1996 Cobra - Problem or good deal?

itsallme2500 · May 2, 2009

hey guys, I recently found a cobra on craigslist that i want to look at. The reason i ask for help is because he told me the car began to smoke, which he took to a ford dealership and they told him that a valve guide or something of that nature dealing with a valve is the reason that it is happening.

Now, he has brand new heads off of a 96 cobra that have stainless steel valve guides from a lincoln navigator that he is throwing in free to fix the problem.

My question is, is it worth it or is he just yanking my chain? He said when he drives it he hears a ticking noise, which scares me.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks!

BlkoutGT · May 2, 2009

How much does he want for it? miles, ect...

itsallme2500 · May 2, 2009

BlkoutGT said:
How much does he want for it? miles, ect...

He wants 5,000 for it. It has 93,000 miles on it, brand new clutch. 4.10 gears and an O/R H pipe.

topless95 · May 2, 2009

usually the valve stem seals are what cause the leak

itsallme2500 · May 2, 2009

topless95 said:
usually the valve stem seals are what cause the leak

Well how hard is that to fix? The car does come with a brand new set of heads...so im just curious. Is it worth it?

BlkoutGT · May 2, 2009

It sounds like it NEEDS the new heads. So it should sell for less than 5k. I would think.

itsallme2500 · May 2, 2009

BlkoutGT said:
It sounds like it NEEDS the new heads. So it should sell for less than 5k. I would think.

He said there is a ticking noise, which worries me a lot more then just the car smoking. Should it be under 5K when it comes with a brand new pair of heads off another 96 cobra?

BlkoutGT · May 3, 2009

I should be under 5 because more than likley its going to need the heads changed soon. And the labor cost on it i imagine is alot. Or if your willing to do it yourself, I hear the 4 valve engine are a pita to work on.

itsallme2500 · May 3, 2009

BlkoutGT said:
I should be under 5 because more than likley its going to need the heads changed soon. And the labor cost on it i imagine is alot. Or if your willing to do it yourself, I hear the 4 valve engine are a pita to work on.

Yeah i offered 4800 on it and thats what he will take. I know two master mechanics that will help me big time on a head change. I just wanted to know from you guys on your opinions since you guys are more mustang oriented.

uncltrvlnmatt · May 3, 2009

Since he is giving you new heads, and you have help to do the job I think you are doing o.k. I paid $6,600 for my 97Cobra with 131k almost 4 years ago.

If you can afford it, you might want to look into installing a new set of cams while you are there. But you are looking at another $1400-$1600 for a nice set of hot cams.

uncltrvlnmatt · May 3, 2009

Oh yea......................the new heads should make the tick go away.

Guido · May 7, 2009

i woudlnt pay 5k for it. how loud of a tick is it?

Addermk2 · May 8, 2009

Go buy a compression tester, pull the plugs out and run a test on it. If it still has good compression, grab the heads (or let him fix it) and buy the car. You can probably drop him to 4k or 4250 if you want to do the work yourself

mylittleponie · May 8, 2009

also if you get those other heads you might as well have them freshing up and put new valve seals in them that way your not in the same boat.. And have them check them for cracks and stuff... Would hate to see you go threw all the work for noting..

Paul · May 8, 2009

The labor costs on a DOHC motor is insane. It's not worth it. There's a reason the guy is trying to unload the car.

MustangChris · May 9, 2009

buy it and rebuild teh top end. $700.00 to rebuild DOHCs.

do the work yourself = $200.00 (ish?) in install equipment and tools if you dont have certain things.

talk him down to $4,000 then drop the $1,000 into the work to fix it and you've got yourself a nice, cheep cobra. :-D

Paul · May 9, 2009

The cam tools necessary to retain and time the cams alone will chew up most of that $700 you spoke of. Not to mention timing four cams is not a walk in the park like an OHV motor. Further, a valve job on 32 valves is going to be pricey.

Paul.

MustangChris · May 9, 2009

Paul said:
The cam tools necessary to retain and time the cams alone will chew up most of that $700 you spoke of. Not to mention timing four cams is not a walk in the park like an OHV motor. Further, a valve job on 32 valves is going to be pricey.

Paul.

i wasnt clear. I meant take the heads to a shop for rebuild, do the disassembly/reassembly yourself... my mistake..
the $700.00 i was speaking of was pretty much just for the rebuild and the parts for the rebuild.

Paul · May 10, 2009

In my opinion, your average weekend warrior mechanic cannot tackle properly building a DOHC motor. I've seen it done several times, and shops charge significantly more for a DOHC build than an OHV build due to the time involved.