Selling the Cobra

Yup, it's time for something different. I think I'm going to pick up a truck again and start working on one of my crazy fox body projects again. :D

UPDATE: Sold it in Jan.

Here's a link to the ad: 2003 Mustang Cobra for sale

Here are the sites I've posted it for sale on:
SVT Performance
Austin Area Stangs
Texas Racing Scene
The Corral
DWF Stangs

100mpg 400 horse mustang?

kmc news story

autoblog article

By implementing his own lean burn system, Doug Pelmar's 1987 Ford Mustang LX Coupe is reported to get over 100MPG and still make over 400HP and do 0-60 in 3 seconds.

He is entering his vehicle in the ten million dollar X Prize competition, so it seems pretty legit!

I'll take two please!

Cobra Brake Install - Redux

Wow, I posted a while back about installing/replacing Cobra brakes on a mustang. Well anyway, I finally got around to installing them this past weekend on my 03 Cobra, and all I can say is "Wow!" I installed Hawk HPS pads on Brembo Rotors and it made a DRAMATIC improvement all the way around! The pedal feels much more firm and you have much more positive feedback and control over the brakes.

Before (with as-delivered Cobra brakes) the pedal feel felt pretty linear, and when you really mashed on them, you didn't get much feedback until the ABS kicked in (which was pretty hard to do.) With the new Hawk pads, they are noticeably more "grabby" and when you have the pedal mashed at the bottom of its travel, it will lock them up. No more mashing them, sitting there for a sec and then maybe locking them up, maybe not. As I said, they are much more predictable.

While I don't have the equipment (nor inclination) to do official 60 or 70-0 pulls to quantify my results, I do have an interesting driving scenario I have to hit every day on my way to work that works as a pretty good gauge of braking effectiveness. I have to merge onto a 4 lane highway approaching the crest of a long hill, quickly get over into the left lane, and then duck off into a short turn lane on the left at the bottom of this hill. So in the span of about a quarter mile, I have to accelerate to highway speed, merge, and then dive on the brakes in a small turn lane on a steep downhill. Anyway, before, it was a hairy ride if I was going a little too fast. There was noticeable "fade" and the brakes felt pretty vague. Now, it is hauled down much faster and there is no drama whatsoever.

Easily one of the best mods I've done!

Custom craigslist searches

Want to run an automotive query across several Craigslist sites at once? Enter the following into a Google search window:

"mustang 5.0" site:austin.craigslist.org/car OR site:houston.craigslist.org/car OR site:dallas.craigslist.org/car OR site:sanantonio.craigslist.org/car

That will return all "mustang 5.0" ads for Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. A more appropriate search would be:

"Prius" site:austin.craigslist.org/car OR site:houston.craigslist.org/car OR site:dallas.craigslist.org/car OR site:sanantonio.craigslist.org/car

(Change the "/car" to "/pts" of you want to search for parts.)

Cobra brake job

Ok, so it's time to finally put on the brakes I've had sitting on the shelf for my 03 Cobra for the better part of a year. I've found in the past that the pictures and/or explanations in the how-to books aren't usually as good as they could be, so I started looking online for some how-to write-ups. (If a good one didn't exist, I'd create one as I went.) Anyway, that's when I stumbled across this post on the Mach1registry.org site from member 006. It doesn't get any more clear or straightforward than that!

Fusion intercooler

Now this idea: fusion intercooler has a lot of merit!

This would be a great solution for say, a rear-mount turbo where airflow limitations or stealth concerns would limit the efficiency an air:air intercooler or packaging or weight concerns would rule out a water:air charge cooler.

It would be really cool to use this as hybrid system too, where it could buffer a small capacity air:water IC or use an air:water IC to return it back to solid while off-boost.

It's got the gears turning... :D

An "oh $hi7" moment!

:D

Last week, one of the catalytic converters in my Bassani x-pipe on my 03 Cobra came apart. (I'd had it happen before in an old Mac pipe, so I recognized the symptoms... way down on power, 1/2 of the car sounds like an old broke-a$$ truck with a leaking glasspack exhaust, rattling in the exhaust when you tap the throttle, intense heat radiating from the mid-pipe, etc.) So I parked the car and ordered some replacement cats (w/o even tearing it apart.)

