Do You Think Having A Non-Ford Engine Is Wrong ?

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by Ron61

I have Ford engines in mine but I have friends that have MOPARS, Chevys, and one person that I have seen has a Volkswagen engine in his Cobra. These are not original cars and to me, whoever builds one or has one built is doing it for himself and should use whatever engine he likes. As for original engines, there were no 302s or 351s back when the originals were built. They had 260s, 289s, and 427s.

Ron

Ron, are you kidding, a......Volkswagen !

There's nothing more wronger,.....than that. lol

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by cycleguy55

You could also have a 600 HP Ford 385 series for $10K - so you could stay Ford.

This my be a little off my topic, but I'll talk about it anyway.

My engine builder 8 years ago went bankrupt, kept my money, partsand even my camcorder.
Had to sell my 428FE to pay medical bills, so I haven't had a motor since. It and my bad health kicked my ass and my spirit for life.

Anyway, building a FE is very expensive. As you all know, I could build a big block Chevy with 600 (+) HP for $10,000, an FE would cost $17,000.

I must, have a Ford motor, and the 385 is one I could live with.
Even the Ford 514 crate engine with over 625 HP and a warranty for $9,000 to $12,000 would be amazing, but......will it fit under the hood & scoop ?

I also have a new top end brand FE scatter shield, flywheel, clutch ect...

I can not, buy or build a cheap, mild, purring engine !

So, I don't know how I can get another engine, but I refuse to give up !

We don't have the money we used to, insurrance changed and sucks, we both have bad health, I'm a diabetic and had a blood infection called septic blood and almost died twice, big medical bills,......lol

Anyway......

[Ron61]

No, I wasn't kidding. I couldn't believe it either until he showed me. He wanted a Cobra but also wanted good gas Mileage. And it sure looked and sounded wrong to me also. Here is a picture of a Cobra with a V-12 that has over 800 cubic inches.



Ron

Originally Posted by FUNFER2

Ron, are you kidding, a......Volkswagen !

There's nothing more wronger,.....than that. lol

[Bartruff1]

Yes, any engine but a Ford is wrong....

[Bartruff1]

Yes, any engine but a Ford V8 is wrong....

[FWB]

Originally Posted by Ron61

No, I wasn't kidding. I couldn't believe it either until he showed me. He wanted a Cobra but also wanted good gas Mileage. And it sure looked and sounded wrong to me also. Here is a picture of a Cobra with a V-12 that has over 800 cubic inches.



Ron

Ron, that is Bad Arse.......i would take that over my FE

[dallas_]

That is wrong.

But sometimes wrong is more fun.

[Jac Mac]

Years ago a guy sold me ticket in a raffle for a Corvette, one of his friends knowing I was a die hard Ford fan asked me why? ,,, I replied that I would fit a Ford into it and make it a better car!... he handed me my money back and grabbed the ticket, best $50.00 I ever spent!!

[Buzz]

I understand sentimental attachment to a particular model based upon fond or formative memories; but fierce, unchanging loyalty to an entire brand to the point where nothing the "other brand" produces has any merit (even if it truly does) baffles me.

It's a form of self-imposed servitude that hands ownership of one's tastes and judgement over to some marketing department nerd who tells you what you like instead of the other way around. While you're busy being blindly loyal to their brand and product, they're busy being blindly loyal to their bottom line and bank accounts.

Personally, I am beyond happy to see the ongoing resurgence of the muscle car wars. The Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, and Challenger are orders of magnitude more potent than their 60's and early 70's ancestors, blowing away the proclamation of the "death of the muscle car" in 1973. I would choose one of those cars over the others, but that choice would be based on my personal criteria of what constitutes the ideal muscle car, not some mind numbing obligation to support the brand of a corporation that only (and rightfully) cares about itself and it's profit margin.

Here's the on-topic tie-in: Shelby was no different - his brand loyalty was to himself, but he created such an iconic S.O.B. of a car that was so damned special that it shattered the paradigmic brand boundaries and drew fans from all over the automotive universe.

Replica companies have given these fans the ability to make their dreams flesh and there are many who love the Cobra yet have no binding loyalty to Ford or Shelby (or AC for that matter). Half of these people are the ones who will likely be open to an alternative powerplant. The other half will probably try to recreate their dream as faithfully as possible with a spread-out spectrum in between.

Just my thoughts - (I made some scratch gourmet pizza - dough and all - tonight and Pauline rewarded me with a truly fine wine, so I fully realize I'm waxing a bit here)

Have a good night my friends and fellow Cobra enthusiasts. We love our cars but love of family and friendship is far more important.

[peterpjb]

yes it is,

for sure there are many levels of wrong, a chevy 427 v8 in a 427 cobra is not as wrong as a vw beetle 4-cyl. boxer engine in the trunk....

even a 302 engine in a 289 cobra is wrong, but not that wrong

[legenmetals]

Here are a few pictures of my new car that I raced at Buttonwillow this weekend.

As I was walking out to lunch one of the shop guys asked me which motor I wanted in the car, I said "The fast one". When I came back it had the Chevy motor in it.

