Just bought an '03 Cobra... Happy Birthday to me!

[gnturboray]

oh yeah,,,my dad can beat up yours

 

[mandersgtp]

Congrats on the new Cobra (and glad to hear ya kept the WE4)! Ya can't talk the wife into even ONE good mod? Gosh, there's always bribing! Heck, I wish I could buy myself a birthday present like that - I guess I'll have to settle for a coolant flush and some new tires for my grocery getter instead

 

[SMS]

Another thing, do you plan on running low 11's without a roll bar?? Go ahead crack off an 11.20 with no roll bar and see what Mr. tech inspector says when you roll up the return road. As if they werent small enough inside. I guess my point is; why build a car you cant really get full use out of? Cant run it at the track cuz its too fast, on the street it just spins the tires. I think a car that runs low 12's hi 11's is the most fun all around...your opinion may differ.

 

[11secGN]

Congrats on the purchase, a good friend of mine bought one new a couple of months ago. Hope to see you running yours at Cordova this year. They are very impressive cars whether you are diehard GM or not.

 

[Gary Wells]

BTW: congratulations on both the birthday and the stang

 

[Way2QWK]

There is more to life than just accelerating fast in a straight line. Why is the 87 Buick compared to a 03 cobra. The only similarity bettween the two is they are factory forced induction and respond extremely well to mods......thats it. What is this junk about ...."for the money I could waste on a 03 Cobra I could take a TR and run 9's and have money left over." True but you wont have a new car, warrenty, manual trans, 170+ top speed, ability to take corners etc. Lets see your 9sec Buick do all that. In the end its which car meets your needs, thats it. Id rather have a street car that excells at all things rather than just 1/4mile. Thats why the 03 Cobra is such a good car.

 

[Raven]

Originally posted by Way2QWK
There is more to life than just accelerating fast in a straight line.

Id rather have a street car that excells at all things rather than just 1/4mile. Thats why the 03 Cobra is such a good car.

Excellent response Way2QWK and I agree completely.

The new S/C'd Cobra is unbelievable and is certainly a modern day GN - in its own unique responsiveness to low cost mods way. And to those who want to compare interior space - these are two different cars; who the hell cares??? I don't hear you guys comparing the TTA's interior space to the GN/TR but you brag it up all the time - why is that? Two different animals there too, right? And the TTA's 'roominess', back seats, and "trunk" are a freakin joke but that's somehow a different matter cause it's got a Buick motor in a 15 year old F-body????

So who cares if the GN has a roomy trunk, big unsupportive seats and a huge back seat or that the Cobra doesn't? To each his own. Sheesh... How are those factors going to help you win a race?

Why is it that everytime someone mentions any-car-but-a-TR that it's always the "I paid less for mine" pissing match? Can't you be happy for YGETV8?

YGET8 - I'm happy for ya man! And I would love to see a kill story someday where you run a modded TR - owned by one of the "my Buick cost less and is roomier than your Ford so it's a better car but actually I'm jealous cause either I can't afford it or my wife won't let me buy one" clan - and beat it. Poetic justice in my view.

If a car is faster and/or quicker than mine - even if it costs half a million bucks, I say bully for the owner. I like 'em all, Buick or not.

Enjoy your ride and show those Buick owners that don't have an open mind your tail lights. They deserve it - and your '03 Cobra is one of the few that can do it.

Enjoy the ride!

 

[bishir]

Why is it that everytime someone mentions any-car-but-a-TR that it's always the "I paid less for mine" pissing match?

Folks gotta remember that GNs weren't cheap in their day either. I won't even mention the TTA's

 

[Cale22]

Congratulations. Im jealous!!!!!

 

[SyHopeful]

Originally posted by Raven
Why is it that everytime someone mentions any-car-but-a-TR that it's always the "I paid less for mine" pissing match? Can't you be happy for YGETV8?

No kidding. Don't forget the typical "This is a Turbo Buick board, if you want to talk about anything else, punch yourself in the nuts and then GET THE **** OFF OUR BOARD!!"

Congrats on the 03 Cobra, I bought my GN from a guy who bought an 03 and only had room for one project car. His gain was my gain, I guess

 

[CopGn]

I hope my questions on the pricing of modifications didn't come over as a knock at the 03. Perhaps when I said better I should have said faster in a straight line. Questions of modification cost were done out of curiosity. I would have asked the same questions if it were an LS1 or if someone was planing on a street stage car. Like I said $$$$$ is a bigger factor for me because after the mortgage, Blah, blah, blah, and then $17,000 in private school fees a year the 03 just said good buy. But to prove I did not mean to put down someones purchase I will trade my Gn with ported head, FMIC, 9" converter, and a new turbo when I purchase for the 03 Cobra and then never mod the Cobra.

 

[ViciousV6]

Don't forget the typical "This is a Turbo Buick board, if you want to talk about anything else, punch yourself in the nuts and then GET THE **** OFF OUR BOARD!!"

Not sure why I found this so funny, but I damn near soiled myself!

