that the cam grinder recommends. I know the lobe pattern makes a HUMOUNGOUS difference in rpm range. My dinky SS2 with a single spring spins 7900 with no valve float. I'm considering adding some shim to spin it higher lol.

3rd, love the steering wheel and dash install.

4th, head guys have a glass bead blaster to clean those valves. I'll bet they are fine. The rust in the ears of the rust are not strength areas.

5th, still grab the BTR valley cover to plug off the DOD ports - double protection. Kinda like wearing two condoms, without the crappiness of wearing a rubber 😉


edit - forgot to add - 'git r done'. Can't wait to see it running.

 

[Burning]

1st, and most importantly, I'll bet you're the guy the neighbors love haha. All you need is a couple of donor vehicles to be yanking motors and trans from - a couple of rusted out 2500 vans are my favorite.

2nd, I'm sure you'd be fine with your original spring. I'd call BTR and see if you could shim them tighter for some additional rpm's. I'm a Pac fan. We have a set of Pac 1204X on a .660 cam with no issues. I added an additional .020" based on the cam grinder - and that is way too much overkill considering the motor never sees 7000rpms. Not knowing your cam, I'd strongly urge to use the spring that the cam grinder recommends. I know the lobe pattern makes a HUMOUNGOUS difference in rpm range. My dinky SS2 with a single spring spins 7900 with no valve float. I'm considering adding some shim to spin it higher lol.

3rd, love the steering wheel and dash install.

4th, head guys have a glass bead blaster to clean those valves. I'll bet they are fine. The rust in the ears of the rust are not strength areas.

5th, still grab the BTR valley cover to plug off the DOD ports - double protection. Kinda like wearing two condoms, without the crappiness of wearing a rubber 😉


edit - forgot to add - 'git r done'. Can't wait to see it running.

1. Thank goodness all my neighbors surrounding me are practically family this point. I did use to part out GMT800s here all the time before moving them to a buddies shop to do.

2. John Bewley with FPP is the one who specd the cam and spring package, the intent is to shift at 7500 so he gave me all the specs to set the springs at, so we are good there.

3. Thanks man, this dash was originally intended to go in the Monte Carlo, but it’ll be better suited here for now lol.

4. There were a couple that the actual valve seat mating surface had pitting in them, so better safe than sorry when it doesn’t pass the vacuum test.

5. I have a Motion Raceworks valley cover already 😎

Slowly but surely. Waiting on the heads to come back so I can start assembling the motor and work on the Holley harness. Hoping to have first start by October, gives me about 2 months before Turkey Bash (local race).

 

[Burning]

Did a little work on the car last night as well as some parts rolling in. First up, finally got my ATI balancer back from ATI, they had to rebuild it and replace the hub as it was corroded.

Got my fittings in for the radiator now that i am running a 417 Water manifold.

Inlet works great, outlet not so much lol, will have to plate the radiator and drill a new hole.

Got the sensors in to finish the Intake, minus the dummy injectors for the dual injector rail. Running a After cooler IAT and pre cooler IAT sensor for more data on the runs. Low Dollar 5 Bar, and then a boost reference fitting to a common block for the BOV, Regulator and other items in the car.

Assembled the Aeromotive 5GPM pump now that the fitting came in!

Dropped the transmission pan, oil pan and charge pipe/downpipe off to get some fittings welded on. Needed to add the pre-cooler IAT to the charge pipe, 02 Bung onto the downpipe, Transcooler sensor into the Trans pan, and turbo drain onto the oil pan. Should have my heads back today so i can start assembling the engine and start measuring push rods.