Pridemore54's Cobra Build

[pridemore54]

I did poly. Mine a street car. It was significantly cheaper to go poly and everything I read said it will be a big improvement over the rubber…not as good as delrin but good enough for me.

I just got my IRS back in after doing poly bushings, the delrin/aluminum rear diff bracket, MM tie rods, painted everything, etc…I have not driven my car yet so I can’t give real feedback on the poly but I’m sure it will be fine. Make sure your really clean out the bushing sleeves. They are not fun installing on the cradle.

As I mentioned above, I did put the aluminum rear bracket with delrin bushing on with a standard FRPP diff cover. It fits fine. Yes I should clearanced the diff cover but it did fit. It’s tight but I wasn’t buying another diff cover and I forgot to clearance it and I’m not dropping the irs again lol

Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the insight. Yeah from what I've seen the poly seems to be an acceptable upgrade from the rubber for a street car. Just figured I would see if it would make a world of difference to upgrade now while I can.

I personally haven't experienced any wheel hop yet even with some tire spinning 2nd gear pulls and a couple small slides. So I'm guessing I should leave it as is.

 

[2003RedfireVert]

Thanks for the insight. Yeah from what I've seen the poly seems to be an acceptable upgrade from the rubber for a street car. Just figured I would see if it would make a world of difference to upgrade now while I can.

I personally haven't experienced any wheel hop yet even with some tire spinning 2nd gear pulls and a couple small slides. So I'm guessing I should leave it as is.

Honestly, if you’re happy with how it rides, leave it alone. It’s a PITA to drop the IRS unless you have a lift. I did it on jackstands, laying on my back lol it will be worth it but it is a lot of work.

 

[01yellercobra]

In my 01 I did poly diif mounts and cradle bushings. It made a noticable improvement. This time I went with delrin, but that was because the previous owner included the FTBR set up with the sale. It sucked installing it, but to me it was worth it in the end.

However, I have talked a friend out of doing it a couple times because it's a PITA as mentioned. I told him when things start wearing out then do the install. Though I do recommend the cover and diff bushings either way. They seem to help with wheel hop. Which I still get occasionally depending on tires and surface.

 

[LS WUT]

I feel like the more I see OW coupes with CCW’s I want to just keep my OW. Then again I see builds such as this fine example and it makes me want a Sonic Blue all over again. Such a beautiful car bud. Looks tastefully modded, and well taken care of. Enjoy the hell out of it.

 

[TerminatoRS]

I'm surprised this doesn't have a 26-spline going into the trans at that power level. Trans has obviously been out of it for the clutch job so would have been a good time to knock it out.

When I saw the first shot of her ass, I thought damn that's a nice looking car. Then I remembered that I have the same thing (minus the smoked tails, but I do have the same diffuser). lol Been covered up since late October so I almost forgot about her.

 

[SID297]

Great looking car.

 

[CobraBob]

Glad more comments came today. Allowed me to once again drool over this Sonic Blue beauty. So how did the differential maintenance go that you were planning in late November?

 

[pridemore54]

Glad more comments came today. Allowed me to once again drool over this Sonic Blue beauty. So how did the differential maintenance go that you were planning in late November?

Thank you! The holidays were quite rough on my wallet so I am only just now getting the parts in for the job. Got all the fluids and the FRPP diff cover will be here tomorrow.

I have a OR x pipe sitting in the corner that I'm considering swapping out the high flow cat x pipe for. Afraid the Borla ataks will be too much at that point however. Hopefully I can find someone to trade me their for the ataks.

I'm surprised this doesn't have a 26-spline going into the trans at that power level. Trans has obviously been out of it for the clutch job so would have been a good time to knock it out.

When I saw the first shot of her ass, I thought damn that's a nice looking car. Then I remembered that I have the same thing (minus the smoked tails, but I do have the same diffuser). lol Been covered up since late October so I almost forgot about her.

Lol I know that feeling for sure. The ass on these cars is so nice.

Yeah I will have to keep that in mind for the future. Guess no clutch dumps on a prepped surface for now might be smart.

 

[pridemore54]

A photographer posted in the local car enthusiast Facebook group that he was looking for a car to photograph for free in order to get his portfolio started. I posted one of my pics in the comments thinking what the heck why not, even if he didn't turn out to be great at it, I'd at least get some resolution shots of my baby.

He absolutely killed it.. the results absolutely blew me away. And he had them all edited and ready within a day. Unfortunately traffic ruined our plans to get rolling shots, only one of them looked decent enough without a bunch of regular traffic in the background. So I am meeting back up with him tomorrow to give it another shot.

