Bought the most neglected Cobra ever

TimKonaGT500

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As a fellow 01 Cobra convertible owner, I appreciate the resurrection of that car! I am glad you found a solution to keep the interior tan, as that was fairly rare, and looks great with the black. I know how much the replacement upholstery is for the black/gray... I am not even sure the brown/tan is available.

Keep up the good work!!!
 

foofinator

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Thanks for the info. Did you use the included sliders or did you use a different brand? I read in the description that using the included sliders will increase the seat height by 2" which I'm trying to avoid. I might give these a try, but see if I can use a Double locking slider and seat mount from Wedge.

I used low-profile TMI seat brackets: https://www.cjponyparts.com/TSB12/p...lac_guid=abfc7a4f-ca88-e811-80f7-0050568938fc. If they sit high off the floor, I don't really notice it, but I'm fairly short.

Wow, this is amazing. Can you rebuild my 02 True Blue Vert GT like this? Lol.

Thank you for posting the link to the seats, my project Stang has an identical interior and I was looking for a worthy replacement.

My project car has a similar story. The car was severely neglected and used as work truck for the final days of its life. It only has 104k on the drivetrain but the motor is hurt (rod knock)

I was thinking of a N/A 4V swap and turning it into a gloried cruiser. I bought it for pennies by the way...

So far the fuel pump is replaced, new e-brake cables, and battery...but I have long way to go. Here is mine:

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Love the car, particularly the Saleen body kit. If the parts you have are salvageable, I'd go all in with the scoops etc. My recommendation on the motor would be to replace the 2v with a 2v (or rebuild yours) and add boost. I put a TorkTech manifold and ported 03/04 Cobra Eaton on my 1998 GT (silver car in the images above), and its way faster than the 01 Cobra.

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Love the interior but if I would have done it, it would have been black but to each is their own.

I'm a fan of odd colored interiors. My 1998 GT's is grey, and my 75 Nova's is porno red.

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If you dont mind, could you divulge how much you paid to get it back to its stock form? Curious if there is a margin there compared to the value of the car itself in the condition you restored it to.

There is no margin. A beautiful one of these cars is worth, what, 17.5k? The price of the car, with shipping, being like 4K, that leaves 13.5K. The motor build and paint alone will come close to eating that up, and that's not covering the clutch, flywheel, transmission, driveshaft, rear end rebuild, wheels, tires, convertible top, interior, starter, battery, sensors, yadda yadda.... I just ordered another $500 in parts from Late Model Restoration, and it's for dinky stuff like e-brake cables, brake pads, and brake rotors; there were a lot of similar purchases. I may end up with 25-30k in this thing, but it will be like a new car with a new drive train and a twin turbo kit. But no one will ever buy it for that.

A project car that would provide a margin would have to be in much much better shape. I'd recommend one with shiny paint, a healthy motor, and a few minor (electrical and the like) issues. One that you could hit with a polisher.

I have been looking at the seats that you put in your Cobra Project, unfortunately it says in the description that they wont fit a 94-98 convertible due to the factory seat belt retractors, could you send me a picture of how your seat belts attach to the floors? Also, how do you like the seats? Are they quality seats, how do they feel? Also, they are supposed to be 2" higher, do you notice it at all or is that any issue with the style bar?

We've been PMing, and I know I owe you another picture. Sorry for the delay!


And the updates... picked up some new rear brake calipers (at O'Reilly's of all places, pretty inexpensive).

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Fixed my previous compression fitting repair of the rear brake lines with double flare unions. If anyone needs to do this, I can't recommend this tool (Titan Tools 51535 Double Flaring Brake Line Tool, 45-Degree) enough! I previously tried to use a tool from NAPA and it sucked. Also cleaned up the undercarriage a bit.

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Re-did the underlining in the fender wells that was obliterated by my pressure washer.

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And it's in! Complete with 9/16" front subframe bolts. The brake calipers in this picture are the old ones.

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Also dropped off the 04 to get ready for the March mile!

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foofinator

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Best wheels ever on the banana.

Love it. You, like me, are a home for wayward mustangs. I think I'm up to 6: www.instagram.com/teamflyingbanana

Thanks!!

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Got her back on the ground and took her out for a test drive. I need to bleed the brakes again, but rides much better. No more clunk when you change gears, etc. Going to get her back up in the air to give everything another once over and take care of some final details on the rear end, then moving to the front to get the tubular K-member and twin turbo kit installed.
 

NasteeNate

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I used low-profile TMI seat brackets: https://www.cjponyparts.com/TSB12/p...lac_guid=abfc7a4f-ca88-e811-80f7-0050568938fc. If they sit high off the floor, I don't really notice it, but I'm fairly short.



