Thinking about joining the family

[Traumatique]

Hey guys, pardon if this is in the wrong thread but I wasn't quite sure where to put it. Ever since I've had my licence I've owned turbocharged imports... I guess you could say I did it in spite of my father who sold my project '69 Camaro 4 months before I aquired my licence. Imports are fun, but frankly the insaine repair costs, difficulty to work on, and unreliability is really getting to me and my pocketbook. But after having a couple and all of them completely bombing out on me I think I feel it's time to come back to american muscle.

I've been used to 14 second cars stock, one running 13's, and one dipping into the 12's somewhat heavily modified (Early model Eagle Talon TSI AWD). I've had my eye on the SVT Cobra Mustangs. Being a car enthusiest I have a vauge idea of the power output of these cars, but not so much as to what changed year to year and what years are the best. I was wondering if you could give me some insight? At the present time, I would be looking for a decently low mileage SVT Cobra between $10,000 - $16,000 dollars. What year(s) are best? Which should I watch out for? Which ones could I get back into those 12's I'm so used to while staying reletively reliable for daily driven transportation?

Any help you folks could give me would be greatly appretiated, and I hope you don't get offended by an import guy comming onto your boards (... you shouldn't though, I'm here to find out which Mustang to buy ).

Thanks in advance!

[joe4speed]

Welcome to Mustang Works!

[Crazy Horse GT]

we are not offened at all, there are a few import drivers here as member's, no big, i really cant help you on the cobra issue, i just switched from a 69 stang, to a 2k gt, but the 03 cobra is the b. a. cobra going now. out of my price range, but welcome to mw.

[cyberstang5.0]

Welcome, make yourself at home

[1969Mach1]

Welcome to Mustangworks! Great site, umm as for your budjet why not go for a GT and mod it up from there. But if you really want a Cobra (Like all of us do. ) then I say go for it.

Yeh you should check out the stats on the new Cobra. 390hp ain't to shabby but alittle out of the price range.

§am.

[lysacat]

Welcome to MW. Glad you've seen the light. Sorry, I can't help you with which year is best, I think in general the Cobra is gonna be awesome whatever year you buy. Anyway, Glad to have ya here. Good luck in your venture. C-ya, Melisa

[The Deuce]

Welcome to tha familia.

You can get a nice 96-98 Cobra for under 16k. They are the early dohc 4.6 cars. I drove one when I was fresh out of school and preferred it immensly to the 2000 z28 and SS, I was at a Cheby dealer.

I forget the specs on them, but I know somebody around here has one, and you really can't go wrong with SVT.

[Hammer]

96-98 Cobra = 305 hp

You can get stats on different Modular motored cars over at Modular Madness Tech FAQ. Just go to the Modular Madness forum, click on the Mod Madness Forum FAQ, and click on the Tech FAQ link.

[Traumatique]

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the help so far! I saw someone mentioned buying a GT and modifying that. Would this be a viable option to get myself running in the 12's? Sorry that number keeps comming up, but after having a daily driver (as much as it did break) running around there, anything else feels slow and I wanted to be on par.

Of course, the first thing that popped into my head was "Buy a Cobra" since I see them running 13's basically stock, but would a GT be a smarter choice? I wanted to go all engine, seeing as how I'm leaving behind turbocharged cars at the moment, so I wouldn't want to bring a Vortec or Procharger into the picture. If I could do this with a GT that would probably be a better idea, but I also don't want to spend an amount of money on the GT to get it that fast, and then would have basically spent the same for the same HP on a Cobra.

Also, just a little curiosity question for myself. How well do newer cobras/GTs handle in top end? As I said, I've been driving turbo'd AWD cars so I'm used to getting around 80-90mph and you just can't feel the car pull anymore.

Again, thanks for the space.

[blue00gt]

For the money you end up spending, a 96-98 Cobra would probably be cheaper to get into the 12s than a 99+ GT, so it depends on how much getting a new car would be worth to you. If you don't want forced induction, to get a 99+ GT into the 12s you would probably need every bolt-on, some gears, and some good traction. Cobras pull really well on top end. GT's aren't bad and only get better with mods. My '00 GT trapped 99 mph stock in the 1/4. Both of the cars in question can run high-13s bone stock with good driving.

