1995 Mustang SVT Cobra

[Beej]

So I can't claim to know much about these things (pretty car, btw), but the times are a changin'
if a turbo on a V8 that's been around for decades is the new 'reliable power.' Maybe I just need to get used to the whole Turbo Mustang thing.

[95SVTCobra]

Thanks man! Yeah, it is interesting that back maybe 10 years ago the stroker or supercharger was the go to option. But today we can debate between three different options that all make relatively the same power numbers, and are all relatively reliable.

[ibjeepin95]

Sell the spare 302 to Taylor/James/the new guys whose names I can't remember and make a 5.0 Miata

This. But someone will say "I can't auto x it anymore". Aannnnnnnddddd?

[95SVTCobra]

Quick write-up about the Refrigerator Bowl Auto-X:
What a day. That was the most fun I have had in the car in a long time, and she handled it all with relative grace.
Some observations:

-The car is PLENTY fast, and is in fact (like many of you always say) way faster than its driver haha

-The tires hung on really well for being summer street tires. They are the Nitto NT555s, and they stuck really well during hard cornering. I surprised the first person I got to ride along with me as to how well it would just go into corners and stay there.

-Brakes. Holy Hawk HP+ pads. They PUT IN WORK. I know I could have been braking way later than I was, but part of me still had the "Hey, you have to drive this home, and that's a tire wall" mentality.

-The car stayed relatively cool throughout the day thanks in large part probably to the huge radiator I put in it. It also helped to lift the hood after runs, so that worked out :thumbup:.

-Suspension was fantastic. The H&R's kept the car planted, as well as the KYB shocks and struts keeping it stiff and able to change directions easily.

I improved my times every run, running the afternoon time down from 52 to 49 seconds. The pointers fellow drivers gave me worked out really well, and I was able to focus on improving something every run.

I was really impressed with the car as a whole, being able to drive up, tracked all day, and drive back, no issues except an intermittent CEL on the highway, which would come on and go off every once in a while, and largely disappeared after I opened my gas cap and put some more gas in the tank after the event. It's either o2 sensors, or sometimes I attribute it to it being an old car lol. I think when I have been able to read it, it comes out o2 bank too rich/lean, but it goes away. I don't get any power loss either, so I'm not to worried about it, especially since it disappears.

I think I am very happy with where this car sits a whole right now. It looks good, is loud enough (lol), and has enough performance for a car of that era. The only thing that might happen in the future is some new seats (they have 0 bolstering, and are cracking badly, and sadly this weekend my tool box ripped the back of the passenger seat), and maybe a rear seat delete.

Soon it will be time to put her away for the winter, what a way to send her off to hibernate though!!!!!!!!!! :thumbup:

[SlimKlim]

Car looked & sounded great out there, watching your heat in the morning, I could tell when you were starting a run, even though we couldn't see the start line. :lol:

[95SVTCobra]

WINTER HIBERNATION
So time to take a little break from finals, and do a quick write up about how I store the good ol Cobra for the cold winter months, as well as a little update on some big changes coming over the winter and into the summer. So lets dive in!

Step 1: Change your oil, oil filter, check coolant levels, and observe for any weird leaks under the car

This step is important. Some people don't change their oil, and wait until it is after winter to change it. My thought process is that there could be all sorts of things in that oil, from maybe gas, to tiny metal flakes, to dirt and grime, and I would rather have new fresh oil keeping the seals lubed before I put it away than this nasty oil.

You need to obviously replace the oil filter as well, with any oil change haha.

Run the car up to operating temp, give it a couple revs, make sure the car cycles that new oil all through the system.



Mistakes were made, oops :roll:


(Optional) Step 2: Change your wheels and tires back to stock if you have aftermarket wheels

I decided to change back to my stock wheels and tires for storage, as this is the first year I have had my Saleen rep. wheels. This is to prevent flat spotting of tires, which can cause issues when you bring the car out from storage from sitting for so long.

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: note that some people ask "Why not leave it on jackstands?". I don't want to do this because to me, suspension was built and designed to always have load on it, sitting still or loaded up in a corner at VIR. Therefore, if you put it on jackstands, this suspension could just be hanging, and potentially shift or not seal properly, so I just prefer to leave it on the ground. If you do not have a spare set of wheels and tires laying around, a company makes specific tire savers for winter storage here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.autogeek.net/tire-supports.html">http://www.autogeek.net/tire-supports.html</a><!-- m -->, but they are clearly very expensive.

You also need to inflate these and your good tires up to a little higher PSI than normal (for example, my stock tires take 51 PSI and I put 48 PSI in) to keep them from losing too much air over the winter months. Without getting too into it, colder air makes PSI go down, so keep an eye out on the tires for leaks and/or getting low while it is in storage.




