2001 SVT Cobra For Sale:
Quick Facts:
40,xxx miles
-Interesting owner history- always treated as a collector car.
-Always garaged, stored under cover August-May.
-Near perfect paint and body. Never buffed, original clearcoat. Regularly detailed, always waxed.
-Near perfect interior, never touched floormats, great seats. Extremely clean.
-Engine compartment clean enough to eat off of.
-Only minor cosmetic blemishes consistent with mileage, mostly very light rock chips here and there. Not a single dent, no rust.
Mods:
-FRPP Cobra R hood, paint matched by original Ford dealer.
-JLT True Cold Air
-Naz ported lower intake
-Steeda underdrive pullies (not yet installed, will be at new owners request)
-Custom fit, stainless steel O/R X pipe
-SCT XCal III Tuner
-Hurst Billet Plus shifter
-FRPP 4.30 ring and pinion, FRPP carbon fiber clutch pack & setup kit + bearings
-Polyurethane differential bushings
-Maximum Motorsports differential brace (2000 Cobra R style)
-Drilled, zinc coated Brembo front rotors with Hawk ceramic pads
-1” hubcentric wheel spacers on rear wheels
ALL STOCK PARTS COME WITH THE CAR
The Whole Story
Background
You’re looking at a 2001 Mustang Cobra. It is one of only 347 Zinc Yellow coupes; further increasing its rarity is the fact that it was ordered with every option available to Cobras that year. It is literally the most highly optioned, expensive Mustang you could buy in 2001. The car has a very interesting owner history and has spent most of its life in dry storage.
I have several receipts, maintenance paperwork and dealer items that go with the car. The story I got went something like this (it was confirmed by mileage statements from the dealer): the car was bought new in 2001 at Kenny Ross Ford near Pittsburgh, PA. The man who bought the car did so on the same day he bought a 2001 Bullitt Mustang. Apparently, the Bullitt was to be his car and the Cobra was intended to serve as an incentive for his badly injured son to get better. Unfortunately his son never recovered (I was told he was severely injured in a skiing accident). This being the case, the car was barely driven for the first three years it was owned. Eventually in 2004, the car was returned to Kenny Ross Ford to be sold as a used car- with less than 500 miles on it. The car then went through two owners (who I have contacted) that drove the car recreationally. I bought the car in the fall of 2007 with somewhere around 28,000 miles on the clock. The Cobra was bone stock and obviously very well taken care of.
I have only driven the car during summer months and have always kept it in a garage between August and April with a full tank of 93 octane + Stabil. The car was kept in my garage at home when I did drive it and even got to stay in a parking garage when I took it to work. You would be very hard-pressed to find a nicer example of this car.
Body
Ford stumbled in 1999 when they first introduced the redesigned Cobra. A massive recall aimed at increasing horsepower to the advertised levels created skepticism amongst consumers that benefitted the ’01 models. Ford did not produce a Cobra in 2000 to remedy any issues and come back with a winner. One of the alleged areas of scrutiny was paint quality- it is well documented that paint quality on 2001 models was much better than previous, or even later cars (2003 and 2004 Cobras, for example). This really shows on this car. With the exception of the rear bumper cover, the paint is untouched- never buffed with a machine. It has remarkably little orange peel from the factory and looks really great even under harsh lighting. There isn’t a single dent anywhere on the car! As you can see in the pictures, this car looks great in just about every kind of light.
The second owner replaced the stock hood (which received a lot of criticism when Ford decided to use it on later V6 models) with a real Ford Racing Parts 2000 Cobra R hood. This fiberglass hood fits perfectly, looks great and is lightweight. It was designed for the Cobra R racecar that saw very limited production in the year 2000. The hood was painted at a Ford dealer and matches very well. The paint on the fenders appears to be untouched original paint. I detail the car consistently using the best products and drive it very carefully. There is always room for improvement on cars but this one is pretty close to being as nice as they come in terms of the body. There is no rust anywhere on the car.
