94 Cobra project

[skidoojunky]

The seats actually cleaned up pretty well. Here is before and after....

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[skidoojunky]

At one point Devin brought his paper towel over to me to show me what it looked like. He said “dad...what’s all of this yellow stuff” I had to explain to him what nicotine was. F’ing gross!

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[skidoojunky]

The a/c was empty as to be expected. I went ahead and charged it and I will see how long and if it holds. Fingers crossed. 134a is still cheap. It blows snowflakes for now.

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[skidoojunky]

We took it for a 30 mile shakedown run through the country just in case something went south. The tires are weather cracked bad and the serpentine belt is a ticking time bomb. I plan to take my time and service it front to back once I get it on the lift. I can’t decide whether or not to just do a brake job now or wait till one of the calipers starts sticking? Thoughts?! They work fine now but I’m prepared for the worst.

It did do some funny stuff for a while but things started to limber up and we did not beat on it at all. The wipers still have a mind of their own and it took a few cycles for the turn signals to all work properly. Surprisingly enough all of the interior electronics work like a champ!

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[skidoojunky]

Now for the questions.....sorry to bomb you with so many!

Has anyone ever had any experience removing chrome plating from rims and have them powdercoated? The cheap aftermarket Cobra R wheels are junk but if possible I would like to have them powdercoated grey like the 95 R’s and save them. If not I will just buy a new set.

Does anyone reproduce the original “cobra” floor mats? These are pretty shaky and I’m kind of like the “correct police”.

Under the hood so far the only thing that really concerns me are the steel coolant lines. Can they still be bought or is anyone reproducing them? I’m sure I can refinish these too?

What all would you guys do to this car to ensure it’s reliability knowing that it has been sitting for 10 years?!

Thanks in advance.

Junkman


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[evilcw311]

So much to read up on!!! [emoji38]

First, I appreciate the offer for any help if needed on the sled. I’ve torn through a few when I spent all my winters instructing at a resort not far from here and I actually had my own beater there. I’ll hit ya up if I got any questions or need anything.

2nd, that has to suck trying to get that funk out of the car. Nicotine stench is especially hard as it leaves that nasty yellow film you told your son about.

3rd, not sure if I skipped something. If it’s been sitting that long then there’s a chance those slide pins aren’t in great shape. You might pull the calipers apart and see how well they slide. If they’re not rusted solid then clean me up and grease the pins. Replace the boots and your probably in good shape.

4th, as far as those steel lines I think late model restoration has them.


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[evilcw311]

Oh as far as the chrome, I’d say airplane stripper would probably strip them. Maybe someone who has actually done it will speak up.


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[Tillerman77]

hey gang, new to the forums but not new to the sn95’s or Mustangs in general for that matter. I’ve owned 8 mustangs through the years but have been on a hiatus for quite some time. I have had several Fox bodies and 3 sn95’s. A red 94 cobra that I had when I was 21(I totaled it out....twice!) a 95 Cobra R and now another 94 Cobra that is going to be a father son project that will eventually turn into my sons car assuming he holds up his end of the deal with behavior and grades. He is 9 now so a lot of things can change between now and then. Especially knowing full and well that he is “my son”...lol!

I have been looking for a while now and was blown away at what had happened to the prices of Fox bodies and sn95 Cobras. After some looking I stumbled across a white 94 Cobra that started its life as a FoMoCo executive car for the first two years of its life then was sold to a single adult female in 96, driven for 13 years accumulating 87,000 miles then put into storage for exactly 10 years before being unearthed and put up for sale where I found it. My son Devin and I went to look at it and after a while and a few tears being shed by the owner we struck a deal. This car is by no means pristine or a cream puff. It is exactly what I said it was earlier, a father son “project”. It was only driven for one winter but the environment it was stored in was less than ideal so there is some underbody corrosion and oxidation on some of the hardware under the hood. Nothing that can’t be addressed over time.

My intentions for the car are to leave it somewhat stock (it is 99.9% unmolested now) with only a full exhaust with off road x pipe and 40 series Flowmasters, a set of 3:73 gears, a CAI and probably some under driven pulleys. I know how much he’ll i raised with 240hp back in the day and like I said, I cannot deny him....he is “my son” lol.

I was thinking about running a Marty report on the car because it is equipped fairly oddly for a Cobra. It is white with grey cloth interior and no Mach 460 sound. I guess I didn’t realize that Ford even made the Mach 460 sound an option in the Cobra? Does anyone have an idea how many might have been optioned this way?

It’s been quite some time since I have had my head under the hood of a 5.0 Windsor. Any tips, tricks or advice for “must do’s” other than the obvious for a car like this that has been sitting for 10 years?

Thanks in advance,

Junkman

Maybe you have done this already, but have you verified the VIN number is a Cobra VIN versus a Fauxbra?

