Planning a Build
10-25-2010, 03:37 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 7
Planning a Build
Ok, here's the deal. I'm currently deployed in (beautiful) Afghanistan. As everybody knows by now, soldiers make a considerable amount more money when they are deployed compared to when they are stateside. Somehow (miracle) I managed talking my wife into letting me have $10,000 to put into my car. The only problem is, I'm an idiot when it comes to cars.
I got lucky and came across a deal on a 1997 Cobra in the classifieds section of our local newspaper (I was looking to buy a Tacoma). Anyway, it was 2007 and the car had 6,900 miles on it. I paid the guy $12,000. It was absolutely mint. The rear seats were, honest to God, still sealed in plastic from the factory (I've never seen that before in any car). Everything was factory on it, it had never been driven in the rain, snow, etc. The paper floormats that dealerships have in their cars were still setting in the truck side by side. The guy had the window sticker laminated, the certificate of its SVT-ness, and every other piece of documentation you could think of since the day he had bought it...including the receipts from his two oil changes. He also gave me 15 magazines that the car was featured in from 1997. The original BF Goodrich tires were still on it and in remarkable condition. The guy was like 65 years old.
Anyway,the point I am trying to get to is that I don't know what to do to it? I know I want a lowering kit, more power, and to some extent, reliability. It currently has 20,215 miles on it, and I really, never drive it. It was the only car I had in college, so that's where all the miles came from. In the last year I put 400 miles on it. I keep it in the garage under a cover, and start it up every weekend for 30 minutes (so long as its not raining).
I would like to try and push 600-700 hp, but I'm not sure how. I have a Toyota Corolla for my daily driver, so gas mileage and whatnot don't concern me. I'm not really opposed to anything...except nitrous, because honestly, nobody like fast and the furious anyway. If I wanted to do something with nitrous I'd tune up my gay little corolla and drive around town looking like one of those ****...you know they type.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your ideas. Oh, and don't be concerned with labor and installation, I've got that piece covered. Thanks.
I got lucky and came across a deal on a 1997 Cobra in the classifieds section of our local newspaper (I was looking to buy a Tacoma). Anyway, it was 2007 and the car had 6,900 miles on it. I paid the guy $12,000. It was absolutely mint. The rear seats were, honest to God, still sealed in plastic from the factory (I've never seen that before in any car). Everything was factory on it, it had never been driven in the rain, snow, etc. The paper floormats that dealerships have in their cars were still setting in the truck side by side. The guy had the window sticker laminated, the certificate of its SVT-ness, and every other piece of documentation you could think of since the day he had bought it...including the receipts from his two oil changes. He also gave me 15 magazines that the car was featured in from 1997. The original BF Goodrich tires were still on it and in remarkable condition. The guy was like 65 years old.
Anyway,the point I am trying to get to is that I don't know what to do to it? I know I want a lowering kit, more power, and to some extent, reliability. It currently has 20,215 miles on it, and I really, never drive it. It was the only car I had in college, so that's where all the miles came from. In the last year I put 400 miles on it. I keep it in the garage under a cover, and start it up every weekend for 30 minutes (so long as its not raining).
I would like to try and push 600-700 hp, but I'm not sure how. I have a Toyota Corolla for my daily driver, so gas mileage and whatnot don't concern me. I'm not really opposed to anything...except nitrous, because honestly, nobody like fast and the furious anyway. If I wanted to do something with nitrous I'd tune up my gay little corolla and drive around town looking like one of those ****...you know they type.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your ideas. Oh, and don't be concerned with labor and installation, I've got that piece covered. Thanks.
10-25-2010, 09:14 PM
#2
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 345
You will be looking probably towards a serious blower setup for that much power. Honestly i have a 03 cobra so i love superchargers.... but i would love to own a twin turbo cobra... the sound is just retarded hot. 10 grand is a good bit of cash to work with, if you are going to run that kind of power i would recomend you finding a really good shop that knows high hp cars. If you dont know much about cars as you say, it would be best for you to talk to someone in person that you can trust as 10,000 bucks isnt something to start throwing into parts just because people online tell you it will work. Im also not a mechanic but you will probably need some bottom end strength added with forged internals before running that much power. I think with that much cash you could easily throw together a well done, professionally done 600-700 hp machine.
