2004 Cobra Engine + Whipple Planned for Marauder Install

JoeBoomz

JoeBoomz

Stock motor OUT, Cobra one IN!
My dad purchased this beauty and we are planning to put it into his NA Marauder this coming winter. It is a complete `04 Cobra pull from Davenport with 44,000 on the odometer, we skipped getting the Tremec with it because we will be sticking with an auto.

It has a 2.3L Whipple with 3.50 stock pulley (we plan to swap), 60# injectors, and dual Cobra fuel pumps.

Dad already has a full Kooks exhaust system and will be getting a transmission built as well. He is converting the dual Cobra fuel pump assembly for the Marauder and will be adding a 40A BAP to power it. With this we are anticipating a ~600HP Marauder.

P1080432.JPG


P1010224.JPG


P1090294.JPG


P1090309.JPG


P1090282.JPG



Some things we are still trying to figure out are the wiring harnesses. Since the Cobra parts are completely assembled and working, we want to keep it together and refrain from swapping out with Marauder parts. This presents problems as many of the plugs are moved on the Cobra motor compared to the Marauder.

We will be running the Marauder ECU and with Pro Racer the tuning shouldn't be much of a problem. As usual I plan to be snapping lots of pictures along the way when we do the installs! Stay tuned...
 
Looks good. With the 2.3, it looks awesome. Should make mid 500s to the wheels, but the torque will be amazing.

Couple things to think about/plan for: (1) you need to use the Marauder oil pan and oil pick up tube because of the front crossmember; (2) you either need to use a marauder/mach 1 timing cover with the eaton swap brackets or notch the frame to clear the alternator on the termi motor.
 
Black&Gifted said:
Couple things to think about/plan for: (1) you need to use the Marauder oil pan and oil pick up tube because of the front crossmember; (2) you either need to use a marauder/mach 1 timing cover with the eaton swap brackets or notch the frame to clear the alternator on the termi motor.
Click to expand...

We will be notching the frame and are also replacing the oil pan.

Great advice, please keep it coming!!!

EDIT: we are NOT notching the frame, we relocated the alternator.
 
Last edited:
Another couple items came to mind LOL:

8 bolt flexplate. Still trying to locate one myself.

Coolant crossover tube - either modify the stock marauder COT or use a different radiator with the inlet on the passenger side (marauder inlet is on the drivers side). I don't know enough about the cooling system to say whether you'd be ok with just running a longer radiator hose would work, and if so how efficiently it would work.
 
Black&Gifted said:
8 bolt flexplate. Still trying to locate one myself.

Coolant crossover tube - either modify the stock marauder COT or use a different radiator with the inlet on the passenger side (marauder inlet is on the drivers side). I don't know enough about the cooling system to say whether you'd be ok with just running a longer radiator hose would work, and if so how efficiently it would work.
Click to expand...

We had a link somewhere for the flex plate to buy online but haven't done it yet. When and if it works I'll let you know from where.

For the rad we will probably get a large cobra rad to install.

Awesome stuff keep it coming!
 
JoeBoomz said:
My dad purchased this beauty and we are planning to put it into his NA Marauder this coming winter. It is a complete `04 Cobra pull from Davenport with 44,000 on the odometer, we skipped getting the Tremec with it because we will be sticking with an auto.

It has a 2.3L Whipple with 3.50 stock pulley (we plan to swap), 60# injectors, and dual Cobra fuel pumps.

Dad already has a full Kooks exhaust system and will be getting a transmission built as well. He is converting the dual Cobra fuel pump assembly for the Marauder and will be adding a 40A BAP to power it. With this we are anticipating a ~600HP Marauder.

P1080432.JPG


P1010224.JPG


P1090294.JPG


P1090309.JPG


P1090282.JPG



Some things we are still trying to figure out are the wiring harnesses. Since the Cobra parts are completely assembled and working, we want to keep it together and refrain from swapping out with Marauder parts. This presents problems as many of the plugs are moved on the Cobra motor compared to the Marauder.

We will be running the Marauder ECU and with Pro Racer the tuning shouldn't be much of a problem. As usual I plan to be snapping lots of pictures along the way when we do the installs! Stay tuned...
Click to expand...



Now that's what I'm talking about!!!! :beer:

We did this in mine earlier this year. Just an FYI. I'm running a stock size lower and had to drop the upper down to a 2.75 to keep under a stock hood. That put us at 18lbs of boost which is right where I wanted to be. We also had to trim the cross member under the hood to fit down over the Whipple and carve out a squared off section of the hood liner. I'll post up a pict later on. I can't wait to see this final project!! Good luck and if you need anything please feel free to ask.
 