 

[skidoojunky]

I have and it is a legit Cobra. I have a couple of buddies who are Mustang guys as well as Ford technicians. I had them run the warranty history on it and I did a car fax as well. Both confirmed it was a Cobra. I learned that it is for sure 1/268 white cobras with cloth and I am hoping that the Marti report tells me that it is a 1/1 with just a std am/fm cassette stereo.

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[skidoojunky]

Couple questions....looking to wake up the ol 94 a little, like I said earlier, nothing wild.

What off road H pipe is the best? Planning on that and an American Thunder Flowmaster cat back system as well.

Why does the MSD distributor seem to be such a popular mod? I don’t understand what the benefit would be?

What else could/should I do short of forced induction? CAI? Throttle body, Mass air? Cam? Roller rockers?

 

[evilcw311]

Couple questions....looking to wake up the ol 94 a little, like I said earlier, nothing wild.

What off road H pipe is the best? Planning on that and an American Thunder Flowmaster cat back system as well.

Why does the MSD distributor seem to be such a popular mod? I don’t understand what the benefit would be?

What else could/should I do short of forced induction? CAI? Throttle body, Mass air? Cam? Roller rockers?

Some prefer the sound of the h pipes but for performance an off road x flows better.

Stay clear of msd. They use to be very popular back on the fox days and they were reliable back then. Unfortunately over the last several years they’ve gone down hill and been the source of many breakdowns.

Cold air and throttle body won’t really do much by themselves. They really are complementive to a hci setup.

What’s your budget and what kind of gains would you like to see?? Cams and rockers alone won’t really change much. The biggest choke points on our motors are heads and intake.


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[ttocs]

People like the msd dist because it looks perty. But as he said their quality is not what it use to be. I hear it is getting better but over all if you need a dist I still have my oem I only replaced after switching ecu's. What else should you do? Question is what is the budget, and what are the plans for the car?

 

[skidoojunky]

Thanks guys, no real budget, just want to make it run “decent” maybe 275-300hp. I have a set of 3:73’s for it already.

 

[FordCountry]

Somebody beat me to it with the cloth cobra numbers. That is correct on the 268. I know because I also have a crystal white 94 Cobra with the same color cloth interior. Certainly rare option. Someday I think it could maybe raise the value. I mean...268!! That's LOW production. Either way, I love my cloth seats. The Cobra air bag is another pretty big giveaway that the car is legit. I've never seen a Fobra maker go to the extensive and costly extreme of changing out the air bag to a Cobra one. Some other key things to look at are the much larger brake booster in the Cobra cars, the third brake light being in the spoiler, and the Cobra imprinted brake calipers. Of course all Cobras will be 5 speed as well. Also it's very easy to tell by looking at the VIN if it is a real Cobra; if the 8th digit is "D" she's a Cobra. That's true for the 94-95's for sure. Not entirely sure on the other ones. But I have the SVT book that I got with my certificate that has all the specific build numbers and specs for every SVT vehicle made. Beautiful car! Awesome father son project too. Oh yeah, you should call SVT (I forget the number but you can find it online easily) and get your build number! I'd be curious to know. Kind of a neat thing to know for yourself as well. Mine was number 94 off the line in 1994.

Ben

 

[Tillerman77]

Oh yeah, you should call SVT (I forget the number but you can find it online easily) and get your build number!

Here is an old link about the SVT phone number.

 

[skidoojunky]

Here is an old link about the SVT phone number.

Awesome! Thanks guys!!

 

[skidoojunky]

The one thing I would really like to know and the Marti report did not clarify is how many were made like mine without the Mach 460 sound system? I have never seen a 94 or 95 Cobra without one other than this one. And according to the Marti report it was clearly built without it. Do you think the SVT hotline would be able to tell me?

 

[Tillerman77]

The one thing I would really like to know and the Marti report did not clarify is how many were made like mine without the Mach 460 sound system? I have never seen a 94 or 95 Cobra without one other than this one. And according to the Marti report it was clearly built without it. Do you think the SVT hotline would be able to tell me?

I have never tried the hotline, but it is certainly worth a try! let us know if you get through and they can answer your question.

 

[skidoojunky]

I have never tried the hotline, but it is certainly worth a try! let us know if you get through and they can answer your question.

I spoke with Noah at Fords SVT Dept and my car is number 451 built of 5009. He could not tell me how many were equipped the same though. Pretty cool. Ordered a certificate of authenticity and a SVT performance book as well. Thanks for the tip guys!

 

[Gnatstang]

Hey,
I too am new to the forum but not new to the dang Stang!! I’ve got a 94 that’s been Cobra-ized. Literally everything but the 8th digit.
To your question. On an 88 GT years ago I pulled the seats and the carpet and power washed everything! It was that bad! I let it dry inside out of the humidity (much to my wife’s chagrin). Treated the leather, scotch guarded the carpet, wiped down EVERYWHERE! Smelled good enough for my girls to ride and enjoy!
Good luck