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Old 05-09-2002, 05:43 PM
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HighPlainsDrifter HighPlainsDrifter is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Chilliwack,BC, BC
Cobra Make, Engine: F5 Roadster
Posts: 1,409
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I sold my thunderbird supercoupe to get the cobra, so I know some of the options on them. The stock rear suspension has rubber bushings and does give a good ride.It is complex to set up the camber and castor on the rear,a good alignment shop needs to do it after the ride hieght is set.The stock rubber bushings also cause wheel hop on higher HP cars,need to change to poly bushings.The stock gears were 2.73 : 1 and possi. The mark vIII had 3.08's stock,not that you couldn't order other gears.The rear is rated at 330 ft/lbs of torque,with some safety factor built in. Most guys build their engine for 400 to 550 ft/lbs of torque.That needs a stronger rear such as a 9" ford.There are companies that make 9" ford IRS' ,such as Dutchman,I have their forged axles. If you use the stock IRS you will need softer rear springs as the t-bird and mark 8 weigh over 3,700 lbs and the cobra is over 1,000 lbs lighter and will need lighter springs and matching shocks as the stock shocks are computer controled for that exact car.I would contact a rod shop and pick their brain for the correct springs and shocks for a 1200 lb rear end weight.
Good Luck,
Perry.
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