It’s never been a better time to buy a New Edge Mustang. And why not? It’s a pretty ideal platform that combines looks and performance per dollar that almost no other platform can compare to right now. Parts are affordable, they come with a stout drivetrain and suspension that needs only minor upgrades. Ford Muscle was determined to put this idea to the test on a road course when Ivan Korda found a steal of a deal on a 2001 Mustang SVT Cobra – something we deemed an ideal open track day toy with its independent rear suspension, first utilized on the ‘99 SVT model. The Cobra packed a hurt four-valve 4.6L modular motor and a suspect TR3650 5-speed transmission. It was time to get to work.

Ivan Korda found a 2001 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra which had 210,000 hard miles on the odometer and needed a lot of labor and parts before it would be track worthy.

Plan For Our 2001 Cobra

Ivan realized in order to get the 23-year-old car with 210,000 miles up to track duty status he would need to considerably upgrade the Cobra. From this idea Project Apex was born. We wanted to build a capable track car that could still be driven on the street. We wanted the Cobra to go beyond its abilities when the car was built in 2001. Ivan set about getting the old Cobra running again, starting with a potent rebuild of the four valve V8 and cleaning the bad gas out of the fuel tank.

Instead of cleaning the bad fuel out of the old 2001 Cobra fuel tank, Ivan decided to replace the tank with one from a 2003-2004 Terminator Cobra because that tank came stock with baffles inside to keep fuel from sloshing in the corners of a road course.

Let’s Get To Work

Because of the car’s age Ivan knew most of the rubber suspension components were probably rotten so he set about replacing ball joints, rebuilt the brake calipers and added some Hawk brake pads and rotors from Baer to ensure the car stopped. He also dropped in an oil cooler and slapped some new tires on the car before any trips to track to find out how the Cobra could handle the curves.

A lot of hours were spent on this SVT Cobra as Project Apex took shape.

Knowing the dangerous realities of running a car at ten-tenths around a track, we realized the car needed some safety upgrades. We dropped in some MOMO Daytona Evo seats, MOMO 6-point harnesses, a MOMO quick release steering wheel and a 4-point roll bar from Maximum Motorsports.

These MOMO seats and harnesses offer two things. First, they will keep you safe in a collision. Secondly, they will hold you in the proper position so you can use your legs and arms to actively drive the car.

The next upgrade would be the transmission. We wanted to ditch the high-mile TR3650 5-speed transmission for a 6-speed TREMEC Magnum. And while that was out a McLeod RXT clutch and flywheel along with a QA1 carbon fiber drive shaft were installed to lighten the rotating mass behind the engine.

A light flywheel and clutch assembly from McLeod was installed when the 6-speed TREMEC tranny was upgraded.

Track Tested

With a running engine, refurbished suspension, some safety gear, and a TREMEC transmission it was time to take the Cobra to the track. Barber Motorsports Park was the perfect venue to put the Cobra through its paces. Right away Ivan realized the car was super fun to drive around track, but before he could have too much fun, he ran into overheating issues. The brakes were being overworked by the heavy car and the engine temps were getting too high. Additionally, the car was pushing a bit too much in the corners and the rear of the car felt squishy on corner exit. There was certainly more work to be done.

The Cobra’s initial track day (on a very hot day) showed some weaknesses. The engine was hot, the brakes were hot, the tires were hot, the driver was hot. Heat was killing the Cobra.

2001 Cobra Upgrades

The car needed to be cooled down, that was obvious, but what was more dubious was the handling of the car. What needed to be done to get the car to feel comfortable in high-speed corners? That is where Maximum Motorsports would come in to save the day.

The independent rear suspension (IRS) on a 2001 Cobra has a lot of moving parts and bushings that make things feel dicey on corner exit. Maximum Motorsports Rear Grip Box solved all of these problems. While the differential was being upgraded Ivan dropped in a Torsten T2R locking diff and lowered the rearend gear ratio to 3.73s.

Maximum Motorsports makes direct bolt-on kits for the SN95 Mustang with all sorts of upgrade options. Ivan started with the Road and Track Box which replaced most of the stock bushings with Delrin upgrades then Ivan went even bigger with the Maximum Grip Box which added coil-over suspension, a new K-member and new tubular control arms. This complete redesign of the suspension geometry woke up the Cobra and dropped lap times immediately.

Can’t Stop

Along with the Maximum Motorsports suspension, Ivan added some larger and lighter Forgeline GS1R wheels wrapped with some sticky Falken Azenis RT660 200-treadwear tires. With all of the extra grip (and confidence) the Cobra was going faster and faster around the course, proven by the data coming from a Garmin Catalyst on the dash. But with that extra speed meant it would take more work for the Cobra to slow down and the OEM calipers just weren’t cutting it.

Six-piston Baer brake calipers using Baer racing compound brake pads along with some silicone hoses to cool the brakes quickly solved the brake fade issue Project Apex was facing.

Baer Brakes had a bolt-on kit for the SN95 Mustang that vastly improved the braking power of the Cobra, providing even more confidence to Ivan behind the wheel. With most of the mechanical items updated (Optima battery moved to the trunk, hood vent installed to cool the engine) the Cobra headed to the paint booth for a refresh.

With the removal of the stock rear spoiler, the rear trunk lid needed to have the holes patched up before the Cobra was sprayed with some fresh paint.

The car was really starting to come together. Ivan had tackled the braking issues, the handling issues and made the Cobra look better than new. The next test was to find out if the sum of its parts came together on track. Was Project Apex the track day toy it was dreamt to be?

Final Test

After chasing some initial bad handling and insufficient brakes, Project Apex was finally ready for its next trip to the track.

The next trip to the track for Ivan when Project Apex was completed was back to Barber Motorsports Park, the same track he tested the car the first time. It was a BMW club weekend filled with lots of Corvettes, BMWs, and Porsches. Ivan took Project Apex out onto the race course and embarrassed a lot of gentlemen who paid a lot more for their vehicles than Ivan did refurbishing an old Mustang that was sitting in his yard.

“After our sessions on track, people kept coming up to me asking what I did to the car,” said Ivan. “Corvette drivers, Porsche drivers, they all wanted to see under the hood. They couldn’t believe how fast this car was around the track. We were crushing them.”

Success

And with that we are calling the project a success, as it started with an idea that a high-mile Cobra roller could be a wicked track weapon. Best of all, the entire project was built by DIY’er in his own garage. Sure Ivan had a lift and the advice of experts in the industry, but there’s nothing done here that most people couldn’t replicate in their own garage. Project Apex did what it was named to do: hit the apex! Six-figure sports cars beware!