Which Stang???
 

I'm gonna try and get a loan for a new stang soon, I want something pretty new so it'll be one of these:

94-98 Cobra
99-2000 Gt
Maybe 99-2000 Cobra (depending on price)

I like the newer bodystyles (99-2003) better, but would the 94-95 or 96-98 Cobra be worth getting over a newer GT?
I'm not sure about the 99+ cobra's, they're a little more expensive, plus don't they come with IRS? (I don't want to mess wiyth that). And, are the 94-95 5.0's easier to work on/make faster than the 4.6's?

Any opinions or reasons why I might go with one over another would be appreciated. Wither way, it'll definitely be a 5spd and either Black or Dark Grey with grey or black interior.

Personaly I'd get the 99 - 00 Cobra. If youre really worried about the IRS then get a 98 Cobra and have fun Modding it with the money you save. Only get the GT if you want to Mod and put on a blower, for pure stock Hp and performance get the Cobra.

Whatever I get I'll probably go for some good exhaust (headers/x-pipe/mufflers) right away along with a shifter and maybe some gears. I'd like to do some port work to at least the intake, eventually get some good heads or get mine ported real good. Eventually I want a procharger or turbo setup, but that wouldn't be until at least next year. Without the supercharger/turbo I'd like to get it to run at least solid 13's if not quicker, so again any ideas let me know.

I'd say go for the 96-98 Cobra. They are a little quicker than a 99+ GT and you can usually find great deals on them. If you've got the cash, get a newer Cobra. This is coming from a '00 GT owner, too. At the time I bought I couldn't get a decent interest rate on a used car and they were marking up the Cobras $10K. I love my GT, but I do think that the 4-cam motors are a much better base to start with.

In a magazine they tested a new bullit,a new mach 1,and a 2001 cobra.And the cobra was the slowest and worst performing out of the three.The mach 1 was better then the other two in any way.But that's just a magazine.We all know how trustworthy they are.But you never know.

If your into working on your car and don't want to spend alot of cash to go fast...94-95 Mustang Gt or Cobra.

Do a little "price sufring" on Modular parts compared to 5.0 parts...Big difference.

I do love my 4.6 but it doesn't compare to my 85' Gt or 92' Calypso LX as far as performance is concerned.

Good luck...

I'd go 96-98 Cobra, but thats just me. You can do high 12's N/A pretty easy with just some bolt on's and good tires.

Are most of the parts for the 87-93 5.0's compatible with the 94-95 5.0's in the Cobra's? Also, are the 96-98 Cobra's 2 or 4 valve 4.6's?

Yes, they are the same engine. There are a few differences. Like the Elbow in the upper intake.

The 94-95 Cobra was rated at 240, but I think that is a little under rated and you have a platform to go fast. A 95 Cobra would be the only car I would sell my 95 GT for.

The 94-95 Cobra is a 5.0 GT with

Cobra Intake
GT40 Iron heads
65 mm TB
Cobra Cam (crappy)
24 lb injectors
Larger MAF
2 Piston front breaks

Swap some good aluminum heads and a new cam and you'll be making great power, for FAR less than any of the other cars you listed.

There cobra comes out with more hp, but finding one with low mileage that hasn't been ragged out is the key.A stock 99+ GT can dip into the high 13s with a 5-speed.Which is about what the earlier cobras do once they have 70k on them.In my 98 cobra, I got better gas mileage than my 01GT, but performance wise they ran basically the same.The parts are definitely more expensive for the SOHC and DOHC, but the gas mileage is a lot better.I guess there are several different things that you will have to consider before buying, and everyone has their own opinion.The 01 Cobra I had was definitely faster stock than my current car, but with the money saved, it can't touch the GT.The IRS is fine for curves, but I didn't like it for straightline acceleration.Every car is different as far as how it runs, but if you could find a low mileage 99+, I would reccommend it if you only want solid 13s.With just gears, 13s was no problem in my convertible.You can build the older models cheaper, but they also need more mods to achieve the performance you're looking for.Hope this helps.

I don't think the 94-95 Cobras are all that underrated - the stock computer in those cars is horrible and pulls alot of timing. My buddy had one with most of the bolt-ons and 3.55s and he was only running mid-high 13s. Once you take care of the computer they run hard. I think they already have 1.94/160 valves too, but I'm not positive.

Plenty of 94-95 Gt's with heads, cam, intake, and gears running mid to high 12's on street tires...

yeah the 96-98 cobra's are 4 valve

Thanks for all the intput, I'm prety sure I either want a 94-95 Cobra or an earlier 90's notchback. I just found out what was wrong with my van this weekend and should have it running tomorrow so I'll probably drive it for at least a few more months (hopefully) so I can pay off some bad debt and have more time to think about it. As far as the astrovan, it was running real messed up for the last week or so, I checked everything, the rockers were the last thing I looked at. One was bottoming out before it was even tight so I pulled the intake off and found a smopked lifter, it was concave on the bottom and the cam lobe was almost flat. I ended up getting a Comp Cams XE274 which has a little less lift then the RPM I had, but about the same as far as duration. Hopefully it'll help with torque, the vans a little heavy and I don't have gears in it yet.