1993 Cobra R

[Cyajojo]

So if I can understand your posts here Cyajojo, are you saying that the car at the resto shop that 67ponyman saw is your car?

If so, why would you not lead with the comments... I am the owner of the car in question and here is the facts and history of the car...

Just curious?

Hi, I found his post on a google search. Yes it is my car, I just wanted to see what he said and why he said it first. Then I notice he really has only ever posted two post. Most the of the people already took it to heart from what he posted and already ripped it to shreds... Sorry did not think of that at the time and had no idea these forums were this active. Which is great that they still are. From now on I will on post fun pictures. At least gave me a good excuse to go through some pictures.

 

[Noobz347]

Not factory. Dealers are glorified mechanic shops (no offense) and no different than having Joe two-tooth install the 351.

Would be a hit on value in my book....a big one. It won’t be cheap still.

The crux of the entire matter.

I'm sure it's a great driver though.

 

[General karthief]

Seems the mystery has been explained, and I thank you for clearing this up, You sound credible to me, not that my opinion around here hold much water, yes the op has never been back, wonder where he went? Not!
Is the car painted now?

 

[Noobz347]

For those that are treading into Mustang land for the first time, landing on this thread and wondering what all the hubbub is about...

A factory 93 Cobra R with a documented 351 swap authorized and performed by Ford, would be a One and Only Unicorn that would probably fetch as much as an original GT500 because well... It would have been the only one.

They didn't put a 351 into a Mustang until the 95 Cobra R sooooooooooooooo.... You might be able to imagine the collector value of a real-life 93 R with a Ford fitted 351W.

This is the reason for the enthusiastic grilling. For everyone else, it was never about whether it was a real R. Just about whether it was a real "93 351 R".

Ford has made tiny "Oops"es before. Those cars are now worth the economy of some small countries.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Kevin Marti was called in personally to Authenticate the Movie Bullitt Mustang, instantly making that car worth millions.

In this case, short of a Marti report or blessing from Marti himself of an authentic 351 '93 Cobra which isn't going to happen, it's just an engine swap no different than dropping in a Coyote. Price it accordingly.

 

[Ryuk]

First, a $600 deposit with an addition $8400 is $9000 paid for the car, not $8400.

Second, I had a 1989 Mustang with 35,000 miles that I drove about 100 miles through a heavy rainstorm. The next morning when I started the car I heard rod knock. Since it was still under warranty, off to the dealer it went. I didn't have a lot of money for a rental car, so I was on the phone daily getting updates because I needed my car back ASAP. They heard the rod knock, but couldn't find anything wrong with the motor. Ford wasn't going to spring for a new short block without definitive proof. My engine was sent to a machine shop for micrometer checking. It turns out that 4 of the rods were slightly twisted. The machine shop was already paid for the checking, and it was cheaper to have them rebuild it at that point than it was to put in a short block. Ford would reimburse them in either case. That rebuilt motor felt a lot more powerful than my old factory one.

Which leads to my disbelief that any dealer would swap in a non-standard engine when rebuild options were available. Especially an engine from a vehicle that had roughly the same production numbers as the Cobra.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Another way to look at it.

The engine in your GT350 blows up (which is a pretty common thing unfortunately). New Voodoo engines are months out, so does ford just swap in a Gt500 engine?

 

[General karthief]

If you go back and read through the thread the actual owner of the cobra responded with what he knew about the car relying mostly on what he was told and the fact that he never spoke to the person that originally started this controversy.
Here is what I believe to be the story:
Original owner blew up the engine and was told no warranty so he opted to have a 351 installed for whatever reason at the time. I think the 351 was installed because the lure of extra cubic inches. JMO.
I think Cyajojo is more creditable than the person that originally stirred this up mostly do to the fact he posted twice then skated.

 

[FoxChasis]

The only "Ford" that did this engine swap was the Ford dealer, not Ford Motor Company. Nor did FoMoCo sanction/authorize/whatever such a "swap". The car was sold new as as, with no warrantee whatsoever, except for the emissions system. You buy it you own it. The engine had no warrantee so when it blew the owner paid the dealer for the swap. FoMoCo had nothing to do with it. A Marti report isn't going to tell you squat about the replacement engine or such a swap, nor will there be any "authentication" of the sort for such.

 

[KRUISR]

Basically what I see here is a real 93 Cobra R that has had a 351W (sounds like a lightning crate motor) swapped in. The fact that the swap occurred a Ford dealer does not add value. My logic for my reasoning is this... the Cobra R carried no warranty from the factory. Ford Motor Company (or the dealer for that matter) had no obligation to put another motor in. The owner at the time asked them to put a 351W in. They did, just like anyone in the same time frame could do to their standard LX or GT. It adds no more value than if someone took a Cobra R and put a 351W in today.

In my mind the car will have the most value if brought back to as close to original Cobra R and keep the 351W and the story. Just my 2 cents.

 

[General karthief]

Here again, this was started by someone who talked to somebody at the body shop, got a second hand story and came here and (possibly unknowingly) spewed nonsense, the present owner never stated it was for sale and only brought up the value of a cobra r (not this particular cobra r but one that recently sold) because he did not want it parked outside.
End of story.

 

[Olivethefet]

Cool story. Glad the owner showed up to shed some light on the whole thing. It sounded like the OP just had an itch to get in someones face over something that wasn't even their business. I think its a cool car. I'd drive it!

 

[91TwighlightGT]

Having a 351 swapped in is obviously doable. Having Ford itself authorize and pay for this sort of swap is the hilarious part of the story. That didn't happen, period.

The story about Ford "running out of GT40 engines" is equally laughable. The 94 and 95 Cobra's came with GT40 heads, and we know 5.0L Explorers had them as well. I guarantee that if there were any sort of shortage or delay, Ford would happily have made that customer wait until the parts arrived to fix the car before they went to an incredibly more involved and expensive solution because the guy didn't want to wait.

 

[africansnowowl]

The kind of person that had money for an “R” back then probably wouldn’t have minded paying out of pocket for whatever the dealer would have charged to drop a 351 in.

I’ve asked the question before. I had an 04’ GT that dropped a valve and destroyed the engine under warranty. I asked how much extra they wanted to replace the engine with a 4v. They wouldn’t even entertain the idea. This was a crappy dealership though. I’m sure there are some out there that would be willing to do stuff like that.

 

[Reddevil91]

Found this rare gem for sale, Cobra Rrrrrrrrr sike! ha ha man this poor car!

 

[91TwighlightGT]

To be fair, I don't think he called it a Cobra R. He was just saying that of the 5100 produced 107 of them were Cobra R's. Kind of silly to throw that nugget in there when the car isn't an R model, but... you know... people.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Part of me woukd buy that if the price was right.
Key words, “price was right”

 

[Ryuk]

I'll buy it if he moves the decimal point to the left 6 places and delivers it.

 

[Blown88GT]

...I paid $8400 for this car 20 years ago....

According to this, you paid $9000 ($600 deposit + $8400 balance).