Finally swapped an 03 Cobra Cloth top onto my 01 Cobra!

[ShadesofGrey]

So a couple years ago some asshole decided to slash the top on my 2001 Cobra. It was bad enough to where most shops I called told me they really couldnt do much. As seen here:

So i ended up just Gorilla Taping it every few months. Needless to say it was a royal pain in the ass to drive like that, honestly- it really made me lose interest in keeping up with my car. Some time later I saved up enough to purchase a complete take-off 2003/04 Cobra Cloth Top. Scored a major deal got it for $800. You can't even buy the Cloth alone for that lol.

However, I didn't have enough money with a newborn at the time to have it professionally put on. So it sat in my Dining Room for nearly a year. This past weekend however, I decided to have a go at it with my cousin who happens to be a mechanic. Took us about 3 hours to do. The only real tricky part was because I had to remove the Lightbar to get the process started. I really wish I would have taken pictures of the whole process but it didn't enter my mind until we were done :shrug: It was all straighforward bolt on stuff.

Okay well I think I've rambled enough, here are my crappy cell phone pictures

What do you guys think? :beer: I love how much deeper the black color is on the 03 top, and it goes without saying how soft and awesome the material is.

 

[03dsgcobranc]

Looks great

 

[FST04SNK]

Looks very clean, nice job bro

 

[Kreep306]

Damn that looks good!!! For sure on my list to get done to my 01

 

[ShadesofGrey]

Looks great

Thank You! Sorry for the crappy cell phone quality and dim lighting :rolling:

Looks very clean, nice job bro

Thank you! :beer:

Damn that looks good!!! For sure on my list to get done to my 01

Oh man, you have no idea how night and day it is to have that shitty vinyl top that came on our 01's and then see this jet black soft cloth on your car. It really does feel like a brand new car. Completely re-vitalized my interest. You can get one of these tops on ebay like I did from this place I believe its called midway mustangs or something? I forgot. They always have a shit ton of 03/04 Cobra parts

So yeah, DO IT! You won't regret it.

 

[ZIMxxZUM]

Looks awesome. I guess you can say that asshole did you a favor

 

[ShadesofGrey]

haha

Looks awesome. I guess you can say that asshole did you a favor

Bingo. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Just sucks that it took me so long to fix it. But now its better than ever as you said!

 

[BreBar21]

Looks awesome!

 

[dutch]

awesome dude! Such a classy combo with those wheels, that color and the top.

 

[oldmodman]

It turned out just like a factory install.

And I had no idea that they were that expensive.

 

[Competition]

Looks good. Hope no one slashes this one LOL!

 

[TCSoff]

Is it any quieter inside your car with this top as oppose to the vinyl one? I think I remember reading the cloth top made the inside quieter.

 

[coposrv]

The cloth top looks a million times better. Good work.

 

[R.D.P.]

Very nice. I know some people complain that they get dirty easily, but I love the quality and look of the my car's cloth top. Great decision they made to upgrade it on the Terminators. Make sure to treat it so it stays that nice.

 

[ShadesofGrey]

thanks

Looks awesome!

Thank you!

awesome dude! Such a classy combo with those wheels, that color and the top.

Appreciate the kind words! I can't wait until I can slap on some Chrome AFS 18's(Love the 03/04 factory wheels, but that width and stance from the AFS is just so sexy)

It turned out just like a factory install.

Thank you! Honestly, it was pretty dummy proof if you have a complete take off top. Now if you are just replacing the vinyl or cloth top then yes that merits some major kudos because stretching those things is a royal pain in the ass. There was quite a few things to remove, but at the end of the day it's a bolt on process really. I love how it came out :beer:.

And I had no idea that they were that expensive.

The actual material is from Jaguar If I remember correctly so I would assume that's part of the reason for such a high price.

Looks good. Hope no one slashes this one LOL!

My worst nightmare right there, people can be so cruel out of jealousy or stupidity. Karma is a bitch though, whoever did it the first time will get theirs eventually in some shape or form.

Is it any quieter inside your car with this top as oppose to the vinyl one? I think I remember reading the cloth top made the inside quieter.

I would say yes the cabin noise is definetly a bit more refined but not by a huge margin. I actually took out some sond deadening material while I was in there so my Magnaflow catback sounds louder if anything :banana:

The cloth top looks a million times better. Good work.

Thank you! No question, FORD/SVT did well to do the cloth for the Terminators.

Very nice. I know some people complain that they get dirty easily, but I love the quality and look of the my car's cloth top. Great decision they made to upgrade it on the Terminators. Make sure to treat it so it stays that nice.

Yeah it definetly seems very easy to get dusty, however I think the tradeoff is worth it. Can you give me some advice on how you treat and maintain your top? I have heard to use a horsehair brush? Where would I get one of those. I went to autozone and o reilly's for shits and giggles to see if they may have a suitable soft brush. No luck as all of their brushes release tiny debree that would likely get stuck in the cloth material and make it look worse, not better.

As soon as I get my taxes Im buying a California car cover, would that be good for the top or no?

 

[ShadesofGrey]

PS BREBAR your car was an inspiration for me

 

[VenomousDSG]

Looks very good.

 

[cobrasvtcoupe25]

Looks great!

 

[BreBar21]

PS BREBAR your car was an inspiration for me

:beer:

 

[Mystichrome#365]

definitely much better than the original. The 03-04s had very nice deep black tops and all other body styles are lamee. My mom's 06 mustang top looks grey