2001 Cobra’s have some unique body elements that make them more desirable than other model years. For starters, the rear bumper that says “Cobra” is not all that common. The ’99 Cobras did not have this. The blacked-out headlights are stock and a first-year item in 2001. The amber turn signal lenses are a two-year only item and were specific to Cobras- they are very desirable. The polished wheels (which are holding up nicely but do have little blemishes in the clear coat) are a 2001-only item. I have included a picture of one wheel with very slight curb rash. I bought a replacement wheel that was never mounted on a car- it has a nick from sitting in someone’s shed but would easily be a perfect, new wheel. It goes with the car for free. The wing was optional and was also only available on Cobra models in 2001.
Interior
The interior was completely redesigned for 2001 Cobras and features one-year-only seats and gauges. The seats are ultra supportive and comfortable leather/Alcantara pieces and the gauges are white-faced with green lettering. The charcoal leather interior of this car is really, really clean. The carpet is like new, in fact the original floor mats have never been touched- it has always had a big set of rubber mats on top of the actual mats. The seats, because of their aggressive bolsters, often show wear in the leather. This car has some of the nicest seats I have ever seen in a 2001 Cobra. In sunlight they look almost brand new. I had to play with the camera to show the minor creases in the leather and trust me; I got it to look worse than it actually does. The Alcantara inserts are perfect; the back seat has been sat in maybe twice, three times? The dash is perfect, the shifter boot and knob are perfect, and the console is perfect. The only sign of wear is on the top of the steering wheel where a previous owner must have liked to hold on tightly- the charcoal coloring has slightly worn through to expose the black steering wheel. Again, this is difficult to notice in natural light. Even the rubber pedal covers are original and in good shape. Everything works, including the factory 6-disc CD player. Mach 460 sound systems are awesome!
Engine/Drivetrain
Engine:
To this day, Ford has not produced a 4.6 V8 with a higher horsepower rating than the 2001 Cobra. The ~10:1 compression, forged Kellogg crank, 6-bolt mains, 32 valve all aluminum motor was rated at 320 horsepower from the factory. 2001 saw improved “C” cylinder heads and improved intakes and exhausts. Cobra motors were built with fairly aggressive factory cams that utilized more duration to achieve that horsepower number. The interesting thing about a 4-valve modular motor is its ability to respond to modifications. I always intended to keep this motor stock and take advantage of the bolt-on capability it possessed. There are several well-documented 2001 Cobras running high-eleven second quarters with the stock cams, stock heads and stock shortblocks. Those cars can be driven to the track as well. In stock form, these cars are a blast to drive. They sound great, pull hard, rev high and handle well. It is very tempting, however, to throw in a few tuning tricks to really make the package work.
These small blocks are peaky and like to make their power higher in the rev range. By the time the cams really start to work, the stock intakes have effectively been maxed out in terms of airflow. This car has a rare and expensive NAZ ported lower intake. The maker of these intakes has quit due to health issues- making this piece even harder to find. The intake has been fully ported and reshaped; the bottom has been cut, ported and tig-welded back together, then flow tested. I did not want to cork this new (stock appearing) intake so I decided to run a JLT True Cold Air inlet system that relocates the air filter to the fender-well. This cold air kit is the best performing unit available for these cars. I have a set of Steeda underdrive pulleys new in the box that I did not get around to installing. I have been saving for a full exhaust (stainless headers, x pipe and catback) this winter. To uncork the factory system temporarily, I installed a stainless steel off-road x pipe last summer (it is still on the car). This piece accepts the factory O2 sensors and fits very well. I had an exhaust shop do a little additional fitment of the system so it sits high off the ground and so the tips line up perfectly. I have a SCT XCAL III tuner that goes with the car- using this I was able to shut off the rear O2 sensors and eliminate the “Check Engine” light that would come on as a result of having no catalytic converters. I have a tune for 93 Octane and intake/exhaust modifications provided by Wolfpack Speed near Pittsburgh PA. The car has brand-new PA inspection.
