I'm making a fresh batch of popcorn Barry.....

50vert wrote:

I was gunna convert this to Cobra specs, but it didn't seem worth loosing the export brace for 240 hp.
Butt ... for a known 300 hp, it's bye-bye export brace.

You're talking rear wheel HP? 

50vert wrote:

TKOPerformance wrote:

Ford uprated the first OHC Cobras and then had to replace the heads because customers complained.

Just cos I'm goin' stir crazy .... From 96-98 the dohc engines were rated at 305 hp. In 99 Ford rated them at 320 hp, to be competitive with the Camaro SS. Turned out they were slower than the earlier model. Ford halted sales, and recalled all the sold cars, and replaced the exhaust, cats to the tips, flashed a tune to the ECU, extrudeahoned the first batch of lower intakes, then just replaced the rest of the intakes. this got them to 320. No heads were involved in the recall.
Because of the bad PR from the 99 model, no 2000 Cobras were made, only an R.
In 2001, there was a TSB for block/head straightness, more bad PR.
So, no 2002 Cobra ... supposedly. I've driven a few of them, and they sure "feel" like 320 hp. It's gotta be one of the rarer mustangs made.
Then there was the Eaton blown Cobra, which was a success as far as PR was concerned.

If I'm mistaken on any of this, please let me know, I'm always open to education.
Well, verbosity didn't help the stir crazy ... goin'ta put some parts on somethin'.

No, this is correct, but I wasn't talking about the Cobras this time, rather the SOHC engines in the GTs.  They claimed they made 215HP and 285 lbs/ft. and a lot of people were complaining that they had replaced a known great engine for a smaller, OHC turd that wasn't competitive with the GM offerings that still had pushrod engines.  This led to the PI heads they started installing in '99.  In the end its hard to say if these ratings were real or not, but the 5.0 had been rated at 220HP and 300 lbs/ft (at only 3,000RPM) and my supposition is that the bigger pushrod engine sure felt like it made a lot more power, because it made more torque and had a better torque curve that started a lot sooner. 

If you fab up a new bar for that setup with the middle bowed forward it should clear the Cobra intake.  That's how the MM one in my '89GT is made and it clears pretty much any intake out there.  The Cobra intakes are getting hard to find though, and people want a lot for them.  Man, I remember when they were under $400 from Ford Racing brand new.  My understanding is that the Cobra is just a cast version of the GT40.  The Explorer intake is basically the same thing.  Some claim it actually flows a smidgen better.