Ford vs Chev ?

ledge · #1 (**permalink**) 01-31-2004, 11:49 PM

Im putting an ls1 in my car and have had some mates bag me about using a chev motor . What do you guys think of that and i have read that carrol shelby approached chev for there motors first but they didnt want competition for there corvettes so he had no choice but to use a crusty ford motor .

347 · #2 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 12:08 AM

Smart choice.......easy power,cheap power,economy.......You wont regret it.

G.R. · #3 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 12:16 AM

Hey it isn't an original--In the States a Chevy powered Cobra replica doesn't resale as well as a Ford powered one.
But some of them will kick a Ford powered butt in a heartbeat.

Think of it as a hot rod/streetrod with a Cobra body rather than a "duece coupe". Unless you are worried about what the so called "purists" think

It's your build, your car--

I saw a custom '56 Ford T-bird at a streetrod show a couple of years ago--beautiful car--I looked it over admiring it, then as I was looking at the engine, duh, the distributor was in the back, powered by a Chevy 350--hadn't read the placard on the car, all Chevy(Vette) drivetrain and suspension. Sold at auction for about 90K(USD)a year ago. Just goes to show ya.

Have a great one today.

Excaliber · #4 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 12:44 AM

,,,,can get away with limited use of Chev power. In the USA? Forget about it! Even in those Far Off lands SOME hold high the Ford banner!

Ernie (Thanks to Roscoe for the basic pic)!

boxhead · #5 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 02:10 AM

I think your makeing a wise choice useing the LS1 engine (but I am ever so slightly biased)

There is a growing number of us in Australia building cars with these engines.

REPTYL · #6 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 02:53 AM

Blutac a veedub donk in the boot for all I care.
If the price is right and it's producing the gee gees your happy with, you go for it.

We'll see who's baging who when it's on the road.

Rebel1 · #7 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 03:02 AM

Much as I hate to admit it......I agree with that Victorian fella

cob460 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 03:16 AM

yep i have a 9 sec cobra in my shed powered by a , ahhggg must i say it ,, a small block chev, ,, makes me think somedays i should of gone the same way ,,,o no why did i say that, ,the shame ,, anyway as long as you are putting it in a cobra body which power plant is just a matter of choice , cheers.

Tongue Pirate · #9 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 06:35 AM

This thread should be titled "Cobra vs. Corvette"

wilf leek · #10 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 09:16 AM

Oinie:

speed220mph · #11 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 11:16 AM

My thought is if cheap is what a person wants, buy a Geo. If you want Chevy performance, buy a Vette. If you want a Cobra, put Cobra power in it, which is spelled F O R D.

TheSaint71 · #12 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 12:20 PM

LOL This is the exact thread I was going to start in order to open a can of worms! Personally I like both FORD and Chevy but I know zilch about Chevy engines...

ok here it goes.. WHAT THE HELL IS A LS1 engine!? lol I typed stuff on goole but i keep getting these lame sites that dont work with no info! I've heard about this LS1 reference a gazillion times but know nothing of small block chevys..

COB460... A 9 second cobra.. what exactly is your small block chevy? Im curious..

keep it comming I love this chevy vrs FORD stuff!

clb · #13 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 12:33 PM

the way i see it: the car's going to way about 1200kgs with a V8 5litre+ engine - it is going to go fast!

people will tell you very quickly which engines to avoid. other than that it all comes down to your budget and availability of spare parts / upgrades.

which is why i was all set for a Lexus 4litre V8 (shock - horror - gasp from the rest of the forum members): it's an alloy block with quad cams and efi - very fast and built like an ox. but then I was offered a 351C with C6 tranny at a ridiculously low price (NZ$920 - about US$615) so grabbed it. spare parts and upgrades should be readily available and not too costly either.

as for resale value - why would you ever want to sell it?

ledge · #14 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 12:45 PM

MAY THE BATTLE BEGIN
I got my motor out of a stacked clubsport complete with 6 speed etc etc . for 9g , it has 255kw now and after editing the computer should be about 300kw and with a little bit of head work and cam change witch will come after rego about 350kw so for 10g thats ####ing cheap horspower bet i couldnt get that with a ffffoooorrrddd .