While I'm sitting at work the other day (waiting for the new cats) I was talking to a gear-head friend of mine, and he said, "Are you sure it's a cat? I mean could an exhaust valve have let go, or a piston and that's what we were hearing? (He heard it rattle, etc.) So anyway, he had me 2nd guessing myself a bit on my diagnosis (it was wayyy down on power) and so tonight I got out there and anxiously yanked the pipes off (behind the cats.) I took the light and shined it up in the left side cat (where the noise was coming from) and OH #$%$!!! The substrate inside looked perfect!!! Oh no, I thought, there's a ton of engine parts rattling around in front of the cat. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!!! I mean I let out a stream of obscenities that woulda made Gunnery Sgt. Hartman from Full Metal Jacket blush...

Anyway, so I climb out from under there, pound my beer and start thinking about starting to cry (ok, kidding.) Then, I thought, just for grins, let's look at the other one... Ok, I climb back under there, shine the light in... Whew! The substrate was completely broken off and turned sideways and I could reach in and jiggle it with my finger... just what I expected to find! I guess since the "X" is downstream of the cats, the sound with the rattle was coming out of the opposite side tailpipe!

Talk about scary!!! :D Man.... Whew!

Another uplifting turn of events happened when I came back in from turning wrenches...

My wife said, "What was that pounding noise I heard?"

Me: "Me knocking the cats off of my car."

Her: "Really, with what?"

Me: "A big f***ing hammer."

Her (with alarm) : "OMG, did you hit them!?"

Me: "Oh yeah, a couple of good whacks and that did it."

Her: "OMG! Did you hurt them?"

Me: "No, I had a clear shot to get a good swing, so just one good pop each was all it took, they didn't get mangled at all."

Her: "Are they dead!?"

Me: "Well, one is. The other one is probably fine."

Her (with a stare of shock and disbelief): "Awww, OMG I wonder whose cats they were?"

Bwahahahaha, it was at that point, I realized she thought I had just murdered two neighborhood felines with a sledgehammer. We both got a good chuckle about that! :D I mean my wife is a vegetarian because she's such an animal lover, so to see the look on her face when she thought I'd turned axe-murderer was priceless... Hahaha

Thinning the herd

Well, I'm selling off a bunch of stuff. I'm going to use this post to keep track of all of the places I've posted things for sale.

My 30/31 Model A RPU project:
Austin Area Stangs
Craig's List
The HAMB

My 83 GT:
Craig's List
Austin Area Stangs

My 79 Mustang pace car:
My Site
Austin Area Stangs
Four Eyed Pride

03 Cobra Supercharger Belt tensioner

I had the pulley bearing go out on the supercharger belt tensioner on my 03 Cobra. No biggie I thought, so I pulled the old one off and called Ford for a replacement. Each of the three dealerships I called told me that you could not buy just the tensioner and pulley, but rather you had to buy the entire assembly for $385 that consists of a large bracket, the tensioner assembly, and a couple of idler pulleys!

Anyway, I went down to the nearest one, and one of the guys cross referenced the part # (1L3Z-6B209-BA) on the side of the tensioner arm and found that the tensioner was re-used in another application and in that application was available separately, so he got me one for around $75! It's Ford Part # 1LZ 6B209 BA.

I hope this helps someone in the future!

5.0 belt lengths

While I'm on the topic of belts... One of the frequently asked questions I see online is, "If I want to bypass the on my 5.0, what length belt should I use?" This chart answers that. (Given stock pulley diameters.)



If you are running a non-standard accessory arrangement, or are using a configuration not shown above, here's how to get the right belt:

1) Take a string and wrap it around the pulleys using the same routing the belt would follow.

2) Mark the string with a marker where it finishes a loop.

3) Remove string and measure from end to mark. Add 1" to allow some play for tensioner.

4) Take that measurement to parts store. Buy 3 belts, one the length you measured, one .5" longer, and one .5" shorter. Ask for a "K6" (6 ribs) in xxx length.

5) Try the belts, keep the one that fits, return the other two.

6) Write the length down so you don't forget!

Done!

I saved this image long ago and forget where I got it now :-/. If it is yours, please let me know and I'll take it down, an/or give you credit for it!

03 Cobra supercharger belt routing

03 Cobra supercharger belt routing diagram:


I had an idler pulley go out on the supercharger belt on my 03 Cobra, and it took me a while to find a diagram for how to get it back on there, so I figured I'd post this one to help anyone else out in the same situation.

Edit: I uploaded the main belt routing here