Question 94 Pace Car Strut Tower Brace

[jcobra94]

My Cobra #531/1000 doesn't have and never had a strut tower brace. My friend's car has one. Some on ebay have them and some don't. Any clue on this? Factory installed, optional, etc.?? I have a GT Brace and they won't clear the Cobra upper intake. Got one?? Suggestions.

[JymBart]

They did not come with a STB. I bought mine from Mac.
JymBart

[jcobra94]

Thanks for the reply. Some Pace Cars had STB's. I have 2 friends who have Pace Cars showroom new and they always had one. Maybe installed by dealer? Has anyone else run across this?
Does the MAC STB look same as GT Bar?

[stevedmurray]

My Pace Car does not have one. I have only seen one with a STB - and it was an aftermarket bolt-on (car was also sporting subframe connectors).

jcobra94 - I see you recently joined. Congrats! Enjoy your Pace Car!

[stevedmurray]

As a follow up, in my humble opinion, I really do not believe those Pace Cars you reference came from Ford with those STBs. Most likely were aftermarket. Look at the photo of the Pace Car engine bay in Powered By SVT; I am not suggesting that book is the bible, but I've seen over two dozen Pace Cars in various degrees of condition and none came with stock STBs.

Also, there are subtle differences between the appearances of the engine bays on the 94 Cobra Convertibles and the 94 Cobra Coupes. The convertibles do not have the chrome sticker on the valve cover found on the coupes and they have the rubber distributor cover (like the old Fox 5.0) vs. the hard plastic one found on the GTs and Cobra coupes.

Again, welcome and enjoy!

[tomshep]

None of the 94-5 Cobra, coupe or conv, came with a factory STB.

Ford didn't want to tool a brace for such a limited run since the GT brace hit on the larger intake.

The Ford Motorsport unit was built by Steeda. This is a nice piece and at least you are keeping the STB "in the family" by using a Ford item.

Tom