Progress Thread 95 2-Top Cobra Build Thread- Never ending

[WhiteCobra95]

Oh man! I sincerely hope that distributor does the trick for you. If that one doesn't do it, I don't know what I'm going do when I need one!

One other option: Have you looked for a DU50 replacement PIP? I think that was the official Motorcraft part number, but I'm not 100% sure. If they haven't gone all Chinese on those, you might be able to pick one up and swap the Ford PIP into one of your failed distributors to get going again.

Thanks for the updates and best of luck!

 

[Essn95]

New Performance Distributors unit installed! Got the timing dialed in and verified 10° base and she runs great! Still need to organize the plug wires but was losing daylight so just threw it all together.

 

[Essn95]

First drive today and WOW. I was definitely leaving a lot on the table with the cheaper distributors. The car feels much stronger throughout the entire power band, and the drivability cleaned up a little bit as well. The car overall feels fantastic. Super happy with this purchase, and the quality of the unit speaks for itself. Reliability and longevity will be the next test.

 

[Essn95]

Some pics now that’s she’s all cleaned up and back on the road

 

[General karthief]

Man, I like those wheels

 

[2Blue2]

Lookin so good!

 

[Essn95]

Oh man! I sincerely hope that distributor does the trick for you. If that one doesn't do it, I don't know what I'm going do when I need one!

One other option: Have you looked for a DU50 replacement PIP? I think that was the official Motorcraft part number, but I'm not 100% sure. If they haven't gone all Chinese on those, you might be able to pick one up and swap the Ford PIP into one of your failed distributors to get going again.

Thanks for the updates and best of luck!

I do think I’ll do this just to have as a backup! My dad has a 94 Cobra he doesn’t drive often so even if I never use it on my car, it’s probably a good idea to have a rebuilt OEM on hand while parts are available! I bought an extra OEM distributor to have while they’re still cheap

 

[WhiteCobra95]

Thanks for posting the pictures of the new distributor. It's always good to see a high(er) dollar part like that in person instead of just the website photos. That looks like a quality part. Hopefully the electronics will live up to it's appearance and reputation. I especially like that they provide what looks like their own lower cap along with it.

I really hope this does the trick for you so that you can move on to bigger / better things on your car (like smaller pulleys).

I've been through a similar experience with parts store electronics, and I'm about done taking chances with their garbage. I wish I would have stocked up on more original Ford or Motorcraft parts when they were cheap. (I've already used up all of the 351 roller cam distributors that I had stocked up on for friends' conversions, and now I don't have any spares left for myself if I ever go that route in the future!)

The engine compartment looks really good. I see how you located the MSD in the original air box spot. Very clean! It's not easy to find extra space in SN95 engine compartments.

One suggestion I can make for long term durability would be to replace the spade terminals with something like a weather-pack connector and get some wire loom around those wires. The only down-side to weather-pack connectors is that you need good crimping irons to get the terminals on correctly.

Are you still running the factory TFI module along with the MDS? I need to read up on the newer digital MSD boxes to see how they get wired.

 

[Essn95]

Thanks for posting the pictures of the new distributor. It's always good to see a high(er) dollar part like that in person instead of just the website photos. That looks like a quality part. Hopefully the electronics will live up to it's appearance and reputation. I especially like that they provide what looks like their own lower cap along with it.

I really hope this does the trick for you so that you can move on to bigger / better things on your car (like smaller pulleys).

I've been through a similar experience with parts store electronics, and I'm about done taking chances with their garbage. I wish I would have stocked up on more original Ford or Motorcraft parts when they were cheap. (I've already used up all of the 351 roller cam distributors that I had stocked up on for friends' conversions, and now I don't have any spares left for myself if I ever go that route in the future!)

The engine compartment looks really good. I see how you located the MSD in the original air box spot. Very clean! It's not easy to find extra space in SN95 engine compartments.

One suggestion I can make for long term durability would be to replace the spade terminals with something like a weather-pack connector and get some wire loom around those wires. The only down-side to weather-pack connectors is that you need good crimping irons to get the terminals on correctly.

Are you still running the factory TFI module along with the MDS? I need to read up on the newer digital MSD boxes to see how they get wired.

Thank you! It’s always a snowball effect as smaller pulleys would very quickly turn into a new block lol! Currently making 14 PSI on my current pulley setup.

I’m very happy with the spot for the MSD and honestly, it’s all I could really fit it without drilling holes or making it an eyesore. I definitely agree with you and I would like to clean up the wiring for the MSD. I plan on soldering up a nice clean and loomed harness this winter once classes are over. At the time, I just needed to throw it in to see if it even fixed my spark blowout issue, and it sure did.

I am still running a replacement Motorcraft TFI. I used the MSD harness to plug into the coil with the spades and then all you have to do is run power and ground to the ignition box. Super easy 5min install and reversible in case the box fails on the side of the road.

 

[Essn95]

Maintenance day! I only managed to put on 2600 miles this year, due to the car being down for several months this year. However it’s been a year since last oil change so I went ahead and did it anyway. Fresh 5W-30 and changed the blower oil as well. Hardly any mileage on both fluids at only 2600 but cheap insurance.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

Holy cow! 14 psi is pretty stout - that's awesome!

Thanks for the info on the MSD setup. I will definitely consider that when I finally get into my big engine upgrades.

How do you fit the FL1A filter? I've been running the shorter FL300 due to the factory oil-to-water cooler. I've never tried an FL1A to see if it fits, but it seems really tight with the space the heat exchanger takes up.

