Cobra Engine Conversions

[Soap]

Man you guys sure know how to slam a door in someones face. He said he is very willing to learn, that is all that matters, everyone has to start somewhere.

OP, I think your best bet is to find a 4 banger Fox and swap from there. A ton of the parts are interchangeable (fit 79-04). Find a wrecked 03-04 that has side or rear damage. Best part is it had been done and documented by lots of people already so if you have questions you can find answers on the web.

--Joe

 

[Black Gold 380R]

^^^ I don't think anyone is slamming doors here. Reality is driving this train. He said he can't afford insurance. Do you think he is going to be able to afford to purchase a motor out of a wrecked Cobra at this point?

Also, no one is saying to give up on his goal. He needs to make a planned approach and money and ability seem to be his hurdles at this point. Once he acquires the skills and funds then go for it.......

 

[Zemedici]

Man you guys sure know how to slam a door in someones face. He said he is very willing to learn, that is all that matters, everyone has to start somewhere.

OP, I think your best bet is to find a 4 banger Fox and swap from there. A ton of the parts are interchangeable (fit 79-04). Find a wrecked 03-04 that has side or rear damage. Best part is it had been done and documented by lots of people already so if you have questions you can find answers on the web.

--Joe

See below

^^^ I don't think anyone is slamming doors here. Reality is driving this train. He said he can't afford insurance. Do you think he is going to be able to afford to purchase a motor out of a wrecked Cobra at this point?

Also, no one is saying to give up on his goal. He needs to make a planned approach and money and ability seem to be his hurdles at this point. Once he acquires the skills and funds then go for it.......

Amen!

Insurance is $150/mo (minimum)

OP says he can hardly afford insurance, and has no mechanical ability.

I would not BEGIN my mechanical career with a motor swap into a vehicle that was unoriginal to the motor....baby steps. Doctors do not begin their medical careers with heart transplants.

Come on man. Be real about it. It may be a bit harsher up front but much better in the long run than 'yeah man its easy! Just takes $2500 and a weekend!'

When he's balls deep in the thing, both money and time wise, it will be overwhelming. We're just looking out for him.

 

[Four Door SVT]

Tank where do you live? Volunteer at a shop or ask for a part time position to help clean up or do anything. Some mechanic will start show you the ropes. I did this after my stint in the Navy at a machine shop I traded my labor for machine work on the engine of my 68 Nova.

 

[Soap]

Once he acquires the skills and funds then go for it.......

You can't acquire skills without doing.

--Joe

 

[Zemedici]

You can't acquire skills without doing.

--Joe

and what about the thousands of dollars it takes to do said job? Hell you cant get a drivetrain for less than 5k I bet.

 

[NVRL8TE]

Tank, are you against 96-98 Cobras?

 

[Black Gold 380R]

You can't acquire skills without doing.

--Joe

I hear you and agree Joe. However, at this point his goal may be a bit much to "learn" on. Start out with a little smaller goal to "learn." His goal will put him in a bind with a car sitting around for years while he learns and spends up his money.

As I mentioned earlier, my step son drives a V6 Mustang. He wrenches on it with small projects where the car is down for hours while he learns and he can STILL use it to get to work to earn the money he needs for parts.

Again, I'm not telling TANK to forget it. I'm just saying maybe a different approach will serve him better.

I really like what four door SVT did. That's how America's youth should do things to learn and earn in my opinion.

 

[NVRL8TE]

I will agree, that a car that you work on everyday, and will take awhile with a limited budget, wont return much on your investment, and that's how interest gets lost.

I will recommend a 96-98 Cobra to you. It's one of the most bulletproof cars I've ever owned, a decent one that needs a bit of freshening up may run you 5k.

Mods are cheap, easy to maintain, you'll get alot of car for your money, it's a 4V, your project car will be more fun when it runs, and most of your learning experiences can be applied to a Terminator swap later...

