88 Mustang Cobra SVT - Tribute Build

[egress]

This build will be a tribute to my 99 Cobra SVT which I wrecked. In less than two weeks after I got it...







So yeah, she's my donor car.




and here is my 88 Coupe which will receive the swap over.




To Do List: (Updated 8/21/2013)
[X]Pull 5.0 engine & T5 and sell
[X]Pull Cobra heart
[85%]Pull Fox Interior
[80%]Repair / Weld Frame + Reinforcements
[5%]Transfer brake and fuel lines
[]Transfer suspension
[]K Member and Coilovers
[]Fit SN95 Dash
[]Fit SN95 locks
[]Fit SN95 door panels
[]Grill Delete

 

[Svt Fox]

Fuck the car!!! I don't know you but, I am glad to hear that you're ok!

 

[ponyboy89lx]

DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yeah glad to hear your ok. On a plus note the coupe car looks great it will be a nice one when completed.

 

[Zvines1290]

yea how are you bro? it looks smashed glade your ok!! and the fox is gonna be sick once its complete!!

 

[Bill]

The whole wreck thing sucks, but the Fox will be bad ass when you're done.

 

[egress]

EDIT: Thanks everyone for asking how I am. I am alive and kicking aint I? Just really really lucky. The top was down, no roll bar.

So by the time I made the thread, I already have had both engines pulled. Just never updated it. Sorry. But here I am.




So, looking at the Fox frame, it has obviously been hit before, and "repaired." Everything in front of the strut towers has been replaced with exception of the frame rails. The core support and fender aprons have been replaced, most likely from a donor car. The repair was shady as hell, everything was welded together at the seams, not spot welded, and then had some bondo and caulk caked over it.
This thing has been put on the frame machine probably because the passenger side frame rail has been bent before, but bent back outwards, and is straight. That is not my concern here.

The DRIVER's side is my concern. At first glance, it doesn't look that bad. But then again, it had layers and layers of bondo and caulk.





Then I chipped off all the shit on it, and it came off in layers. Ground it down to bare metal and such.







That was after I sort of welded in a reinforcement plate to the side. I know, its horrible. I only have a flux welder and this is the first time I ever welded anything, was on this car frame. I also welded up the core support to the frame rail, or added more welds since It seems like there wasn't enough.



I don't know if you can tell in the photos, but the frame rail is pretty bad.

I don't know if I should replace the whole rail, or just cut out the metal where the bad part is here:



So I was wondering, what do you guys think? I'm no expert welder so I'm obviously going to have someone else come and do this job for me. I don't have a whole lot of money to spend either. It drove straight when I had it, no noticable pulling or vibrations. Its just the frame rail is completely mangeled there.

Also, I hope to have the rear end pulled this weekend, with the brake lines and such out.

 

[Bill]

Dude! That really does blow. If it were mine, I would rather stretch the project out a bit and fix it than wonder what is going to happen to that 320 rwhp when it twists and/or cracks that frame.

 

[egress]

Dude! That really does blow. If it were mine, I would rather stretch the project out a bit and fix it than wonder what is going to happen to that 320 rwhp when it twists and/or cracks that frame.

Yeah, that's what I've been thinking. Plus I'm planning on long tubes + full exhaust for max gain. I'll see what I can get done to it.

 

[whiteponygt]

I had the same problem with my car the core and frame was bent, no where near as bad as urs but i agree id have that fixed before i even get started, i had a local shop straighten my frame and weld on the new aprons and core support for 300 and that was cutting the old one off. But thats here in VA

 

[egress]

I can't afford to get this thing welded nor do I really know anyone who can do it for me without it having being towed to their place.

I've been thinking of grinding certain spots flat, and filling up the gaps with some thin metal and then welding a L shaped metal over the hole and call it a day...

Like so...

Grind the circle spots flat



And weld like so



Temporarily of course, just to get on with the project. School starts in under a month and I want to get whatever I can done out of the way first.

 

[Svt Fox]

By the legit pieces you need, and do it right the first time. In the future, you will be glad that you did.

It seems now a days, people will judge your the execution of your project/swap as much as they judge the power it makes.

At the end of the day, you've already been in one accident with a car that wasn't fucker-balled like this one.. You don't want to take chances with structural integrity.