 

[Essn95]

Holy cow! 14 psi is pretty stout - that's awesome!

Thanks for the info on the MSD setup. I will definitely consider that when I finally get into my big engine upgrades.

How do you fit the FL1A filter? I've been running the shorter FL300 due to the factory oil-to-water cooler. I've never tried an FL1A to see if it fits, but it seems really tight with the space the heat exchanger takes up.

I’m pretty impressed with the boost this setup makes! I didn’t think it would make that much honestly when I pieced together my setup. I considered turning it down, but it’s at a good power level and I keep RPM down and a nice fat tuneup to keep her safe.

i deleted the Cobra oil cooler when installing the vortech last year, it cleared up the engine bay and allowed me to run the bigger FL-1A which I felt was more important than the minimal performance the oil cooler provides.

 

[Essn95]

Nothing crazy, but I went over to a double din head unit to replace the floating touchscreen. I think it’s much cleaner and doesn’t get in the way as much. I also replaced the lower door speakers and am very happy with the audio quality now. I think I want to repaint the Metra trim to be black rather than charcoal but we will see

 

[Essn95]

No new updates, just driving the car basically daily. She’s running real strong in this cooler FL weather. Got some pure methanol from a local speed shop and decided to try mixing my own ratio as I couldn’t find winder washer fluid this year. I went for 70/30 water to meth by weight. Should keep the tune spot on as the washer fluid was about 30-33%. I added a drop of food coloring just so it’s easier to check the level with a quick peek

 

[KZGUNS]

I know this is probably cheaper but i just run boost juice for the consistency of it. I may try mixing my own this summer though.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

The stereo upgrade looks really good! The addition of the backup camera really brings it into this current decade!

I've been considering doing something similar, mainly to add hands-free cell phone capability while crusiing due to a new law in MI where you can't even touch a cell phone when driving.

What speakers did you go with and are you running the stock amps? I've looked into speaker upgrades before and it seems pretty tricky with the strange specs used from the factory for the Mach460.

I swapped my head unit a long time ago to add MP3 capability, but I'm still running the stock amps and speakers. The head unit was a great upgrade over factory radio in terms of functionality, cleanliness, and a boost in audio quality. The stock components in my system still work, but you can definitely tell the speaker's age based on the lack of fidelity and sub-par sound quality by today's standards. Even if I keep my current head-unit, I need to do something to improve the sound. This is where I'm not sure if I'm better off upgrading the speakers alone with the stock amps, or just ripping everything out and doing it all from scratch. Even if I switch to aftermarket amps and speakers, it would be nice to maintain the factory wiring to each speaker (in case I ever want to convert back to stock), but I'm not sure if that's possible based on some of the funky things that were done from the factory with this system. I haven't found any good resources online for setting up aftermarket components with the factory wiring. Metra sells some amp bypass harnesses which could work, but they are specified to cover so many different Ford vehicles and model years that I'm doubtful they will actually work for March460 wiring which really seems to be a one-off setup. I might have to just remove the factory amps and try to pin it all out manually to see if it's possible. This is another area where I'm hoping for a plug-and-play solution for simplicity. Even if I have to drop in external power lines to aftermarket amps, retaining the factory speaker wiring and amp on/off wires would make it whole lot easier.

 

[Essn95]

The stereo upgrade looks really good! The addition of the backup camera really brings it into this current decade!

I've been considering doing something similar, mainly to add hands-free cell phone capability while crusiing due to a new law in MI where you can't even touch a cell phone when driving.

What speakers did you go with and are you running the stock amps? I've looked into speaker upgrades before and it seems pretty tricky with the strange specs used from the factory for the Mach460.

I swapped my head unit a long time ago to add MP3 capability, but I'm still running the stock amps and speakers. The head unit was a great upgrade over factory radio in terms of functionality, cleanliness, and a boost in audio quality. The stock components in my system still work, but you can definitely tell the speaker's age based on the lack of fidelity and sub-par sound quality by today's standards. Even if I keep my current head-unit, I need to do something to improve the sound. This is where I'm not sure if I'm better off upgrading the speakers alone with the stock amps, or just ripping everything out and doing it all from scratch. Even if I switch to aftermarket amps and speakers, it would be nice to maintain the factory wiring to each speaker (in case I ever want to convert back to stock), but I'm not sure if that's possible based on some of the funky things that were done from the factory with this system. I haven't found any good resources online for setting up aftermarket components with the factory wiring. Metra sells some amp bypass harnesses which could work, but they are specified to cover so many different Ford vehicles and model years that I'm doubtful they will actually work for March460 wiring which really seems to be a one-off setup. I might have to just remove the factory amps and try to pin it all out manually to see if it's possible. This is another area where I'm hoping for a plug-and-play solution for simplicity. Even if I have to drop in external power lines to aftermarket amps, retaining the factory speaker wiring and amp on/off wires would make it whole lot easier.

I went with the Kenwood KFC-C6866S. Nothing crazy, but a very budget friendly speaker setup. I am happy with the sound quality, sounds far better than the previous setup when paired with the Kenwood Excelon head unit. As far as harness, I used the Metra 70-5510 and soldered it up to the provided harness with the Kenwood head unit. Everything was soldered and finished with heat shrink, which was a big improvement from the poor wiring job I did before when I was younger. If you are looking to do this on your car, I have an extra set of this metra harness and the speaker harness so that you won't need to cut or splice into any factory wires, making it completely reversible that you can have.