Lateral-g Forums - 1978 king cobra

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- - 1978 king cobra (https://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php?t=59149)

Hello everyone im new to the board and i wanted to share my build its going to be my first pro touring build, i want to keep the body looking original and period correct but want it all modern underneath and make it drive and handle like a new car its going to be a supercharged 304 cubic inch small block ford with a 6 speed tremec, all updated suspension 4 link in the back mini tub full factory interior i cant fit a big front tire on the car but i want 17s 345s in the front and a 315 in the back. Ac is going to be a must and just changed the to front recaro seats and all modern guage cluster. i want to keep it simple but make a statement with the car and show what the little mustang II can be. im just having a hard time decided on wheels so any advice or ideas would be appreciated. i will post some pics of the car shortly

Sounds great! Looking forward to pics.

So I took the car apart last yea and tucked it away while the engine was being built then decided to redo the engine bay I got the car out of the corner and I’m going to start stripping the engine bay. I want to do a nice wire tuck as well I’m super excited https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...355e9ac58a.jpg
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Got some progress done had the header panel painted and the air damn is being worked on as well I’m excited to tear into the engine bay start that process long block is ready to go once the engine bay is done

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I can't look at a picture of these cars without thinking of the crush I had as a kid on all of Charlie's Angels... :D

Regarding wheels, I would certainly advise trying to go with 18s if at all possible, there are not very many good tires to choose from anymore for 17" wheels. Plan on getting a custom set made to fit just right to maximize fitment.

Are those the 4 bolt lug pattern? If so plan on upgrading to 5 lug setup?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSLance (Post 714031)

i am planning on going 5 lug i have teh 03/04 terminator cobra 13 inch brakes for it with cobra calipers and going to run the cobra brakes on the back as well, i have been told to try 18s im still tossing the ideas around these are the cars that inspired me the most for this project

Super excited to have the repairs done on the rare urethane front ground effects on the car even have my spare repaired which I’m unsure of what I’m going to do with yet https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f2f304c488.jpg
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Cool cars, my dad had a customer that had a blue and white Cobra, I thought it was cool when I was a kid, sounded good,

I found one in a friends junkyard, he tried to sell it but nobody wanted it till he put it in the yard, I'll post a picture of it.

The others you posted are cool,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve68 (Post 714573)

I have had a special spot for these cars since I was little I watched my dad race his on the street and he had an orange king when I was growing up as well got the sides painted https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d7cc8fb872.jpg
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My dads race car and me and his king
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I always like these cars/ They reminded me of GMs Monza Small package with a V8 . Way cool

Getting there need a lot more practice with the machine https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...eff7a006f9.jpg

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Being able to form and weld sheetmetal takes talent. I am unfortunately not a talented welder. :lol:

Give it a little skim coat and you should be good! :thumbsup:

This link may have a little motivation for you:
https://themustangsource.com/how-tos...ton-v10-623466

I think I remember seeing a build thread somewhere for this car.

Went a little stagnant for a bit trying to get motivation back, sent 4 fenders out for media blasting I wanted to make sure the undersides were as clean as the tops, also found a better picture of one done that has sparked motivation again going to be swapping my tremec 3550 with quick time bellhousing McLeod street extreme clutch hoping to have it on the road for April and then plan the suspension goals

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 4GOTNPNY (Post 714910)

Getting there need a lot more practice with the machine https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...eff7a006f9.jpg

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To make this easier to your self, try to avoid corners. Make your patches round. Shrinketch wont be so bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperB70 (Post 716877)

To make this easier to your self, try to avoid corners. Make your patches round. Shrinketch wont be so bad.

thank you i never even thought of that but it makes a lot of sense i will try that with my next fender when i patch the antenna hole

Very cool car and I have always had a thing for them.

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Almost done restoring the header panel with a modern twist can’t wait to get this car back on the road want to get a rendering done as well and plan out the suspension as I haven’t figured out exactly what I want to do yet just need to get it back on the road right now

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Finally got into the garage and started playing with the car got the engine and trans in need to Center the engine the factory offsets it to the passenger side, need to Center it to get the hood to close and I’m having issues at the moment all the suspension is off the car now and I will start marking and filling in the holes to tuck the wiring and smooth the engine bay I have also had a custom washer bottle and overflow made up to exact specs of the originals super excited about that

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Seriously, looks like you've done a lot of work getting to this point. Good luck moving forward. Hope the garage is heated!

Needed some help with the engine since I’m having power issues with my garage with the welder and compressor need to do a rewire and have to trench the yard. So I asked my chassis guy to help me quickly with my issues could not get the hood closed even milling the intake didn’t get me where I wanted so I asked him to lower and back up the engine which helps with shifter location as well. And we tubed the cross meme we like we did in my street strip car to gain more room I pick up the car on Saturday and continue my work hoping to have the car on the road April

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Got the blower on and have more then enough clearance to fit under the stock hood just have to
Either modify or make a new discharge tube for the carb enclosure https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1c969c2b30.jpg
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Power to weight should be a lot of fun. :drive:

Got some work done on the project started planning the wiring started stripping the carpet and factory sound deadening out, got my dynamat also got my new seats going to recover them to match the interior orange leather with factory plaid inserts can’t wait trying to get it back on the road for June and get it to Carlisle https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a202e5d1b4.jpg
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Very nice paint work! I can't wait to see the finished product! I hope you make it to Carlisle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHJNCSU (Post 722573)

Very nice paint work! I can't wait to see the finished product! I hope you make it to Carlisle.

not sure about carlisle but i want to 100 percent make woodward im starting to focus more on the car again

Got time in the garage this was harder then I thought it was stuck on the floors but for a Canadian car I’m super happy with the shape of the floors they are super clean https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...59845cb835.jpg
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^^^^ always good news!

You have definitely had your work cut out for you in just about all aspects so far. Your perseverance has surely paid off! Looking forward to further progress on your ride. :thumbsup:

Got the old rad fitted I have lots of room now with the engine set down and back so should not have any cooling issues with the new setup looking to the wizard cooling system in the picture with brushless fan. The floors are nice and clean just want to fix the dents in the floor looks like someone before me jacked it up from the floor pans https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...cb46842d65.jpg
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So I got my motivation back recently and started back at the car again I have made custok power steering brackets since I have to keep the v belt setup for the blower for the early mustang. I also made and custom alt bracket instead of using the factory hockey stick. Fitting the recaro sets I will have to modify the arm rest but it’s worth it for recaros i won’t build a car without them again. I’m also going to start welding up the holes in the engine bay starting to mark the holes. I got a new body harness for the car going to do a complete rewire. The engine was dropped and had custom mounts made to move the engine down and back so everything fits the stock hood. Had to make a custom steering shaft as well. The goal is to have it together and running for Woodward and the mustang II reunion at the memories show https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f9631f9697.jpg
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It’s been a while haven’t had much time for the car since the summer has been taken up water proofing my house foundation the goal was to have the car at Woodward now that’s next years goal. One thing I am extremely excited for is we are going to paint the long cobra graphics on to the car my artist drew up a nice snake looks almost identical to or with a small custom twist. Also had the rear end blasted and painted decided to upgrade to the 9 inch going to keep the leaf springs for the time being until I figure out what suspension to run. And been working on fitting the seat ran into a problem with the armrest so brainstorming on what to do https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...045d175ded.jpg
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Progress! :thumbsup:

The graphic looks great even though I have no idea what the twist is, lol. I still think it's cool. Good luck continuing the progress.