Bowtie Cobra?

[Dougget]

Any pics of a Hurricane with a GM 350 under the hood?
Is it a real pain in the butt to use a non Ford motor?

I know anything is possible with skills and money, but I would be a first time builder and want to keep things as straight forward as possible.

[Tom]

Someone here (onebadmofo?) built one of the early ones with a sbc (bbc?).  Easy to do.  Just tell them what kind of engine/trans you want to put in when you order the car and they'll set it up for the right mounts.

If the world were a fair place, I'd have built mine with a BBC, as they're much cheaper than FE or 385 Fords.  And I'm familiar with the GM engines.  BUT... if you ever intend to sell it, be prepared to take a loss equivelent to giving the engine away.  99.9% (A conveniend made-up figure) of folks shopping for a Cobra want to see a Ford under the hood.  A 289 Ford powered Cobra will sell for more than a 454/510 Chev. powered one.  And if it's a FE, the stock goes up.

[jwd]

Tom is absolutely right. I too would have prefered a SBC. I've build over 25 of them over the years and know them inside out. They are actually cheaper to build and have more potential for the money than a SBF. Unwilling to take a financial hit if/when I ever sell my car, I went with a SBF. I still can't get used to seeing the distributor on the front of the motor though.

Jim

[njbigblock]

I have built many  BBC and SBC over the years and I am very familiar with them , but I picked a BBF for my Cobra because I personally think it's the type of car that was born a ford and needs to stay that way.By the way 385 (429-460) series parts for performance are plentifull and not at all expensive. Stroker kits are cheap and the block requires no clearancing like the BBC. Over 500 cubes are easy. Stock heads with mild porting breath well and can be  improved even more with big valves.By the way , I really like the distributor in front , makes it easy to time. Randy:)

[HM1006]

[size=16]NO, IT CAN NOT BE DONE!!!!![/size]
[size=8]not without bad karma[/size]

[smiley=beer.gif]

[jwd]

[size=16]NO, IT CAN NOT BE DONE!!!!![/size]
[size=8]not without bad karma[/size]

[smiley=beer.gif]

[joey4420]

Wasn't one of the original AC cars (before Shelby) built with a Buick 215 engine?

[jwd]

Don't know but, Shelby approached Chevy with his idea long before he went to Ford with it.

[joey4420]

Well I just tried some research on what I have heard about the buick engine.  It appears that it may have been done, but not in mass quantities.  Oh well, back to reading for a while...

Either way, I want a 351 in mine when it does happen.  8-)

[HAVASUBILL]

Doug,  Your right, to be practical and save some initial money the Chevy is OK.
But from the stand point of  tridition, value and correctness, and of course resale,.....go with a big block FE.   Some might say "it's a religous thing"...A Ford Cobra with a Chevy motor in it?   :-/

I'm just joking, but these are the things to consider when making an engine choice.

Best of luck,  Bill Bess  

[1badmofo]

BOWTIE ?
If you had a REAL Shelby no.......but a kit car?...remember the only SBF Shebly put in was a 289 not a 351 or stroked up to 427 OR a alm block 482 BBF......sooooooooo

I think thay all are cool......and so does everybody else when you stop to get gas.

Sid

[berzerko]

well maybe i should be stoned I'm running a 4.6 cobra motor with FI and if I have the clearance an old style air cleaner on a carb style throtle body
with the dohc hemi style heads people will definitly be scratching their heads

at least it is a ford and all aluminum at that

[Dan]

Keep in mind, the only reason Shelby used Ford powerplants in the original cars was due to the fact that GM turned him down when he approached them about forming a racing team. Ford was stop #2 on his list. If Ford had turned him down, we'd all probably be loading small block hemi engines into our cars today.  

[1badmofo]

I think they all are COOL with what ever is under the hood........ driving down the Inter-state at around 85 mph there is not another feeling like it (now 120mph is also pretty SMOOTH but i am not admitting to anything )

RUN WHAT YA BRUNG AND HOPE IT IS ENOUGH

Sid

[Dan]

Hey 1badmofo, is that you car pictured at the strip?  If so, what size tires are you running?