New project, 1995 Cobra

[CJMcLean]

Hi all, long time no post.

I just purchased a 1995 Rio Red Cobra, 104,000 miles - mere sum of $4500. I thought it was a good deal : Bone stock with the exception of a shifter, x-pipe and mufflers.

I am the third owner - the second owner had it for 7 years, and only put 20,000 miles on it.

When I picked it up - how about that purple tint?

After compounding & a couple of coats of cleaner wax, sorry for the crummy pictures:

Leather is pretty chewed up:

Pretty much bone stock , got to love the mis-routed spark plug wire:

Non-cobra headlights:

 

[CJMcLean]

So, right now the plan is to basically restore it to OEM condition. I really don't want to tear it up because it's in really good shape, and we already have the 2008 GT/CS for a modding car.

Interior plans:

1) Dynomat the inside, install black carpet. Have the seats redone in black leather with saddle tan inserts & cobra logo on headrest.

2) Install the LED lights in the gauge & HVAC cluster

3) Add kicking stereo

4) Re-place both the window motors & door locks

Exterior Plans:

1) Use 96-98 cobra rear bumper & hood

2) re-paint factory color

3) re-finish the stock wheels

4) rebuild the calipers & install slotted rotors with new brakes

Engine mods:

1) Have heads & intake port & polished

2) Add slightly larger cam

3) long tube headers & full exhaust

I'm open to suggestions - I am really trying to not mod the hell out of this car, but it is getting difficult now!

 

[CJMcLean]

Some better pictures, why not...

After 2 cans of engine cleaner:

Sweet ass exhaust hanger & rusted tailpipes:

Better pictures:

 

[CJMcLean]

Edit - double post

 

[Chythar]

Looking good so far. Engine bay looks MUCH better, especially with red spark plug wires. The LED's in the cluster will look SWEET, I have white in my Cobra clone and the instrumentation is a nice bright blue. One minor note - unless you're a time traveler, your camera has the wrong year set (it's not 2007).

Does the Cobra have the Mach 460? If so, you can get some excellent sound out of it by replacing the head unit with an aftermarket one, and putting sound insulation in the doors. The stock head unit drops the bass and ups the treble, so it sounds all tinny and horrible. You can buy a harness adapter, which you can splice into the aftermarket wiring harness. Order a Metra 70-5514 harness, it is an exact match for the Mach 460. I have it on my Mach 460 in both my GT and Cobra clone. $15 from Amazon:

Amazon.com: Metra 70-5514 Radio Wiring Harness Amp Bypass System: Electronics

The sound insulation eliminates most )if not all) the mid-range muddiness folks complain about. It's all caused by sound echoing in the doors. Dynomat or Cascade Audio Engineering sound insulation does wonders, I use CAE on both my 'Stangs.

 

[4bangerstang]

New plug wire kit didn't come with the short one for the 94/95 coil location??

Car looks good none the less!

 

[Venom351R]

New plug wire kit didn't come with the short one for the 94/95 coil location??

Car looks good none the less!

The FRPP Wires don't, they have the standard long one.

Nice looking Cobra BTW, will look really nice once your done w/ it

 

[Adam95GT]

Yup.. have to cut the frpp wires to get them anywhere close to fitting right.

 

[4bangerstang]

I guess I do remember having to cut and refit some wires, it's been a while since I put my FRPP wires on.

 

[CJMcLean]

275's up front , rubbing?

First order of business - getting new tires. I'm really trying to stick with the stock wheels, but I think some 10th anniversary wheels would look sick!

 

[91foxbod50]

Nice buy, im actually thinking about picking up a cobra thats for sale. Only thing is i cant find a convertible hard top that it needs for the life of me!

 

[95BlueStallion]

Nice looking car! It appears to have great potential, keep up the good work.

 

[CJMcLean]

Update:

Replaced the odometer gears and added the LED lights to cluster and HVAC controls. My only gripe is that the clock doesn't match!

Having four 255/45/17 Nitto 555 put on tomorrow, I'm going to keep the stock wheels. Also ordering this week:

ACC carpet
ACC floormats
New shifter boot and knob
Magnapack catback

Pics to follow