I found a 67 Cougar for sale about 90 miles away. Overall, it was in pretty rough shape. It had no engine or transmission but it also had minimal rust and most of the chrome looked good. The owner and I agreed on a price and sort of set a date for “sometime next week” to complete the transaction. In the mean time, I started looking for an engine and transmission.
I found an ad in a neighboring city for a Ford Cobra 5.0 motor and T5 transmission…”runs and shifts perfect”. Included with the motor were computer and wiring harness, alternator and power steering pump, radiator with electric fan, new clutch cable and BBK long tube headers. Seemed like a deal to me so I took it all home.
Once I got the engine on a stand and started looking it over, I noticed the injectors were not right. 1993 Cobra 5.0 motors should have blue 24# injectors. These were orange 19# injectors. My first thought, “Why would someone switch to smaller injectors?” was quickly followed by “Wait a minute…these aren’t GT40 heads either!” It seems I bought an older engine with a Cobra intake manifold and BBK throttle body bolted on. I found a partial VIN on the back of the block and determined that the engine was originally in a 1988 Mustang. This explained the missing mass air flow meter since most Mustangs were speed density in ’88. The transmission tag indicated year 1991. Of course this was disappointing but with all the upgrades, this 5.0 HO is only a head swap away from the Cobra equivalent.
On the night before I was to pick up the Cougar, I got a message from the owner that he no longer wanted to sell the car… pause for dramatic effect … So, I would be stuck with an engine and no car. This changed my search criteria drastically. When I started looking for another car, I was locked into finding a Ford with no engine or transmission.
…Craigslist