NASSTY · #15 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 02:16 PM

G'day Guys,

Us blokes who picked up their builds after 01/01/03 don't have much choice of donks b/c of the F***ing ADR changes. It's basically, Boss 5.4 V8 or Gen3 (LS1). Fitting a Boss under the hood is full of compromises, biggest one being that you may only get 2 pedals in the footbox. So whether the purists like it or not Gen3's (Gen4 6.0Ltrs by the end of the year so I'm told as in the new Vette) will probably become more common simply b/c the packaging is much simplier. As for resale... I'm not building my Cob to sell it later on!!

Cheers,

Excaliber · #16 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 02:50 PM

I suspect re-sale is not a big issue in the land down under. The scarcity of parts, anywhere outside the USA as far as that goes, makes a non Ford drive train more understandable.

It's probably hard to find good Ford engines over there because their typically painted blue. Therefore there hard to see in the ocean where there typically used for boat anchors?

(ouch, that hurt,

)

Ernie

Aussie Mike · #17 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 03:33 PM

Hi All,

Thought I'd jump in here as this is a subject close to my heart. For you guys in the US who are wailing that it's got to be powered by FORD we have a whole different set of circumstances down here.

Just think if you lived in California and had to build your car to meet ALL of the current US and California design rules. That includes Emissions, noise, lighting, chassis rigidity, crash protection etc etc... That's pretty much what we have down here. The authorities consider a hand built Cobra to be a new car and must comply with all of the current Australian Design Rules for a new car. With the way the bar keeps rising it's a wonder any Cobras get registered down here.

So the choices for engines are now cut back significantly to units that meet current emissions rules. Sure you can engineer an older motor to pass the current emissions but it can be very expensive to do. the testing alone is prohibitively expensive and then the results are usually just a pass/fail.

Ford have just withdrawn the 5.0 Windsor from production because it can't meet the strict new emissions regs coming in. It's been replaced with a locally developed 5.4 litre quad cam V8. This would be an awesome motor in a Cobra except that it's probably about the widest V8 Ford have ever made at about 36" accross the beam. I haven't seen one of these shoe horned into a Cobra yet but it'll require a lot of foot box surgery. To date I haven't seen any of these motors for sale without a Ford Falcon still wrapped around it. I have seen a US sourced 5.4 motor being wedged into the front of a Python Cobra and by the looks of the foot box mods I don't think 3 pedals will fit. I think this was the SOHC version too.

The other readily available emissions legal V8 that has respectable performance is the GM LS1. This is an all aluminium 5.7 litre push rod motor with 6 bolt main bearing caps and is a compact light weight power plant. Guys down here are getting 250KW (330HP) at the rear wheels out of a stock unopened LS1. This is with a set of headers, free flow exhaust, cold air intake and careful tuning of the ECU. With ported heads and a change of cam figures of 300KW (400HP) at the rear wheels are readily achievable.

I'm not biased either way on Ford vs Chev, I like both. Given a free hand with building my car and I would probably have used a carburetored BB Ford motor. It would have been a lot cheaper than the LS1 route too.

I would love for the government to give us to an exemption like you California guys have with SB100 as it would make life much easier. On the flip side though I like the idea of building a more environmentally friendly Cobra.

There are some pics of an LS1 in my gallery if you are interested.

LS1 Pic 1
LS1 Pic 2
LS1 Pic 3
LS1 Pic 4

Cheers

Excaliber · #18 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 03:44 PM

Mike, that sucks!

Now that you mention it the 5.0 V-8 is "almost" dead here also. Or is it dead all ready? Ford has been using the 4.6 and it's big brother the 5.4 for quite awhile now. Plenty of "after market" 5.0's available though.

Here in Hawaii we HAVE a new "Bill" (SB 2021) before the legislature right now that would make Specially Constructed Vehicles built to "replicate" any car built before 1968 as "exempt" from regulation.

You think it's tough down there? It is actually impossible here (Hawaii) under current law. Calif is easy in comparison!

Ernie

Aussie Mike · #19 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 03:51 PM

Ernie,

How do you go importing a previously registered car from another state? Are you guys under the same over all laws or is it a state by state thing? You're still part of the US, there's just a bit of water in the way.

Cheers

Excaliber · #20 (**permalink**) 02-01-2004, 04:00 PM

State by State.

Bringing in a car from another State is a "roll of the dice". SOMETIMES you simply go down and transfer the paper work on your "65 Ford" (what the hell IS a '65 Ford, by the way?). IF the title refers to a Specailly Constructed Vehicle or "tips them off" in some way that the car is a"replica", "kit" etc. your history! You'll neve register THAT car in Hawaii.

Don't even "go there" with an MSO, not a chance you'll get it registered!

Ernie