Step 3:Fill the car up to the brim with premium gasoline!

Again, other people have different ways of storing their car. I believe that filling up your car is the way to go. If you let a tank which is normally full of liquid get down near empty and then store it, you could find yourself in a bit of a pickle because condensation could form from the cold in the tank as well as seals drying out because they no longer have liquid on them.. So I fill it up, and put the correct amount of Stabil in the tank, to keep the fuel fresh.

NOTE: You do need to run the car for 5-8 minutes after you put the Stabil in, as it needs to percolate into the whole fuel system, to prevent anything nasty from happening.

Step 4: Detail baby, detail!

Now it is time to wash the car. Mine was FILTHY from the trip to Richmond, and to Summit Point. Use a good quality soap (I use Meguires Gold Class), a grit guard, a SOFT mitt, and dip it in the bucket frequently. At this point you can observe the amount of wax on the car, as either it will bead up and roll off, or just become a sheet and not really come off easily.

After you are done with the car, make sure you get the wheels as well. I have a special mitt for wheels, as well special tools as I do NOT want to touch the paint after I do them, which is also why I do the wheels last. Brake dust is nasty stuff haha.

Then dry the car off with your preferred method. I use a super absorbent kinda Sham-Wow shammy, followed by a clean microfiber towel.

My grandfather (who I never got to meet) always made sure when he washed a car, to dry out the door jams, trunk area, and under the hood, so I do the same haha :thumbup:.

Step 5: Wax time!

Now it is time to wax the car! Use your personal wax of choice, I personally have 5 waxes that I use exclusively. 2 paste and 3 liquid.

Paste: Meguires Gold Class Carnuba, and Griots Premium Carnuba Paste Wax (preferred, as it is thicker and gives a great coat)

Liquid: Meguires Gold Class Carnuba Liquid Wax, Griots Carnuba Liquid Wax, and Jax Wax Liquid Carnuba Wax (FANTASTIC for after wash quick waxes or touch ups; goes on really thin, and does a fantastic job)

For this job, I used simply the Griots Premium Paste wax, as it is the thickest and best wax I have. I wax the whole car, starting with the roof, working my way down to the "dirtiest" parts of the clean car (aka lowest parts on the car).



I then wipe it off with many soft microfiber towels, and as you can see from the pictures, it is unbelievable how much better it looks. We are getting close to putting it away!

Step 6: Interior detail!

You cannot neglect your interior, even though it will be in a garage. I first clean the dash and all surfaces I can with Meguires Dash clean, then follow up with a little bit of dash shine. I could see the product being absorbed, and left a dull sheen on the dash, which is exactly how I like it.

I then conditioned the leather with some Meguires wipes (all I had up here at JMU), just to keep it from cracking too much more (LOL @ domestic leather; but this will hopefully change this winter )

Then, remove the mats, you will take these inside your apartment or house, just to keep them clean. I had already vacuumed at the car was at North 38, but if it is dirty, go ahead and vacuum it out.

Now the fun part! Make sure you have at least 3 packages of baking soda, and plenty of dryer sheets. I the baking soda in the following locations: 1 trunk, 1 drivers side rear passenger footwell, and 1 passenger footwell. Baking soda absorbes moisture in the air, and this should prevent excess moisture in your car while it is stored. Then, I put a dryer sheet in the trunk, and one in each floorboard in the cabin. This serves 2 purposes. One obviously is to keep the interior smelling fresh. Secondly, critters and bugs do not like dryer sheets.



Make sure you crack the windows before you put the car away, this keeps air circulating in and out, hopefully keeping it fresh in the interior.

Step 7: Preventing Moisture UNDER the car

Now pull out your car, and let it idle for a bit to make sure that Stabil is in the system

As you are letting this happen, you need to put something down on the floor to show any leaks the car has over the winter, AND prevent moisture from being trapped up under the car. I do this by running to my local Dollar Tree, and snagging 3-4 shower curtains and placing them under where the car will be sitting, like so:



This is getting a little OCD, yes I know lol but I do enjoy this stuff .

Step 8: Final Misc. Details

Alright! You are in the homestretch. Pull the car back in onto the curtains, enjoy the sound of it one last time, and cut her off. Pop the hood. Unfortunately, I do not have my battery tender here at JMU, so I had to take out the battery and bring it inside, but if I DID have my trickle charger, I would just simply hook it up to the battery. I run the wires up under the car so I can shut the hood, and the car cover fits better. But this time, I simply removed the battery. Also, put a couple of dryer sheets in the engine, for the animal reason mostly (LOL).

Rubber can get brittle and stick to things over the winter months, so now is the time to grab a couple spare clean towels, and put them under the windshield wipers to avoid them sticking to the windows. Of course, you could remove them, but I plan on replacing them soon, so the old ones are left on with towels on the windshield.

