LaserSVT 2003 Cobra Progress thread

For the diff cover brace, the IRS does not have to come out. You only have to take the cat-back off, which is just 2 bolts per side (Oh and use WD-40 for the rubber exhaust hangaers, it makes it a LOT easier to remove and reinstall), the lower shock bolts on both sides, and the IRS bolts on each side. The the IRS will just lower down so you can work on it.

The Nitto's should be just fine. I wouldn't buy the MT's until the Nitto's are gone.

New stuff is actually easier than the old stuff. Everything comes off much easier.

For the coolant, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ONLY USING WHAT FORD PUT IN IT FROM THE FACTORY!!!!! I would go to Ford and buy some. I have a really easy way to flush the heat exchanger system so just PM me your phone number and I will walk you through it.

Just the catback is no big deal. The guy just had flowmaster muffs and Bassani tails put on in 2007, so it should come right off. WD40 FTW!!! I use that on all the rubber hangers and they slide right on and off. I can never get them without it. I plan on doing the Nitto's for sure. I would LOVE to buy replicas and 315's but I shouldn't do that. There is other stuff I want to buy first, and I just think spending the $700 (roughly) that that would cost me, would be silly right now. I'm gonna try the Nitto's like you are saying and go from there.

Yeah, new stuff is easier, because it actually comes apart! :D I just get weird about it sometimes, fearing something will happen that I can't fix.

I agree about the factory coolant. It's Fords gold stuff. I swear I've seen it at
Murrays. The jug said "FORD vehicles only". If they don't have it, I will go to the dealer for sure. I know Murrays has Ford Motorcraft oil that I couldn't find anywhere else when I had my leased 2004 F150 back in '04. I'll take you up on the PMing phone number deal. Thanks a lot. I'm on Stangnet all the time. I haven't seen you on much, until I stepped into 4.6L Talk. I'm gonna pop in here every now and then.


Crap, didnt know it took special coolant for the intercooler. I gotta call my shop and ask what they put inside. I thought these big cooler boxes we have could hold ice. Isnt that why they have that big ass cap?

Well, you might want to check and see what you have in your car. I read on the FAQ Terminator site that early 2003 Cobras had green coolant and then mid yearish, they swapped to the gold and then all 2004 Cobras had the "gold" coolant. If I were you, I would just put in there what came out. I know for a fact that people who have mixed green coolant with GM's Dexcool had problems later. The chemical reaction usually blew out there plastic tanks on the radiator.


(BTW...NEVER use GM's Dex-cool (orange coolant) GM has tons of problems with it. It says it's good for 5 year/150,000 miles. It's not. It eats away at their gasket materials. My sisters 2001 Monte Carlo which we have owned and maintained since new, needed intake gaskets at 11,000 miles, and again at 33,000 miles. The second time we did that job, the radiator was filled with gummy brown crap. We flushed the block, bought a new water pump, and new radiator and hoses and swapped it for standard green coolant. The car now has 58,000 miles on it and has never had a problem since.)
 
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Well I dropped off the new front wheels and tires so they can move the car to the paint booth today. The rears wont be here till tomorrow. We discovered the passenger side strut was broken so they are ordering a nem Bilstien from Steeda for it today. I may still have the car back by Friday but im not holding my breath.
I believe I sold the wheels though :banana:
A dude works at the rim shop in Dallas saw them and wants them so tomorrow or thursday he will drive down to get them :nice:
I have pics of the new wheel on the car and it looks pretty good IMO. I have to wait till I get home to post them as I dont have my cable for the camera at work. Here are the bad wheels though that I took with the camera phone.
Now I see why the rear tire went flat :(
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So I cant believe i forgot to take a picture of the inter-cooler! :doh: I was starring at it and commenting how much larger it looked but didnt think it was hugely different :shrug: But it didnt look right. I just was looking at old pics of the previous inter-cooler and realized its cause the straps that used to be on the outside edge of the tanks are now 3" from the inside edge :eek: The Afco IC is a good 10-12" longer! It fills the whole lower opening! :banana:
Its subtle and most people will never notice it but damn i think it looks killer :nice:

Anyway, these pics are only teasers as the bumper and side skirts are still off the car.
The tire shop did great work and was very careful with my wheels. The place that has the best balencer in town didnt open for another couple hours so I tried this place when I saw they had a good machine for balencing and for mounting. They did a high speed balence with static weights for only $17 :nice: :banana:
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And my new expansion tank:
BTW, that is a brand new rad support, they matched it all up very nicely IMO.
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good job bill, i was waiting to just see the passanger side fender with the wheel:p

i mean, who cares about the pic of maybe one side of the car right? where we can see BOTH wheels with a better image. :rolleyes:
As you can see the car is still in pieces. And I said it was just a teaser :shrug:
Since the rear tires havent showed up yet the car has both front wheels on the passenger side and it looks kinda weak with the 9" wheels in the back :(
So you just have to wait till I get her back and clean her up for some nice pictures. You will beg me to stop posting pics by the time I am done! :fuss: :rlaugh:
 
you car would have looked way better without these lame rims.

I would have gotten Epik's FR500 so he could spend bank on rims.

FR's would have looked better
Saleen's would have looked better
Stock would have looked better.

03's cobra rims are so sexy stock they make my car look hotter than 99% of the cars on the road

...if it were me, i would have done chrome saleens
 
you car would have looked way better without these lame rims.

I would have gotten Epik's FR500 so he could spend bank on rims.

FR's would have looked better
Saleen's would have looked better
Stock would have looked better.

03's cobra rims are so sexy stock they make my car look hotter than 99% of the cars on the road

...if it were me, i would have done chrome saleens

First off, it's nice seeing a Mustang with wheels other than the ones you mentioned, since almost everyone has them (not at all knocking anyone who has any of the listed wheels, I'll probably end up with some myself).

Secondly, I LOL'd at the part about your Aero looking hotter than 99% of the cars on the road.

Finally, good stuff Laser. Can't wait to see the final product. :nice: