Is it worth trying to restore my 04 Cobra??
- Thread starter Wills99Cobruh
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- 04 cobra restoration
So from the looks of things from a phone and not In person. The car looks better than what I thought I was about to see.
Yeah the bald tires with wires is probably someone sending a burnout and parking the car. It’s got coil overs it appears, it was for sure set up to haul ass 1/4 mile or so.
What are your plans or goals? Is it to have a fun street strip car? If it’s to have something really clean and enjoy on the weekends it’s still got potential for either honestly.
Yeah the bald tires with wires is probably someone sending a burnout and parking the car. It’s got coil overs it appears, it was for sure set up to haul ass 1/4 mile or so.
What are your plans or goals? Is it to have a fun street strip car? If it’s to have something really clean and enjoy on the weekends it’s still got potential for either honestly.
Thank you for pointing that out.. You’re definitely right.
I knew the car was coming with some bolt-ons and I was absolutely fine with that. In my mind I was wanting something pretty close to stock and just have a nice clean weekend driver. I have zero intentions on taking this car to the track/strip. At the moment I’m contemplating either getting rid of the car or put the money into it to clean it up. I really need to get together a list and potential costs of what I want. That’s probably going to be a deciding factor as well. In the back if my mind knowing this was built for the strip, it kind of bugs me knowing this thing was for sure rode hard and put up wet.
I was trying to be as detailed as I could just to paint the best picture I could for yall. The car isn’t in terrible condition, it’s just not what I was expecting. Loke I said previously though, that is nobody’s fault but my own for not physically putting eyes on the car before purchasing. I put it on the dyno on Nov. 10th so we’ll see how that goes and might be a deciding factor in what I do with the car.
I'll add a couple of comments. The paint, judging from what I'm seeing around the trunk, appears to need some TLC. If you're going to keep the car and agree the paint isn't as perfect as you'd like, then consider getting a paint correction. The result will probably surprise you.
Also, since you aren't planning on racing at the track, definitely don't consider any new engine mods. Save your money! Stick with what you have, get a tune, and enjoy driving it. That said, it is likely this Cobra has been beaten at the track based on the mods it came with, so don't be surprised if you run into issues with the car that were not expected, in the future. If you have the patience to deal with that, and the funds to put into fixing any issues, keep the car. If you aren't feeling comfortable with that scenario, I recommend selling it and starting your search from scratch. If you end up doing that, DO NOT make the same mistakes again. Absolutely ensure the Cobra you're considering buying is exactly what you're looking for. Make a list of what you absolutely must have, what you absolutely wouldn't want, and what you'd consider. I'm talking car mileage, mods, condition overall, paint color, how many owners, wheel design, paint condition, electrical mods, suspension mods, exhaust mods, and ideally how it was driven. And if humanly possible, either check the car out yourself or find someone you trust (who knows these cars WELL) to check it out. Occasionally a local SVTP member has helped other members this way. I highly recommend always getting a leak down test to check cylinder compression. A leak down test will give you a good idea of the overall engine condition.
This additional info from my Terminator FAQs may help you out, regarding what to look for what buying a used Terminator. Click on the link below. You might want to browse through the complete FAQs if you're new to the '03-'04 Cobra.
Also, since you aren't planning on racing at the track, definitely don't consider any new engine mods. Save your money! Stick with what you have, get a tune, and enjoy driving it. That said, it is likely this Cobra has been beaten at the track based on the mods it came with, so don't be surprised if you run into issues with the car that were not expected, in the future. If you have the patience to deal with that, and the funds to put into fixing any issues, keep the car. If you aren't feeling comfortable with that scenario, I recommend selling it and starting your search from scratch. If you end up doing that, DO NOT make the same mistakes again. Absolutely ensure the Cobra you're considering buying is exactly what you're looking for. Make a list of what you absolutely must have, what you absolutely wouldn't want, and what you'd consider. I'm talking car mileage, mods, condition overall, paint color, how many owners, wheel design, paint condition, electrical mods, suspension mods, exhaust mods, and ideally how it was driven. And if humanly possible, either check the car out yourself or find someone you trust (who knows these cars WELL) to check it out. Occasionally a local SVTP member has helped other members this way. I highly recommend always getting a leak down test to check cylinder compression. A leak down test will give you a good idea of the overall engine condition.
This additional info from my Terminator FAQs may help you out, regarding what to look for what buying a used Terminator. Click on the link below. You might want to browse through the complete FAQs if you're new to the '03-'04 Cobra.
If I’m being honest man I’d say a good majority of the cobras I’ve seen have been that way. They were such a steal a couple years ago. Could get one for low 20’s with low miles and mod it for cheap too. The markers kinda risen up a bit on them. It’s not to hard to believe it was beat on. However these cars can handle abuse well (if maintained properly).
If the paint isn’t up to your liking I’d so as @CobraBob had suggested. Paint correct, and ceramic coat it. The side skirts are easily removed and put back on. I take mine off sometimes to clean out any dirt that may have gotten in there. The rear bumper like I said is an easy at home fix. Just a few questions that can help determine where you’re at.
How many miles ?
How many owners?
Clean car fax?
What did you pay for it? (Don’t disclose if you don’t feel comfortable)
Unless you wanted a stock as a rock car, sounds to me like you may have gotten a decent deal on this one. If Stock was your goal, you bought the wrong car
Battery in the trunk, Scott Rod Panels, wire tuck, SRA. along with a bunch of other mods is all the stuff I am in the process of doing now.
get it on the Dyno, get it tuned. fix up the minor stuff yourself, most of it is pretty darn easy by your description. Sounds like it may be a great driver in the end.
IRS is geting hard to find at a decent price, and usually they need work, let's face it these are 20+ years old now. not much wrong with a SRA unless you want to go corner carving\
Battery in the trunk, Scott Rod Panels, wire tuck, SRA. along with a bunch of other mods is all the stuff I am in the process of doing now.
get it on the Dyno, get it tuned. fix up the minor stuff yourself, most of it is pretty darn easy by your description. Sounds like it may be a great driver in the end.
IRS is geting hard to find at a decent price, and usually they need work, let's face it these are 20+ years old now. not much wrong with a SRA unless you want to go corner carving\
Like Bob said above, don't sink any money into it until you know what you're dealing with. First thing to do on the list is check cylinder compression and bore scope it if possible. If that checks out and you know you have a healthy motor then its worth putting in some fresh plugs, oil, coil packs, sensors/belts as needed etc and getting it to your local tuner for a fresh tune. After that you can enjoy the car while you fix up the other things.
All things considered, you got a pretty decent one. Some of these cars are in rough rough shape since they just get beat on and sold....kicked down the road.
Like you, I bought mine sight unseen as well. Had a buddy go drive it, all checked out, had it shipped across the country....started going through it. Low compression in one cylinder. Bore scope revealed a pin hole through the piston. Lesson learned. I thought about selling the car, but decided to stick with it.
Good luck
All things considered, you got a pretty decent one. Some of these cars are in rough rough shape since they just get beat on and sold....kicked down the road.
Like you, I bought mine sight unseen as well. Had a buddy go drive it, all checked out, had it shipped across the country....started going through it. Low compression in one cylinder. Bore scope revealed a pin hole through the piston. Lesson learned. I thought about selling the car, but decided to stick with it.
Good luck
The paint around the trunk is really the only spot that needs major TLC. All the other areas aren’t too bad actually, but still will need to be addressed. I never even considered a paint correction, that could definitely help the car out. Knowing that this car was built for the track and most likely ran hard I think is going to bother me. I will say that I’m having the car looked at and put on the dyno at a pretty reputable shop here in San Antonio this Friday. Now they won’t work on the car but I should at least have a little more information on the car/tune. Depending on what I learn on Friday I think will play a role in my decision to keep the car or not. I’m extremely green dealing with Mustangs in general but I can say for certain that I won’t be making this mistake again in the future. Thank you for the information, I never even consider reaching out to the community for help. I appreciate your detailed response, you’ve definitely given me some good things to consider. I’ll check out the FAQ’s as well. Thanks again!
The car has like 56k-57k “original” miles clean car fax but heres the kicker. 10 previous owners. Althought since 2019 only about 2,000 miles have been put on the car. I talked to a classic car dealer at another place and he actually went through the history of the car with me. He was a huge Terminator guy so he was happy to explain some things to me and walk me through the history of this car. And at this point I’ve already made every mistake in the book so disclosing what I paid for the car doesn’t even matter. I paid 36k for it.
you could always do a compression check as well, if that and the dyno come back fine I wouldn’t worry about it. These motors are pretty solid
Besides the 4 new tires and battery, I’m not putting any money into it until I get the things you both had mentioned in your replies. At least at that point i’ll know where the car stands and what my next move should be. It sounds like you dont regret sticking with your car instead of selling it.
Dyno. Now I’m scared some. What all is the operator going to monitor? Did a tuner come with the car?
If he’s not versed on these cars, not saying he isn’t, some dyno operators only know one thing which is buzz it to the rev limiter. Think dyno day.
I‘d be concerned pushing it like that not knowing much about this car.
Make sure the gas is new! Hit him with some questions before he airs it out.
Maybe I’m being over cautious. Or not.
If he’s not versed on these cars, not saying he isn’t, some dyno operators only know one thing which is buzz it to the rev limiter. Think dyno day.
I‘d be concerned pushing it like that not knowing much about this car.
Make sure the gas is new! Hit him with some questions before he airs it out.
Maybe I’m being over cautious. Or not.
The shop I’m taking the car to specifically deals with Mustangs. The reason they stopped working on the 99-04’s is bc of their age and end up just taking up room in their garage. This is their words, not mine by the way. They said they always turn into bigger projects than expected and end up taking months to finish. I’ve already explained to them over the phone what I’m looking for and that I’m not just trying to get this thing in there and have it beat on. I’ll definitely be asking questions and raising some concerns when I get there just so we’re all on the same page. You bring up some very valid points. I’m comfortable with the shop, but i’ll for sure try to be involved as much as possible in the process.
Gotcha. I was just wondering about how the car is currently tuned & for what octane.
Sure it’s a running an Eaton currently, and hopefully that’s what the car is tuned for vs it had a mega blower on it & someone swapped back to the Eaton before the sale.
It’s good to hear they know Mustangs, that’s a plus.
Sure it’s a running an Eaton currently, and hopefully that’s what the car is tuned for vs it had a mega blower on it & someone swapped back to the Eaton before the sale.
It’s good to hear they know Mustangs, that’s a plus.
I think they are always worth saving. This one doesn't seem too bad to be honest. I would do a leakdown/compression check to make sure its healthy. Give it a new plugs, fluids and belts. Take it to get tuned, and then slowly start making it your own.
That is a very valid point. I'd make sure the dyno operator knows that the OP doesn't know the state of the tune nor if there might be unknown issues with the engine (hopefully not). In other words, operator proceed with due caution. As much as possible.
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