Need Help Badly!!

[Tlayson23]

Hey guys, i know i just made a post on here a few days ago but I'm going to pick up a 03 mach 1 with a brand new 03/04 cobra motor and eaton with less than 1,000 miles on it and only 47,000 on the car itself in a couple of days and I'm new to motor swaps so i really dont know what to look for and need help.

First of all he says the new motor has a 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty but recently moved and lost the paperwork. If i drive the car and the temperature gauge and oil pressure seem normal, is this good reason to assume the motor is good? He lives 350 miles away from me so is meeting me halfway between here and there, therefore i cant really have the vehicle inspected. Is there any way I can be sure that this a good motor and that the work was done right just by driving the car and looking it over?

Also, here is a picture of the motor, hopefully some of you on here that are more familiar with terminators and motor swaps and what the motor and wiring should look like will be able to tell more than i can by the picture. Supposedly the internals were untouched so he says it is a completely stock 03/04 cobra motor. I know you can't see much but if anyone can look at this and see if anything seems out of place please let me know.

Also when he says its a new cobra motor, i'm not sure what all that includes, whether it be the entire motor or just the bottom end. I know the eaton was bought seperately.

I know i probably shouldnt be purchasing a vehicle like this with my lack of knowledge, but my reason for getting it is that the 03 cobra is my dream car but i cant afford it. I figured this would be a great buy with the brand new motor in a low mileage mach, but now i'm having second thoughts, might just be last second nervousness.

I'm really feeling in a vulnerable situation right now with my lack of knowledge. This car will be my daily driver and if i get screwed over then i wont have a vehicle or the money to fix it. So if anyone can help i really appreciate it.

 

[Monster Mach]

ask him since its a cobra motor where is the svt plaque on the passenger valve cover?? its missing.. to me it looks like a 04 mach motor with 03 mach coil covers.. just drive the car.. listen for knocks and ticks.. there will be 1 tick likely because our cars have a tick... but tell him to get it fixed.. just drive it listen to ticks and rattles.. if all is good pull over open the hood and look for leaks check oil supercharger fluid.. any smoke or smells.. check for cats so it will pass inspection.. no check engine lights

 

[04Mach1Blurr]

Yea like posted above, check the car for what you think would be a problem. Noises especially as well as leaks. Listen to the idle... is it smooth, contuous same sound? Also have you ever driven a car with this power level before? Its very easy to get over excited while driving it and forgeting to listen an check the car out throughly, so be mindfull of that. Ask him to bring any and all documents with him to get a history of the car, look at the rear end of the car and check to make sure theres nothing leaking or any noises while slowly turning the car.

Is the car stock besides the engine?

 

[Tlayson23]

Thanks guys, and yea he says its a completely stock cobra crate engine with less than 1000 miles. I was wondering about the svt badge also but I didn't know if it should have one or not with it being a crate engine; I wasn't sure if svt would still be the one manufacturing it. I asked him if the new motor was just the bottom end and he says that its all new from where it meets the transmission all the way up to the supercharger. Supposedly the only thing on the motor that was used from the mach 1 is the wiring harness.

Other than the motor, the only things done to the car are 4.10 gears, longtube headers, off-road x pipe, weld in flowmaster mufflers, and a SCT tuner.

He says he doesn't have any paperwork from the installation because it was a mechanic from his local ford dealership that he is friends with, who did the installation out of his garage. I've driven something with this kind of power before but like 04Mach1Blurr said, i wasn't buying the car so i just went out and had fun with it. With this one the only thing i really know to do is like you all said listen for ticks and a smooth idle, check the temp gauge and oil pressure, and check for leaks.

 

[04Mach1Blurr]

i think if its good to go, it would be a sweet car to have.

 

[pho_phizzat]

i think if its good to go, it would be a sweet car to have.

That is what I was thinking as well.

 

[Tlayson23]

i think if its good to go, it would be a sweet car to have.

That is what I was thinking as well.

That's what i'm hoping, just dont want any unpleasant suprises since its gonna be my daily

 

[Tlayson23]

He just told me he got the motor from this site -

searchparts - Low Priced Used Engines, Remanufactured Engines and most other auto parts for your vehicle

Said it's where alot of dealerships get their parts from. He says the engine was fully assembled in a crate. If all this is true then it should be a good car right? I mean i don't know how bad anyone could possibly mess up a fully assembled motor that should just drop right in

 

[xXAzureMach1Xx]

First off the oil gauge isnt really a gauge. It only take like 3psi to make the gauge work. I would look and see if its a iron block or alum block. If its iron then there is a really good chance it is a 03 cobra motor. Just because it doesn't have the plate from SVT doesnt mean it isnt a cobra motor. From what little i can see it looks good. For one the things that people skip on when doin the swap is done on this car. Like the PS line thats right by the PS rev, The vacuum lines on the side of the blower are not need but they are there. With no paper work then im sure the warr is no good.

