Scanned magazine page: blue Ford 'Cobra Jet 5.4' and supercharge…

units of the rebreathing 385-horsepower Cobra R. (In the Lightning pickup, this engine is teamed exclusively with a super-duty four-speed automatic.) We decided to look at pushing the envelope on the performance, Smith explained. The plan was to take the current platform to the edge. Customers are always screaming for more power. But remember, its a work in progress. Also facilitating the motor swap are the Cobra Rs beeer driveshaft, a larger power-steering cooler, a modi- ed intercooler, hand-fabri- cated supercharger inlet plumbing, Cobra R mufers and 3.55:1 axle gear. So far, [to make the 5.4 t] all weve had to do was change the steering linkage, dimple the shock towers a bit, and modify the engine mounts slightly, Smith added. The crossmember stayed the same. About the only other thing we did was put the bigger tires on it to better manage the power.