Here are some picts. We also had some belt slip so we redisigned the S/C pulley drive and added more pulleys. NO MORE SLIP! :D





 
CWright said:
Here are some picts. We also had some belt slip so we redisigned the S/C pulley drive and added more pulleys. NO MORE SLIP! :D
Click to expand...

GORGEOUS, absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much for posting this CWright, your engine and blower looks completely at home in your Marauder and you guys have done a job that looks like it came from the factory!

It looks like the belt tensioners/idlers are setup a bit differently between our two engines; I don't think we'll be seeing any slippage issues with what we've currently got. I see you kept the battery under the hood, was the air intake tubing custom fabbed or did you find a kit that fit the Marauder nicely?
 
......and THAT is how the Marauder SHOULD have come from Mercury! Or at least had the option anyway....
 
JoeBoomz said:
GORGEOUS, absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much for posting this CWright, your engine and blower looks completely at home in your Marauder and you guys have done a job that looks like it came from the factory!

It looks like the belt tensioners/idlers are setup a bit differently between our two engines; I don't think we'll be seeing any slippage issues with what we've currently got. I see you kept the battery under the hood, was the air intake tubing custom fabbed or did you find a kit that fit the Marauder nicely?
Click to expand...

Thanks man! I did notice our belt set up is a little different on the S/C. Brandon at Mo's Speed Shop (Martyo) fabbed up the intake tube and I was very impressed. He said he could make more if anyone was interested. He can take the mearsurements off of mine if needed. I did want to keep the Battery under the hood to keep from having to run big guage wire to the trunk. It was much easier to move some other things around. If you need any info I'll be more than happy to help or get you an answer. Good luck with your build! :2thumbs:


CBT said:
Jesus that's clean, has it ever been cranked?
Click to expand...

:P


DEFYANT said:
......and THAT is how the Marauder SHOULD have come from Mercury! Or at least had the option anyway....
Click to expand...


+1 ^^^ :beer:
 
IMO battery in trunk has given alot of room fora I/C ice/coolant resv box or other items. 600 rwhp is a little hopeful! Iam pushing 20lbs boost w/ low comp Alluminator & see my#'s in sig. I would do cams will you got the motor out also again IMO. The other thing you may consider is swapping out the plenum for a S/B TB & plenum that alone will gain you at least 30ish more to the rear tires. To each there own but if it were mean I would get the brkts from terry so I could retain the MM timing cover. Then changfe over to MM oil pan & p/u tube, doing this stuff will allow for fitment with no frame notching Which is a fairly big job. As for fuel You may want to keep in mind just going full return style one thing I didnt do but really regret Also if you stay returnless you will probably run out of fuel with 2 cobra pumps maybe/maybe not? Anyhow best of luck on the job you will truly enjoy the finish product. Feel free to PM me with any questions Having gone thru this myself over a year ago I may be able to help.... Look foward to seeing it when done.
 
Black&Gifted said:
Another couple items came to mind LOL:

8 bolt flexplate. Still trying to locate one myself.

Coolant crossover tube - either modify the stock marauder COT or use a different radiator with the inlet on the passenger side (marauder inlet is on the drivers side). I don't know enough about the cooling system to say whether you'd be ok with just running a longer radiator hose would work, and if so how efficiently it would work.
Click to expand...

As for the COT the best way would do like Zack had posted on Chicago garage. he pulled that info from mach1 registry, looks much cleaner doing that way. As for wiring harness personally I would keep the MM harness myself , using the Cobra could cause some unesc work.:beer:
 
What did you do about the alternator?

Great swap, I just hate the idea of taking out an aluminum block and putting in an Iron one.
 
Hi guys, Dad is still working on getting all the required parts together for this build. We will be setting up a return-style fuel system, and are working on a creative alternator solution instead of using the Cobra stock location. We are getting a dual fuel pump hat fabbed up as well and this stuff takes lots of time. Might have to put the install off till next Winter so the car can be enjoyed throughout the summer again :)

CWright, would you be able to post more pics around the Alternator area? From what we could tell, notching the frame includes removing a bolt from the suspension. Need to confirm if this is true.

As an alternative, we are looking at rotating the alternator upwards towards the valve cover on the bracket with the long bolt, and using a custom bracket to hold it in place at the top.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top