Mr.Moontang
08-05-2008, 12:00 PM
Crown Cobra!!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://photos.ebizautos.com/5383/1908822_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://desert-autosport.ebizautos.com/detail-1999-ford-crown_victoria-cobra_motor-1908822.html&h=480&w=640&sz=78&hl=en&start=39&um=1&tbnid=5MfOaH2enyLJEM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DROUSH%2BCOBRA%2BVIC%26start%3D20%26nd sp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN)
Manual Crown Victoria, Bob Bondurant liked the big Ford Crown Victoria (and uses them at the school for police training), but that car doesn't come with a manual and its 200-horse SOHC 4.6-liter V8 just isn't peppy enough for flat-out racetrack use. Enter Roush, who simply agreed to hand-build a total of 18 Crown Vics to Bondurant's own hopped-up specifications — including the addition of a 300-plus horsepower Cobra 4.6-liter four-valve V8 engine and T-45 five-speed manual transmission!
These new Bondurant instructor cars started out as 1999 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor fleet models in stealthy black paint. Out went the anemic stock V8 and four-speed automatic transmission. In came the four-valve SVT Mustang Cobra 4.6 "cammer" motor, mated to the Mustang's T-45 five-speed manual. Of course, this is no remove-and-replace operation, as this marriage was never blessed by Ford and consummated in any Ford factory. But that's not an issue for the gang over at Roush. It just took some "rethinking" of a few key pieces.
For example, the air cleaner needed to be moved to the opposite side of the engine bay, and an H-pipe had to be fabricated with resonators to fit into the production dual-exhaust muffler assemblies. Then an oil pan from the old Lincoln Mark VIII was modified to fit, complete with a full-length Cobra windage tray and Cobra R engine oil cooler.
Speaking of cooling, to withstand race conditions amid Phoenix's stifling summers, the radiator was borrowed from the F-250 truck, with both electrical and mechanical fans employed in fabricated shrouds. Since these cars are designed for track use only, heat-generating emissions controls were removed and the engine was recalibrated for racing use. The tranny was upgraded with carbon-fiber blocker rings, and a driveshaft loop was installed for safety. The stock 3:55 rear ring-and-pinion gearset was swapped out in favor of 3:73 rear axle ratio with limited slip, and vents on both the axle and transmission were added.
Changes were needed inside, as well. A six-point, full integral Roush safety cage was welded into place, and four-point harnesses were installed with new anchor points at all four passenger locations, complete with racing-style string window nets for the side glass. The instructors got a Recaro driver seat, as well as a clutch and dead pedal taken from the Mustang. A modified SVT Contour center console now houses a custom five-speed shifter and hand brake (to replace the Vic's column-mounted gear selector and foot-activated parking brake setup.) Finally, the instrument cluster is upgraded with a 140-mph unit out of the SVT Cobra.
There are other racecar safety mods, as well, such as the installation of a 22-gallon racing fuel cell and stainless-steel fuel lines, with the battery being relocated in the trunk. There's also an onboard fire suppression system, triggered by a switch in the center console, that unleashes the contents of two 11-pound Halon tanks over the fuel cell and engine compartment, as well as into the interior. As an extra precaution, a separate 10-pound dry chemical-type extinguisher is latched into the trunk. As you can see, this is one pretty serious race machine.
Affectionately known by insiders as the Cobra Vic, these hot, new Bondurant instructor cars can't help but make us wonder why a similar street package wasn't developed for sale to the general public long ago. After all, the Mark VIII's four-valve 4.6-liter was the basis for the current Cobra motor, and Ford could have had a real Impala SS fighter hitting the market at about the same time GM was pulling the plug on that model — keeping the muscle car dream alive.
If you'd surmise that driving a stick-shift, 300-plus-horse Crown Victoria would feel somewhat odd, just wait until you push this car hard. On our first spirited launch from rest, the Cobra Vic leapt forward with impressive force, smoking both rear tires in an angry squeal. With the engine building power in a delightful song of camshaft and induction noise, we were rewarded for hammering the one-two shift with chirping tires before winding our way up to third gear.
Not wanting to push it into triple digits, a hard 70-to-0 stop seemed in order, and the Cobra Vic responded by slamming our chest into the harness as we slowed smartly without the nose taking a dive. Later, we used light-pole stanchions in an abandoned parking lot as a long-gated slalom and found left-right transitions at speed tighter and tauter than any car this size should be able to accomplish. Imagine a full-size family sedan stirring one's enthusiast soul this way!
If driving the Cobra Vic took some getting used to on our part, it's no wonder it drew such a confusing response from other drivers. Some slowed immediately upon our approach, thinking it an unmarked high-speed police pursuit car. But its lack of lights and throaty pipes said otherwise. Others looked it over with cautious curiosity. Still others took it for exactly what it was — one big, black, bad-*** American sedan — and offered a nod, a grin or a thumbs-up in approval.
