Mark III Build

[Detroit Bill]

I had ordered a Superformance MKIII on January 22, 2015. It is now in transit across the Ocean.

My goal for the car is not to appear "real" but to appeal to me. I also like the turns and will likely take it out on some tracks and try some autocross.

For the Chassis I ordered:

Dark gray with black stripes
Tonneau cover (no soft top)
Polished Stainless Quicklifts
Driver and Passenger Roll bar
Silver Ceramic Headers
Black Ceramic Side Pipes
Stainless Surge tank
Standard Size foot box (fits FE)
Glove Box
Leather Steering Wheel
Delete rims

The car is going to be assembled by Olthoff racing in NC. I was going to do it myself but the season is short here in Michigan and with a car of this nature I did not think a learning curve was a good thing. I would like the suspension dialed in by someone who has lots of experience. My thoughts are there will be plenty of opportunity to work on it.

I am going to have them swap out the roll bars for their roll bars. They are taller so they are above a helmeted drivers head. They have a thicker wall thickness. They are more vertical than standard. Some tracks will not let you play if the roll bar is not above the drivers head.

Part of their install kit is urethane motor and trans mounts.

I am going to have them add urethane sway bar bushings.

I ordered wheels from Bob at Vintage. I had him powder coat them a satin black, on the dull side.
They will have Michelin Pilot Sport 2's 335/30/18 in the rear and 275/35/18 in the front.

For the Trans I ordered a Tremec TKO 600 with .82 5th gear from Liberty Gear here in MI. it includes:
•Bronze Shift Fork Pads
•Surface Enhancement Processed Hubs & Sliders
•Internal Shift Linkage Upgrade
•Carbon Fiber Blocking Rings—2nd, 3rd & 4th Gear
•Liberty's Exclusive Threaded Front Cluster Bearing Support
• Pro 5.0 Shifter.

It should shift as good as a TKO600 can shift.

I went with Barry Rabotnick at Survival Motorsports for the engine. I will include a few photos of the engine in process but the details will have to wait for another post when I have more time.

Now some photos from South Africa







Some Photos from MI

[Detroit Bill]

The engine is a Side Oiler Garage aluminum FE block with a Scat Forged Crank, Scat H beam Rods, 482 cubic inches. Side Oiler are the people from Genesis reborn. I am told they changed the way they are pouring the blocks and the castings look very good. The compression target is 10.8 to one. Barry is going to use his Survival FElony heads port matched but not ported, 2.200/1.710 valves.

The cam will be a hydraulic roller 242/248@.50 643/637 with 110 lobe separation.

I wanted to go with a Blue Thunder dual plane but none are available. That leads me to a Edelbrock RPM manifold. Very similar performance wise but the Blue Thunder has an oil filler hole in the front which can be used for a breather so you can have valve covers with no holes. I want a PCV system to keep oil mist in the engine bay to a minimum. Barry is going to mill a hole in the back of the RPM manifold for the PCV basket.

The pan is going to be a Moroso road race pan with baffles and trap doors to keep the oil in the pickup area.

For a carb we are going with a Quick Fuel Q-850 Black Diamond. The Black Diamond designation is a magic coating that is supposed to drop the fuel temperature by 6%. It is also resistant to chemical and might look better longer. Certainly not an original look but but I am building it for me. With the under hood temps I thought I would hedge my bet. Also in keeping with my road course thinking I am having the custom shop at Quick Fuel put in wedge shaped floats so in a sustained turn the sloshing fuel does not starve the engine for fuel.

Ignition will be a MSD AL6, I went to that level because I want the rev limiter. For a vehicle that is easy to spin the wheels that is likely a good investment.

I am on the fence for valve covers. I wanted chrome Pent Roof with no holes. Because the Blue Thunder intake is not available that is not possible. I am either going to go with Chrome Pent roof valve covers with holes or Blue Thunder bead blasted competition valve covers. Again not original but a good look and easy enough to change later.


The target for this engine is 600/600 with a flat curve. Barry is confident he can achieve that with his heads without porting. If that is true they are pretty good in their stock configuration which was his goal. Something between a stock Edelbrock head and a ported Edelbrock head. The head can still be ported to achieve bigger numbers.

Maybe Barry will chime in with more information.

