Crapwagon Outtake: They See Me Rollin, They Hatin

by Derek Kreindler

Published: January 5th, 2015

crapwagon outtake they see me rollin they hatin

One of the cars I’ve always admired from afar was the Fox Body Mustang Cobra. I say admired from afar because I’ve always known that it would never live up to my own fantasies if I ever drove it. But this rolling chassis presents an interesting way to get into a Cobra without running afoul of the need to preserve its authenticity.

Listed for sale is a salvaged titled, rolling shell of a Mustang Cobra, sold sans drivetrain, but with the all-important certificate of authenticity from SVT. Never mind the fact that it’s got a gaudy aftermarket hood with a giant scoop.

The first step is to hit the Ford Racing catalog for a crate engine. There are some hot, hopped-up versions of the 302 making power levels far beyond the stock 235 horsepower – but for not much more money, you could upgrade to a 5.0L Coyote that makes a lot more power. And then, you need to look for a transmission, and you might as well upgrade the brakes and suspension as well.

But who am I kidding? If I’m getting a Cobra, it better be Vibrant Red.

#CrapwagonOuttake #Ford #FordMustang #FordMustangCobra #FoxBody

Derek Kreindler

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8 of 47 comments

Omer333 on Jan 05, 2015

I'd go with the three-valve 4.6 modular motor that was in the 2005-2010 GT, 300hp at the crank on regular gas is always a good thing.

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- DenverMike on Jan 06, 2015
  
  Exactly. The 3v 4.6 gets you in the party for 1/3rd the price. Add catback turbos and still 1/2 the price for more power. And they sound insane!
  
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MRF 95 T-Bird on Jan 06, 2015

The 4.6 fit in the SN-95 so it ought to fit in this, though personally I would just find a decent 5.0 out of a GT or Explorer and do a few mods. A 5.8 SVT Lightning SC motor would be interesting as well. The MN-12 was designed for 2 different V6's then Ford found a way to shoehorn the 5.0 in it. 95-97 had the 4.6 modular.

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Probert on Jan 06, 2015

What about the svo? Always wondered about that.

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- DenverMike on Jan 06, 2015
  
  The SVO is a great choice. No K-member swap, just bolts in. SVOs are gone, but T-Bird turbo chickens are still everywhere. Same engine. Tough and overbuilt engines withstand lots of mods and cranked up boost.
  
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Mnm4ever on Jan 06, 2015

I was pretty hot on buying a Fox body Mustang before I got my 2015 GT, so I did a lot of research and shopping. If one wanted to build a cheapo muscle car or track toy, there are lots of cheap Mustangs out there, but most all of them are pretty beat up. The Cobras are much more likely to have been kept in extra nice condition by the previous owners. Even ones with high mileage tend to be in excellent cosmetic and mechanical shape. I am sure they thought someday the cars would be worth big bucks! I wanted essentially a showroom condition Mustang, but I wanted to resto-mod it for performance. The Cobra makes sense for my scenario, and I wouldn't throw in a pick-and-pull engine, I would build it up nice.

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- 319583076 on Jan 06, 2015
  
  Want to share your thoughts on the '15 GT? Specs, driving impressions, etc?
  
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- Mnm4ever on Jan 07, 2015
  
  @319583076 I love my 2015, it is essentially everything I wanted in a car. They really improved the quality, I love the looks, it has every feature I wanted and the performance is spectacular. I have a base GT, competition orange, manual, with the Performance Pack and the Recaros. The base GT is supposed to have cloth seats but mine has leather... factory mixup worked in my favor. I have found 2 minor quibbles: the base Sync is slow and ponderous, and the cruise control turns itself off every time you turn the car off, but basically every other feature on the car works very well and intuitively. I can't say enough about the improvement in quality. You don't have to quantify every statement with "...for a Mustang" anymore. As for driving impressions, well, it is no GTI. I am used to small, light cars. The Mustang to me is very big, and I sit low. I feel a lot more comfortable in it now than I did when I first got it, but I still need more time to get used to it. I am short, and my taller friends say it feels small to them, so I think its more about what I am used to. Its the style of the car too, I had the same problem sitting in Corvettes, exotics, etc. Also the base seats are more adjustable for height-challenged people, the Recaros limit that for me. It is Oh My God fast and it makes glorious engine sounds, I really cannot imagine needing more horsepower than it has unless you are regularly on a track, but I might get an exhaust for it to enhance the engine sound a bit more. It has excellent shift feel, there are no squeaks or rattles, and I have been averaging right about 19mpg which is only about 3mpg less than my GTI did over 5 years of ownership.
  
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