New member from Socal

LongLostLatz · Oct 14, 2016

Hi my name is Kris and I am in the market for a Cobra. I have two cars that I'm torn between and I'm hoping the forum members might be able to provide a little bit of insight. First car is a black on black 1998 Cobra with 88k on it and a few basic mods, new clutch, new stock rear gears, and some 18" Saleen replicas as well as factory Cobra wheels with original center caps. The second car is a black on saddle 1995 Cobra with 88k miles and it is comepletely bone stock. Both cars are two owner and have been maintained very well. The 1998 can be had for 7500 and the 1995 for 6000. I've always been a fan of Mustangs but this will be my first. I've made it to the point in my life where I can finally have one car for work duties and one for putting a smile on my face. My goal for the car is to build it into a capable auto x and canyon car, most likely with a ton of Maximum Motorsports suspension bits. So my question is which one should I buy and why?

Thanks and I appreciate the feedback

-Kris

lutter94 · Oct 14, 2016

Gotta go with the 5.0!! Way more fun with the extra low end grunt.

Why rear end gear replacement at 88k without changing ratios?

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LongLostLatz · Oct 14, 2016

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah this is my struggle. Low end 5.0 grumble or high revving 4v? Both sound pretty damn good. The reason why I was leaning towards the 1998 was because of the fact that I would be starting off with a more potent motor off the bat with the ability to safely and reliably add a power adder due to the stout bottom end.

aces ST · Oct 15, 2016

Well, that all depends on how much you are actually trying to run. Keeping in mind your goals of auto-x and canyon running (neither of which require gobbles of power).

Where in so cal are you? I'm in murrieta.

LongLostLatz · Oct 15, 2016

Yeah I completely agree. I think 400hp with solid suspension and chassis work would be the goal. I want something that I can drive and enjoy with the stock power level while I upgrade the suspension and chassis to accommodate power upgrades down the road. Im in Culver City/West LA area.

ReplicaR · Oct 15, 2016

32v hands down. And I'm a 5.0 owner, so that should say something. If I could afford a 32v Cobra when I bought my GT, I would have never went with a 5.0 to begin with.

I'm in Studio City btw, but I work right at HH Center, so fairly familiar with the area.

lwarrior1016 · Oct 15, 2016

Yup, mod motor it is. The 4v is a good platform and has decent torque but also runs up high.

Welcome to the community. Make sure to post pictures of whatever you get.

96laseredcobra · Oct 15, 2016

98 cobra all day . My 96 cobra is a beast and she's mostly stock at the moment .

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LongLostLatz · Oct 15, 2016

Alright so the trigger had been pulled. Thanks for all the feedback. ReplicaR I was especially interested in your feedback because I've stumbled onto your build thread while researching different things and I would definitely like to take my car in a similar direction. So today I met with the owner of the 1998 again and we came to an agreement on a price that I think is pretty fair considering the condition of the car. The car has a new clutch, throw out bearing and 3.55's as well as KYB shocks, SVE springs, hotchkis camber plates and a flow master exhaust. The car comes with two sets of wheels including the black 18" Saleen reps and the original 17" Cobra wheels. I'm most likely going to be going with the 17x10 setup ReplicaR is running as well as the Cobra R Brembo setup. Anyway let me know what you guys think. Here is a picture of the car when he bought it from the previous owner and one of how it sits now.

LongLostLatz · Oct 15, 2016

Ok the pictures showed up in the preview but not when I posted. Do I have to host the pictures somewhere to be able to link to them? I'm trying to post from an IPhone and I'm not what you would consider tech saavy.

Thanks
-Kris

96blak54 · Oct 15, 2016

I run through tapatalk app and it works great.

Welcome along. Their are some active California members here. Theyll chime in soon.

Glad to have you along! Im a modular fan as well and think you did good with the purchase of one!!#

LongLostLatz · Oct 15, 2016

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LongLostLatz · Oct 15, 2016

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96blak54 · Oct 15, 2016

Oh yea! Lot better! These pics were worth the wait!! Lots awesome! !

Any mods youll do here soon?

LongLostLatz · Oct 15, 2016

Thanks yeah I'm pretty happy with my decision. This has to have been the 12th car I've looked at so it was definitely worth the wait I think.

Modifications wise I want to start with some seats that are more supportive and hopefully give a bit more interior room (I'm 6'4 and on the heavy side). I had some Recaro seas out of an EVO 8 in my last fun car and those worked out pretty well. Just need to source some low mount Recaro brackets for this chassis. After the seats I'm looking for some seat time. Maybe a track day or two to feel out the car and learn some driving basics. A lot of the appeal of this car was that it seems pretty well sorted and ready to enjoy.

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96blak54 · Oct 15, 2016

How many miles on the car? Has engine work ever been performed?

LongLostLatz · Oct 15, 2016

The car has just under 88k. Only engine upgrades are the MAC intake, upgraded plug wires, and flow master exhaust. The car comes with a MAC billet throttle body but apparently there are clearance issues with the MM strut tower brace.

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96blak54 · Oct 15, 2016

80k miles is the time to check the intake motion runnet control valves. The head has 2 intake ports and only one has fuel feeding through it. The other intake port gets gummed up from residual oil getting pulled through from PCV. This is where I say buy an oil seperator for the pcv. All modulars benifit from one. Adding on, the intake motion runner control(irmc)valves also get gummed up so bad they get stuck. Usually stuck shut or partially open, killing performance.

DKblue98GT · Oct 16, 2016

Welcome ! You made a good choice. Black interior and 32V.

LongLostLatz · Oct 16, 2016

Awesome thanks guys. Can anyone recommend a good shop in the area that has experience with these cars? I talked to a guy over at Wild Pony Motorsports out in the valley but I didn't really get a good vibe from the guy. He basically crapped on my ideas and explained why his were better because he's been racing Mustangs for 20+ years. Anyway I know I'm going to be putting some real money into this car and I want to find a good shop to build a relationship with. Thanks again for all the great feedback.

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