[Detroit Bill]

Reserved

[cobrajeff]

Looks like you are well on your way to getting a fabulous machine!

Jeff

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by cobrajeff

Looks like you are well on your way to getting a fabulous machine!

Jeff

Says the Ex-Michigan citizen!

Sure, retire from Ford at a good pension and then flee to the warm area!

Jeff, I am still waiting for either the XD Cobra or the Cougar II to show at my place as promised.......................

[DWRAT]

WOW, we need motor details for sure...
You may want to check out the Cobra Valley sway bars if your gonna track play much. Cobra Valley's R/T Street & Racing Sway Bar Package

[Detroit Bill]

I updated the engine information.

[buddyg]

Nice build! When do you expect completion?

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by buddyg

Nice build! When do you expect completion?

I expect it to be complete 2 weeks ago!

It is looking like mid June if nothing goes wrong.

[Morris]

Bill you might want to review the black plastic hose you have for cool air.......under the front fender......not good...

Morris

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by Morris

Bill you might want to review the black plastic hose you have for cool air.......under the front fender......not good...

Morris

What would you suggest? Kirkham does the same thing.

[Morris]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

What would you suggest? Kirkham does the same thing.

Bill

I've seen a couple of cars catch on fire as a results of the plastic air hose under the fender. Almost burnt the complete car.

And the cars that caught fire were street cars, not race cars.....

High temperature silicone hose is the answer, and the double wall with wound wire. Won't catch fire...

Morris

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by Morris

Bill

I've seen a couple of cars catch on fire as a results of the plastic air hose under the fender. Almost burnt the complete car.

And the cars that caught fire were street cars, not race cars.....

High temperature silicone hose is the answer, and the double wall with wound wire. Won't catch fire...

Morris

Do you have a source for that?

[Morris]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

Do you have a source for that?

What are you talking about...... Are you saying I haven't seen cars on fire....

I can only walk the horse to water........

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Morris

Bill

I've seen a couple of cars catch on fire as a results of the plastic air hose under the fender. Almost burnt the complete car.

And the cars that caught fire were street cars, not race cars.....

High temperature silicone hose is the answer, and the double wall with wound wire. Won't catch fire...

Morris

Pray tell what caused them to "catch fire"??? They are air ducts and not near any high heat sources. 3000 Superformances have had this and I am unaware of any fires involving the hose where the hose was the source of a fire.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by Detroit Bill

What would you suggest? Kirkham does the same thing.

Kirkham does offer fresh air ventilation for the driver and passenger side footboxes, but the hose(s) are short(er) and don't meander like the one pictured.

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Pray tell what caused them to "catch fire"??? They are air ducts and not near any high heat sources. 3000 Superformances have had this and I am unaware of any fires involving the hose where the hose was the source of a fire.

Well, on the other side of the wall there's an engine with headers. I'd make sure the hose is of the high temp resistance type.

[Morris]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

Pray tell what caused them to "catch fire"??? They are air ducts and not near any high heat sources. 3000 Superformances have had this and I am unaware of any fires involving the hose where the hose was the source of a fire.

Then you don't have much experience with high heat situations and Cobra's....

The whole idea is to help the new kid keep from hurting himself and prevent any Damage to a vehicle before it has a chance to happen.

Many of these vehicles haven't been tested or gone over with a Technical Advisor to help and assist them in what to look for. I must say that SCCA and NASCAR have very through inspections and have experienced it all and will tell you what will work as well as teach you what to look for.... every crash and fire is reviewed to see what was the cause and affect of the incident.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by Morris

Bill you might want to review the black plastic hose you have for cool air.......under the front fender......not good...

Morris

This has been used on 3000+ SPFs to date and I am not aware of any concerns. What do think is the problem with the black plastic?

[Detroit Bill]

Originally Posted by Mark IV

This has been used on 3000+ SPFs to date and I am not aware of any concerns. What do think is the problem with the black plastic?

I suspect I mentioned I wanted to take it on a track and Morris have a very serious track Kirkham. Take a look at the photos in his gallery.

[vatdevil]

Couple suggestions. If you plan on track use, upgrade the brakes, springs, and shocks. Dennis offers several options. Factory setup isn't for track and autox. I've found car handles best for autoX with rear sway bar disconnected, hooks better and you can use more of that power.