The only O.E.M. part on the car is the engine block. It doesn't matter to me what make the engine is, as long as the car is safe and fast.

[*13*]

I built a 59' Coupe DeVille & put a BBC in it. Got flack for it but, I loved it. It was everything I wanted for that car.
In the spirit of the Cobra, & I suppose it depends on how the snake strikes you, It's tough to imagine wanting one with anything other than the motor that it was mated with in the 60's. What I mean by this is that, Ford motors have their own sound & feel. I distinctly remember the first Cobra I saw in person. It was an amazing looking little car but, when it fired up it just had this wicked growl to it. Something no Chevy I had ever heard, could replicate. So, its the whole package deal for me. When I was building up my FIA, I happened to have the pleasure of witnessing the same with Lynn Park's FIA. So, Webers it had to be. These cars were iconic. In part, because of circumstance. But, circumstance made them what the are. & what they are is not a chevy or, a mopar or even a ferrari or jag.
If Chevy is your thing, go for it. but, I think you'll be missing out on something special. That's just me.

[decooney]

For replicas it's a "preference" and "resale" kinda thing, IMO. A number of friends in my area ran Chevy motors in their Cobras but got razzed a bit by the regular crowd walking by at a car show. So, leave the hood shut and just drive it. Who cares, just run what you like if it's not an all original 60s Cobra. For my car, I was going for the whole SC theme, so it has the right FE in it, and I love the sound of an FE, no Chevy sounds like it. At heart, I'm a Chevy guy, but really like the FE in a big block Cobra for running around locally. Now for long trips, not so much. Functionally, there may be better motors for long trips or more regular daily driving - so it kinda depends on how you are using the car a another aspect of what motor "to put in it" and there will be varying opinions just like there are different preferences for driving daily driver cars. Some people just go with what they are familiar with as an option for choosing.

Its always fun to read up on who Shelby approached first for engines before he went to Ford, (Chevrolet ???) and how Ron Butler who worked on Shelby's crew settled on Chevy engines for the majority of his Butler Cobra builds. Many Chevy's in Butler/Arntz cars, and it's signature to those cars and their history. I have to agree, as much as we see Peter Brock driving his Red SPF Coupe all over the place like he does...getting great use out of the car how he does, the LS motor makes a lot of sense, light, fast, reliable, easy parts LS motors, sure, why not, it's a replica. Great idea, smart guy.

[Antny]

Whatever drivetrain makes YOU (the owner) happy is what is "right".

When you go to sell it though, the buyers will let you know what THEY think is right, or wrong.....

[Ace23]

Who cares what motor is in it. Mine came with and will now have a refreshened 427. If it was my pick And was building from scratch I would have a 385 series for old school or a the new LT4 supercharged Z06 engine for modern power and driving style.

[Millsy]

Life is too short to worry about what others think. I have told every person that asks that i have a vette motor in it and no one seems to care. Most just think the car is badass and love to talk about it and anything car related with me. If someone has something negative to say to me i will just tell them to go **** themselves, plain and simple. Im the guy who will go up to someone with an 80s Ford Escort that is in great condition and tell them that their car is badass. I love all types of cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors etc etc and will give anyone praise if their vehicle is cool. Why be judgemental?

[Frank Messina]

I just can't get excited about a Cobra with off brand power. I guess I remember too well the general ho hum interest in early replicas with Chevy power. Back then there was an excuse, Ford didn't have an active crate motor program. Now there is no excuse. I know everybody now wants to be politically correct and accommodate all sorts of weirdness, so you hear build it your way etc, etc. I say build it right or don't bother. JMHO
Frank

[Rawkkrawler]

First, I'm a Ford guy and my Cobra was purchased used and had an old Chevy 350 in it, pulled it imediatly and sourced a nice Ford engine.

But to pay some respect to Carroll himself, his vision was Cheverolet first.

From an old article, and seems to line up with what i remember..

Shelby made some discreet inquiries in Detroit about the possibility of putting Chevy motors in the Ace and going sports car racing, but, appealing as this might have sounded at first glance, the powers that were in the corporate halls of General Motors ultimately said no way, Jose. It seems they had their very own sports car -- the Corvette -- and they were not about to compete with themselves if they could help it. The godfather of the Corvette, Zora Arkus-Duntov, was reportedly one of the key players who was dead set against any such arrangement, though, as the years passed, he and Shelby developed a healthy respect for one another and, ultimately, a friendship.

So it was that Shelby made another round of inquiries, this time to Ford Motor Company.

I'm glad it worked out as it did, but I also keep an open mind to those that go a different path. We're all having fun after all aren't we?

[dallas_]

Originally Posted by Frank Messina

. I know everybody now wants to be politically correct and accommodate all sorts of weirdness, so you hear build it your way etc, etc. I say build it right or don't bother. JMHO

Says the man with power steering.

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by dallas_

Says the man with power steering.

lol! My point exactly! Folks will happily accept live axles, power steering and all manner of other significant deviations from the original formula; yet they'll pass judgement on engine choice based upon brand loyalty.