When it came to making Cobra Jet-style power, Bill chose the Magnacharger TVS 2300 kit. The front intake on the blower has the least amount of airflow restriction, and it's easy to install on the new 5.0-liter engine. The kit comes with a sixth-generation TVS MP2300 supercharger with integral bypass valve, a cast-aluminum high-velocity port intake manifold, aluminum fuel rails, 47-lb/hr injectors, along with a tuning system and all the fittings lines belts and hardware to install it, and Ron had it installed in less than a day.
The system comes with an intercooler, and Bill added an auxiliary cooling tank where the battery sat, for icing it at the strip. He moved the battery with a Moroso trunk mount kit. Red Samco hoses and a Canton overflow tank help with keeping things cool.
To increase the airflow on the exhaust side, a set of Kooks 1-7/8-inch long-tube headers were mated to a 3-inch off-road, H-style mid-pipe. Keith's Mufflers in Westland, Michigan, fabricated a beautiful 3-inch exhaust system for Bill's clone. The improved power of the supercharged 5.0-liter is fed to the six-speed automatic in Bill's Mustang with the help of a Circle D Specialties 3,500-rpm-stall 6R80 Pro Series Stage III torque converter.
The increase in power would push the Bill's clone into the 10-second zone, requiring a rollbar for safety and chassis stiffness, so he installed a Wolfe Racecraft chromoly six-point bar with swing-out door bars, and he removed the stock seats to install a set of NRG lightweight seats with five-point harnesses. Bill also removed the rear seats and made his own rear seat delete that looks perfect. All the other creature comforts have been retained in Bill's car. His boost and wide-band oxygen sensor gauges are mounted on the A-pillar.
Mark Blaha at Blue Collar Performance tuned Bill's car on the dyno, and it made 525 rwhp and 480 lb-ft of rear-wheel torque. Bill's best run so far is a 10.83 at 125 mph on Speed Channel's PassTime TV show, filmed at Milan Dragway. The car also was filmed by Horsepower TV when Bill ran the NMCA Modern Muscle X Challenge at Milan Dragway--he was the third fastest.
Bill drove the Cobra Jet Clone an amazing 3,285 miles in 10 days on the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour, then hit Myrtle Beach's Mustang Week in July. The clone also took its class at Mustang Memories at Ford World Headquarters, and was in Ford's Mustang Alley during the 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise.
Bill always wanted a Cobra Jet. With the help of his friends at Blue Collar Performance and Ford Racing Performance Parts, he may have something even better than a real CJ--one he can enjoy every day.