I hope my questions on the pricing of modifications didn't come over as a knock at the 03. Perhaps when I said better I should have said faster in a straight line. Questions of modification cost were done out of curiosity. I would have asked the same questions if it were an LS1 or if someone was planing on a street stage car.

No beef, Copgn... you're questions seemed genuine enough to me. I think the "cost-crying" references were made towards other members of the board. You wouldn't happen to be the fella that e-mailed me, would ya?

Another thing, do you plan on running low 11's without a roll bar?? Go ahead crack off an 11.20 with no roll bar and see what Mr. tech inspector says when you roll up the return road. As if they werent small enough inside. I guess my point is; why build a car you cant really get full use out of? Cant run it at the track cuz its too fast, on the street it just spins the tires. I think a car that runs low 12's hi 11's is the most fun all around...your opinion may differ.

So just do exhaust, CAI, shifter, and tires on the Cobra.... low 12s all day long, high 11s for ace drivers. If you want assured high 11s, just take a step smaller on the pulley (3.2 or so). The roll bar remark makes no sense. I've sat in new edge 'stangs with custom rollbars and they had no less room. If you're already overflowing the seats, then I suppose the roll bar may be an issue. And yo'ure gonna need that same rollbar in a low-11sec GN, too. Excessive interior room may be important for some, but that's towards the bottom of my list when it comes to performance cars. It's like AWD owners saying they're better b/c they can race in the snow. Regardless, I can get the same use out of my Cobra with or without a rollbar. I use the backseat for nothing more than "stuff storage", same as I did in the Buick. My car wasn't bought to be a taxi which is why the rear seat in my Buick looked new when I sold it. I'm not saying the Cobra is the most comfortable vehicle for every driver, or that's it the best car for everybody. Different tastes for different folks. All I know is that it fits me like a glove, and is lightyears ahead of the Buick in the seating area, braking, handling, power on pump gas, etc. I can actually hit curves at alarming rates of speed and not worry about the car doing a barrel roll, or myself sliding out the passenger side window!

I look foward to the day that another low-mileage hardtop GN is sitting next to my Cobra, in the garage!

 

[Raven]

Originally posted by ViciousV6

I look foward to the day that another low-mileage hardtop GN is sitting next to my Cobra, in the garage!

I know where there is a two-owner GN like that with only 55k miles on it...

 

[86brick]

Jay, you should have bought an '89 TTA! Just kidding congrats on the purchase of the '03 Cobra and I wish you the best of luck with it

 

[turbot2496]

et tu Jay

 

[Snorman]

I'd say average MSRP of an '86-'87 GN was around $18.5k, with some more lightly or heavily optioned.
Adjusted for inflation, that's $29,9xx.

You don't even want to think about a TTA...
The $31,223 MSRP (T-top/leather car) of the 1989 Turbo TA equates to about $46,000 in 2003 dollars. So while people are lamenting the fact that the '03 Cobra has an MSRP of $35k, remember that the Turbo TA had an MSRP of over $31k...14 years ago!

Looking at those numbers, the '03/'04 doesn't look like too bad of a deal, especially considering they can be had for under $30k with current rebates and dealing!
Of course, Ford doesn't offer a more reasonable priced Mustang with the Cobra powerplant, like Buick did with the T-type/Turbo-T's.
S.

 

[YGETV8]

<<I look foward to the day that another low-mileage hardtop GN is sitting next to my Cobra, in the garage! >>

I must say I do enjoy seeing my Cobra sitting next to my near mint 62,000 mile WE4! (sorry, had to rub that in!)

Jay

 

[orion681]

Originally posted by Snorman
You're right...no '05 Cobra.
I meant to say wait until '05 for the '06 model.
S.

actually, if i read correctly its not going to be called a cobra, but a shelby gt 500. or maybe thats an addition to the line. but that new stang is real hot. im hoping to get my hands on one by at least '06, until now ill have to hope the impala stays together.

 

[RossGN]

Congrats on the purchase, Jay. I have to agree with you on the awkward shifter location. I was daily drving mine for a while, but have developed bursitis (sp?) in my shoulder and am going in to have steroids injected Thursday. I know the weird shifter location didn't cause all of it, but certainly didn't help.

I really hated the stiffness of the clutch and weird feel of the shifter, so I installed a Steeda quadrant, Steeda firewall adjuster and a Pro 5.0 shifter. 100% improvement in shifting feel and the clutch action is smoother now. I also spin my shifter handle around 180 degrees..I know it makes the shift pattern upside down, but it lessens the reach required just a bit.

Be careful about going to a pulley or chip, as they can void your warranty. Even if the dealer is "mod friendly", if it's anything over $2000, it has to be inspected by the SVT rep, and the first thing they check is for signs of a pulley install or if the ECM has been cracked open. Instead of the chip, you might want to consider the Diablosport Predator. It allows you to load a factory HP tune or a HP tune designed for CAI and exhast. After installation, you have the ability to tweak the timing and fuel a bit. If car needs to go in for service, you can reinstall the factory tune in about 5 minutes.


Good luck and enjoy!

 

[efi-street]

I was very happy with my '03 while I had it. With just an air filter, it put out 404 RWHP and 425 with a cat back.