Motoring Middle East: Car news, Reviews and Buying guides

Factory Five Cobra replica being build in Dubai 

By Shahzad Sheikh & Imthishan Giado

Part 3: Getting the engine out of the Mustang

There’s nothing like getting your first sight of the car you’ve been waiting for patiently. For owner Gopal Aswani, this is the moment he’s been waiting a lifetime for and the pent-up enthusiasm is practically writ large on his face!

The quick update is as follows: the engine’s out of the Mustang, the suspension, brakes and fuel tank have been fitted, as have the dashboard gauges. Next step is doing a test fit with Gopal to find an idea seating position for him, cleaning and fitting the Mustang engine and sorting out the wiring loom, and waiting for the remaining parts to come from Factory Five.

Part 2: The Suspension…AKA, We’re Missing A Bit

Now that the boxes are unpacked, work has begun on earnest on the Crimson Rage.

First things first: the fibreglass body needs to be separated from the frame. Unbolting it is a straightforward process; next the frame is placed on a rig fabricated by RPG.

Now it’s visible in all its naked glory, all the ancillary components need to be attached. Axles, Koni shocks, springs, coilovers, rotors, arms – all the parts need to be unpacked from approximately eight thousand boxes and mounted onto the frame.

Being a kit car, a comprehensive set of instructions comes provided, and all the parts generally bolt straight on, with minimum fettling.

In the course of inventorying all the components, the RPG team discovered a problem – they hadn’t got all the bits! Turns out the rear shocks haven’t been sent, and a couple of rear brackets too. Turns out, this isn’t as big a problem as you might think. Factory Five (which builds the kit) sends the car when it’s 80% ready, and all the remaining pieces will be sent by air freight as and when they are produced by external suppliers.

Once all the ancillaries have been hung off the frame, it’s time to give this beast a wild, beating heart. Which means some poor Mustang out there will have to die…

Stay tuned for more…

Part 1: The Unboxing

TORC & Rage Performance Garage in Al Quoz, Dubai are building a Factory Five Cobra right here in Dubai and Motoring Middle East will exclusively cover the Cobra build right here on this page over the next few weeks.

Watch our video – Part 1: Unboxing the Cobra and the donor car

The official Factory Five replica Cobra kit complete with chassis, body, interior, suspension, lights & screen etc as supplied is here. And the body comes prepared with engine mounts specific to the engine you will install in the car if you let them know when you place the order.

The only thing missing is, crucially, the engine and transmission, plus very important for our region, air conditioning. Rather than buy these components, TORC & Rage have located and bought a rather nice US-spec 2004 Ford Mustang 4.6 V8 manual in full working order for just AED15,000.

It’s a shame to cut up this car, it’s that good, but it’s cheaper than buying a crate engine and transmission. Watch the Cobra dubbed ‘Crimson Rage’ take shape on this page over the next few weeks.