97 Cobra Restomod - Snow Pony

Makobra

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She idled for a very boring hour. fan cycling on and off, garage was hot as hell, no overheating, no boiling coolant, no surprises...
until about 57 minutes where i noticed the voltage dropping. seems like my alternator isn't charging the battery at idle. doesn't look like it can be too many issues. i have a new battery, new alternator, and the fuse link is good.

anyhow, i threw the lights and bumper back on to get some floor space back so here's a money shot.


datbooty2.jpg
 

Makobra

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Figured out my charging issue. This wire was broken up near the firewall. ripped it out, ran a new wire, and voltage is what it should be at the alternator when the car is running and i get the battery light with the key in the run position (that's the telltale sign the circuit is broken). had to undo some of my beautiful loom job but i knew that risk when i loomed it in the first place.

altwire.jpg
 

Makobra

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The rebuild kits for these hinges lack a lot to be desired. the bushings are loose. the rod is just a bit too small for the factory holes and the bushing. my solution is to tack weld inside each hole, grind them down so that the bushings snap in and the pins don't have any play for the outside hinge. then i put the outside one in a vise clamping it down to get all of the vertical play out of the hinge.

I want to be able to paint the doors off the car but i don't want to be lining up hinges on new paint so this is my solution.

hingemod.jpg


panels.jpg

I love the hips on these cars. like the ducktail on the trunk, very subtle.
panelships.jpg
panelsnext.jpg
 

Makobra

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As many of you know the gas pedal is just bent steel. it flexes and at least on my car the end didn't quite fit the ford racing pedal. the previous owner just cranked down the bolt until it squeezed the pedal to make it fit. i guess that works but i wasn't going to do that with the new set. so... fabrication time.

pedal0.jpg


basically i welded some scrap to make some spacers. notice the big open channel? we're gonna address that too.

peadl21.jpg


check out how deformed the old pedal is vs the new one. that's what we're trying to avoid.

pedal2.jpg


all done before paint. see the fully boxed channel? prior to that the bent steel would flex. not a big deal probably but its all the little things that add up. There isn't any more flex in this peace.

pedal3.jpg
pedal4.jpg
 

Makobra

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Finally got around to making an update video. The builder suggested i add a quart of oil and run it some more, he insists the valve noise will go away over time after checking everything. if it doesn't he says he'll replace lifters.

anyhow, here ya go.

 

Makobra

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So because this car is very curvy and black and im doing this all by myself getting everything perfect has been a real PITA.
enter this tool I'm making. it just sits in the door sill and will be shimmed to achieve the door height I'm looking for uniformly then I'll be able to adjust the rear gap after the height is perfect.

I figured out the door was too high when I tried to fit the front passenger side fender and it just wasn't where I needed it to be.

definitely operator error. hopefully this makes the job a lot easier. the idea is I'll be able to use a trans jack with the door closed to position the door or just shim it like i said. the weird slope in the sill is what makes this so tricky.

door alignment tool.jpg
door tool.jpg
 

streetpilot

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Just went back through the beginning of the build because I admire the way you’re going about building this. It is so thorough. After going through your build sheet something stuck out to me. I realize that gears are kind of like opinions- everyone has one, and that’s everyone’s right to have a personal preference. I’m compelled to share that I ran 4.30s in my IRS-equipped ‘96 Cobra and found that to be the sweet spot gear for the NA 4 valve motor. I tried 4.10s and went to 4.30s. It was exactly what was needed for a quick street car. Ford Motorsport doesn’t manufacture 4.30s anymore, and for some reason the aftermarket ones are a little tricky to get set up so that they are factory-silent. However, from time to time I have come across a new OEM set for sale online. If you fancy a set, I highly recommend them. Good luck with the build!
 

Makobra

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Just went back through the beginning of the build because I admire the way you’re going about building this. It is so thorough. After going through your build sheet something stuck out to me. I realize that gears are kind of like opinions- everyone has one, and that’s everyone’s right to have a personal preference. I’m compelled to share that I ran 4.30s in my IRS-equipped ‘96 Cobra and found that to be the sweet spot gear for the NA 4 valve motor. I tried 4.10s and went to 4.30s. It was exactly what was needed for a quick street car. Ford Motorsport doesn’t manufacture 4.30s anymore, and for some reason the aftermarket ones are a little tricky to get set up so that they are factory-silent. However, from time to time I have come across a new OEM set for sale online. If you fancy a set, I highly recommend them. Good luck with the build!

thanks man, i definitely considered those but ultimately availability and ease of setup won out.
I'd like to put a close ratio 6spd in it someday, too, so that goes into the equation as well.
 

Makobra

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started working on the fenders... looks like i'm turning them into widebody fenders. I managed to get another inch out of them.

gaps.jpg

here's how... notice how the fender kicks out a little bit at the bottom.

gaps1.jpg


so i cut the fender, wedged it where I wanted it, and patched the hole. I'll reinforce this with fiberglass infused filler before primer.

gaps3.jpg
 

shurur

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I think I have a similar drain on my battery.
I have a 280mA drain that disappeared once I jacked the DS of the car.
I just removed the dash recently..and have left it as problem solved for now.

As far as your build goes..I say waaasaaaabiiiii.
 

Makobra

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Driver side fender widening pie patched. This is about how much the fenders have been modified to. I was pretty shocked at how well ford did on these things. the undersides have structural pieces that keep it from flexing so all you really can do is pull the fender which makes the lower rear part hard to make look right. this is to fix that.

its just tacked for now to make sure its all GTG.
ds3.jpg
 

Makobra

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I rushed and tin-canned the bottom of a fender i needed to flare with a pie cut. in trying to fix it only made it worse so this is how I am fixing it. I was trying to do this on my back with the car on jackstands instead of on the lift with plenty of room like a smart person. In the vise pics the thin sheet metal is clamped to a 1/4" piece of billet aluminum to wick heat away and prevent distortion.

f1.jpg
f2.jpg
f3.jpg
f5.jpg
f6.jpg
f7.jpg
f8.jpg
 

streetpilot

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I’m really liking what you’re doing here. Flare up front looks as though Ford made it because it matches the smooth flare that the quarters have from the factory. Nicely done sir.
 

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