Finding a 427 would be hard to do and very expensive. I do know where there is a good 428 engine core...
Project Cobra
- Thread starter tnt_motorsports
- Start date
The car is intended to have a SBF, so the 427 will be a 351W that is bored and stroked. I have yet to decide if it will be a Ford Performance crate engine or another manufacturer. There are several builders that build engines specifically for the FFR Cobra's.
I saw a Cobra at a car show many years ago that had a 427 Chevy in it. Blasphemous!
SBF will turn better than a BB.
I've been plugging away in the garage the last couple nights for a few minutes on fuel lines. I have them completed from the fuel tank to the firewall. I will leave them as is until I figure out engine and the fuel system for the motor.
I know a guy who put a KB 426 Hemi (actual displacement over 550 ci) in his kit Cobra. It's peppy.
Heavy brother
With the Al block, heads, and fully dressed as installed, it's about 550 lbs. Much lighter than a cast iron Elephant. It's in the ballpark weight wise of a 351W.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
I bet that's a handful!
What does KB mean?
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Keith Black.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Yep. Aluminum Chrysler 426 Hemi street block, with a dry sump oil pan, and sprinkled with lots of fuel racing-based parts, as the owner is a former teammate, who built short blocks for DSR (Don Schumacher Racing). It took some fabrication to get it in place.
It's sacrilege. It's also awesome.
You do realize that if Carroll had been able to have his first choice for the Cobra power plant, it would have had a Chevy powerplant, right?
Carroll Shelby approached Chevrolet first, with his proposal for the AC Cobra concept. Chevrolet turned him down because they had the Corvette. Ford was Carroll's second choice. And the rest is history. Well, actually, all of this is also history.
A friend is installing a very well prepped 347 stroker Ford SB with the Weber downdraft setup in his (ERA brand) FIA Cobra kit. Even with the smaller Weber venturi configuration (34mm?) he made over 500HP on the engine dyno.
Having driven a number of these cars in years past, I'd say that 500HP at the flywheel is about the upper limit sweet spot for tire smoking goodness. First and second gear are likely to be pretty much useless on the street. Third will spin the tires in the middle RPM range, stab the gas at 60 and on the street, they will probably spin, which is kind of fun. Really sticky tires are an absolute must with 500HP, 2300 pound RWD cars.
Just a note about tires. If you are doing the big HP thing, purchase fresh ultra sticky tires the day before you are ready to drive it. When I worked for the race car guys way back when, I've driven these things on road racing slicks, mostly for test-n-tune outside the shop. I've never raced one. They grip nicely once fully warmed up and can handle 500HP on the track. But even then driving around the industrial park on cold slicks is a really fun exercise in sliding around.
Edit to add: I've also driven a friends Factory Five Cobra kit with a Ford Motorsport HO crate 351W engine. It was rated at 385HP, and never came near that. I think the best he was able to get was just under 300HP on the chassis dyno. Dual plane manifold, Holly 600 with vacuum secondaries. I will admit that the car had plenty of torque and was very fun on the street, but it truly fell short in the HP department. The engine would sign off just about the time you wanted it to come alive. It did not 'rip' the tires loose. In fact, just driving it in his neighborhood, 2nd gear had 100% traction.
Having driven a number of these cars in years past, I'd say that 500HP at the flywheel is about the upper limit sweet spot for tire smoking goodness. First and second gear are likely to be pretty much useless on the street. Third will spin the tires in the middle RPM range, stab the gas at 60 and on the street, they will probably spin, which is kind of fun. Really sticky tires are an absolute must with 500HP, 2300 pound RWD cars.
Just a note about tires. If you are doing the big HP thing, purchase fresh ultra sticky tires the day before you are ready to drive it. When I worked for the race car guys way back when, I've driven these things on road racing slicks, mostly for test-n-tune outside the shop. I've never raced one. They grip nicely once fully warmed up and can handle 500HP on the track. But even then driving around the industrial park on cold slicks is a really fun exercise in sliding around.
Edit to add: I've also driven a friends Factory Five Cobra kit with a Ford Motorsport HO crate 351W engine. It was rated at 385HP, and never came near that. I think the best he was able to get was just under 300HP on the chassis dyno. Dual plane manifold, Holly 600 with vacuum secondaries. I will admit that the car had plenty of torque and was very fun on the street, but it truly fell short in the HP department. The engine would sign off just about the time you wanted it to come alive. It did not 'rip' the tires loose. In fact, just driving it in his neighborhood, 2nd gear had 100% traction.
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Another productive weekend in the garage. I managed to paint and install the interior sheetmetal, I routed and clamped the fuel tank vent hose and started on the harness install. I have the fuse box installed and the front harness roughed in. It is coming along nicely.
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