Here's a link with most of the photos since the forum only allows one photo of this size in the post.

 

[pridemore54]

MGW shifter swap is done, ECU is back and no longer locked up.

Rear diff leak project is well under way. If I'm lucky I might be able to get it done this week cause I don't have work until Thursday.

Considering swapping over to my catless midpipe while everything is apart. Not sure I really want to run the ataks catless until I get Borla Stingers but hey, I'll live a little since it ain't my daily lol

 

[robvas]

The RST is a twin disk as well. I don't think you can tell which one is which without it on the bench though.

If you peek in the dust cover you should be able to see a sticker saying RXT or RST

 

[01yellercobra]

If you peek in the dust cover you should be able to see a sticker saying RXT or RST

Mine says RST and RXT on it.

 

[robvas]

Mine says RST and RXT on it.

Now I wonder which one mine is

 

[pridemore54]

Had a few setbacks, mostly just been missing certain tools here and there.

Diff is out, cleaned up, resealed with RTV ultra grey, blue 243 loctite on bolts, thread sealant on plugs, bolts, plugs, bearing cap load bolts and jam nuts torqued to spec, filled with Amsoil 75w-140, Amsoil friction modifier (only about 2oz instead of the full 4oz), and leak check is good.

Because this did have a brace installed, I now need the shorter factory bolts which obviously weren't provided. Luckily FTBR has a great section on suspension fastners and had a kit ready to buy from their website. Shipping was pretty steep if I may say so (like $17 for 5 bolts) but it was well worth the effort saved trying to figure out exact lengths, pitch, grades, etc. Big thank you to them.

A few notes:
- Whoever did this job last time decided it would be a great idea to completely fill the bolt holes with the RTV. Literally had to sit there for a couple hours with picks and a vacuum to get it all out of each hole. What a dick.

- Four of the diff cover bolts (on the left side in the last picture) are a larger diameter than the rest. No idea why and it seems to be an isolated incident as I haven't found that to be the case anywhere else on the internet. Perhaps someone fubar'd four bolts/threads and had it re-drilled and threaded for a larger size? Who knows. As long as it works.

- Diff gears themselves all look great as far as my eye can tell. No bare metal, chips, or cracks. Some of the light reflection looks like bare metal but it isn't. Also there's what I assume to be a QC mark in the first pic.

 

[pridemore54]

Quick update:

Diff is back in and feels great. Not sure if it has anything to do with the FRPP diff cover but I immediately noticed the rear felt more firm than before with no slack at all, once everything was together and torqued appropriately.

MGW shifter feels like a big upgrade so far compared to the Steeda Tri-Ax that was in there before. First and reverse pop into gear from a stop much easier now although still not perfect. Might try swapping out the trans fluid to see if that helps eliminate the issue.

ECU is unlocked, installed, and the proper E85 tune has been downloaded. A/F ratio looked great throughout the boost range during the test drive yesterday and it drove smoothly.

I wet sanded and polished the exhaust from the mufflers back and I think it's a nice improvement. Got them pretty level too which wasn't very easy lol.

 

[01yellercobra]

Give the MGW a few miles to break in before making any other changes. It might also be in your head and you're adjusting from the Tri-Ax.

 

[FleeMan]

Next on your list is tires.

 

[2003RedfireVert]

Quick update:

Diff is back in and feels great. Not sure if it has anything to do with the FRPP diff cover but I immediately noticed the rear felt more firm than before with no slack at all, once everything was together and torqued appropriately.

MGW shifter feels like a big upgrade so far compared to the Steeda Tri-Ax that was in there before. First and reverse pop into gear from a stop much easier now although still not perfect. Might try swapping out the trans fluid to see if that helps eliminate the issue.

ECU is unlocked, installed, and the proper E85 tune has been downloaded. AF/R looked great throughout the boost range during the test drive yesterday and it drove smoothly.

I wet sanded and polished the exhaust from the mufflers back and I think it's a nice improvement. Got them pretty level too which wasn't very easy lol.

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I’m re-reading my own build thread from this winter.

I also thought my MGW was an upgrade from the Steeda shifter.

Great updates. Glad you got the rear end all figured out. I felt bad for you.

When is the dyno tune?

 

[LS WUT]

Next on your list is tires.

Yeah lol, they’re balder than Jada Pinkett Smith

 

[pridemore54]

Next on your list is tires.

Yeah lol, they’re balder than Jada Pinkett Smith

Lmao I think it's just the lighting. Pretty sure these will get me through this season. Not even at the wear bars yet