Best engine installers in Southern California? Rec on automatic transmission?
 

Hello everyone,

I’ve been following these forums for years and I’m finally ready to get my own cobra!!!

Strongly leaning toward Superformance, but have not ruled out Backdraft

Who do you guys recommend as the best engine installers in Southern California? I’m located in Los Angeles. I’m already familiar with V’s Performance and Alistair Miller. Both seem excellent, just thought I would see if you guys recommend anybody else

Due to a knee issue, I am unable to drive a manual transmission and have to stick with automatic transmission. Any advice on what automatic transmission you guys would recommend (for the few of you out there who drive with an automatic)?

I’m looking to get a small block. This car will not be tracked and I just want it to be “streetable”. Safety is very important to me, but I don’t want to regret not having enough power either.

I’m considering a 306 versus 347. I think the 427 will be too much power for me unless you guys think otherwise?

Also, will the 306 or 347 be less loud as far is sidepipe noise? I’m hoping not to disrupt my wife and children (too much) when going for an early weekend morning ride.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Alistair is quite good--actually nearly perfect in his work--but not quick. He installed a 427 in mine earlier this year and the installation is beautiful, and it runs great. Took much longer than expected due in part to the scope of the project expanded a bit more than either of us expected. Workmanship is first rate as is attention to detail.

A 427 might be a bit much if you are new to the size and weight of a Cobra. I had a 351W for 14 years which produced about 400 hp and about 425 lb-ft at the flywheel. It was plenty entertaining but can not compare to the 427. It would be very easy to hurt myself with the new engine.

I can not provide a recommendation for an automatic, sorry.

Backdraft has about a half foot longer wheel base. That might make it more comfortable for your knee issue. Sit in both. Purely on resale later, my gut feel is that Superformance may sell easier and for more. That's gut feel with no data to back it up. I just know I have seen several Superformance sell locally to me at good prices, and I have never seen a Backdraft for sale locally to me.

This depends on the engine you install. If you are going to go with factory EFI the ECU controls the transmission shift points since 1988 give or take a year. Old school carbs and you are looking at the older C6, if memory serves. Of course block bolt pattern will matter too.

Understand that these cars were designed for racing in the 60's. Seat belts were not standard in factory cars in the early 60's. If safety is very important you should be looking at a new Corvette, or Mustang Cobra. It depends on your meaning of those words. These cars are not what I would call unsafe, but I doubt the manufactures are doing crash tests at all, and they certainly will not pass new car requirements

I do not know what your limitations are physically, or reaction times or your age, so I do not understand your concerns here. I can tell you a bone stock 5.0 Windsor from the factory was a pathetic 225 hp. The 4.6 modular was anywhere from 220 to 320 hp give or take. I saw a 4.6 ltr 4 valve dual overhead cam engine advertised at 280 Hp in a FFR Cobra at a drag strip that never went under 14 seconds. A total dog.

Now with an automatic transmission you are either going to have to stay with a mild cam or go to a high stall speed torque converter. You are going to have less gears, and you are going to need good low end torque. I can tell you an aggressive cam and high stall speed torque converter is not a fun daily driver combination. I would recommend you look very hard at more cubic inches and milder cam engines. Something like a 351 W stroked up toward 400 cid. Good flowing heads with smaller ports and a milder cam. Something with stump pulling torque from off idle to somewhere north of 5000 rpm. Go for as flat a torque curve as you can get. Small cid high Hp radical engines can be gutless at low rpm and hit like a freight train at high rpm. Coming out of a corner the torque is all over the place depending on rpm. Takes a lot of skill to drive such an engine, and an automatic makes it worse.

Compression ratio and cam is more important than the cid. Again go with a mild larger displacement engine. The side pipes really kill the power the more you muffle down the sound. Another reason to build a larger displacement engine. The side pipes can easily rob your engine of a 100 hp if you are going for quieter pipes. Under car exhaust would work better. Also depending on you knee issues, side pipes burn a lot of flesh very quickly, so under car may be better for you, especially if safety is important.

Thank you Sledge and Olddog for your responses.

Sledge, your endorsement of Alistair goes a long way for me!

Olddog, you have a wealth of knowledge in regards to engines! I’ll do some research on your recommendations and will reach out to you if I have any specific questions!

Love this cobra community!

Like you, I have some injuries that make a clutch very difficult on a long drive. I do love the auto trans. It shifts much faster than I ever could, and it's just a joy to drive.

For a Windsor engine, I would choose the EAOD. 4 speeds are much better than three, for all the obvious reasons. As said above, the ECU generally controls the trans shift points. But there are a couple of aftermarket electronic controllers available.

If you're thinking about a Coyote engine, then use the 6 speed 6R80 transmission. It has a 4.13 first gear, and 2 OD gears. Now that you can buy the whole package from Ford, it a pretty simple installation.

Because of the light weight of the car, You'll need to install a higher stall speed converter. I put a 3,200-3,400 converter on my 6R80. It is a significant improvement over stock. But it could use a slightly higher stall, like 3,400-3,600'ish.

Don't forget to plan for trans cooling. You cannot use the front oil cooler alone. You'll need more capacity than that.

My car has an oil temp gauge. Since I don't race this car, I don't need it. Oil temp will usually be pretty close to water temp. I moved the sender into the transmission line, so I now have a trans temp gauge.

CA SB100 and Predecision Test Drive
 

Knee issues . . . you may encounter issues getting in and out of the car unless you can avoid putting weight on your bad leg. Is there any patella damage such as chondromalacia? If so, carefully consider your decision because as you know, the patella is basically a fulcrum.

Will this be a SB100 car? If the answer is yes . . . . your options are considerably more numerous. If SB100 is in the stars, and you are considering a stroked 302, think about using a thicker aftermarket DART block. As afootnote, a number of engine builders in the LA area have found a precipitous drop in the number of good recycled 302 blocks.

If you go to a 347 stroker with a sturdy rotating assembly, heads with excellent flow characteristics, a matching cam, and a hi-flow intake manifold with a good carburetor - you can easily get 520-530 hp at the crank and 420-450 intorque. But as for the transmission . ..

Unless you plan to modify the automatic transmission to withstand the torque, an off-the-shelf 4R75W will work just fine. However, you will need a control module for the 4R75W.

Now to the bigger concern. Have you ever driven an ‘open-top’ in Southern California during the summer to say, Las Vegas? I'm sure you know that at the 60/15 transition temperatures state going up and will range from 95 to 115 degrees with ultra-low humidity (which is where you will discover why hot, dry moving air is used to dehydrate fruit and vegetables) all the way to Las Vegas and back.

But the clouds have parted. . . Lucky You. There are places in LA County where you can rent a 427 Cobra replica and experience your dream without the downside if you discover the ride was too harsh, or several hours of loud monotonous side-pipe tone was not what you expected.

But on the other hand, you may discover the drive was the world’s most exhilarating experience you've ever had!

Hope this helps.

The first things you need to ask yourself and tell us, how are you going to use the Cobra? Are you wanting to do long drives or short distance, are you going to do more highway or back roads driving? Lots of questions to answer before nailing down a specific drivetrain configuration. How bad is your knee? I have installed power assisted brakes and clutch systems that have kept people from selling their joy in life. If you like you can email me at jkb5@sbcglobal.net