 

[MackDombles]

I'm going out on a limb here, but I've swapped a 4v Mach engine into a crown vic and now doing and Eaton swap on it and I absolutely love it. Cheap insurance and with proper tuning I should be around 420 to 450 hp to the wheels. I also swapped a 5 speed and 4.10's into it so I get a fast family car with cheap insurance. Added 19 inch mustang wheels, seats from a Lincoln ls, and a center console from a fusion. All in an old cop car. It looks like a Marauder without the 10k price tag.
Obviously if you want a drag car this isn't it, but it's an awesome option if you want cheap insurance.

Sent from my SM-G930V using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[whitedevil95]

Doing a motor swap into a car that doesnt accept that motor is a nightmare. Hes got no money, probably no tools, no money for tools, none for the motor, no mechanical skill. Dudes gotta come to reality. I am a High School teacher an had this conversation with plenty of teenagers. It would be FAR CHEAPER to buy a mustang gt and pay the higher insurance than do what he is planning.

 

[zredfire04]

It's a REAL bad idea to do this kind of swap on a car you're still paying for.

Find something that is already rwd...miata or something you can just buy outright. Then figure out how to shoehorn a big ass engine in it. Then you can make payments on an econobox instead of paying full coverage insurance on a car you won't be able to drive. This is a much larger project than you know. My cobra was on jackstands for month and all i did was rebuild the rear end and change the irs bushings.

 

[Deceptive]

I'm just hear for the inevitable part out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[T A N K]

Tank where do you live? Volunteer at a shop or ask for a part time position to help clean up or do anything. Some mechanic will start show you the ropes. I did this after my stint in the Navy at a machine shop I traded my labor for machine work on the engine of my 68 Nova.

I'm actually so happy you commented that, I'm from Long Beach CA and a few months ago I was thinking about that for weeks but I thought no mechanic would want to give me a chance. How would I approach a mechanic shop into considering? That would be an AMAZING opportunity!

 

[T A N K]

Also thank you to everyone for commenting you guys are really putting this in perspective for me on letting me know how unrealistic this is right now, I appreciate it. Also giving me other ideas on what to do and things I can do to learn. I will not be considering this swap any time soon instead I'll buy something relitively cheap and learn from there. Thanks again for being great people and helping me out.

 

[T A N K]

I will agree, that a car that you work on everyday, and will take awhile with a limited budget, wont return much on your investment, and that's how interest gets lost.

I will recommend a 96-98 Cobra to you. It's one of the most bulletproof cars I've ever owned, a decent one that needs a bit of freshening up may run you 5k.

Mods are cheap, easy to maintain, you'll get alot of car for your money, it's a 4V, your project car will be more fun when it runs, and most of your learning experiences can be applied to a Terminator swap later...

I'll have to look into this I'm in love with just about all mustangs so 96-98 cobras are alright with me haha, I'll need to do an insurance quote and see if I can find one. Thanks

 

[MackDombles]

Here's how I did it.
Drove to all the mechanic shops around and looked through the employee parking area. I found one with the largest number of modified cars and I walked in. I was myself and showed interest in wrenching and within a few months of a few nights a week, had car friends and more REAL mechanical knowledge than I expected in that amount of time. Now I run a shop for a large Law enforcement agency and have a hobby I get paid for.
Plant a seed
Water it


Sent from my SM-G930V using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[2000GTSTANG]

Bought my 2002 GT at 18. Couldnt afford a Cobra working at a grocery store. Started modding it and never got the Terminator. Now I dont want to sell the GT to buy a Cobra with all the money Ive put into it over the years.

Find yourself a cheap 01+ GT or Mach 1 and play with that for a couple year or longer to get used to the chassis and how to do your own repairs. Then make the switch to the coveted Terminator.

 

[Four Door SVT]

While in high school I cleaned a dealership front offices with a feather duster and emptied trash cans, in the back I push broom the entire shop area and emptied trash cans, a mustang Granada came in as a trade I was the first person they thought of, had that car till I joined the Navy, just be willing to do what ever it is. Just don't go looking for the sky hook.

 

[98 svt]

Yeah ofcourse I'm just wondering what cars can fit this engine

Ford Focus
Of course, it's a lot more complex than just dropping a motor in there though.