The engine Part1

Well I decided to build the engine first as it was something I could get on with whilst I saved up for the chassis.

What to fit, well it had to be a V8, when it comes to a Cobra you just have to ask WHY? when faced with 4, 6 or 12 pot power plants, like strawberry jam in an omelette,(see Gary Rohdes) ITS NOT RIGHT!!! So with that cleared up I looked at the usual suspects of Rover and the Yank V8’s, I started off small deciding on 3.5 RV8 with a stock rebuild and possible LPG conversion but this time I managed to control my desire for power and decided eventually on the Ford 302.

With the engine type sorted I researched many options for the rebuild including buying a turnkey, but thanks to a big mortgage my entire Cobra build is being completed on a £200 a month budget allocation, so I either waited a couple of years to buy a turnkey or I got stuck in and learnt how to do it myself. I went for DIY. Step one, buy a copy of Tom Monroes “How to rebuild small block Fords”. Here comes my first potential howler, I purchased my crank and rods before I had a block finalised! I ordered a CAT crank and Eagle SIR5090FP rods from www.fastengineparts.com. Now although this may have been hasty I got the crank, rods, ARP head bolts plus a full gasket kit for less than I could have purchased the rods for in the UK so I figured I did OK.

Next I set about sourcing the base block for the rebuild I approached, so after a few conversations to Brian at Henwick garage in Worcester I was the happy owner of a 1971 302 long block on standard bores.