Mark VIII mods??

T

thecoolmajor

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Hello All,

My name is Mike and I am new to this forum. I bought a 1993 Mark VIII two years ago with 45K on it and use it as a daily summer driver. I am the second owner and it was only driven one winter in 1993. That is important in winter salt driving in MN. I have attached some pics - other than a dent and some scrapes, it is good shape. Everything works fine.

I had a couple of questions about this car. I really want to modify it, relatively cheaply, and after talking to two Ford performance guys, both told me a Cobra intake is eye candy, one said new gears could help and both said don't put in a chip if I didn't want to spend $700 for small amount of hp. They both said the cobra intake and chip maybe gave an xtra 10 to 15 ponies.

One said that more bang for my buck was a supercharger and that I could find ones that fit 03-04 Cobras. He said the only mods I would need are new injectors - no torque converter or anything more. The other said there were many more mods than that and nothing was truly bolt on. The second one also said if you want to modify stuff, get a Mustang.

My question is then, is this true? Is there a supercharger that is enough bolt-on that I wouldn't need to do extensive and expensive mods?

Second question is where can I get the "Cobra Star" emblem for my side or rear windows? I can't seem to find any on the net and I assume that the answer is I can't.

Thanks for any advice!
Mike

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Alright, first off, that's a gorgeous car you've got there, it looks very well kept. The 1993 is a good first gen to have, considering it already has a solid driveshaft, and purportedly the "hottest" PCM. Some of the quickest bone stock Marks I've seen are 93's. Everything after this, is purely opinion, and you know how everyone has one, and you can do with it what you will. Purely just how I would tackle things, were it my own personal car.

Gears and the J-mod. Not only will it better deliver the DOHCs low end, but will also extend the life of your transmission. The 4R70W is a decent tranny, but at stock specs you may have noticed some sluggish up shifts, or it having a tendency to have to think about what to do for a sec when WOT is applied. The J-mod will alleviate much of this, the gears will better deliver the power the the pavement from a dig. A mild tune is nothing crazy, and something many people do.

A supercharger, on the other hand, is something that would start to make me feel rather queasy about, even with a mild boost. Things that would concern me first and foremost, would be the tranny. I would almost bank on experiencing the forward clutches to be cooked to Necco wafers in about four months. A good workaround would be a solid, rebuilt '98+ 4R70, as the internals were of a much better design. Something out of a Mustang GT, perhaps. A tranny cooler wouldn't go amiss either. Again, something that I would do personally.

Another item that would concern me would be the differential. Any extra torque outside of factory would make me scared of shearing the OEM mount from he back of the diff, the cover itself. Look at it this way, the next time you have the car in the air, get a load of that factory setup, and ask yourself if you'd like to deliver 400+- lb.ft. to it. I said no. But, the aftermarket segment exists, and these are all things that can be remedied, depending on budget, and how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go.

Aside from that, the rest of the drivetrain seems pretty stout. Your Teksid block is good for all kinds of beans, the crank is fairly solid, and it's got five six bolt mains. It's built pretty mean from Ford as it is, if you ask me. I do believe that beehive valve springs were used '96+, so that might be something to look into as well, if you're going the ambitious route.

So would I personally "plug and play" a Vortech blower? No. Is it possible? I suppose so, but I wouldn't recommend it. I can nearly guarantee parts on the pavement marinating in their juices at some point not long after installation. But either way, good luck, and if it does end up with a blower, please let us know, and with pictures of course! : D good luck to you.
 
there is a non intercooled kenne bell supercharger that more or less bolts on.
and vortechs are relatively easy to pull off. several on the forum.
both are plenty expensive though.
keep it under 400 hp and lots of people are quite happy with what they get.

the 96-98 cobras are quite similar engine wise. 99-04 not so much.

beehive springs are 96 and up.

cobra intake has definite gains on the top end. lots of gains over the 2nd gen intake.

the 98 trans is the "best trans" with some better internals. someone went 10.64 on a jmod'd 98 trans for awhile. then went to a powerglide or something.

the diff is fine. its the same diff as the 400 whp from the factory 03-04 cobra. and cobras put out much more driveline shock with manual transmissions. put a good cover on it if you're gonna get crazy though.

block is good for 1200 hp or so.
crank 500-600 or something.
piston and rods, mostly rods i think, 400 hp.


gears, dual exhaust, high stall converter, and a tune. best bang for the buck.
 
The 03/04 supercharger will not fit our motor in stock form, we have B heads and 99 on up is a C head. If you did a head swap, front timing cover, pulley bridge and a few other mods it will fit. Kenne bell make a B head SC but it doesn't have a provision for a cooler.
You can go with a centri easy.
Tranny would be a smart move as well as beefing up the rearend.
Dual exhaust and gears are the standards, gen 2 cars see more of a gain with the cobra intake. If you went to a centri set up you would want the cobra intake anyway.
Welcome to the forum, I along with a few other members are in MN also.
It's a good looking ride.
Here is some mark viii fun to check out some mods.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?85044-Project-X
 
Welcome to the LVC forum; a good place to be. You state you want to modify it cheaply. Supercharger, $$$$. All the extra power, and a lot of those other 21 year old parts might not stand up to it. On my 95, I cut the extra stuff off the intake, changed to true dual exhaust, with Magnflows. I notice more power and it sounds good. Hard to drive it like an old man. It's the wifes DD, and she finds herself Hot- Rodding it often. Very nice looking car. TONYyyy
 
