Scothew

Well I was asking cause I thought only the 96-98 cobra's came with the Teksid block, which was I believe made in italy and supposed to be the strongest alum block ford's used to date. Thats why I assumed you went with it.

I'll run it by Rara and see if he knows anything.

don_w

Yes, you are correct, except it wasn't only the Cobra. The were also used in some models of the Lincoln Mark VIII as I understand it. There are a couple of distinguishing features on the Teksid blocks that make it pretty easy to identify them from non-Teksid blocks.

don_w

Due to a few complications, I didn't get the car back in time to hit the track today. After sorting out a couple gremlins (including the vacuum leak a couple days ago which required R&R of the blower to fix, and a couple more issues yesterday and today), Adam has made some good progress on the tune. But, it's pegging the MAF at around 6000rpm right now, so we're going to put a MAFia on it Monday. However, he did tell me it's currently making around 470rwtq @ 3000rpm, so it should feel pretty snappy on the launch with the new torque converter when I do finally get back to the track.

atomic_il

I think snappy is an understatement.... are you gonna try for any wheelies?

don_w

Well, of course I'll try... but I'm not expecting that to happen.

If I can get my 60' times down into the 1.50s, I'll be pretty pleased with that (for now).

don_w

You guys know I don't get too caught up comparing dyno numbers, but I just talked to Adam and what he told me made even me say "OMG". He's still playing with the tune, but he seems to have this thing running pretty friggin strong. How does 450 rwhp and 520 rwtq sound?? Peak torque is right around 3400rpm. And it's making 350rwhp @ 3400rpm, too. Plus, the A/F ratio is a flat 11.7:1 across the board. And this is a pump gas tune at 11psi boost. If this thing dead hooks and goes straight, it ought to be a wild ride. Barring any unforeseen obstacles, we'll get it on an 1/8-mi track on Thursday night to get the really important numbers. Woohoo... I can't wait!!!

don_w

Wait... it gets better... how about 450/535? Adam just called after a "spirited" test drive. He was giggling like a little girl. LOL All he could say was that is was a beast. The street tires are worthless... I hope the drag radials hook! haha!! I never ever expected that much torque. As much as it pains me to say, I may have to swap out the 4.10s for something numerically lower. I'll know for sure after a trip to the track.

Scothew

Good lord Don

If I ever make it out to Cali, or you make it anywhere near here.. promise you'll take me for a spin in that beast!

don_w

Absolutely!!

I brought it home tonight, and I have to say: ME LIKEY!!!

Adam did a helluva job on the tune on this thing. It is completely streetable and drivability is great. When my friend Ed and I were on the way back to San Diego, we got stuck in LA-area 5:00pm bumper to bumper traffic. And the car drove very well under those conditions. You'd never know what lurked under the hood. The throttle response is perfect. I can feather it for slow traffic. Or I can apply part throttle and it pulls away nice and smooth. And if I stomp on it... well fuggitaboutit. haha...

And for anyone who wants to see the dyno sheets, this is an overlay of three separate pulls Adam made last night. He has several others that look very similar to these.

Scothew

Your trq curve and the way it hits looks JUST like when I had nitrous on the cobra and it would start hitting. Just goes straight up

freebass55

That's sick Don.

don_w

More problems...

I took my car to Adam on Thursday, so he could experience first hand the slight hesitation issues I was feeling with the car under partial throttle. To summarize, the car ran awesome at WOT, but under a slight load (such as going uphill at a constant speed), or when applying part throttle acceleration (such as passing on the highway), the car would "sputter" (for lack of a better term). It would also puff white smoke out of the exhaust every once in a while.

After a short test drive, we returned to the shop. And a quick diagnosis by Adam showed that I had a problem with an "Ethylene Glycol Injection System". That's just my fancy way of saying that anti-freeze was somehow getting into one or more cylinders. At that point, we didn't know exactly why or how until the heads were pulled. I had hoped it was nothing more than a head gasket issue. So I left it with him to pull the top of the motor apart.

He pulled the heads yesterday and called me at about 11:00 last night. Unfortunately, it wasn't a simple head gasket problem. It turned out to be a cracked head. There are two cylinders affected... the middle two on the passenger side, with the 3rd one being the worst. It seems coolant was leaking into the exhaust ports. He did a simple leak test, where he filled the exhaust port with windshield washer fluid (because it is blue and easy to see), and it would seep past the closed exhaust valve almost immediately. Without disassembling the heads, he can't be sure of where it's leaking from, but he's thinking it may be either the valve guide or the seat.

