Detailing the Cobra... 56K=NO!

[TL95SVT]

*Updated* Detailing the Cobra... 56K=NO!

Well... it all started out with a broken motor mount bolt. I bought the car thinking i could fix it, i tried about 80 different drill bits/easy outs, grinding tools, ect. One day i said screw it an just pulled the engine out. I was so pissed at the block that i sold it and bought a brand new one. I have been working for about 3 months now, cleaning, grinding, cutting, sanding, polishing, painting, rerouting..... and im still only about 70% done!

Engine Bay When I bought the Car (after alot of cleaning):

Engine Bay Right before i took the Engine Out:

Engine Out:

After Some grinding:

ALL paint stripped off:

Painted Brake Booster:

Undercoated trans tunnel and underbody:

3 Coats of Primer:

2 Coats of Color, 3 Coats of Clear:

Parts:

Balancer - Painted, Polished, Clearcoated

Timing Cover - ground Flashing off, smoothed, ready for paint

Alt Bracket - Cut in Half, smoothed, ready for paint

Waterpump - Smoothed, Ready for paint

Tensioner - Smoothed, Ready for paint

A/C, Power Steering Bracet - BIGGEST pain the ASS - Cut Coil tab off, Weled 3 holes on top, Smoothed, ready for paint. About $100 into this an Countless hours!

Brake Lines - Cleaned, Painted, Wiring Rewrapped

Bracket to Hold ABS - painted, cleared

Heads - Cleaned, Painted, Cleared

Trans - Cleaned, Painted, ready to be Cleared

Shortblock - Painted

Cobra Calipers - Smoothed, rebuilt, ready for black Paint

Other things done:
Engine Wireharness: reloomed, and rewrapped
Almost all wire rerouted
Wiper arms, plastic cowl panel, radiator shroud all painted gloss black.
Power steering pump ready for paint
Alternator ready for paint
Custom Hood pins and brackets made by me
Painted rotors black
Waterneck painted
Distributor painted
Repainted Springs, Urathane isolators
Painted oil pan and tapped for powder adder

Other Things:
Spec Stage 2 Clutch, new TOB
MM firewall adjuster
MM clutch quadrent
New Wires
New Fuel Pressure Guage
New Lifters, Springs
New Headers
New Coil
New motor mounts
New transmount
New dipstick/tube



Thats all for now... i got alot more stuf done, i just havent taken pics.

 

[allgo90]

badass project! it looks great. any go-fast mods in the plan?

 

[TL95SVT]

Thanks... No, its my daily driver. I got another project to work on after this

 

[Tabres]

I'm jelous. I'd love to undertake a project like this. I just don't have the time or space to do it.

 

[98 svt]

Damn, nice job.
Keep us updated for sure!

What color will you be painting all the brackets? Black?

 

[Gallows]

Nice work so far. How are you going to keep it clean in there with it being the daily driver:-D

 

[Dekorum]

Nice work so far. How are you going to keep it clean in there with it being the daily driver:-D

I'd like to know also, lol.

 

[TL95SVT]

I barely have the time or space myself. I just work on it when i have time, and i have parts in my garage, shed, room, closet, and attic lmao.

I am going with a white, black, & grey theme. Just clean and simple.

The brackets, timing cover, distributor, waterneck will all be painted cast aluminum.

The heads, trans and various other things are cast iron.

I will probably paint the alternator, and powersteering pump (just the metal part) cast iron to off set them from the brackets.

Ill take some more pics this weekend.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[TL95SVT]

I'd like to know also, lol.

If you look at the before pic... that was how my engine looked anytime you opened the hood. I put about 20K miles on it in a year and a half. And no i dont wash it every week, maybe once every two or three weeks.

EVERYTIME i wash the car, i open the hood and wash everything, just as i was washing the outside of the car. I use soap and water on all the paint, and a soft brush on all the metal. Some times i will use simple green if stuff starts to build up. It only takes about 15 extra minutes to do, and is well worth it.

Think of it like this, if you give your engine one really good cleaning, then just maintain it (not letting oil, dirt, and grim build up), it will always look good. I also do not treat it as a show car, it never has been or will be, just get it as clean as you can, cause its just gonna get dirty again lol.

I used to have alot of polished stuff, a/c lines, fpr, pulleys. And i would have to repolish them everytime i washed the engine, which pissed me off so bad! Now i have either painted, or repolished then clearcoated everything so it is even more maintenance free.

