Venom Cobra Build

[sevenohms]

Up to choosing the paint colour!

[sevenohms]

More Photos

[sevenohms]

Sidepipes and shields, the blue transmission cooler..

And the badges. Oh yeah!

[letsboogie351]

Nathan
I like the purple. Originally I was going to paint mine "Phantom" or "Wild Violet"
but somehow in the years between commencing the build and paint time I changed my mind and went for a light blue.
The car is looking good
cheers, Doug

[sevenohms]

Originally Posted by letsboogie351

Nathan
I like the purple. Originally I was going to paint mine "Phantom" or "Wild Violet"
but somehow in the years between commencing the build and paint time I changed my mind and went for a light blue.
The car is looking good
cheers, Doug

There's two different purples, the LHS is the VE Commodore "Morpheus", the RHS is the FG Falcon "Viper", and the middle is VE Commodore "Ka-Pow!". Ka-Pow I only bought because I had the wrong code, but I kinda like it, but it'd be better on a 32 Hotrod.

[sevenohms]

20130219 192316 - YouTube

[AdamF]

Hi Seven,

Really enjoyed reading your build and the car looks awesome!

I've a question about your Boss engine. Did you get the engine with the ecu, bem, etc. all together or did you have to program the combination to deactivate/marry up Smart shield?

If you had to reprogram the lot to work together, is this something you did or did you get an auto-electrician in? What was the cost?

Cheers,

Adam.

[sevenohms]

Originally Posted by AdamF

Hi Seven,

Really enjoyed reading your build and the car looks awesome!

I've a question about your Boss engine. Did you get the engine with the ecu, bem, etc. all together or did you have to program the combination to deactivate/marry up Smart shield?

If you had to reprogram the lot to work together, is this something you did or did you get an auto-electrician in? What was the cost?

Cheers,

Adam.

Hi Adam,

I bought a wreck and took it all from it. As I wanted ABS, I kept all the modules as Sideshow stated. As my build is less 'documented' as yours would be I was free to design in the ford components, so I kept the ABS, bem, the booster/master cylinder, column and wheel, dash (for the idiot lights and auto headlamps), latches, etc. As sideshow states, there is software to reprogram your PCM to handle not having the key (I can't comment on if it works, my engine still thinks it is in a ute). The software I use is HP tuners and it has the ability to turn off smart lock. You can lose the ABS, the heater module, ICC and column (but you need the ring around the key) and still keep the smart lock feature (which is a bit safer in an open top car than an old key). So if you have the ring, the bem and the pcm your ok. Also note that the PCM for XR8/GT might be different to a 6, the pin outs are different I think. I did all this myself, but then I have very, very good information if you get my drift. I would say though the engine, without all the junk the loom would be much simpler, and you could probably make a new loom, rather than use the old one.

Couple of things to note for the Boss.

1. If its BF, it'll need to be reprogrammed to remove the post CAT O2 sensors.
2. Modifying the intake or exhausts confuse this engine. It's not programmed like a LS, it's "self calculating" for fuel and ignition and any change to the physical components change the calculation, and mean less power. This includes moving the distance of the o2 sensor to the head. Custom headers mean custom tune (which you'd probably do anyway). Even air cleaners cause headaches.
3. There is so many wires in the loom, the colours are repeated. Brown and silver stripe, 2 horizontal loops, is very important. Brown and silver stripe, 1 loop is not. Joining them together means the engine doesn't run. And in some cases the wires change colour at the plugs, or mid loom.... *Bang head on wall*
4. Also I used the BF fuel pump in a custom tank. They are also very sensitive to fuel pressure........
sevenohms Hotmail.

[sideshow]

just reprog ecu and your done

or rip all the wiring out from the ford and fit it to your cobra
fit the ford ignition and key and all the modules and u wont have to worry about reprogramming the ecu

[AdamF]

Originally Posted by sideshow

just reprog ecu and your done

or rip all the wiring out from the ford and fit it to your cobra
fit the ford ignition and key and all the modules and u wont have to worry about reprogramming the ecu

Hi Sideshow.

Hope it's that simple... don't want to hijack Seven's build thread but the engine itself came from one wrecker and I then got an entire Ford wiring loom from another wreck. The ecu and ignition match each other... but they don't match the engine.