The engine is immaculately clean and well maintained. I change the oil using Mobil 1 5w20 every 3000 miles (this is excessive). All fluids are regularly checked. The engine has fresh Ford Motorcraft spark plugs installed and a clean Mass Airflow Sensor, throttle body, etc. The engine runs absolutely great with no ticks, no burnt oil and no issues whatsoever. It is truly a great piece and I encourage you hear it/drive it in person.
Transmission
This car was not an early production 2001 Cobra. Some early ’01 Cobras were built with the weaker T45 transmission. This came from the factory with a Tremec TR3650 5-speed unit. The transmission shifts smoothly, does not possess any of the “notchiness” inherent to some newer 5-speeds and is regularly maintained using the proper fluid level (there is a big debate on this, believe it or not. Ford recommended the wrong fluid level in its service literature). It is also stronger than the ’99 Cobra transmission. The only modification to the trans is a brand new Hurst Billet Plus shifter. It is simply awesome- the throws are super-short and precise. It makes the car much more fun to drive. I still retained the stock boot/knob for a stealth look. The car still has its original 11” Cobra clutch and cable that feel perfect.
Rear End/Suspension
2001 Cobras are very rare in the sense that they are one of only four model years of Mustangs to ever have an independent rear suspension (’99, ’01, ’03 & ’04). These suspensions were costly to engineer and are very desirable.
The car still has its stock IRS with a few upgrades.
1. Polyurethane differential bushings
2. A “Cobra R” differential brace
3. 4.30:1 FRPP ring and pinion set
4. Carbon-fiber trac-loc shims
5. Corrected speedometer using the included hand-held computer.
Don’t worry; I have all of the stock parts that ever came off the car, including the original 3.27 gears in a Styrofoam container. 4:30s may sound scary, but believe me, the nature of these motors/transmissions simply makes tall gears a pleasure to drive. I have always been around old cars with a lot of low-end torque and no overdrive gears. As a result, I hated driving anything with more than a 3:55 ring and pinion. However, after reading a lot about new Mustangs and driving one myself, I had to reconsider my thoughts on steep gears. Even with a tall 4:30 gear, this car is still super comfortable to drive every day (I did it all summer). It still gets great gas mileage (in the twenties, 5th gear is around .62:1), and pulls like a freight train from a dead stop. I really like it and most Cobra enthusiasts agree- there are discussions ad nauseum about this topic online.
I set up the gears last July and installed one extra shim in the clutch pack to ensure a really tight posi-traction effect. The gears probably only have two thousand or so miles on them and are quiet, save for a little groaning around tight turns, (I presume this is from the tight trac-loc) and a light howl around 55 mph (I have a picture of the pattern on the ring-gear, it’s perfect.) It also magnified a high-speed vibration in the stock steel driveshaft above 80mph- this could be balanced out fairly easily. The combined effect of the tall gears and the quick revving motor produce a downright fast street car. As it sits I’d be confident in saying that a set of sticky tires would bring you into the mid 12-second quarter mile range. However, I baby this car and it has never even come close to a track.
Other Misc. Items
o Cobra’s came stock with great brakes. Brembo calipers and rotors, 13” in the front! I upgraded the front rotors to Brembo zinc-coated, drilled units with Hawk ceramic pads, and have matching ceramic pads for the rear (still in the box). The original rotors are still in great shape and are included.
o Cobra lettering on the rear bumper has 3M black vinyl inserts.
o Comes with a folder full of documentation.
Overall
The car really speaks for itself. It is very clean, well maintained and a strong runner. It is a blast to drive in the summer. The yellow color is such a great choice on a sunny day- you really should see it in person. Based on what other cars like it are selling for and the Kelly Blue Book value, I am asking a very fair $12,995. You could drive this car to California as it sits and low mile examples of these are fading by the day. The body is nearly perfect and the interior is great. It comes with all of the stock parts and a new inspection this spring! Let me know what you think and if there are any questions I can answer.
