Superformance #298 For Sale

[Mike Simard]

SOLD

Superformance #298, Malechite Green

Engine:
Dart Aluminum block. 4.125” bore 4bolt mains, Cleveland journals.
Eagle forged crank 4” stroke zero balance
Eagle forged H-Beam rods, ARP bolts
JE Pistons. 10.5:1
AFR205 Heads. Titanium valves, Beehive springs, Titanium retainers
Cometic MLS gaskets
Custom Comp Cams hydraulic roller cam
7/16 Hi-tech pushrods
Jesel shaft rockers
FluiDamper 650201 damper
Canfield 1-7/8 headers to fit wide AFR bolt pattern with wider exhaust port.
Sidepipes have spiral auger type inserts replacing original restrictive packing.
Ford EDIS distributorless ignition, Magnecor wires
56mm individual throttle body electronic fuel injection, prototype.
50lb Delphi injectors.
K&N filter
Prototype thermostat housing, o-ring seal
-8 fuel lines, supply and return.
ATL fuel cell with surge tank and internal fuel pump (have original tank)

Drivetrain:
Tilton 7.25 Cerametallic twin disc clutch,
Quartermaster 153T flywheel, lightened to 8.2 lbs
Tilton hydraulic throwout bearing
Tremec 3550 5 speed
Pro5.0 shifter
Aluminum 8.8 differential, 3.27 gears, Torsen T2
Reinforced differential frame mounts
Custom Chrome Moly axles, close fitting splines.

Suspension:
Front and rear control arm bushings replaced with PTFE lined spherical bearings.
Sway bar front: Custom design using heat treated Chrome moly tubing, composite bushings, rod end links.
Sway bar rear: Speedway 1” hollow with splined ends, aluminum arms, rod end links.
Bilstein shocks
HR springs.
Custom billet steering rack mounts

Brakes:
Wilwood Dynalite 4 piston calipers, 12” vented discs front and rear.
SS braided lines
Wilwood “Q” pads
Custom cooling ducts, high temp silicon hose

Wheels:
Custom Vintage Wheel Works D style.
Front: 17x9.5 275/40ZR17 G-Force KD
Rear: 17x11315/35ZR17 G-Force KD

Misc:
Full width powdercoated rollbar (original included)
5 point cam-lock seat belts both sides
Leather steering wheel
EFI electric components, fuses and relays on a swing down hinged panel passenger side footwell

This car has been my project for 3 years, it spends it’s time parked in an air conditioned shop and has had most engine, drivetrain and suspension components measured and then turned into CAD data. The suspension points have been set up and modified to provide a proper amount of camber gain per inch of travel, roll center and ‘swing arm’ length. The Superformance does have a well dsesigned suspension with unequal length control arms front and rear. The car has responded well to the rubber components being replaced and I consider it truly “dialed in”. Bump steer has been adjusted out using precision tools down to increments of .010 rack adjustment, SPF’s have a nice feature in that the steering rack is adjustable in height and I’ve replaced the original rubber mounts with aluminum ones. The suspension travel has been designed to provide the first 1-1/2” of travel to be lightly sprung at which point jounce bumpers stiffen the travel for the remainder. This provides a gentle ride and compliance that increases in stiffness once driven hard.
The main feature of this car is the induction system. It’s the prototype that has had 6 months of design time. It’s designed specifically for this engine and I consider it the most successful project I’ve ever done. Being electronically fuel injected it has gentle driveability much like a normal car but makes massive power with a torque curve that sits above 400 (rear wheel) from 2500 rpm on up. The car makes 497 RWHP. It’s a very fast revving engine and can free rev at 14,000 revs per second thanks to the lightweight clutch. The Cerametallic discs allow slippage better than a normal racing disc and the car is easy to drive in traffic.
The engine has been rebuilt during the recent induction system project and has several hundred miles on it, almost any moving part on the car has been replaced at one point.

[Mike Simard]

New camera! Here's a new picture.

[Mike Simard]

More pics. These show the air cleaner off. It sounds really good with them off too, the sound of big open stacks under full throttle is amazing, if you remember how an old Quadrajet carb sounded, this is orders of magnitude beyond that.

[Mike Simard]

Here's a view of the CAD model used to design the induction system.

[Mike Simard]

Trivia for this car:

It was used to film a movie. http://dixiecountyline.com/DixieHome.htm
It did a street drag race scene filmed in Jefferson Georgia.

It made an appearance on Dream Car Garage. It was in the background as I was talking about my car and Superformance. I babbled about this car having my dream engine and they used my footage and voice but put someone elses name on the screen, I did get my aircleaner signed by Tom Hnatiw (pronounced "Hnatiw") but don't use that aircleaner anymore.