Apparently, when coolant would get into the combustion chamber it would put out the spark, and cause the sputter I was feeling. I first noticed a slight sputter a month ago on the first day I drove it home, and it got progressively worse over the next couple weeks. I'm just glad we caught it now before it did any damage to the shortblock.

The next step for me is to contact Mike at Livernois to find out how they are going to handle this. Stay tuned

Galaxie

Don,

Its agonizing watching your issues

On a lighter note... I think you need cylinder heads that Chuck Norris cannot break

don_w

I have been in contact with Livernois and we are working out a solution to get my car back together ASAP. Mike Schropp at Livernois has a couple ideas about what might have happened, but there's no reason to speculate at this point. We're going to ship the heads back to them, and he'll provide more info after they've had a chance to see the heads.

All in all, I am extremely satisfied at how Livernois has responded thus far, and I'm very confident that this will have a happy ending.

70MACH1OWNER

Lordy, lordy, lordy!
Don,
You know I have followed and supported you all the way since Jan. or Feb. And I will continue to support you in anyway I can from 2500 miles away. But, I hope you are not living what I went thru in 1998 with my 96 Cobra. Bottom line. If you want a race car, buy a race car and except the worst. In my 35 years of modding everything I owned, they rarely came up roses for long. Inherently a 3 or 4 valve head is weak because of the material removed from the head for the valve area. When you P&P one of these heads in weakens them more. I would like to think that Livernois ran their P&P heads on a dyno for a LONG TIME to prove them stable in the long haul. Hard to know. I hope it is something very simple for your sake. I know you have thrown your heart and soul into this car and have been dissapointed many times. I will surely keep my fingers crossed for you and always wish you the best. I truely feel for you and all you have been thru in the last 8 months. But your issues are exactly what is keeping me from modding my 05 much farther. I have truely turned into a KITTEN in my old age.
Best of luck.
Scott

don_w

Scott,

You make some valid points to be sure. I never expected this process to be without any burps... but then again, I never expected as many setbacks as I've had either. I must be cursed. hehe.

But, after discussing this with Livernois this morning, this is the first set of heads they've had this problem with. I'm sure the exact cause will be determined, but for now I'm confident that they will stand behind their product.

don_w

OK, a slight revision to what I said above. The fluid would not leak past the closed valve during the static leak test. When Adam filled the exhaust port with blue wiper fluid, it would actually leak from the exhaust port back into a coolant passage, then out of the head (see the first two pics below).

However, during engine operation, the coolant would enter the combustion chambers (presumably past the open exhaust valve). In pic #3, note the corrosion on the exhaust valves in the middle two chambers, as compared to the clean valves in the outer two.

Scothew

Thats weird, and terrible at the same time. Shame to see it happen, but ive heard nothing but good things from Livernois so I tend to agree with you when you think its going to have a good ending. Keep us updated.

70MACH1OWNER

Hey Don,
Been on vacation a couple of weeks. Was looking to see if you posted anything else on your head issue and could not find anything. So I guess this is just a BUMP!
Scott

don_w

Scott, here's an update. The final touches on the new heads got delayed a bit. The main cylinder head "guru" at Livernois was away from the shop for about a week and a half. His wife was very ill and in the hospital, and the doctors couldn't even figure out what was wrong. Given those very serious circumstances, having to wait a few extra days for him to return seemed insignificant to me.

But, he got back last week and finished my heads. Livernois sent the new heads to Adam via next-day air. He got them earlier this week, and as of yesterday they are back on the car. I will be leaving in a little while to go pick it up.

And in case anyone is interested, here are the flow numbers:

Lift - Int - Exh
.600 280.0 181.5
.500 273.0 176.7
.400 262.5 168.8
.300 247.5 141.7
.200 202.5 111.2
.100 114.3 68.0

Finally, I need to give a shout out to Livernois. They stood behind their product 110%. Not only did they make me a replacement set of heads, they went above and beyond (details shall remain confidential) to make sure that I remain a happy customer. Exceptional customer service means a lot to me.

Especially since I had previously dealt with another company who basically told me to stick it.