Everything I've read says this will be a problem. Are there tools available to the average joe to reprogram their system?

Cheers,

Adam.

[sideshow]

depends ive seen some really stupid average joes and ive seen some smart ones

do u want to run just the motor or do u want to run abs and cruise etc etc
if not I would rip everything out and just wire up engine and get security sorted in ecu
its much less work if u know what to do
if u don't know how to wire up the engine just get someone local to wire it up and also
get them to reflash ecu , theres a ford mob over in perth they can do your ecu maybe ask them if they can do yr wiring too if u cant figure it out
or theres a guy up sunshine coast and he is also on internet maybe see him if u want a cheap job
but maybe first google the diagrams for your donar car

I got the gear to program the mismatched keys but I need all the under dah wiring and modules tro program them so best to get it done locally, but the money and stuffing around fitting the complete ford donar car wiring and u might aswell remove security in ecu then u have many things less in the system to go wrong

u need to decide what dash to run and a lot of other stuff so best of talking to someone
on here to tell u all the problems u can run into

[sideshow]

it's not to hard to do just time consuming and if something doesn't work then unless you can diagnose and have all the info its easy to keep going round in cicles so best to have a scanner

if your going to get a tune down the track then might not be worth paying someone to remove security in the ecu only

best of getting dyno guy to do the whole lot , might save u 200 to 300 bucks
or find someone with hp tuners its what most tuners use
I make up bench harnesses so I can reprogram ecus without needing the rest of the engine loom
that's y I charge 50 bucks extra if I don't have the complete engine loom wired up witht he ecu

[sevenohms]

Colour coat went on today! Clear tomorrow

[stiffy]

Steven,

Who did the prep and who is painting the beast?

This might be the first Venon Cobra completed.............



STIFFY

[sevenohms]

Originally Posted by stiffy

Steven,

Who did the prep and who is painting the beast?

This might be the first Venon Cobra completed.............



STIFFY

I did the prep and the painting! It just might be the first one registered, fingers crossed!

[Zedn]

How can you have a day between clear and basecoat? Are you going to give it a light sand and another coat of colour before clear?

[sevenohms]

Originally Posted by Zedn

How can you have a day between clear and basecoat? Are you going to give it a light sand and another coat of colour before clear?

I'm following the manufacturers recommendations. They state on the spec sheet for the paint to leave it for 24 hrs at 20 degrees before the clear. I wasn't going to sand it (again on the recommendation of the paint manufacturer), but I have some issues with the clear i'll need to remove. So i'll go really light 2000 grit and see how it turns out.

[Zedn]

Really? What type of paint is it? Usually the time it takes to clean the gun and mix the clear is all the base coat needs before spraying over.

What are you rubbing out in the clear? If its anything more than light orange peel you will be there forever with 2000. Don't be afraid to go lower than that. For big imperfections I go down as much as 800 some times even courser. Just have to gradually sand back up to 2000 and buff.

[sevenohms]

Originally Posted by Zedn

Really? What type of paint is it? Usually the time it takes to clean the gun and mix the clear is all the base coat needs before spraying over.

What are you rubbing out in the clear? If its anything more than light orange peel you will be there forever with 2000. Don't be afraid to go lower than that. For big imperfections I go down as much as 800 some times even courser. Just have to gradually sand back up to 2000 and buff.

Motospray custom mixed metallic. The paint shop stated 24-48 hours drying time, thought I read 24 hours on the website, but it seems like that's for 2 pack.

Tried 1200 last night, but I have some micro blistering, so i'm going to go a bit more aggressive 800 on those areas and re do the colour, then blow the clear as per the website. The issue I've found is the metallic im using doesn't take to any sanding at all, the metallic is right up at the top of the colour coat. Soon as the paper touches it, it goes back to the base colour violet, almost black.

Bit of trial and error, but I'm learning!

[Zedn]

That's how it is for all metallic base coats. They need to be off the gun before clear. If you sand it will see bad marks. You can usually knock off any nibs then retouch those areas before clear.

If you are doing it in your garage, you really just want to get plenty of clear on there and then wet sand the whole car up to the finest sandpaper you can find and then buff it with a cutting compound followed by a finer grade polish.