 

[Tlayson23]

First off the oil gauge isnt really a gauge. It only take like 3psi to make the gauge work. I would look and see if its a iron block or alum block. If its iron then there is a really good chance it is a 03 cobra motor. Just because it doesn't have the plate from SVT doesnt mean it isnt a cobra motor. From what little i can see it looks good. For one the things that people skip on when doin the swap is done on this car. Like the PS line thats right by the PS rev, The vacuum lines on the side of the blower are not need but they are there. With no paper work then im sure the warr is no good.

I just contacted the site that he told me he bought the motor from about 30 minutes ago and they had record of him purchasing a full 03/04 cobra motor so i'm pretty happy that everything was actually replaced. I appreciate you lookin at the motor, the things you pointed out i had no clue about so its good to know :thumbsup:

 

[clc44]

Well that is good man, Did they say WHEN he bought it and if there was a warranty?

 

[Tlayson23]

Well that is good man, Did they say WHEN he bought it and if there was a warranty?

They said he bought it less than a year ago, and there's a 3-year/100,000 mile warranty on the motor. I call today to find out if that warranty is going to transfer to me or not.

 

[Tlayson23]

found out that the warranty does transfer to me so all is good

 

[xsellr8]

A note on the transmission.. The Mach 1 came with the tr3650 5 speed, which is rated to handle around 350 HP/TQ, while the Cobra came with the t-56 6 speed that can handle more power. I'm sure it would function ok with the 5 speed, but it's something you should know. Speaking of drive train, the cobra also came with the 31 spline rear axle set up vs our 28 spline, so normal street driving will be fine if it's a Mach 1 rear end, but be careful if you decide to throw on a pair of slicks and do a high rpm launch at the track. Our stock 28 spline set up is not as strong. If the engine IS all stock, it's not too much more power to worry about, but that engine is easy to mod, so be careful with these things if you add power.
AWESOME CAR!

 

[clc44]

^ Well put man!

If you get I expect some pics ASAP

 

[xXAzureMach1Xx]

The 3650 will be fine on the street and if you go to the track take it easy. Im makin prolly 475 or so. i wanted to go to the track so i got a built T56. There machs that make 500+ on a stock 3650, also got a buddy that has a 550HP gt with a stock 3650. he doesnt go to the track tho. The t56 stock will go before a 3650 or thats what i have seen on cars around here.

 

[Tlayson23]

Sorry guys havent checked the thread in a while, been too busy in the garage!! I love the new mach whoever did the swap did a great job i'm really happy with it. Oh and btw, this thing wont touch the track lol. Heres a few pics -

I have a few questions for you guys now that i have the car. I know mustangs but like i said before when it comes to motor swaps/superchargers i don't know much. I'm running a GT40 supercar fuel pump which, from what ive heard, is a great fuel pump for the hp i'm running right now. But ive been told that if i get into too much more hp i'm gonna need to convert to a dual fuel pump. So, as you can see my intake isnt so great looking, i'm wanting to get a jlt but i'm not sure how much i can do without having to convert to the dual fuel pump. Also thinking about doing a borla catback instead of the weld-in flowmasters.

The car was obviously dyno-tuned after the swap and has a SCT chip, so another question i have is would i have to get it re-tuned after every little power adder (CAI, Catback)?

May be stupid questions but that's why i'm here lol

 

[xXAzureMach1Xx]

I posted over on M1R but I think with you addding a BAP you will be fine with all the bolt ons. Anytime you change the Intake setup or Exhaust i would have the AF check, you are adding more air or less air and it will lean or rich up. Buy all the mods and put them on at one time, then have it tuned.

 

[Tlayson23]

I posted over on M1R but I think with you addding a BAP you will be fine with all the bolt ons. Anytime you change the Intake setup or Exhaust i would have the AF check, you are adding more air or less air and it will lean or rich up. Buy all the mods and put them on at one time, then have it tuned.

Alright thanks alot... i think it's running a little rich right now anyways so i'll probly order the CAI and go ahead and have it tuned since it needs it anyways

 

[Tlayson23]

I guess i'm gonna make this my question thread lol... but i've been told i have 160 extra pounds on the front end with the iron cobra block and the eaton. When i decide to start looking for lowering springs should i allow for this weight? I had H&R springs on my GT and loved em, but they do drop the car quite a bit and i dnt know if the drop would be too extreme.