$12,995
Quick Facts:
40,xxx miles
-Interesting owner history- always treated as a collector car.
-Always garaged, stored under cover August-May.
-Near perfect paint and body. Never buffed, original clearcoat. Regularly detailed, always waxed.
-Near perfect interior, never touched floormats, great seats. Extremely clean.
-Engine compartment clean enough to eat off of.
-Only minor cosmetic blemishes consistent with mileage, mostly very light rock chips here and there. Not a single dent, no rust.
Mods:
-FRPP Cobra R hood, paint matched by original Ford dealer.
-JLT True Cold Air
-Naz ported lower intake
-Steeda underdrive pullies (not yet installed, will be at new owners request)
-Custom fit, stainless steel O/R X pipe
-SCT XCal III Tuner
-Hurst Billet Plus shifter
-FRPP 4.30 ring and pinion, FRPP carbon fiber clutch pack & setup kit + bearings
-Polyurethane differential bushings
-Maximum Motorsports differential brace (2000 Cobra R style)
-Drilled, zinc coated Brembo front rotors with Hawk ceramic pads
-1” hubcentric wheel spacers on rear wheels
ALL STOCK PARTS COME WITH THE CAR
The Whole Story
Background
You’re looking at a 2001 Mustang Cobra. It is one of only 347 Zinc Yellow coupes; further increasing its rarity is the fact that it was ordered with every option available to Cobras that year. It is literally the most highly optioned, expensive Mustang you could buy in 2001. The car has a very interesting owner history and has spent most of its life in dry storage.
I have several receipts, maintenance paperwork and dealer items that go with the car. The story I got went something like this (it was confirmed by mileage statements from the dealer): the car was bought new in 2001 at Kenny Ross Ford near Pittsburgh, PA. The man who bought the car did so on the same day he bought a 2001 Bullitt Mustang. Apparently, the Bullitt was to be his car and the Cobra was intended to serve as an incentive for his badly injured son to get better. Unfortunately his son never recovered (I was told he was severely injured in a skiing accident). This being the case, the car was barely driven for the first three years it was owned. Eventually in 2004, the car was returned to Kenny Ross Ford to be sold as a used car- with less than 500 miles on it. The car then went through two owners (who I have contacted) that drove the car recreationally. I bought the car in the fall of 2007 with somewhere around 28,000 miles on the clock. The Cobra was bone stock and obviously very well taken care of.
I have only driven the car during summer months and have always kept it in a garage between August and April with a full tank of 93 octane + Stabil. The car was kept in my garage at home when I did drive it and even got to stay in a parking garage when I took it to work. You would be very hard-pressed to find a nicer example of this car.
Body
Ford stumbled in 1999 when they first introduced the redesigned Cobra. A massive recall aimed at increasing horsepower to the advertised levels created skepticism amongst consumers that benefitted the ’01 models. Ford did not produce a Cobra in 2000 to remedy any issues and come back with a winner. One of the alleged areas of scrutiny was paint quality- it is well documented that paint quality on 2001 models was much better than previous, or even later cars (2003 and 2004 Cobras, for example). This really shows on this car. With the exception of the rear bumper cover, the paint is untouched- never buffed with a machine. It has remarkably little orange peel from the factory and looks really great even under harsh lighting. There isn’t a single dent anywhere on the car! As you can see in the pictures, this car looks great in just about every kind of light.
The second owner replaced the stock hood (which received a lot of criticism when Ford decided to use it on later V6 models) with a real Ford Racing Parts 2000 Cobra R hood. This fiberglass hood fits perfectly, looks great and is lightweight. It was designed for the Cobra R racecar that saw very limited production in the year 2000. The hood was painted at a Ford dealer and matches very well. The paint on the fenders appears to be untouched original paint. I detail the car consistently using the best products and drive it very carefully. There is always room for improvement on cars but this one is pretty close to being as nice as they come in terms of the body. There is no rust anywhere on the car.