The most blatant reaction to driving our borrowed Cobra Vic on the streets of suburban Detroit came from a couple of Grosse Pointe-area police officers. They stopped us not because we were violating any laws, but because they wanted to know if the Cobra Vic was some kind of prototype police car. Explaining this car to the cops necessitated opening the hood to show them the motor and then having to tell them that no, we couldn't let them take it for a spin. They both wished aloud that Ford would sell a Police Interceptor with this much performance capability and watched us pull away as softly as we could.
Truly, the Roush-built Bondurant Cobra Vic thrills the Boomer-age enthusiast in us, and yet at the same time saddens us that Ford does not sell such a beast. But wait: Word out of the Chicago Auto Show has it that Mercury is planning to sell a performance variant based on the Grand Marquis (sister car to the Crown Vic) in the early summer of 2002 as a 2003 model.
Called the "Marauder" after performance-oriented Mercurys of the past, this full-size, five-passenger four-door will pack a 4.6-liter four-valve V8 making 300-plus horsepower and 300 foot-pounds of torque. A four-speed automatic will be the only transmission offered, with a 3.55 rear axle ratio and limited-slip differential.
Like the Cobra Vic, the new Mercury Marauder sports a monochrome black paint scheme and Cobra-style front fascia (with round fog lamps in place of Roush's air ducts), as well as a 140-mph speedometer and center console with floor-mounted shifter. Marauder will also feature a performance suspension and massive 18-inch alloy wheels with high-performance all-season tires (P235/50ZR18 in front and P245/55ZR18 in rear).
The show car introduced in Chicago did not have a rear spoiler (but maybe Roush could offer the Cobra Vic's for sale) and featured a special leather-trimmed interior, but the performance intent for this big street machine is just as obvious.
Although Roush built the original Marauder concept car a few years ago for Ford (powered by the old 5.8-liter V8), the Bondurant Cobra Vic project and the 2003 Mercury Marauder program are not related and were developed separately by different groups of people. (We have also seen a sporty Crown Vic dubbed the "Blackhawk" that Ford is considering for production.) What's more -- just like the "Harley-Davidson" edition SuperCab and SuperCrew pickups, and the new "Bullitt" Mustang — all of these specialty models were developed totally outside of Ford's in-house hot-rodders, the Special Vehicle Team. But hey, we should be happy they're responding to the needs of some of us, even if they're not working hand-in-hand with each other.
After journalists rushed up to the turntable to get a closer look at the Marauder at the conclusion of the Chicago press introduction, one young reporter went up to a Mercury spokesman and asked: "The Impala SS went away years ago — do you really think there is a market for this kind of big, American muscle car?"
What's with kids these days? I guess there are some things they'll just never understand
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://photos.ebizautos.com/5383/1908822_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://desert-autosport.ebizautos.com/detail-1999-ford-crown_victoria-cobra_motor-1908822.html&h=480&w=640&sz=78&hl=en&start=39&um=1&tbnid=5MfOaH2enyLJEM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DROUSH%2BCOBRA%2BVIC%26start%3D20%26nd sp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN)
Manual Crown Victoria, Bob Bondurant liked the big Ford Crown Victoria (and uses them at the school for police training), but that car doesn't come with a manual and its 200-horse SOHC 4.6-liter V8 just isn't peppy enough for flat-out racetrack use. Enter Roush, who simply agreed to hand-build a total of 18 Crown Vics to Bondurant's own hopped-up specifications — including the addition of a 300-plus horsepower Cobra 4.6-liter four-valve V8 engine and T-45 five-speed manual transmission!
These new Bondurant instructor cars started out as 1999 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor fleet models in stealthy black paint. Out went the anemic stock V8 and four-speed automatic transmission. In came the four-valve SVT Mustang Cobra 4.6 "cammer" motor, mated to the Mustang's T-45 five-speed manual. Of course, this is no remove-and-replace operation, as this marriage was never blessed by Ford and consummated in any Ford factory. But that's not an issue for the gang over at Roush. It just took some "rethinking" of a few key pieces.
For example, the air cleaner needed to be moved to the opposite side of the engine bay, and an H-pipe had to be fabricated with resonators to fit into the production dual-exhaust muffler assemblies. Then an oil pan from the old Lincoln Mark VIII was modified to fit, complete with a full-length Cobra windage tray and Cobra R engine oil cooler.
Speaking of cooling, to withstand race conditions amid Phoenix's stifling summers, the radiator was borrowed from the F-250 truck, with both electrical and mechanical fans employed in fabricated shrouds. Since these cars are designed for track use only, heat-generating emissions controls were removed and the engine was recalibrated for racing use. The tranny was upgraded with carbon-fiber blocker rings, and a driveshaft loop was installed for safety. The stock 3:55 rear ring-and-pinion gearset was swapped out in favor of 3:73 rear axle ratio with limited slip, and vents on both the axle and transmission were added.
Changes were needed inside, as well. A six-point, full integral Roush safety cage was welded into place, and four-point harnesses were installed with new anchor points at all four passenger locations, complete with racing-style string window nets for the side glass. The instructors got a Recaro driver seat, as well as a clutch and dead pedal taken from the Mustang. A modified SVT Contour center console now houses a custom five-speed shifter and hand brake (to replace the Vic's column-mounted gear selector and foot-activated parking brake setup.) Finally, the instrument cluster is upgraded with a 140-mph unit out of the SVT Cobra.
