Do your research on racing seats, mounts, and rails. Primarily the mounts I think. Many of them will inadvertently place the bottom of the seat higher than stock on most cars. Low profile slider rails are not the hardest to find I don't think.
Sparco, for example, makes a 'regular' and a 'Low' mount for the 350Z. It came with a Megan mount that was higher than stock. Fine for us, barely, but we have a Sparco Low waiting to go in. Should gain us 1.5" of vertical clearance.
I actually find the research portion of this kind of stuff to be really enjoyable. Though most of everything I know is BMW related so I have to find my bearings in the SN95 world before I start writing checks.
Ugh. Ain't it the truth. I would love to gain some vertical space in the XR and Saab, but the cars are so narrow that I can't find a rail that results in a lower seating surface. I've seen some custom rails, and that's probably how I'll have to go. Nobody makes specialty ones, and the universal ones that work result in an equal-or-greater seat height.Originally Posted by CudaMan
This is local and twice what I want to spend, but boy does it feel like a cheat code: http://www.goodcarsltd.com/2001_Ford..._265339142.veh
Datapoint:
2002 Ford Mustang GT - $5200 (Cleveland Ohio)
2002 Mustang gt 5spd - $3850 (stahlstown)
1998 Ford Mustang GT - $2500
2V's are cheap and available.
Last edited by novicius; January 23rd, 2017 at 10:09 AM.
What about this? http://www.1stqualityautomall.com/in...S-Tallmadge-OH
It's obviously not the 5.0, but for that price I wonder if it's worth going to kick the tires on. Is the factory Cobra SVT stuff worth using as a starting point or does it not really matter because I'm going to be replacing everything anyway (suspension)?
The '96-'98 SVT Cobras have the magical and highly desirable Teksid aluminum 4V V8 blocks.
The motor will handle as much as your wallet can throw at it. It's a great platform."According to Ken Miele, those blocks are cast in Carmagnola Italy by Teksid. They are owned by Fiat, who also owns Ferrari. They cast all the Ferrari blocks as well. He claims with proper rods and pistons the block will easily handle 1000 HP."
"Go and read the Al Papitto interview in the January '08 edition of 'Muscle Mustangs'. It will shed some light on the subject. He states that the Teksid blocks, made from '92-'99, are the most desirable, but he has had no trouble with the later blocks. He also states that the aluminum blocks are better than even the '03-'04 Terminator blocks because of their four-bolt mains and can support more horsepower than the two-bolt main cap Terminator block."
That said, it's a Cobra, it'll eat money. Also that Redfire paint looks almost as ugly as yellow after 20 years in the sun.
EDIT: How to identify a Teksid block:
Teksid & WAP are two different types of 4V aluminum blocks. WAP are Windsor blocks, not as tough or desirable as the Teksids."If you are facing your engine and you look to the left of your alternator and underneath the intake manifold, with a flashlight, you will see either a square pattern or a diamond pattern inside the intake valley. If they are square you have a teksid, if they are diamond then you have a WAP. Technically speaking both the teskid and WAP have only 4 bolt mains with a jack screw on each side starting from outside the block for a total of 6 bolts."
"The teksids have jack screws and side bolts. the WAP's only have side bolts."
Last edited by novicius; January 24th, 2017 at 03:44 AM.
What does this mean? Like, if a piston shoots through the block and I need to order a new crate motor it will cost me 2x the value of the car? Or everytime I need a new set of pads I'll have to refi the mortgage?
I don't think I would bother modifying a motor that's already making 300hp. My main interest really is in braking and suspension. I'm sure a 100k mile motor will need some refreshing, though.
Yeah. That's cosmetic though, doesn't really matter. If it bothered me enough I'd either respray it or just get it vinyl wrapped.Also that Redfire paint looks almost as ugly as yellow after 20 years in the sun.
I was reading the Wiki about the Teksid block. Sometimes I don't know how valid that kind of stuff is. I mean, the Daytona IROC R/T had "ZOMG HEADS BY LOTUS!!!!111one" and that really meant dick. So thanks for clearing that up for me. That Cobra is only two hours away so I might zip up there Saturday. I was only expanding my search to see if there was a local one I could sit in and get an idea about the ergonomics before driving some outrageous distance for a car as I'm prone to do.
It means that everything associate with the motor/drivetrain is marked up because "ZOMG KOBRAAA!!"Upside is that that Cobra DOES come with better brakes, so there's that to consider. The T-45 is a precursor to the T-56, just gotta watch for the 3-4 fork replacement if needed.
But if peak power isn't a need (and I personally don't think it is), I don't think the Cobras/4Vs in general are a good buy. 2V is cheaper across the board for both buy-in and parts, and especially with an '99-'04 New Edge GT you're gonna get similar performance without the price premium attached to everything.
Ultimately all OEM Mustangs are slower than the almighty LS1 so why throw money away at a specialty car? #shrug
My understanding (probably wrong) is that the Cobra suspension setups are completely different than the GT setups, and for the better. The reason I would pay $6k for that Cobra SVT instead of $3-4k for a GT would be to raise the foundation from which I would start suspension modifications from. I could be confusing the Cobra SVT with one of the eleventy-five billion Mustang variants though, including the SVT Cobra R. I know that the Roush I linked to has a legitimately upgraded suspension from the GT.
TL;DR: I think the Cobra SVT is a shortcut through the most basic suspension upgrades but I'm not sure.
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