03/04 Mustang Cobra Owners

[FastRegalWE2]

I am currently contemplating selling my GN and getting one of these. Although I have NEVER liekd Ford it seems to be the only thing out there lately with the kind of potential that the Buick had/has. What do you like about them them or dislike? How hard are they to work on and how good is Ford with customer service and dealership type stuff? It seems the going rate to be around $20-25K for a nice decent relatively low milegae car.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JDSfastGN]

Eh I wouldn't do it, but seeing what you've been through with the GN i can see why you would consider it. Ford dealerships are about as bad as any others, crappy. I think they look badass though and have tons of potential and can run those numbers on pump gas. Good luck with your decision

 

[ViciousV6]

Best car I've owned! It doesn't have quite the mistique that my Buick did, but the combination of looks, handling, and performance is much better. The pump gas potential is amazing and the 6spd makes the car more enjoyable. The handling is obviously much better than the Buick. The interior is also an upgrade. People complain about it having too much plastic, but they must have never paid attention to the GN interior. The seats are fantastic and the layout is very functional. Then again, I'm not much of a frills guy. The only downfall is the shifter position is too far forward for some people. An aftermarket shifter will easily fix this.

These cars are easy to work on, from a bolt-on standpoint. Headers are a real pain and internal work isn't as easy as an OHV motor. Mods aren't really expensive unless you get into the motor. The internals aren't necessarily more expensive, but things like (4) cams can add up. Parts availability is astounding for a car that is only 2-3yrs old. The results seen for minimal investment is right in line with the Turbo Regals, and even better when you consider it doesn't require race fuel.

Downsides include the fact that a lot of Ford dealer service sucks, just like any dealer. There are some inherent problems with these car that are hit and miss. These include pulling to the right due to bad factory alignment, driveshaft vibration due to insufficient balancing, driveline lash due to the T56 and aluminum driveshaft (Vipers and F-bodies do the same thing), and the "tick." These issues are all covered under warranty. The tick, which results from incorrect valve guide clearance in a single cylinder, doesn't effect all cars and doesn't even seem to have a negative performance effect on the cars that do have it. Ford released two different head designs that didn't fix the problem. Their latest release has yet to be proven and is on national backorder.

When I weigh the pros'n'cons, I absolutely love this car. I want to own another GN, but it won't be at the expense of my Cobra. Take that for what it's worth!

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Normally i would say "heck no its a damn furd"...

But ever since these cars were new, they are just soooo damn fast on pump gas!!!

i remember when they were new with light mods, running high 11s at 125 on the original radial tires and 93 octane was impressive enough to make me pay attention to these cars.

After getting my butt whooped by one last weekend on a top end pull, i must say that i sure do wished i could afford one of those 2003 supercharged mustangs.

ViciousV6- how much is your insurance for full coverage for that car?
I am 29 and only one ticket in the past 4 years, hopefully next september my insurance will go down on my cars and i can afford something different-

If you can afford it then get one.

the only draw back ive heard from a buddy of mine who owned one new was the rear leaked alot of oil and never could get it fixed at the dealer, and the dealer was a real pain in the rear when the car was falling apart. He traded it in 6 months later and bought a SS Silverado, said he would never buy one again...

I would still like to have one though

BW

 

[crownvic96]

i'm not an owner but the cars have really really really stout bottom ends. just like the GN you can get super huge gains with just bolt ons. full exhaust, chip, lower pulley, the ol' faithful k&n etc...mustangs have just a mind boggling amount of aftermarkert parts.

since the motor is actually built so well some people have removed the supercharger and just thrown a nice big juicy turbo on it.

head on over to www.thecorral.net its pretty much THE mustang website. huge data base and tons of members.

for a newer car i think its the best bang for the buck you can get right now. the mystic coupes are just freaking sweet. our dealer had a mystic coupe and 'vert, pretty high bling factor on one of those.

 

[FastRegalWE2]

wow, great info, thanks alot

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

now only if i could do extensive body work i could afford this car


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6236&item=4542698182&rd=1


BW

 

[FastRegalWE2]

Originally posted by Quick6'n'-K.C.
now only if i could do extensive body work i could afford this car


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6236&item=4542698182&rd=1


BW

thats funny, I was looking at that one earlier too

 

[vicious6]

Check out my good friends 04 he has for sale. This car is as NEW!! Awesome car, and VERY quick!


http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=180933364&dealer_id=56187574&car_year=2004

 

[BuickMike]

I'd buy the Ebay Cobra for the drivetrain, part out the rest of it, and drop that drivetrain into a Ford Fairmont

 

[efi-street]

I had one for about 6 months. Put out 383rwhp stock and 404rwhp with just an air filter. VERY fun car and I'll probably buy another one when the GN is paid off. Won't be getting rid of the GN. I'd rather have the best of both worlds. Would be street racers tend to shy away from my GN more than they did the Cobra.

 

[87buick3825]

Originally posted by BuickMike
I'd buy the Ebay Cobra for the drivetrain, part out the rest of it, and drop that drivetrain into a Ford Fairmont

Imagine putting it in a Buick ??

 

[87buick3825]

OHHHHHH need an automatic with that !!! Wonder if a GN trans could be used ??

 

[TurboTR]

Vicous- you have a PM.

The tick- isn't it a casting/design flaw that results in excess clrnc over time, rather than just wrong clrnc on one hole? Seems that would not require a head re-spin if just that

TurboTR

 

[ViciousV6]

There is a lot of debate on the "tick." It's not so much a casting issue as hot spots in the heads that are too much for the designed clearances. If the heads ran perfectly cool, the problem probably wouldn't arise.

Regarding where to get good information, you'll have much better results at www.modularfords.com and www.svtperformance.com . The Corral is not the main forum for SVT guys, especially the 03/04 cars.

By the way... I have no PMs in my box.

 

[NEARING]

Originally posted by ws6formula50
I am currently contemplating selling my GN and getting one of these. Although I have NEVER liekd Ford it seems to be the only thing out there lately with the kind of potential that the Buick had/has. What do you like about them them or dislike? How hard are they to work on and how good is Ford with customer service and dealership type stuff? It seems the going rate to be around $20-25K for a nice decent relatively low milegae car.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Don't do it!

Well at least untill you get your motor done!

You start running some 10's you may forget about a Cobra.

 

[ViciousV6]

Originally posted by 87buick3825
OHHHHHH need an automatic with that !!! Wonder if a GN trans could be used ??

There are several people running built 470RW(?) automatics out of the Mach 1/GT. Horsepower by Hermann offers a complete kit that uses a factory Mustange automatic shifter and it's just sick. Most are using a manual valve-body. Many cars are knocking off serious ET after the conversion. I think it takes the fun and dual-personality out of the car, but it's certainly the ticket for any 1/4 mile junkie.