11-09-2010, 07:31 PM
#3
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: NC
Posts: 85
you will also need to think about forged internals to push that power level. A forged short block and a centri blower will get you there for that money. a turbo setup will cost a good bit more than a supercharger setup typically.
Last edited by bbcobra; 11-09-2010 at 07:34 PM.
11-09-2010, 09:12 PM
#4
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: AZ
Posts: 2,463
$10,000 is a good amount of coin, but will not get you nearly as much as you think it will. First of all, I will assume that you want SOME degree for reliability for your Cobra, so let’s start with the basics. The stock drivetrain will not handle anything near what you want. An upgraded transmission is a must. Perhaps a TKO 600 or a T56. Next you will need a good clutch. I would suggest a Spec 3+. You will need AT LEAST an 03 Cobra Diff (Traclock) as your stock diff will not handle that kind of hp. Also, a good pair of axles (Moser, Strange, etc…) For the amount of hp you are wanting, you SHOULD get an aftermarket fuel system. (That does not mean throwing in a Walbro and putting bigger injectors). I am talking about purchasing a whole aftermarket returnstyle fuel system (lines, rails, pumps, tank, etc). After all of that, your vehicle will be ready to handle some hp.
As someone mentioned already, you will need to forge your bottom end to achieve 6-700 rwhp . Your stock crank and block will be a good platform, but you will need forged rods/pistons, new rings, bearings, seals, etc… Also, an oil pump with billet gears is always a good insurance policy. Head porting/cams are really NOT necessary to achieve that power level, because you can just compensate with more boost. You will need a machine shop to balance and assemble the engine. That can get kind of pricey sometimes.
After your engine is built, the only thing you will need is a power adder. Seeing as you have a b-headed Cobra, we’ll just forget about PD blowers. Either a Centri supercharger (Procharger) or a turbo kit will be your best bet. Both are good options and will get you to the power level that you want. The cheaper route would be the Procharger. I would suggest getting an F1 or F1-A blower (also requires switch to an 8 rib drive pulley system), with an Air to Air intercooler system. You will easily achieve 700 rwhp on PUMP gas with that combo. Of course, a MAF sensor upgrade will be needed, but that will be the cheapest part of this whole, thing lol. Then you will need a programmer/chip and a custom tune to dial everything in.
Just some food for thought…
Of course, exhaust upgrades will also be a must...
As someone mentioned already, you will need to forge your bottom end to achieve 6-700 rwhp . Your stock crank and block will be a good platform, but you will need forged rods/pistons, new rings, bearings, seals, etc… Also, an oil pump with billet gears is always a good insurance policy. Head porting/cams are really NOT necessary to achieve that power level, because you can just compensate with more boost. You will need a machine shop to balance and assemble the engine. That can get kind of pricey sometimes.
After your engine is built, the only thing you will need is a power adder. Seeing as you have a b-headed Cobra, we’ll just forget about PD blowers. Either a Centri supercharger (Procharger) or a turbo kit will be your best bet. Both are good options and will get you to the power level that you want. The cheaper route would be the Procharger. I would suggest getting an F1 or F1-A blower (also requires switch to an 8 rib drive pulley system), with an Air to Air intercooler system. You will easily achieve 700 rwhp on PUMP gas with that combo. Of course, a MAF sensor upgrade will be needed, but that will be the cheapest part of this whole, thing lol. Then you will need a programmer/chip and a custom tune to dial everything in.
Just some food for thought…
Of course, exhaust upgrades will also be a must...
Last edited by mfj; 11-09-2010 at 09:20 PM.
