Station Seven: Balancer and Leak Test

The Cobra Jet engine uses a harmonic balancer from Innovators West, Inc. The billet aluminum unit is SFI approved and legal in NHRA Stock and Super Stock.

Once the engine is sealed, the exhaust ports and intake ports are sealed off and air is pumped into the engine to test for leaks. Once the leak test is passed, the engine is ready for its supercharger installation.

Station Eight: Supercharger Install

Base 5.4L Cobra Jet engines are topped off with a 2.3 liter TVS supercharger unit and Super Cobra Jet engines feature a 4.0L Ford Racing/Whipple unit. The superchargers arrive at the NICHE line preassembled in a unit known as the “Charge-Air assembly” with intercooler, fuel injectors and fuel lines already in place.

The build team mounts the “charge-air assembly” to the engine and torques the intake manifold bolts. Spark plugs and coil packs are installed in each cylinder in preparation for the cold fire test. The final step in the intake station is to fill the engine with Motorcraft Oil, install the throttle body, coolant tubing and vacuum lines.

The build team tops the Cobra Jet off with a unique engine wiring harness that adds specific wires for dash mounted Ford Racing gauges and saves weight by eliminating any unnecessary wiring found on a stock GT500 harness.

Station Nine: Cold Fire Test

Once the Cobra Jet engine is complete, the build team hoists the engine off the line to a cold test station for a cold test run. The test stand spins the engine up to a predetermined RPM and engine functions like oil pressure and vacuum are monitored. The engine’s flywheel is attached to the stand, the injectors fire, the plugs fire, and the throttle body opens, as if the engine were running.

The Aeromotive fuel system is checked for leaks using pressurized air, which shows leaks much easier than fluid would.

After passing cold test, the two man team places the Niche line build signature plate. This signature plate has been used since 1996 when the build line started with the SVT program. In the early days of the Niche line, the build team signed the signature plates that were attached to the cam covers. To speed up the process and make a more permanent badge, the signatures are now pressed into the plates prior to installation.