2001 Cobra’s have some unique body elements that make them more desirable than other model years. For starters, the rear bumper that says “Cobra” is not all that common. The ’99 Cobras did not have this. The blacked-out headlights are stock and a first-year item in 2001. The amber turn signal lenses are a two-year only item and were specific to Cobras- they are very desirable. The polished wheels (which are holding up nicely but do have little blemishes in the clear coat) are a 2001-only item. I have included a picture of one wheel with very slight curb rash. I bought a replacement wheel that was never mounted on a car- it has a nick from sitting in someone’s shed but would easily be a perfect, new wheel. It goes with the car for free. The wing was optional and was also only available on Cobra models in 2001.
Interior
The interior was completely redesigned for 2001 Cobras and features one-year-only seats and gauges. The seats are ultra supportive and comfortable leather/Alcantara pieces and the gauges are white-faced with green lettering. The charcoal leather interior of this car is really, really clean. The carpet is like new, in fact the original floor mats have never been touched- it has always had a big set of rubber mats on top of the actual mats. The seats, because of their aggressive bolsters, often show wear in the leather. This car has some of the nicest seats I have ever seen in a 2001 Cobra. In sunlight they look almost brand new. I had to play with the camera to show the minor creases in the leather and trust me; I got it to look worse than it actually does. The Alcantara inserts are perfect; the back seat has been sat in maybe twice, three times? The dash is perfect, the shifter boot and knob are perfect, and the console is perfect. The only sign of wear is on the top of the steering wheel where a previous owner must have liked to hold on tightly- the charcoal coloring has slightly worn through to expose the black steering wheel. Again, this is difficult to notice in natural light. Even the rubber pedal covers are original and in good shape. Everything works, including the factory 6-disc CD player. Mach 460 sound systems are awesome!
Engine/Drivetrain
Engine:
To this day, Ford has not produced a 4.6 V8 with a higher horsepower rating than the 2001 Cobra. The ~10:1 compression, forged Kellogg crank, 6-bolt mains, 32 valve all aluminum motor was rated at 320 horsepower from the factory. 2001 saw improved “C” cylinder heads and improved intakes and exhausts. Cobra motors were built with fairly aggressive factory cams that utilized more duration to achieve that horsepower number. The interesting thing about a 4-valve modular motor is its ability to respond to modifications. I always intended to keep this motor stock and take advantage of the bolt-on capability it possessed. There are several well-documented 2001 Cobras running high-eleven second quarters with the stock cams, stock heads and stock shortblocks. Those cars can be driven to the track as well. In stock form, these cars are a blast to drive. They sound great, pull hard, rev high and handle well. It is very tempting, however, to throw in a few tuning tricks to really make the package work.
These small blocks are peaky and like to make their power higher in the rev range. By the time the cams really start to work, the stock intakes have effectively been maxed out in terms of airflow. This car has a rare and expensive NAZ ported lower intake. The maker of these intakes has quit due to health issues- making this piece even harder to find. The intake has been fully ported and reshaped; the bottom has been cut, ported and tig-welded back together, then flow tested. I did not want to cork this new (stock appearing) intake so I decided to run a JLT True Cold Air inlet system that relocates the air filter to the fender-well. This cold air kit is the best performing unit available for these cars. I have a set of Steeda underdrive pulleys new in the box that I did not get around to installing. I have been saving for a full exhaust (stainless headers, x pipe and catback) this winter. To uncork the factory system temporarily, I installed a stainless steel off-road x pipe last summer (it is still on the car). This piece accepts the factory O2 sensors and fits very well. I had an exhaust shop do a little additional fitment of the system so it sits high off the ground and so the tips line up perfectly. I have a SCT XCAL III tuner that goes with the car- using this I was able to shut off the rear O2 sensors and eliminate the “Check Engine” light that would come on as a result of having no catalytic converters. I have a tune for 93 Octane and intake/exhaust modifications provided by Wolfpack Speed near Pittsburgh PA. The car has brand-new PA inspection.
