Project daily fox

SOVACobra03

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So I've been rocking my 96 accord for YEARS now and it's been time for a switch. Ran across the 88 notch with a 2.3l and a speed. I've always been interested in have a 4 banger fox as a daily so I jumped at the opertunity. So this is my introduction to project daily fox. Let's be honest she's pretty ugly as she sits but the body is good and over all its a pretty clean car. Just needs lots of tlc.
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SOVACobra03

I have an addiction......
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The car only has like 153k on it but she's almost as old as I am lol obvious issues I've found are:
Has ac but not surprisingly it doesn't work
Massive slop in steering(rag joint non existent)
Spring and bushings are crap
Those wheels and tires.....
So that's my to do list right now. Pretty much in that order. I've got my factory 03 cobra wheels coming from my house in va and I'm located some 95 spindles and breaks. I also bought some lowering springs for it and energy suspension bushing from a local guy.
List of things I want to do:
Paint... duh lol
Irs
Smoked heads and tails
Ditch that god awful blue interior
Needs some decent speakers and head unit.
 

crazycarlo

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Looks good im about to put some speakers in my notch as well. Im going with all 6 pioneer speakers. They arent component because honestly I didnt want to run a bunch of extra wiring and an amp and all.

Car looks like a good solid project. Gonna keep it as a 4cyl and drive it or is there an engine swap planned for the future?
 

SOVACobra03

I have an addiction......
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Looks good im about to put some speakers in my notch as well. Im going with all 6 pioneer speakers. They arent component because honestly I didnt want to run a bunch of extra wiring and an amp and all.

Car looks like a good solid project. Gonna keep it as a 4cyl and drive it or is there an engine swap planned for the future?
It will always be a 4 cylinder. That's not to say it'll never get swapped. I'd love to swap an new ecoboost out of the mustangs into it one day.
 

rrpederson

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I'm in the process of doing the same sort of thing but it already had a lot of work done to mine. I would recommend starting with a 225 wide tire in the front. My 10th anniversary wheels protrude from the front fender wells enough for it to bother me. Or maybe have some back spacing or offset removed from your stock Cobra wheels to get them to tuck. Right now on mine they rub the fenders when the front suspension is compressed. I would also recommend after doing all the bushings in the suspension, some high quality shocks and struts and springs to match. It makes the car feel and ride solid. It will feel like a whole new car. My next objective will be a solid steering shaft. Shafts with rag joints in them will always feel like a tuna boat when trying to steer because of that.

If this car will be a daily driver, work on things that will improve the feedback you feel when operate the vehicle. Every little thing you do will add to the good feeling you get when driving the car. For example, one of the best things I ever did to my fox was ripping out the factory clutch quadrant and garbage adjustable clutch cable that my car came with. It drove like a whole new car when I replaced the clutch cable with an OEM Ford piece and installed a quadrant and firewall adjuster from Maximum Motorsports. Also one thing not to be overlooked is the shifter and the length of handle. I first worked on making the car the most comfortable for me to interact with it, and installed parts that I knew would give me positive feedback while driving it. Good luck with your build man, and if you have any questions about how to do stuff to these cars, feel free to send me a PM, I may be able to help you out.

Richie
 

SOVACobra03

I have an addiction......
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I'm in the process of doing the same sort of thing but it already had a lot of work done to mine. I would recommend starting with a 225 wide tire in the front. My 10th anniversary wheels protrude from the front fender wells enough for it to bother me. Or maybe have some back spacing or offset removed from your stock Cobra wheels to get them to tuck. Right now on mine they rub the fenders when the front suspension is compressed. I would also recommend after doing all the bushings in the suspension, some high quality shocks and struts and springs to match. It makes the car feel and ride solid. It will feel like a whole new car. My next objective will be a solid steering shaft. Shafts with rag joints in them will always feel like a tuna boat when trying to steer because of that.

If this car will be a daily driver, work on things that will improve the feedback you feel when operate the vehicle. Every little thing you do will add to the good feeling you get when driving the car. For example, one of the best things I ever did to my fox was ripping out the factory clutch quadrant and garbage adjustable clutch cable that my car came with. It drove like a whole new car when I replaced the clutch cable with an OEM Ford piece and installed a quadrant and firewall adjuster from Maximum Motorsports. Also one thing not to be overlooked is the shifter and the length of handle. I first worked on making the car the most comfortable for me to interact with it, and installed parts that I knew would give me positive feedback while driving it. Good luck with your build man, and if you have any questions about how to do stuff to these cars, feel free to send me a PM, I may be able to help you out.

Richie
Thanks for all the info! From what I've read my cobra wheels should be good as long as I use the stock 94-95 spindles. The clutch is certianly something I plan on addressing. What struts did you use?
 

crazycarlo

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My car didn't have a sway bar when I bought it. So I found one and replaced the bushings with poly ones and went with poly end links. It made the car feel so much better. Also I plan on using the MM should rack bushings for my car. I hear they make a big difference.

Good luck with your build man.
 

SOVACobra03

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My car didn't have a sway bar when I bought it. So I found one and replaced the bushings with poly ones and went with poly end links. It made the car feel so much better. Also I plan on using the MM should rack bushings for my car. I hear they make a big difference.

Good luck with your build man.
My first fox didn't have a sway bar either but thankfully this one does. The poly bushings really make that much difference?
 

SOVACobra03

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Went to get my ac system woes diagnosed and turns out my compressor is probably bad. Of course I have the compressor that is not rebuildable so they are available reman or new. Need to find the brakes for the newer style ac unit and swap that on
 

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