Shove some spare rags, towels, whatever into the exhaust pipes to keep animals out. I used 2 old microfiber towels with a dryer sheet in the middle. Also, I put dryer sheets on top of every wheel, for the same purpose.

Finally, cover the car. This is optional, but if you have a car cover, you might as well. I poked a hole in mine to allow the antenna to poke through, and now the car is officially stored.

WOOHOO!

Make sure you take the battery, floor mats, and radio bezel inside, as these pieces are either susceptible to cold or valuable.

TLR- I stored the car for winter, steps above if interested :lol:

Winter plans: Just because your car can't run, doesn't mean you can't still wrench on it :lol:. So I did a thing. I bought a computer performance chip, and need a few more mods to make it work the best it can.



Here are the plans:

New seats- Summit Racing
CAI with a new MAF
Send off my lower intake to get ported and polished
*Maybe* Rear seat delete kit

And.....wait for it........sometime in the near future I will be going to....COILOVERS.

It's time to get ready for showcar season (MM show, Mustang Week 2k16) ladies and gentlemen, and winter is where you make that dream happen :thumbup:.

[SlimKlim]

How long do you actually leave the car when you store it?

Mine typically sits from November-ish to March and all I do is give it a bath, top off the tank, hook up a battery tender and throw a cover over it. Some years I put stabil in it, others I don't bother because it really only sits for a couple months. I've never had issues with flat spotting or moisture but my garage is attached to the house so it stays very temperate in there unless I open the door.

[95SVTCobra]

I typically try to store it from late November until late March, or early April. When I'm in Richmond, the weather is usually good until around now for storage. In Harrisonburg, probably closer to Thanksgiving is the time to start think about putting it away. When I start seeing consistant upper and lower 30s in the lows, its sadly time haha. The MM car show is usually the first time it comes out from storage.

I feel like flat spotting isn't too big of an issue, but since I have stock wheels and useless tires, why not.

As far as the Stabil goes, it's more of a peace of mind thing for me, since the car is 20 years old, and so is most of the fuel system. I have not had a problem with it, so seems to be just another way of trying to keep the gas good for me :dunno:

Mostly, this is all due to my OCD about details and detailing lmfao

[WRXtranceformed]

Wow I like your style. That is properly anal car care and I can't get enough of it.

Why not do an OptiCoat or similar coating instead of waxing? It will last longer and provide better results

[95SVTCobra]

Wow I like your style. That is properly anal car care and I can't get enough of it.

Why not do an OptiCoat or similar coating instead of waxing? It will last longer and provide better results

Thank you sir! To be honest, I have never thought about it because I actually enjoy waxing the car, and building up the layers of protection.

[JPolen01]

Have you looked into race ramps for storing? They are contoured to fit the tire to prevent flat spotting. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.etrailer.com/Wheel-Chocks/Race-Ramps/RR-FS.html">http://www.etrailer.com/Wheel-Chocks/Ra ... RR-FS.html</a><!-- m -->

[95SVTCobra]

So, ironically right after I put my car away, my friend from Instagram messaged me. He is the owner of a turbo'd SN95 Cobra, same color (I've actually posted a lot of pictures of his car on here before haha). Looks a little something like this:



Anyway, he messaged me with something interesting. I was featured in a photo album of the hottest Mustangs at Mustang Week 2015! Woohoo :mrgreen:. Finally good to see a little bit of the hard work pay off. Here is the link to the website article: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mustangandfords.com/events/1507-day-4-mustang-week-2015-the-coolest-and-hottest-cars-from-myrtle-beach/">http://www.mustangandfords.com/events/1 ... tle-beach/</a><!-- m -->

I am number 226 out of 240 on the album. Pretty cool for me, small victories :thumbup:.


Here she was in all her glory that day.....can't wait for next year!

[D_Eclipse9916]

Congrats! Always good to know when your hard work pays off.

[Senor_Taylor]

Go, Chip, Go! I think it's really cool that we have a show car in the midst of MM. When was the last time somebody had a car similar in MM?

[davej]

Whatever's in my garage around April usually becomes one for a day. :dunno:

[95SVTCobra]

It's about time I updated this "build" thread I guess :lol:

I'm going to start with what has happened since the MM show, since it has been one of the coolest couple of months with my car, especially Mustang Week.

