[blykins]

Hey Rob....the conversion you're wanting to do is pretty easy. The general jist of it is that you get rid of all fuel injection related parts....lower intake manifold, intake plenum, all sensors, vac lines, etc. You just need to buy a carb intake manifold, a carb, and an air cleaner...You will only have a couple vacuum lines at the most....the biggest one going from the PCV valve to the carb...

The thing on the front of the motor that you're talking about is the air pump...you don't need it.

That's the "forest" version. It's not a big deal to do what you wanna do. When you start getting curious as to what parts to buy, we can fill you in on the "trees" part.

But to answer your first question, you don't need a book to do what you're wanting to do. It's a pretty simple swap.

Are you wanting to go through the engine before you put it in your Cobra? While you have the valve covers and intake off, it wouldn't be too bad to think about a different cam...upgrade parts..etc....