[prototypepariah]

hi everyone!

Very close to purchasing a triple black 98 vert with 44k.(this owner has had it for 4 years and only put 4-5k on it)This was garaged kept and shelved for winter but will be my daily driver. This is a list of the modifications done to the car.

K&N air filter, Pro-M mass air meter, Summit adjustable shift light,Fidanza aluminum flywheel with larger diamater Ford Racing clutch from the Terminator Cobra's,Steeda adjustable clutch quadrant and cable,TK Racing custom subframe connectors, 4.10 rear gears,Line locs on the front brakes, Russell braided stainless brake hoses front and rear,Cross drilled rotors front and rear,Better than stock brake pads front and rear ( I think I used Hawk if I remember correctly ),Pro 5.0 short throw shifter,Flomaster mufflers.


Okay now for my questions;

A.I'm extremely limited in my mechanic-ship, so I can't look at the car and see if anything is broken...but I drove it for a bit and it feels smooth, no drift, tires are in great shape,no pinging, idle is steady, seems to me to accel fine, brakes insanely well, no rust that I can see anywhere, no pings, dents, oil is clean(also looking inside looked clean as well) - Is there anything I should be looking for, or be worried about going in the near future? This was garaged kept and shelved for winter but will be my daily driver.


B. What type of 1/4 would a average/good driver expect with that set up(if I was driving it would probably get lost:rlaugh I'm not planning on taking it to the track but I'd like to have an idea what's going on.


C. If I buy this car, would getting a tune(perhaps the one with the variable presets) be worth it? or maybe pulleys? What would you do next? Lowering it is also on my radar.

thanks so much for any wisdom you can share!!!

[96cobraMystic]

Well it sounds like the car was taken care of and Touched up a little. Depending on how deep you wanna go the next big bolt on should be a off road H pipe. the pullies are not that much of a gain but i run steeda udp on mine. i run the Hawk stage 3 pads they work well but make a little noise here and there. Also didnt see anything about a CAI if not that needs to be done along with the off road H pipe. Now when you buy the car get the info on the pro-m maf make sure its for your 24lb injectors if not then a tune will be needed. I run the mac 80mm and accufabb full flap TB. its not much of a gain if any down low but lot better throttle response and top end. Also i run the full eibach pro suspension on my car it handles like a go kart but does take some of the fun out of it..

P.S. post pics

[prototypepariah]

It doesn't have a CAI(not the chrome in the feder wall) but it does have a k/n fitler that is opened up in the engine bay. It'd definitely not the stock one.

I don't think the car will pass inspection with an o/r pipe and I have no garage/lift to tinker with it to take the stock one off and on. Is it as easy as getting the bolts off and pulling it off?

[LGHTNG02GT]

the B headed 4v's are relatively good motors. i have one swapped into my GT and love it. the car really shouldnt have many issues, and with just 44k on it, it has plenty of life left in it. they are very fun to drive and are just as dependable. i however wouldnt try to drive the thing in snow of any kind.
if the test drive went good and the price is decent, hey why not pick it up.

in the 1/4 it will most likely go right around a 13.6 or faster at maybe around 105 or so.all this depends on track prep, air temp, and TIRES.

and now for future mods i would do a midpipe of some kind and possibly headers but those take some time/know-how/patients to do. a tune will certainly help and i would consider nothing else other than an SCT XCal3 for that.
skip the pullies on any 4V. (and for very good reason too) unless they have some sort of dampener. the only other thing to do to the B headed motors is a ported short runner intake. this will help tremendously with power (as in a 20rwhp gain can be seen with the right tune) look to spend $500-$750 for that unless you would tackle it on your own.

[96cobraMystic]

lghtngo2gt- why you choose the sct Xcal3? The tune and long tube headers is the olny thing i have left to do is its power increase much greater than the other tuners?

also if you do short runner intake i have a set of b ported heads with flow sheet. will be a great addition to the intake.

car sounds like a good buy i havent owned a convert car yet but would look into some sub frame connectors i hear the older years flex real bad. As for the inspection with o/r h pipe mine would not pass with out a tune so im changing my this weekend inspection on tuesday. but no more changing it in the drive way buddy has a lift now..