 

[Dekorum]

Damn, you wash everything under your hood whenever you wash the exterior? Don't you have to take some time covering everything up? What exactly do you cover up and what do you use to cover important engine parts that shouldn't get wet? BTW, didn't you already have some wires and the battery hidden in your first engine bay picture?

 

[allgo90]

Nice work so far. How are you going to keep it clean in there with it being the daily driver:-D

once you give it a good cleaning it is ALOT easier to keep clean.

 

[SublimeRT]

Looks good and looks like fun. I'm probably going to do something similar soon to mine. The previous owner painted the motor red. It looks like crap and I hate it.

 

[TL95SVT]

Damn, you wash everything under your hood whenever you wash the exterior? Don't you have to take some time covering everything up? What exactly do you cover up and what do you use to cover important engine parts that shouldn't get wet? BTW, didn't you already have some wires and the battery hidden in your first engine bay picture?

I dont cover anything up... i just powerwash the crap outta the engine bay. I have done this for 5 years and havent had one problem.

Yes i took the car down for about 4 months when i first got it. Alot of things had been poorly done. Some bare wires were exposed, lower intake leaked, i dont think the engine had ever been cleaned previously. I rerouted almost all the wires, deleted the smog, moved the overflow, cleaned everything.

So i was a little ahead of the game when i started, it would have taken me about a year to do all this if i hadnt redone all the wiring before.

 

[1stCobra]

Looks damn good.... love the cowl....

 

[Dekorum]

I dont cover anything up... i just powerwash the crap outta the engine bay. I have done this for 5 years and havent had one problem.

Yes i took the car down for about 4 months when i first got it. Alot of things had been poorly done. Some bare wires were exposed, lower intake leaked, i dont think the engine had ever been cleaned previously. I rerouted almost all the wires, deleted the smog, moved the overflow, cleaned everything.

So i was a little ahead of the game when i started, it would have taken me about a year to do all this if i hadnt redone all the wiring before.

Where did move the overflow? I noticed that it was no where in sight.
I like how you have it real neat and clean and you still kept the AC, awesome. I have a feeling I will have some problems with my car once I start washing the engine bay without covering anything. Maybe I have some bare wires exposed some places...
Two other questions: Do you still have the EGR tube hooked up? What kind of MAS is that? And is that on like a BBK cold air kit?

 

[convert03cobra]

Wow, it's going to look awesome when you are done. Doing things the right way requires time and patience. Don't worry, it will be done soon enough. I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[TL95SVT]

Where did move the overflow? I noticed that it was no where in sight.
I like how you have it real neat and clean and you still kept the AC, awesome. I have a feeling I will have some problems with my car once I start washing the engine bay without covering anything. Maybe I have some bare wires exposed some places...
Two other questions: Do you still have the EGR tube hooked up? What kind of MAS is that? And is that on like a BBK cold air kit?

ALL of the EGR stuff is deleted, the mass air meter is C&L 76mm. I have no clue what intake it is, but i am making a new one out of pvc, it will be a straight shot into the intake. This will have to wait until i get the engine back in.....

 

[TL95SVT]

Engine Harness - Reloomed, and rewrapped

Fan Shroud - Painted Gloss Black, Looks better than the paint on my car lol

Timing Cover - Smoothed, painted, clearcoated

Alt Bracket - Smoothed, painted, clearcoated

P/S Bracket - Smoothed, painted, clearcoated

Waterpump - Smoothed, painted, clearcoated

Waterneck - Smoothed, painted, clearcoated

Tensioner : Smoothed, painted, Clearcoated

Distributor: Cut, painted, clearcoated (right after paint)

Rotors - Cleaned, Painted, took forever to tape!

Timing Pointer - Cleaned, Painted, Clearcoated

Starter - Cleaned, Painted, Clearcoated

 

[Dekorum]

Damn thats some good work dude. Your sick!
How did are you keeping the check engine light from coming on if you removed the entire EGR valve from the wiring harness? None of the damn EGR eliminators that plug into the harness worked for me, so I am currently leaving the EGR valve on the intake with the hole open and the passenger header capped off.

 

[Slow95Cobra]

wow.... since your in NC, lemme know when your done.. i wanna see that up close...

are those deep dish RK's on the rear.... or 8.5's on all 4 corners? i thinking of getting some to replace the R's