78 Miles

[Buzz]

Wow John. That is an absolutely disgraceful shame. You've paid (a lot) in full, tolerated an awfully long wait and now this. A year and a half for a car that basically needs a drivetrain dropped in, wired and plumbed - and it still won't run! These people have a lot to answer for.

You still have a beautiful Cobra though. The issues had nothing to do with Superformance and maybe one ought to expect some R&D issues with the unconventional drivetrain. However, the car should have been sorted and tested by the time you took delivery, if only to spare you the disappointment you experienced on your long awaited first few drives.

I feel for you buddy and I really hope these folks realize how important it is for them to make this right double quick.

One thought - have you considered (if it's even possible) putting a manual valve body in the slushbox? You'll still be clutchless and at least you won't have to worry about unpredictable up and down shifts. In a high powered Cobra, you want to make sure you're in full control. With all that torque, a surprise shift while negotiating a sharp turn, changing lanes to pass or accelerating on a damp off ramp could ruin your day in a real big hurry my friend.

At the end of the day - you've spent a load of money and endured an interminable wait. You've come this far, so make sure it isn't all for naught. Salvage your dream. Just like that transmission controller, you need to reprogram. Chalk up these first drives to research and development. Focus on the aspects of the car you liked and make sure they are kept or enhanced. Make them eliminate or improve the things you didn't like. Finally, try again to look forward with enthusiasm to the day you get your hands on your Cobra all sorted and ready to enjoy.

[marcocsx3121]

Convert it to a manual transmission.

[patrickt]

This might not be as big a deal as you think. Yes, I know it's a huge PITA and disappointment, but it happens. IMO, he should have put more miles on the car before he delivered it to you. For something to happen that quick, the only thing that comes to mind is a failure to tighten something up properly or a failure to put the proper part on in the first place. When you say "smoke was coming out of the engine," can you be more specific? Front of the engine? Back by the firewall? Coming off the primary pipes? Did you happen to look at your gauges to see what your temperature and oil pressure were? Hang in there. The nice thing about these cars is that they're basically pretty easy to fix once you figure out what's broken. And when you have a really bad noise and smoke, it's usually pretty easy to figure it out.

[csx4910]

Either Way Voss performance should pay for the cost of transport and make it right or I would warn all others to stay away. Unfortunately, my dealer/installer went out of business so they were off the hook for having to deal with all the problems I had so make sure they stay in contact with you of waht they find. Dont assume they will call you. Good Luck

[65SC]

Originally Posted by csx4910

Either Way Voss performance should pay for the cost of transport and make it right or I would warn all others to stay away. Unfortunately, my dealer/installer went out of business so they were off the hook for having to deal with all the problems I had so make sure they stay in contact with you of waht they find. Dont assume they will call you. Good Luck

same here, spent $$$$ to get 4970 sorted out

[tin-man]

I do thank you guys for the morale support, yes, it’s more than a major disappointment for me after waiting so long, travelling half way around the world, driving 1600 miles and then to have this happen after only driving the car for 27 miles in Phoenix. Yep, it’s a horror story ok and does not say too much for the engine and transmission manufacturers involved to allow such a condition to exist. I am using very kind words here since it will be interesting to learn what caused the failure to occur. I am concluding Voss will be able to peel this one back and discover the root cause of the failure.

After talking to several people however there is much focus on the linkage between the Roush 511 engine and Bowler automatic transmission, the high idle rate and the methodology of assembly. While this is just speculation at this time and I must wait for confirmation, it does have credibility and merit given there were issues associated with these linkage components having incorrect bolt hole patterns discovered during the installation process as corroborated by several emails between Voss and Roush.

After reviewing these emails and endeavoring to make sense out of what happened, I cannot help but wonder why Roush failed to provide the correct components when the engine was first shipped to Voss and only after discovery by Voss of the bolt hole mismatch did Roush supply a second set of components. I am a reasonable person, but it makes me just wonder how this could have been allowed to happen.

While these events make a compelling argument for speculative judgment about fit and function and probable cause, I need wait until Voss finalizes the root cause failure analysis sometime next week.

I will keep you informed.

tin-man

[RET_COP]

I never really thought about the problems an auto trans could cause in these cars but BUZZ gave some great advice on manually controlling the possibility of up shifting and downshifting automatically at the wrong time !!!

Tin, the smoke is throwing me off here. Where, what kind of smell, how long??
I was ready to say the coupling between the engine and the trans until that clue. Engine and trans at the same time?? no way. Flexplate break loose and cut the back of the oil pan? Was the smoke a transmission oil smell?
I hope this fix goes smooth and please keep us posted.
Lou