[1999cobra92]

if this guy has all those modds on it and its in prestine condition then i wouldnt have any reason to suspect any defects on the car. but as for modds go with some headers, tune, and also take a look at the suspension

[96cobraMystic]

Yeah i told him to look into that first, that was the first modds to my 3rd 1996 cobra full eibach suspension was my first of modds.

[LGHTNG02GT]

Originally Posted by 96cobraMystic lghtng02gt- why you choose the sct Xcal3? The tune and long tube headers is the olny thing i have left to do is its power increase much greater than the other tuners? also if you do short runner intake i have a set of b ported heads with flow sheet. will be a great addition to the intake. car sounds like a good buy i havent owned a convert car yet but would look into some sub frame connectors i hear the older years flex real bad. As for the inspection with o/r h pipe mine would not pass with out a tune so im changing my this weekend inspection on tuesday. but no more changing it in the drive way buddy has a lift now..

i chose the XCal over any other because of 2 reasons. the 1st was that anybody that does any kind of tuning uses SCT. the second reason is because how simple everything is to do/use. datalogging and uploading tunes from your email couldnt be any more simple. very user friendly and i like that about any tech/electronic/computer product like this.
as for power gains i cant comment much because i needed the tune/tuner to make my car run correctly. (i swapped a b head 4v into my 02 GT using the stock GT ECU/wiring.

&&a VERY good mod as you mentioned is sub frame connectors. ESPECIALLY in a 'vert. that should be one of the 1st mods the OP should consider. that and a good set of lower control arms to go along with those.

[prototypepariah]

it has sub frame connectors : )

how complicated it taking the mid pipe off? I would certainly do it asap if it's a simple as getting the car jacked up and taking off a few nuts/bolts(IE very basic tools/time). I won't have access to a lift, or want to go to a shop 2 times a year. It sounds like it can just be taken off and on.

If you use a tuner you can turn off the CEL that will come from putting the O/R pipe on as well? Kinda two mods in one, rather than buying an mil eliminator or running with the light on.


http://www.americanmuscle.com/sct-x3...ash-tuner.html - this is the tuner you're talking about LGHTNG02GT? and is htown havertown?


thanks guys sOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for the advice.

[LGHTNG02GT]

Originally Posted by prototypepariah it has sub frame connectors : ) how complicated it taking the mid pipe off? I would certainly do it asap if it's a simple as getting the car jacked up and taking off a few nuts/bolts(IE very basic tools/time). I won't have access to a lift, or want to go to a shop 2 times a year. It sounds like it can just be taken off and on. If you use a tuner you can turn off the CEL that will come from putting the O/R pipe on as well? Kinda two mods in one, rather than buying an mil eliminator or running with the light on. SCT SF3/X3 Power Flash Mustang Custom Tuner w/ 3 Free Custom Tunes - 3rd Generation SCT XCalibrator - FREE SHIPPING! - this is the tuner you're talking about LGHTNG02GT? and is htown havertown? thanks guys sOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for the advice.

good deal on the subframes. you deff. want those, wish i did mine sooner.

the midpipe would get to be a pain to keep swapping it out just for inspection time. might be ok for a year or 2 but i could see becomming very tired of it. the bolts on the exhaust manifolds (ESPECIALLY the passenger side) will be a PITA to get off. i managed to break a bolt off the 1st time around on my car. its 4 bolts and 4 oxygen sensors on the midpipe. a tuner can shut off a CEL for the rear O2 sensors and you will pass that way but will fail the visual check cuz there is obviously no cats there. i dont run cats, just hollowed out shells welded to the midpipe and i pass every time hah.

&&yes, that link you gave is to the tuner i personally recommend. i have been dealing with my SCT for about 2 months now (datalogging, sending info, uploading tunes) and couldnt be happier. super easy to do/figure out.