I didn't touch the car for a long time, and I was happy with it, but around late June, I got bitten again by the mod bug itch, and I had to touch it again. This time, we went for purely cosmetic upgrades and the car honestly looks closer to what I envisioned when I got it 5 years ago. Some of these mods were installed over spring break, but overall they come together like so:













I finally got around to taking off that awful front license plate, added the side scoops, added the gauge pods and seats, as well as the carbon fiber cowl panel. Oh and who can not notice the infamous wiper delete :lol:. Not much, but to me they make a world of difference. Its always the little things, especially with a show car. I also recently replaced the cobra at the front with the more traditional pony, as it fits the car better.

Now that the car has been discussed, I'm going to talk about my AMAZING Mustang Week experience. I cannot tell you how many SN95 cars and owners I met down in Myrtle. I met guys that I have been following their builds since I was in high school, and enjoyed reading their build threads when my car had flowmaster 40's on it (which was a long time ago now that I look back :thumbup. For example, I met Tony Oliver, who has this amazingly clean bagged SN95 and is one of the moderators on the main forums for SN95 mustangs. We became really good friends over the course of the week, and he is a really cool dude to talk to about modding these cars:



Even better than that? He loved my car and wanted to do a photoshoot!







The other red mustang in that photo is owned by my now good friend Greg Millie. I've followed him for a long time on Instagram, and never ever thought I would get to see the car in person, let alone take photos with him. He took some excellent shots of my car, and even gave me a shout out on his page, which was unbelievable.



I also spent a good amount of time with my buddy Brandon, who's car I have whored out on this thread multiple times :lol:. His car is now bagged and has a quality turbo on it, and looks amazing as always. (please ignore the wax on the car in these shots, he was a booth car for a company called Jax Wax, and they sell their product on the fact that you can apply in direct sunlight. Must say it did work, and the car looked amazing! I've used their products before, so thumbs up from me.)





Through hanging out with him, I also met many of his friends, who have some NASTY cars. There is another Brandon who has a beautiful 01 Procharged Cobra, as well as Chris who has this beautiful bagged and whippled S550. *****Be on the lookout for these three possibly at the MM show this year!!! (hopefully plans don't change :thumbup Unbelievable:





Also met a new face, my buddy Alan, who has a procharged 94 Cobra making over 400 hp





Finally I also met Nick, who has a very clean 94/95 Mustang GT, and got to snag some pics of his car. Super cool dude.





I met so many other great, down to earth people, and everyone was welcoming and it honestly was one of the best weeks I've had in my life. It didn't matter if you had a stock v6 or a 1000 hp Shelby, everyone was welcomed. Truly a cool experience.

Even better than all of that?! I got to spend the week with a fellow MM'er, who has just bought himself a mustang. Speaking of which, Paul where is that build thread?







All in all, one of the best weeks ever. Finally am seeing some hard work pay off, and I wouldn't have these opportunities without this amazing car, and wouldn't have met these awesome people. The car ran amazing, and I was very proud of it and all the work my friends and I had put in over the years.

And now for the future Mustang Week gave me some ideas as always. I would like to put the car on air, however that is not in the budget anytime soon. It is a plan for the future, but right now I am going to probably put the car on coilovers and get the rear end down a bit more. I would also like to purchase a Cobra R hood, 1) for the looks and 2) for the cowl vents to get engine heat out (runs a bit hot on a 90 degree day , but it is a 21 year old car, so I don't mind stopping and letting it rest for a bit). And finally, over the winter, a tune and a new bump stick might be in the mix, as she is running very pig rich for the moment haha. But who knows, all that could change in a couple months, it is a marathon and not a sprint :thumbup:. Right now I am trying to enjoy it as much as I can, before it gets tucked away for the winter (which is rapidly approaching).

TL;DR: Mustang Week was an incredible success, car got a few upgrades, have a few future plans for it as always.

[Senor_Taylor]

Am I the only one who thinks your car looks 10 times better than any of the other ones I've seen from Mustang week? Maybe I'm biased but I like yours because it's a clean, OEM faithful kind of car. Some times it's refreshing to see a car be so clean and true to its history.

Great update, Chip! Can't wait to see the car on the 4 sunny days it'll make it out of the garage this semester!

Just kidding.

[WRXtranceformed]

I agree, it's refreshing to see your car so clean and stockish. It's easy to get sucked down the mod road but there's a reason why collectors want unmolested classic cars :thumbup:

You may have run into my buddy Frank and his ride down there, he has a not stock S281 Saleen that is a beast:



He runs around with a bunch of the Pro Dyno / local Charlotte Mustang crowd

[ViPER1313]

Am I the only one who thinks your car looks 10 times better than any of the other ones I've seen from Mustang week? Maybe I'm biased but I like yours because it's a clean, OEM faithful kind of car. Some times it's refreshing to see a car be so clean and true to its history.

Great update, Chip! Can't wait to see the car on the 4 sunny days it'll make it out of the garage this semester!

Just kidding.

Nope, not the only one. Looking good!