11-09-2010, 09:21 PM
#5
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,731
Ok, here's the deal. I'm currently deployed in (beautiful) Afghanistan. As everybody knows by now, soldiers make a considerable amount more money when they are deployed compared to when they are stateside. Somehow (miracle) I managed talking my wife into letting me have $10,000 to put into my car. The only problem is, I'm an idiot when it comes to cars.
I got lucky and came across a deal on a 1997 Cobra in the classifieds section of our local newspaper (I was looking to buy a Tacoma). Anyway, it was 2007 and the car had 6,900 miles on it. I paid the guy $12,000. It was absolutely mint. The rear seats were, honest to God, still sealed in plastic from the factory (I've never seen that before in any car). Everything was factory on it, it had never been driven in the rain, snow, etc. The paper floormats that dealerships have in their cars were still setting in the truck side by side. The guy had the window sticker laminated, the certificate of its SVT-ness, and every other piece of documentation you could think of since the day he had bought it...including the receipts from his two oil changes. He also gave me 15 magazines that the car was featured in from 1997. The original BF Goodrich tires were still on it and in remarkable condition. The guy was like 65 years old.
Anyway,the point I am trying to get to is that I don't know what to do to it? I know I want a lowering kit, more power, and to some extent, reliability. It currently has 20,215 miles on it, and I really, never drive it. It was the only car I had in college, so that's where all the miles came from. In the last year I put 400 miles on it. I keep it in the garage under a cover, and start it up every weekend for 30 minutes (so long as its not raining).
I would like to try and push 600-700 hp, but I'm not sure how. I have a Toyota Corolla for my daily driver, so gas mileage and whatnot don't concern me. I'm not really opposed to anything...except nitrous, because honestly, nobody like fast and the furious anyway. If I wanted to do something with nitrous I'd tune up my gay little corolla and drive around town looking like one of those ****...you know they type.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your ideas. Oh, and don't be concerned with labor and installation, I've got that piece covered. Thanks.
I got lucky and came across a deal on a 1997 Cobra in the classifieds section of our local newspaper (I was looking to buy a Tacoma). Anyway, it was 2007 and the car had 6,900 miles on it. I paid the guy $12,000. It was absolutely mint. The rear seats were, honest to God, still sealed in plastic from the factory (I've never seen that before in any car). Everything was factory on it, it had never been driven in the rain, snow, etc. The paper floormats that dealerships have in their cars were still setting in the truck side by side. The guy had the window sticker laminated, the certificate of its SVT-ness, and every other piece of documentation you could think of since the day he had bought it...including the receipts from his two oil changes. He also gave me 15 magazines that the car was featured in from 1997. The original BF Goodrich tires were still on it and in remarkable condition. The guy was like 65 years old.
Anyway,the point I am trying to get to is that I don't know what to do to it? I know I want a lowering kit, more power, and to some extent, reliability. It currently has 20,215 miles on it, and I really, never drive it. It was the only car I had in college, so that's where all the miles came from. In the last year I put 400 miles on it. I keep it in the garage under a cover, and start it up every weekend for 30 minutes (so long as its not raining).
I would like to try and push 600-700 hp, but I'm not sure how. I have a Toyota Corolla for my daily driver, so gas mileage and whatnot don't concern me. I'm not really opposed to anything...except nitrous, because honestly, nobody like fast and the furious anyway. If I wanted to do something with nitrous I'd tune up my gay little corolla and drive around town looking like one of those ****...you know they type.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your ideas. Oh, and don't be concerned with labor and installation, I've got that piece covered. Thanks.
So you took what would've been worth more than 12k, and drove it 14k miles in one year?
Why are you against nitrous? People do use it for things other than little imports and whatnot.
Anyway, I love 97's, could you post up a couple pics? I know you have to have a couple on your FB or something if it's as mint and cherry as you say it is.
11-09-2010, 09:54 PM
#6
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: AZ
Posts: 2,463
So you took what would've been worth more than 12k, and drove it 14k miles in one year?
