Do you think that you can tame a team of 630 ponies behind the wheel of a street legal 1994 Ford Mustang Cobra?
Extreme Automotive of Canoga Park, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, has been converting V8-powered Ford Mustangs into fire-breathing, ground-thumping, street-legal racecars for the past 10 years. With a reputation for quality race bred design, components, parts, and workmanship, Shaun Roberts and his Dad Tim keep busy every day tuning in more power and performance for sports cars such as the Ford Mustang, Chevy Corvette/Camaro, Shelby Cobra and Pontiac Firebird TransAm.
Extreme Automotive's latest street legal racecar incarnation is a 1994 Ford Mustang Cobra that got the total Extreme Automotive 'tuner rebuild and upgrade'. It now scorches the quarter in just 11.5 sec at 125 mph!
The chassis, engine, transmission, shifter, clutch, suspension, brakes, exhaust, wheels and tyres have been replaced and upgraded with well known race bred components. But when you pull up next to the Cobra on the road, the only thing that you may initially notice different from a standard Ford Cobra is the giant bulge of the power-dome Cobra R bonnet that replaces the standard factory item.
Under that bonnet is a 302 cast iron block that Extreme bores out 4 cubes to 306CID. They then remove the stock pistons and rods and replace them with T & E forged aluminium pistons and H-beam connecting rods. The massive aluminium heads and aluminium intake are from Trickflow, while a stronger Cola forged crankshaft replaces the stock Cobra crank. Next, a Vortech T-Trim SuperCharger with a boost rating of 18 psi is shoehorned in, with an Anderson Power Pipe allowing the development of two extra pounds of boost without spinning the blower any further. Getting the greater amount of fuel needed into the cylinders is the job for a Paxton fuel pump/filter system, and 55lb MSD fuel injectors along with Vortech fuel rails. The spark plug wires have been replaced with Taylor HD 10mm wires and the plugs are regular Autolite platinums.
The monstrous twist power of the V8 engine is channelled through a Tremec TKO 5-speed manual transmission and CenterForce dual friction clutch to the rear wheels through a HD aluminium aftermarket driveshaft. This driveshaft is mated to an Auburn Posi-Traction Rear End with a 3.73 final gears. A Steeda tri-axle Short Shifter with a Hurst ball-topped stick shifter replaces the regular factory gear shifter. The Steeda Short Shifter gives quick and precise gear changes up and down the ladder.
Power is now rated at 630hp at 6500 rpm and torque is increased to a ground-shaking 595 ft-lb at 5700 rpm. When you put it into 1st gear and mash the throttle, you are instantly pinned back into the sport bucket seats. Slam it into 2nd gear and again you are also slammed into your seatback....
Keeping you in control with the abundance of newly found hp and torque is a highly modified suspension system. Firstly, Extreme Automotive lowers the chassis 1½ inches with Eibach springs and replaces the factory Short/Long Arm front setup with thicker aluminium upper and lower control arms. Next up is replacement of all the shock absorbers with Tokico gas-charged shocks. Steeda front and rear anti-sway bars are added to keep the car flat; on the skidpan this monster Mustang Cobra now pulls 1.1g's.
The Mustang Cobra's factory rack & pinion steering system remains in place. It gives excellent feedback from the road and quick driver input during turns. However, Extreme Automotive strengthens and stiffens the frame with Steeda subframe connectors in all crucial locations.
The brakes have been upgraded with HD carbon fibre brake pads and each caliper clamps down on standard factory 13-inch rotors. The beautiful, loud, gravelled, muscled sounds coming from this very special Ford Mustang Cobra are courtesy of Mac 1¾-inch tube headers and a FlowMaster CatBack Dual Exhaust System.
Laying the best rubber to the pavement is crucial and Extreme Automotive choose big Goodyear 'GS-C' 275/40ZR unidirectional tyres up front and bigger, Nitto 295/40ZR 'Extreme Drag' tyres in the rear. Each tyre is wrapped around gorgeous 17 x 9, 5-spoke, chromed, cast aluminium Cobra wheels. On the inside, the notable changes include the big, white Hurst shifter ball. You will also see an AutoMeter Boost gauge and AutoMeter Fuel Pressure gauge mounted onto the A-pillar, along with an AutoMeter Shift Light.
In just 2-3 weeks, Extreme Automotive can change a 'middle of the road performance pony car' with 300hp into one of the most powerful road cars in the land...
http://www.Extremeautoandperformance.com
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