The engine is immaculately clean and well maintained. I change the oil using Mobil 1 5w20 every 3000 miles (this is excessive). All fluids are regularly checked. The engine has fresh Ford Motorcraft spark plugs installed and a clean Mass Airflow Sensor, throttle body, etc. The engine runs absolutely great with no ticks, no burnt oil and no issues whatsoever. It is truly a great piece and I encourage you hear it/drive it in person.
Transmission
This car was not an early production 2001 Cobra. Some early ’01 Cobras were built with the weaker T45 transmission. This came from the factory with a Tremec TR3650 5-speed unit. The transmission shifts smoothly, does not possess any of the “notchiness” inherent to some newer 5-speeds and is regularly maintained using the proper fluid level (there is a big debate on this, believe it or not. Ford recommended the wrong fluid level in its service literature). It is also stronger than the ’99 Cobra transmission. The only modification to the trans is a brand new Hurst Billet Plus shifter. It is simply awesome- the throws are super-short and precise. It makes the car much more fun to drive. I still retained the stock boot/knob for a stealth look. The car still has its original 11” Cobra clutch and cable that feel perfect.
Rear End/Suspension
2001 Cobras are very rare in the sense that they are one of only four model years of Mustangs to ever have an independent rear suspension (’99, ’01, ’03 & ’04). These suspensions were costly to engineer and are very desirable.
The car still has its stock IRS with a few upgrades.
1. Polyurethane differential bushings
2. A “Cobra R” differential brace
3. 4.30:1 FRPP ring and pinion set
4. Carbon-fiber trac-loc shims
5. Corrected speedometer using the included hand-held computer.
Don’t worry; I have all of the stock parts that ever came off the car, including the original 3.27 gears in a Styrofoam container. 4:30s may sound scary, but believe me, the nature of these motors/transmissions simply makes tall gears a pleasure to drive. I have always been around old cars with a lot of low-end torque and no overdrive gears. As a result, I hated driving anything with more than a 3:55 ring and pinion. However, after reading a lot about new Mustangs and driving one myself, I had to reconsider my thoughts on steep gears. Even with a tall 4:30 gear, this car is still super comfortable to drive every day (I did it all summer). It still gets great gas mileage (in the twenties, 5th gear is around .62:1), and pulls like a freight train from a dead stop. I really like it and most Cobra enthusiasts agree- there are discussions ad nauseum about this topic online.
I set up the gears last July and installed one extra shim in the clutch pack to ensure a really tight posi-traction effect. The gears probably only have two thousand or so miles on them and are quiet, save for a little groaning around tight turns, (I presume this is from the tight trac-loc) and a light howl around 55 mph (I have a picture of the pattern on the ring-gear, it’s perfect.) It also magnified a high-speed vibration in the stock steel driveshaft above 80mph- this could be balanced out fairly easily. The combined effect of the tall gears and the quick revving motor produce a downright fast street car. As it sits I’d be confident in saying that a set of sticky tires would bring you into the mid 12-second quarter mile range. However, I baby this car and it has never even come close to a track.
Other Misc. Items
o Cobra’s came stock with great brakes. Brembo calipers and rotors, 13” in the front! I upgraded the front rotors to Brembo zinc-coated, drilled units with Hawk ceramic pads, and have matching ceramic pads for the rear (still in the box). The original rotors are still in great shape and are included.
o Cobra lettering on the rear bumper has 3M black vinyl inserts.
o Comes with a folder full of documentation.
Overall
The car really speaks for itself. It is very clean, well maintained and a strong runner. It is a blast to drive in the summer. The yellow color is such a great choice on a sunny day- you really should see it in person. Based on what other cars like it are selling for and the Kelly Blue Book value, I am asking a very fair $12,995. You could drive this car to California as it sits and low mile examples of these are fading by the day. The body is nearly perfect and the interior is great. It comes with all of the stock parts and a new inspection this spring! Let me know what you think and if there are any questions I can answer.
$12,995
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