[95mustanggt]

You may also want to consider a 94/95 Cobra with a 5.0 Engine in it. The parts are cheaper and so would the car.

Other than that a 96-98 Cobra would be the way to go.

[Traumatique]

A newer car is also important to me, that's why I was focusing on the 96+ Cobra models. I want to have a fun car to modify and play with, but I also want reliability... the farther back you go in years the more owners there are and the less you know about the history of a car, and the miles are almost always higher.

It seems my best bet looks to be a 96-98 Cobra from what you are all telling me. Are all three years the exact same, or any little quirks between them? Just trying to get a better understanding on any little changes between year makes.

I looked around for a bit but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Is there a list, post, page, etc that has a somewhat staged list of upgrades for the 96-98 Cobras? No, I am not here looking to buy a car, put what it would take to run 12's on it and prance around not knowing anything about my car... just when I was learning about my previous cars, an upgrade path to follow always helped me to understand what power adders do what, and what the car thrives on.

[The Deuce]

Check out the FAQ over in the Modular Madness area. Hammer has done a great job of putting the kind of general information you are looking for in an easy to use format.

I look at the for the 2v motor, but the cobra motor isn't that different, and you can always ask if you think there will be a problem. Have fun with your car, whenever you find it.

[Traumatique]

Just noticed something, everyone's saying 96-98, or '03. Why not 99? Something wrong with the 99 model Cobras? Just wanting to make sure before I find one and snag it.. and it ends up being a problem car or something of the sort.

[Crazy Horse GT]

i know im going to get flamed , but the 99+ 4.6 has better flowing heads, most 96-98 owners look for 99+ heads etc, but hammer know's more than me, just a fact, no dis , he can help you out on the mod madness forum.good luck, cya. marty.

[mike_navigator]

i prefer the 93 cobra myself if you could find a nice 93 cobra for a reasonable price i say get it you will love it. But i think i would say that with any cobra so good luck and welcome.

[95mustanggt]

Originally posted by Traumatique
Just noticed something, everyone's saying 96-98, or '03. Why not 99? Something wrong with the 99 model Cobras? Just wanting to make sure before I find one and snag it.. and it ends up being a problem car or something of the sort.

The 99's had some power problems and did not deliver the promised power from the factory. The IRS was also introduced and in drag racing applications....really sucks. Of course your still starting with a Cobra and the IRS can be made stronger and you can still modify the 99 4.6 DOHC to produce more power.

The 96-98 Cobras have a solid rear axle. I am not aware of any differences between the 96 and 97 Cobras, I believe there are some minor changes in the 98 Cobra (nothing that affects power output).

The 2003 Cobra is rated at 390HP, comes with 3.55 gears, a factory supercharger and 6 speed transmission. It is a lot of car for the $$.

To work on getting a 96-98 Cobra (without reading Hammers FAQ) I would say:

-4.10 gears minimum (consider 4.30's or 4.56's)
-K&N Air filter
-Bigger MAF and TB
-Cold Air Kit
-Pulleys
-Headers, on or off road X-pipe, high flow cat-back
-A quality shifter
-Good sticky tires.

That should start your car towards the 12's.

[Mustangbelle306]

Welcome to the boards! Many people here can appreciate a FAST import, we just hate posers! I'm an especially HUGE fan of DSMs, particuraly those with a bit of tweaking

[Dark_5.0]

The IRS rear does not suck for drag racing. It sucks for sucky drivers. The 99-01 cobras with the IRS are great cars and nice as hell.

I spank the GT's with there solid axle off the line all night. Anyways the 99 cobras were recalled the problem was in the intake and it was fixed. More than likely any 99 cobra you find will already be fixed and make the advertised HP.

In you price range a 96-98 cobra sounds like the way to go.

[95mustanggt]

Originally posted by Dark_5.0
The IRS rear does not suck for drag racing. It sucks for sucky drivers. The 99-01 cobras with the IRS are great cars and nice as hell.

I don't have a Cobra, but from everything I've heard the IRS is not very good for Drag racing. They changed the system on the 2003 Cobra and a lot of serious guys running really good times have made the switch to a solid axle. Considering all that I would assume it is not very good.

I agree, most 99 Cobra's will have already had the fix performed. I think there is still a belief that these cars lack power, Although I'm sure more than a couple guys have gotten mopped up and changed there minds