 

[egress]

I don't think my 90A welder will make it stick is the main issue. I do have a complete parts car sitting in the driveway still (The Cobra carcass) because I have yet to take off the suspension, brake and fuel lines. Thats this weekend.

I'll take it over with my friend and see what he thinks.

 

[Svt Fox]

I don't think my 90A welder will make it stick is the main issue. I do have a complete parts car sitting in the driveway still (The Cobra carcass) because I have yet to take off the suspension, brake and fuel lines. Thats this weekend.

I'll take it over with my friend and see what he thinks.

What's to stop you from swapping the firewall, frame rails, strut towers, fender aprons, core support from the cobra and swapping it over to the fox?

Provided they aren't damaged from the Ace Ventura.

 

[egress]

My welder, and my welding skills. I don't know anyone who can weld, one of my buddies has the same welder, says my welds are actually better.

The Cobra firewall has the steering column bearing surround I need, I have that cut out. The frame rails are damaged from the accident as well. Everything is shifted slightly towards the passenger side, impact was on drivers side. I could cut out small section of the frame rail and cut it to fit the damaged portion of the Foxbody frame rail, but I have no idea if it will hold or not with my 90A. I mean I could honestly TRY but I don't want to mess it up even more and compromise what little structural integrity I have left.

EDIT: See, I have confidence in welding in the steering column bearing because it's not something structural and the firewall isn't thick. It only takes a few spot welds to hold that in place and I can manage fine with my welder. If someone tells me that a 90A Flux Core welder will HOLD the repair piece in place SECURELY, I'll definitely give it a try.

 

[Svt Fox]

My advice based on the information you provided. Part the fox out, scrap the rest. Take the money and find a nice clean 4 cylinder fox that you could swap your drivetrain into.

 

[egress]

That's one option, but I'm too far vested in the Fox to scrap it yet. I'll cut off the portio of the Cobra frame, and weld it back on for practice. See how that goes, then I'll decide what to do from there. School starts very very soon, which means little to no progress since I'll be away from home. I'm not going to give up that easily, just going to give it a practice try.

 

[Bill]

Yeah, that's what I've been thinking. Plus I'm planning on long tubes + full exhaust for max gain. I'll see what I can get done to it.

Based on what you are planning to do, I would say get the proper replacement parts, use your welder to tack them into the right place and have an experienced guy do up the welding . Doing it right will make a lot of difference in your enjoyment of the car once finished.

 

[egress]

Based on what you are planning to do, I would say get the proper replacement parts, use your welder to tack them into the right place and have an experienced guy do up the welding . Doing it right will make a lot of difference in your enjoyment of the car once finished.

That is also another excellent idea.

Would you define "proper" as gutting the Cobra frame rail and welding it in?

The front frame rails wouldn't be considered a "high stress area" would it?

 

[egress]

Okay, after consulting multiple people, I'm going to go through with this repair myself.

Reasoning for this if you care to hear, it is not really a high stressed area that I am replacing. I do not plan to replace the whole frame rail, only the damaged portion. The K member mounts behind it, plus I'm not going to cut where the K member mounts. I'm just going to cut the side of it, while leaving the top and bottom portion attached. Then I'm only going to replace from that section all the way up to the strut bar mount. So this is about only roughly 3 or 4 inches of frame rail I'm replacing. The frame thickness is only about 1/8th of an inch, which means my 90A can MIG weld it and have it hold strong. If I also weld it correctly, I would not need to take it to be professionally welded. Plus it is not a stressed area to begin with, only to act as cushion in an accident, and to hold up the core support. However, anything behind what I'm replacing is a stressed area because of where the K member mounts. In addition, I can just weld in a little extra reinforcement on top and bottom of the frame rails for the peace of mind, adding more cushion strength to the deformed rail bars as is.

Aside from the wall of text explaining my plan,

I got some used camber plates for $40, all surface rust.
UPR Coilover kit, 175lb rate springs
Team Z Motorsports 4.6L Foxbody K-Member







I'm impressed with the finish on the K member. Looks to be top notch stuff.
The coilover kit seems to have thin aluminum threads, we'll see if those hold up.
The camber plates are Global West, seems to be less popular brand, and less adjustability too. Oh well only $40.

Anybody have any experience with the stuff I just bought?

 

[Bill]

Good luck with it. I will enjoy watching