97MarkJA said:
The 03/04 supercharger will not fit our motor in stock form, we have B heads and 99 on up is a C head. If you did a head swap, front timing cover, pulley bridge and a few other mods it will fit. Kenne bell make a B head SC but it doesn't have a provision for a cooler.
You can go with a centri easy.
Tranny would be a smart move as well as beefing up the rearend.
Dual exhaust and gears are the standards, gen 2 cars see more of a gain with the cobra intake. If you went to a centri set up you would want the cobra intake anyway.
Welcome to the forum, I along with a few other members are in MN also.
It's a good looking ride.
Here is some mark viii fun to check out some mods.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?85044-Project-X
Click to expand...
+1
Were in MN?
Gears....tune...Jmod. I would forget the cobra intake on a gen 1.
Gears are your best bet these cars are heavy J mod is also a must then chip it and embarrass your buddy that told you to get a stang....
 
Thanks everyone with the advice and compliments about the car. I didn't know my wheels were on backwards (Thanks Rushsamson). Ford nut, I am in Prior, Mn.

97MarkJA, where are you in MN?

At this point, I am thinking I will not do a supercharger based on cost and mods. I do have follow-up questions for all. For gears, what are the suggestions? I have 3.08s and was thinking of going to 3:27 or 3:73. How much top end do I sacrifice for this?

Different question, is there an updated instrument cluster out there like the Mustangs have? I seem to find that you can replace with the original or change the bulb colors. I might change bulbs that if there isn't a mod. one.

I might start with gears and a dual exhaust and willl post pics when I do them.
 
You just have 2 wheels in the wrong place. The 10 spoke wheels should hook towards the rear. They're marked RH/LH on the inside of the wheel. Doing the intake mod is cost free, just labor, and it makes a difference. A lot of people just remove the large part. I,ve done 2 of my Gen 1's, and I cut off the triangle. I cut up the pieces to make covers for the holes. I use epoxy to seal them up. There's a lot of threads on how to do this. It looks like you might be able to pop the fender dent out. When you do the exhaust, grab the 3rd cat. The scrap yard will give you $$$$ for it, between $40 and $65.
 
thecoolmajor said:
Thanks everyone with the advice and compliments about the car. I didn't know my wheels were on backwards (Thanks Rushsamson). Ford nut, I am in Prior, Mn.

97MarkJA, where are you in MN?

At this point, I am thinking I will not do a supercharger based on cost and mods. I do have follow-up questions for all. For gears, what are the suggestions? I have 3.08s and was thinking of going to 3:27 or 3:73. How much top end do I sacrifice for this?

Different question, is there an updated instrument cluster out there like the Mustangs have? I seem to find that you can replace with the original or change the bulb colors. I might change bulbs that if there isn't a mod. one.

I might start with gears and a dual exhaust and willl post pics when I do them.
Click to expand...
Prior Lake?
3.27s would be a waste of time if staying N/A go to 3.73 or deeper, I ran 4.10s with a tune year around for 3 years in my 97 very little sacrifice in RPM and MPG when in overdrive drove that car from Lakeville to Chanhassen every day.

Best bang for buck..... J-mod.....gears.....tune.
You might get by with your 93 shaft.
 
Welcome. I am a novice. Inherited my 93 Mark from my Dad abt 2yrs ago with 196K miles on her and have been keeping her running with help from the guys on this forum. I would like to do some mods also, so your question is informative for me. BTW, I just recently learned abt the handedness of my stock wheels on my 91 BMW 850i. Great looking car!
 
You going to get that fender replaced?
 
just stopped back in to see what was going on here I've been gone a while . i agree 4:10 gears j mod tune search l.o.d site for removing the baffle from the intake air box in the fender, and get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and get about 40 lbs dialed in, some will say stuff about the computer but i never found any ill effects and it made power. the cobra star emblems i got from Geno Angelino he used to be a forum sponsor or moderator. he has a graphics or printing company too. good luck!
 
the factory fuel curve is so rich already, there is no way adding more fuel made power.
 
I have a 93 Mark VIII with 233k miles on it. It has been well maintained, as it was my father's for the first 196K miles. I would like to do some performance upgrades such as the "gears", j mod, and "tune". As opposed to the original poster on this thread, whom has 45k miles on his motor, I obviously have a lot more miles on the motor. I have not done anything other than replace worn items (e.g., driveline mounts, engine mounts, suspension parts, etc) to my Mark.

Am I "wasting money" with the modifications to the transmission and tuning on a motor with 233K miles on it? Don't mean to hijack the thread but just wondering what people here think. Thanks!
 
maintenance first.
engine will be fine as long as its been maintained.
it'll need a trans sometime or another.
and all the normal suspension things.

but after that, go for it.
 
I have the cobrastar rear 1/4 window decals now available in frosted glass look (sandblasted) and I have the chrome decal versions for the fenders, The LMS exhaust kits are on sale again too so message me for ordering.
 
ONEBADMK8 said:
I have the cobrastar rear 1/4 window decals now available in frosted glass look (sandblasted) and I have the chrome decal versions for the fenders, The LMS exhaust kits are on sale again too so message me for ordering.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I also found cobra stars at a California place called DecalBoy. You can order them in any size.

Does the LMS exhaust kit fit on my 1993? What does the kit come with (cats?) and what does it cost?
 
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