93 Cobra Longblock?

[JGT]

I work at a Ford dealership and I was just curious today, so I looked up a longblock for a 93 cobra. Suprisingly I can still get one. It would be like $1700 with my discount and it would come with the Ford 3/36 warranty. Would it be a good base for a mild daily driven car? I want something that will be reliable and that I can throw a little boost to in a few years. I'm not looking for huge numbers, but obviously I do want to go fast.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Well i think for that price you might be able to get something from DSS or CHP (maybe just a teeny bit more) so that all depends on what you want. I personally like OEM quality...i've seen a lot of aftermarket engines go out quick whereas i've seen a lot of OEM engines take a beating and keep on rockin. But, for the money spent you can probably have a better engine than what you'll get with the Cobra engine, since essentially all you're buying is a stock 302 with GT40P heads and a crappy cam in it which you would be better off swapping out anyways.

There's a couple ways you could look at this...you could get Thumper heads for what, $600 or so? I'm pretty sure they'll out perform P heads so if you have a 302 already you can swap them on and even with a stock 302 cam (not the Cobra cam) you'll probably be making more power than a Cobra engine does, even with its 1.7 rockers. Get a cam and intake and you'll be way better off than the Cobra engine.

Or, spend that money on a 347 short block and throw on some E7s. Yeah, there's gonna be some on here who say that's retarded, but 42 extra cubes is 42 extra cubes, not to mention the added compression you'll probably get. Obviously the E7s aren't the ideal head for a stroker and they WILL choke it, but it'll still scream and make tons more power than a stock 302 and then down the road you can get better heads when the funds are there.

 

[88-378]

Thats a great deal. the only thing i would do if you plan on boosting it is to put forged pistons in it.

 

[JGT]

Well i think for that price you might be able to get something from DSS or CHP (maybe just a teeny bit more) so that all depends on what you want. I personally like OEM quality...i've seen a lot of aftermarket engines go out quick whereas i've seen a lot of OEM engines take a beating and keep on rockin. But, for the money spent you can probably have a better engine than what you'll get with the Cobra engine, since essentially all you're buying is a stock 302 with GT40P heads and a crappy cam in it which you would be better off swapping out anyways.

There's a couple ways you could look at this...you could get Thumper heads for what, $600 or so? I'm pretty sure they'll out perform P heads so if you have a 302 already you can swap them on and even with a stock 302 cam (not the Cobra cam) you'll probably be making more power than a Cobra engine does, even with its 1.7 rockers. Get a cam and intake and you'll be way better off than the Cobra engine.

Or, spend that money on a 347 short block and throw on some E7s. Yeah, there's gonna be some on here who say that's retarded, but 42 extra cubes is 42 extra cubes, not to mention the added compression you'll probably get. Obviously the E7s aren't the ideal head for a stroker and they WILL choke it, but it'll still scream and make tons more power than a stock 302 and then down the road you can get better heads when the funds are there.

I love OEM parts and their warranties. I had been playing around with the CHP or DSS idea in my head, but I just end up back at my first sentence. That's why this is so appealing to me. If I was looking for bigger numbers I would go for an aftermarket custom build.
I was wondering about the cam, springs, and rockers. The car has to pass state inspection...
My mustang is burning some oil and has a leaky rear main seal. That's why I was thinking of doing this.

 

[JGT]

Thats a great deal. the only thing i would do if you plan on boosting it is to put forged pistons in it.

Do I need forged pistons for a lightly boosted engine?

 

[88-378]

You can get by with 5-6lbs. anything more i would put in forged pistons.

If you work at a dealer, check out some of the crate engines too. i would rather have aluminum heads than the iron GT40's on the Cobra.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I'm not entirely sure if the Cobra engine comes with 1.7 rockers...i would imagine it should since the car did, but you never know about Ford and their catalogs. It may just be an Explorer 302...

Speaking of which...you may wanna check the price on one of those as well. The block and heads are the same as the Cobra. If you could get it for a few hundred cheaper since it's not tagged with "Cobra" to make it sound expensive...i'd go with that and just find a cam for it.

 

[JGT]

You can get by with 5-6lbs. anything more i would put in forged pistons.