[DavidNJ]

Very interesting motor. What ECU are you using?

Curious, Ti valves, 7/16" pushrods, Jesel rockers with an Eagle crank and hydraulic roller. What lobes, cam timing, and valve springs are you using?

How did you decide on a Fluidamper rather than an ATI, BHJ, Rattler, etc.

Do you have suspension pictures?

[Snakester]

Mike, How can you part with this Cobra? That is the finest looking engine I have ever seen! If I had an extra $48 large laying around I would buy it and make the worlds coolest coffee table.Good luck with your sale.
Snakester

[JBCOBRA]

Funny Video!
I feel the need for SPEED!
Headin' out
JB

[DavidNJ]

It is one of the nicest overall combinations...especially for track days.

[Mike Simard]

Originally Posted by DavidNJ

Very interesting motor. What ECU are you using?

Curious, Ti valves, 7/16" pushrods, Jesel rockers with an Eagle crank and hydraulic roller. What lobes, cam timing, and valve springs are you using?

How did you decide on a Fluidamper rather than an ATI, BHJ, Rattler, etc.

Do you have suspension pictures?

It has a Megasquirt II ECU with an LC-1 wideband O2 sensor.

The valvetrain is designed to be able to rev highly without heavy springs and corresponding worn and broken parts. The cam is a custom Comp grind with 240/244 duration @ .050. The roller lifters have been modified on an EDM machine with tiny oiling slots directing oil at the wheel which is an often overlooked detail. The travel of the lifters has been reduced to .030 to prevent collapsing at high rpms. From my younger days I remember valvetrain problems and still see it today in pushrod engines. A rocker arm mounted on a stud is inherantly unstable, it's like being at the top of a flag pole in that things will move, that's why it has Jesel shaft rockers. The accurate positioning of the rockers allows larger 7/16 pushrods to be used, they're the Comp Hi-tech ones which are the best possible IMO. The valves and retainers are titanium because that weight is even more critical than pushrod or lifters because the valve moves 1.7 times further than the lifter. The springs are Comp beehives, this motor has been to 7000 rpms with no signs of valve float.

The Fluidamper was chosen because of the viscous type design and I'm uneasy with a ring held on by a rubber bead. BTW, the zero balance Fluidamper was $400 and the rubber band types can be had for under $100.

I'll have to taks some suspension pics, stay tuned.

[Tom of VA]

Mike,
What year is this titled as?
Thanks

[Mike Simard]

When I bought the car from it's first owner in Virginia it was titled as a 1965 Ford Superforman, I took it back to Georgia and had it titled the same way, 65Ford Superforman.

[Mike Simard]

I just removed the Supertrapp disc units and put the original tips in their place. the sidepipes now look like normal ones, the inside has spiral inserts replacing the original restrictive packing. For some reason the car now sounds incredibly good now, even better than the old setup with the discs removed.

[Mike Simard]

I'll be on vacation and way from the computer until 7/21.

[Mike Simard]

still for sale

[Mike Simard]

Some possible trades: A Porsche 930 or 928 (1985 or later with manual trans), a 12 cylinder Ferrari, or possibly a GT40 kit, this car is pretty much perfected and I yearn for a project with things to do mechanically.

[Mike Simard]

BTW, included is the Superformance soft top and side windows, it does fit over the roll bar. it can be stowed in the trunk and installed in several minutes.

[Cracker]

Mike - your killing me! I sure wish I was in the position to be buy it now - I would if I could! Performance and the pursuit of greater efficiencies turn my "crank" and that's what you have done with your car. Somebody is going to get a great, unbelievable, out right robbery type of deal.

With your cars level of refinement mechanically, have you thought of giving Ebay a shot? Considering all of your improvements, I would have tried that route prior to lowering the price to 39.5 - just a thought. Best wishes.

[xlr8or]

Can you tell me more about the fuel cell and surge tank setup?

Beautiful car by the way.

[Mike Simard]

Scott, the fuel cell is a semi custom one from ATL. It's based on a standard SU117 but is modified to put the fill plate in the center. The SU117 is one of the higher end steel cells with the re-enforced bladder. The surge tank is an ATL with 3 flap doors and the pump inside model CFD600-HP. The fill plate was modified to have dash 8AN fittings with no sharp bend fittings anywhere. The setup is a good way to prevent fuel starvation at any condition, interestingly, it also makes less noise than some factory cars.
I may put the stock tank back in, most Cobra buyers probably just see the cell as ugly and do not care about the design attributes. BTW, your car is awesome, the idea of a 385 series is way cool. I remember thumbing through automotive repair manuals as a kid and the Ford 460 was always the one with the biggest bore/shortest stroke. Next was my favorite, Buick 455 with a 4.312 bore, ahh...