EDIT:: H~Town is for Halifax PA haha. a little hick ass town about 25mins north of Harrisburg.

[96cobraMystic]

Well i also need the upper and lower control arms thats all thats left for me in the suspension mod and to get my subframe put on..

lghtngo2gt-well thanks for the extra info i was tracking most of it but was leaning more to the diablo. i have a cobra ecu sitting around. in the process of doing a 03 cobra heads and fr500 conversion on my car. wich 4v did you go with.. il be doing the cams and long tube with that. jeggs has a ecu for 96-98 cobra running the fr500 intake you think its a good buy or will mine with a dyno be better?.

prototypepariah-well to me the h pipe is easy take out and worth it once a year. i like the extra low end torque. as he said a tuner mine is in need of one bad since i have every modd now its engine building and tune over the winter and fr500 conversion. let us know if you buy it and take some pics.

[LGHTNG02GT]

Originally Posted by 96cobraMystic lghtngo2gt-well thanks for the extra info i was tracking most of it but was leaning more to the diablo. i have a cobra ecu sitting around. in the process of doing a 03 cobra heads and fr500 conversion on my car. wich 4v did you go with.. il be doing the cams and long tube with that. jeggs has a ecu for 96-98 cobra running the fr500 intake you think its a good buy or will mine with a dyno be better?.

wow, sounds like a pretty sweet swap you have in the works there
right now i have a B head 4v swapped into my car. finally got the tune real close (i bet after some datalogging it will show to be spot-on) next mods i think will depend on which direction i want to go. if i go to a blower (probably) i will keep the b heads and my 96 cobra intake. otherwise i will swap to c heads, an 01 cobra intake and probably put in a set of cams.

as far as tuning goes, i would deff. recommend a dyno tune. you could just get the ECU that is already flashed but it seems every car is a bit different. in the long run a dyno tune will give you the best bang for the buck because it is made specifically for your car/swap/mods.

[96cobraMystic]

yeah i know the dyno will give the most power and drivability but was just woundering if the ecu for the fr500 intake will help in the long run as far as getting the best out of the setup. Well i have the setup for another 4v setup my uncle wants it not sure if im gonna do that deal. just a headsup i have a set of ported B heads with flow sheet if you ever decide to upgrade with a blower..

[prototypepariah]

ok I purchased it! drove it from back from midstate, car is still in one piece...ill try to take some pictures later in the week when I get a chance to clean it off a bit first!

[96cobraMystic]

Well man sounds good is the top in good condition still? i have always been skeptical about having one myself.. But minus a little more weight they look good

[prototypepariah]

yeah as far as I can tell it's perfect, it's not discolored.. I'm hoping to jimmy rig some sort of cover for rain/snow when possible as sadly it must sit outside...oh and damn winter keeping it up all the time!

First night a squirrel or cat or something felt the need to vandalize it by leaving muddy foot prints all over it...seriously? wtf?

Do you guys find these cars a little hard to put into reverse when it's still warming up? Mind you I have a short throw, and the clutch has been changed so it's not stock. I'm hoping it's nothing to worry about.

[LGHTNG02GT]

yeah no worries with that. sometimes it may be hard to get into 1st gear when its cold out. 1st and reverse are both kinda like that.

[prototypepariah]

So lately it's been super cold(sub freezing) and when I start the car, sometimes the coolant light stays on for maybe 30 seconds longer than it normally does. It goes off and stays off. Car only gets to middle of normal. I assume it's nothing to worry about?

Also curious where you guys find the best rpm to launch these cars from with 4:10's, if you are trying to get her moving. I've been reading as much as I could using the search feature but opinions vary greatly. If i'm just driving I usually just let off the clutch and maybe a touch of gas, around 1100, but If I want to go, 1800-2k and more gas once the clutch is out. I'm finding if it's floored going into second I spin the tires a bit too..

Also curious if powershifting once in a while is gonna break anything with the shifter changed?

thanks guys so much !