Love the car, particularly the Saleen body kit. If the parts you have are salvageable, I'd go all in with the scoops etc. My recommendation on the motor would be to replace the 2v with a 2v (or rebuild yours) and add boost. I put a TorkTech manifold and ported 03/04 Cobra Eaton on my 1998 GT (silver car in the images above), and its way faster than the 01 Cobra.

Yep! I am planning to do all of that. Great minds think a like. I never owned a 4V car and the swap isn’t bad, I just want to do something different since I owned a 2V car for many years. Lastly, the light interior with dark colors are cool to me. A lot of people like black interiors but I have two tone in my 96 GT.




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Canuck03SVT

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You're brave taking on a project like this. Looks like it's all coming together though. You truly follow the adage "don't crush 'em, restore 'em".
 

james354we

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Bought this on Copart about a year ago and have been slowly fixing it up. I've got a soft spot for this era of Mustang. This one probably wasn't worth saving, but it's well on the way. So far, it's been set to running (and well), has a new top, interior, flywheel, clutch, transmission, driveshaft, and differential (I know I'm forgetting a few things). I'll post some updated pics soon.

Speaks for itself:

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Dryer sheets holding the coil packs on:

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Hmm...

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Gear oil soaked carpet.

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Flex seal painted hood. Nice.

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JB Welded injector.

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And a teaser, as the car currently sits. Rebuilding the IRS right now.

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Did you buy it directly from Copart? It turned out that most inventory on copart is available for dealers only. And to be able to buy all vehicles that are listed, you need to use broker. I always used A Better Bid® Online Car Auctions - Damaged, Repairable, Used, Salvage Cars Sale online action to bid on vehicles, maybe there is an alternative?
 

CobraBob

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Great that you keep updating this thread. Awesome job, brother! You resurrected a disaster that was likely destined for the junkyard, and a car you can now get a lot of enjoyment with. The black convertible top was a good choice.

You should sent some photos to the last owner if you have contact info. His jaw will drop to the ground.

Keep us posted!
 

ccq8le

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awesome thread! That's some great work to restore her. I am a bit surprised that the guy who had it repossessed didn't pawn those rear tail lights!

Keep the news coming. I am looking forward to seeing the painting pictures!

:)
 

coposrv

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Awesome save. I’m also undertaking a restoration/build of a black 01 cobra vert. Mine started out a little nicer that yours. I purchased a roller with very nice paint and full interior for the cost of a nice dinner.

Keep us updated!


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foofinator

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Great that you keep updating this thread. Awesome job, brother! You resurrected a disaster that was likely destined for the junkyard, and a car you can now get a lot of enjoyment with. The black convertible top was a good choice.

You should sent some photos to the last owner if you have contact info. His jaw will drop to the ground.

Keep us posted!

Thanks, and will do. I do not know that I ever want to have contact with the PO after this experience! Or the shady-ass Oklahoma City dealer that repo'd this and listed it on Copart and had the balls to try to haggle up the price.

awesome thread! That's some great work to restore her. I am a bit surprised that the guy who had it repossessed didn't pawn those rear tail lights!

Keep the news coming. I am looking forward to seeing the painting pictures!

:)

Yeah, I was a little surprised. But he had no idea about anything. Unfortunately, the driver side rear light has lost its chrome on the inside and leaks. Not sure if I can fix that myself or not. The passenger side one is mint.

Awesome save. I’m also undertaking a restoration/build of a black 01 cobra vert. Mine started out a little nicer that yours. I purchased a roller with very nice paint and full interior for the cost of a nice dinner.

Keep us updated!


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Very nice paint is huge. I'm spending over $7k on my repaint.

What a project, well done, to date!

Suggestion, with that fantastic e track, consider getting a set of 3 point tie downs so you dont have to risk scratching the wheels. Best change we made to our trailers.

VULCAN Classic Rolling Idler Single Strap E-Track Tie Downs

Thanks! We will check these out.

Updates I didn't post:

Installing the tubular K-member (car was dirty, had been hanging out outside for a minute).

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Cervini's cowl hood (I love Cervini's) and reproduction 03/04 Cobra front bumper. I did the Cervini's hood first after being unable to remove the flex seal from the factory hood. For the front bumper, I really wanted to stick to the 99/01, but I couldn't find a decent bumper for a good price. The one the car had was pretty trashed. Then, I rolled into someone's trailer hitch turning right on red (they stopped after starting to go because they saw a cop, and I was looking to my left, thinking they had gone - still my fault) and that was all she wrote! Casualties = front bumper cover and underlying foam.

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And I also got new wheels for the 04!

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This poor car locked up its Whipple 3.4 at the last mile at over 200 mph. Everything else is fine. Decided to work on the black '01 instead of going to this year's March mile for a change of pace. Already did 205.4 mph, and I've been to two miles a year for a bit.
 

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