If you work at a dealer, check out some of the crate engines too. i would rather have aluminum heads than the iron GT40's on the Cobra.

We don't order much of anything from Ford Racing, so we don't get much of a discount at all.

 

[JGT]

I'm not entirely sure if the Cobra engine comes with 1.7 rockers...i would imagine it should since the car did, but you never know about Ford and their catalogs. It may just be an Explorer 302...

Speaking of which...you may wanna check the price on one of those as well. The block and heads are the same as the Cobra. If you could get it for a few hundred cheaper since it's not tagged with "Cobra" to make it sound expensive...i'd go with that and just find a cam for it.

I did check that and it's the same price, but they have different part numbers. I was hoping the cam would be decent, but you said it wasn't. It doesn't come with valve covers.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Well there's conflicting opinions on the "Cobra" cam. The specs are identical to the '94 Tbird 302 cam, which was less aggressive and more emissions oriented than the LX/GT cams, as was the computer. They used the 1.7s to try to compensate for it. Still, the Cobra is rated at what, 245hp? And some say that's under rated so take that as you will. I remember people back then were swapping out the cam and ECU for GT cams/ECU's and picking up some power at the wheels. I just think there are TONS of better options out there that'll work awesome with the heads that those engines came with. Practically any of the Ford "alphabet" cams will work great with them and all will be better than the stocker.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Is it truely a '93 Cobra engine....or an explorer mountaineer engine?

Every time i see one of those long-blocks for sale in a mag, it lists it as having the GT-40 heads, but also needing the 5.0 accessory kit to be put into a Mustang.

But when you think about it, a '93 Cobra engine is sort of an explorer engine anyway...and since the last year of the 5.0 was 2000, Ford will most likely carry long blocks for it til 2010 to satisfy the 10-year obligation of suppling parts for discontinued models

 

[FastDriver]

If it comes with a Cobra intake is it the new one or the old one (US version)?

That seems like a very good price, though.

Chris

 

[old_blue]

there is a guy on here named rick that I heard builds decent engines. not sure on his price though.

 

[JGT]

Is it truely a '93 Cobra engine....or an explorer mountaineer engine?

Every time i see one of those long-blocks for sale in a mag, it lists it as having the GT-40 heads, but also needing the 5.0 accessory kit to be put into a Mustang.

But when you think about it, a '93 Cobra engine is sort of an explorer engine anyway...and since the last year of the 5.0 was 2000, Ford will most likely carry long blocks for it til 2010 to satisfy the 10-year obligation of suppling parts for discontinued models

It's a reman 302 short block with gt40 heads, cobra cam, cobra rockers etc. The block and heads may very well be from an explorer, but it doesn't really make a difference.

 

[JGT]

If it comes with a Cobra intake is it the new one or the old one (US version)?

That seems like a very good price, though.

Chris

It is the most naked version of a longblock I've seen. It's a shortblock with head assemblies, front and rear covers, rods, oil pump, and an oil cooler. It doesn't have valve covers, an oil pan, the intakes, or any other extras. They don't make the complete engine assembly anymore.

 

[Rick James]

For 1700 bucks and a warranty you really cant go wrong.Get a ported lower from TMOSS and throw a cam in it and call it a day.And with gears and suspension should be a fun, relaible emissions friendly street car.

 

[89stang1]

For 1700 bucks and a warranty you really cant go wrong.Get a ported lower from TMOSS and throw a cam in it and call it a day.And with gears and suspension should be a fun, relaible emissions friendly street car.

+1 Killer price as long as u not looking for 400HP, hit it with a small shot of juice or a blower with just 5 or 6 pounds of boost and u got one helluva fun motor for one helluva cheap price DO IT!

 

[JGT]

Can I use my A9L computer?

 

[90lxcoupe]

Do I need forged pistons for a lightly boosted engine?

you could probly get away with 10 psi on hyper pistons, when it comes right down to it, i forged piston is not invincivble. if you dont have a good tune and you run into detonation, you are going to either pop a head gasket, or burn up a piston... forged or not

the motor sounds like a good deal, but if it was me i'd go with aluminum heads. they are going to make more power, and shave alot of weight off of the front end.