Why are you against nitrous? People do use it for things other than little imports and whatnot.
Anyway, I love 97's, could you post up a couple pics? I know you have to have a couple on your FB or something if it's as mint and cherry as you say it is.
Why are you against nitrous? People do use it for things other than little imports and whatnot.
Anyway, I love 97's, could you post up a couple pics? I know you have to have a couple on your FB or something if it's as mint and cherry as you say it is.
11-10-2010, 04:10 PM
#8
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: gahanna ohio
Posts: 1,394
mfj basically hit the nail on the head perfectly...as he was saying there is many parts in making it into a 600hp car everything has to support each other such as tranny has to support motor fuel has to support supercharger and so on....10k is alot of money but in reality it isnt cause of the work involved to do it RIGHT...for your money i would also got with centrifugal cause thats prolly the only thing you could afford...and as you go along you can keep adding and making better!!goodluck man
12-19-2010, 12:22 AM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 7
Sorry I've been away for such a long time, I've been a little busy. Anyway, thanks for the posts. I have another question, not in relation to the motor. I want to convert to a double DIN head unit. I've seen a couple of different places (as well as on this forum), that state you can just get an 03-04 HU bezel and its as good as gold. Only thing is, I don't think the shifter bezel will properly fit on then. My solution right now is to have a custom fiberglass bezel created and to move the heater/fan ***** down to where the factory CD player comes stock. Better solutions?
Oh, and I really don't have any pictures of my car. I have one where my little cousin borrowed it to go to his senior prom, but they are standing in front of it. It still has the OEM wheels on at that point in time (which I've since changed out with 5-spokes). If you'd like to see that picture, I'll post it, but its not how it looks anymore.
Oh, and I really don't have any pictures of my car. I have one where my little cousin borrowed it to go to his senior prom, but they are standing in front of it. It still has the OEM wheels on at that point in time (which I've since changed out with 5-spokes). If you'd like to see that picture, I'll post it, but its not how it looks anymore.
04-08-2011, 12:22 AM
#10
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 7
Ok, so I'm nearing the end of my tour in Afghanistan, and I've been doing more and more research before investing anything. Here's what I've arrived at thus far...please tell me if I'm an idiot, and if this will even eclipse the 500-600 hp mark:
1. Procharger P-1SC-1
2. Tremec TKO 600
3. 106330 XE-R Supercharged & Nitrous Comp Cams (I haven't read much indifference regarding cams) any suggestions or prior bad experiences with Crane, Lunati, Crower, VT?
4. 4.10 or 4.30 gears (not going to race this thing, so lower gears don't really interest me)
5. 03-04 Heads
6. Subframe Connectors
7. Hooker LT Headers, not sure about exhaust yet
8. Aluminum Drive Shaft
9. Rear Axle (Not sure who to go with on this) Moser?
10. Fuel System - I need help here, I don't understand much in this realm.
11. Eibach full racing suspension kit.
My wife allowed an allowance increase to $12,000. I'm not even sure I can do 1-11 for that price, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to try it!
Install is taken care of, I just need to purchase the equipment. Possible? Thanks in advance guys!
1. Procharger P-1SC-1
2. Tremec TKO 600
3. 106330 XE-R Supercharged & Nitrous Comp Cams (I haven't read much indifference regarding cams) any suggestions or prior bad experiences with Crane, Lunati, Crower, VT?
4. 4.10 or 4.30 gears (not going to race this thing, so lower gears don't really interest me)
5. 03-04 Heads
6. Subframe Connectors
7. Hooker LT Headers, not sure about exhaust yet
8. Aluminum Drive Shaft
9. Rear Axle (Not sure who to go with on this) Moser?
10. Fuel System - I need help here, I don't understand much in this realm.
11. Eibach full racing suspension kit.
My wife allowed an allowance increase to $12,000. I'm not even sure I can do 1-11 for that price, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to try it!
Install is taken care of, I just need to purchase the equipment. Possible? Thanks in advance guys!