There are other racecar safety mods, as well, such as the installation of a 22-gallon racing fuel cell and stainless-steel fuel lines, with the battery being relocated in the trunk. There's also an onboard fire suppression system, triggered by a switch in the center console, that unleashes the contents of two 11-pound Halon tanks over the fuel cell and engine compartment, as well as into the interior. As an extra precaution, a separate 10-pound dry chemical-type extinguisher is latched into the trunk. As you can see, this is one pretty serious race machine.
Affectionately known by insiders as the Cobra Vic, these hot, new Bondurant instructor cars can't help but make us wonder why a similar street package wasn't developed for sale to the general public long ago. After all, the Mark VIII's four-valve 4.6-liter was the basis for the current Cobra motor, and Ford could have had a real Impala SS fighter hitting the market at about the same time GM was pulling the plug on that model — keeping the muscle car dream alive.
If you'd surmise that driving a stick-shift, 300-plus-horse Crown Victoria would feel somewhat odd, just wait until you push this car hard. On our first spirited launch from rest, the Cobra Vic leapt forward with impressive force, smoking both rear tires in an angry squeal. With the engine building power in a delightful song of camshaft and induction noise, we were rewarded for hammering the one-two shift with chirping tires before winding our way up to third gear.
Not wanting to push it into triple digits, a hard 70-to-0 stop seemed in order, and the Cobra Vic responded by slamming our chest into the harness as we slowed smartly without the nose taking a dive. Later, we used light-pole stanchions in an abandoned parking lot as a long-gated slalom and found left-right transitions at speed tighter and tauter than any car this size should be able to accomplish. Imagine a full-size family sedan stirring one's enthusiast soul this way!
If driving the Cobra Vic took some getting used to on our part, it's no wonder it drew such a confusing response from other drivers. Some slowed immediately upon our approach, thinking it an unmarked high-speed police pursuit car. But its lack of lights and throaty pipes said otherwise. Others looked it over with cautious curiosity. Still others took it for exactly what it was — one big, black, bad-*** American sedan — and offered a nod, a grin or a thumbs-up in approval.
The most blatant reaction to driving our borrowed Cobra Vic on the streets of suburban Detroit came from a couple of Grosse Pointe-area police officers. They stopped us not because we were violating any laws, but because they wanted to know if the Cobra Vic was some kind of prototype police car. Explaining this car to the cops necessitated opening the hood to show them the motor and then having to tell them that no, we couldn't let them take it for a spin. They both wished aloud that Ford would sell a Police Interceptor with this much performance capability and watched us pull away as softly as we could.
Truly, the Roush-built Bondurant Cobra Vic thrills the Boomer-age enthusiast in us, and yet at the same time saddens us that Ford does not sell such a beast. But wait: Word out of the Chicago Auto Show has it that Mercury is planning to sell a performance variant based on the Grand Marquis (sister car to the Crown Vic) in the early summer of 2002 as a 2003 model.
Called the "Marauder" after performance-oriented Mercurys of the past, this full-size, five-passenger four-door will pack a 4.6-liter four-valve V8 making 300-plus horsepower and 300 foot-pounds of torque. A four-speed automatic will be the only transmission offered, with a 3.55 rear axle ratio and limited-slip differential.
Like the Cobra Vic, the new Mercury Marauder sports a monochrome black paint scheme and Cobra-style front fascia (with round fog lamps in place of Roush's air ducts), as well as a 140-mph speedometer and center console with floor-mounted shifter. Marauder will also feature a performance suspension and massive 18-inch alloy wheels with high-performance all-season tires (P235/50ZR18 in front and P245/55ZR18 in rear).
The show car introduced in Chicago did not have a rear spoiler (but maybe Roush could offer the Cobra Vic's for sale) and featured a special leather-trimmed interior, but the performance intent for this big street machine is just as obvious.
Although Roush built the original Marauder concept car a few years ago for Ford (powered by the old 5.8-liter V8), the Bondurant Cobra Vic project and the 2003 Mercury Marauder program are not related and were developed separately by different groups of people. (We have also seen a sporty Crown Vic dubbed the "Blackhawk" that Ford is considering for production.) What's more -- just like the "Harley-Davidson" edition SuperCab and SuperCrew pickups, and the new "Bullitt" Mustang — all of these specialty models were developed totally outside of Ford's in-house hot-rodders, the Special Vehicle Team. But hey, we should be happy they're responding to the needs of some of us, even if they're not working hand-in-hand with each other.
After journalists rushed up to the turntable to get a closer look at the Marauder at the conclusion of the Chicago press introduction, one young reporter went up to a Mercury spokesman and asked: "The Impala SS went away years ago — do you really think there is a market for this kind of big, American muscle car?"
What's with kids these days? I guess there are some things they'll just never understand