Mustang Gurus I need some schooling

[buelliganx1]

Ok so I'm going to look at a 99 Mustang Cobra convertible this Saturday. What are some things I should look for? The car has 94,000 miles and the owner says its completely stock except for the wheels. I was reading online about how the 99 cobra didnt make as much power as expected so Ford did a recall on them to fix the problems and that the ones that had the recall on them have a sticker under the hood somewhere saying that the recall was performed. Anything else that I should keep an eye out for?

Thanks for any help that you can provide.

[schmuckingham]

on the SN cars and New Edge body styles I always check for rust. Mostly in the trunk area and the rear fender lips.

 

Also I would have them start it cold to make sure the valve seals are good and it doesn't tick when cold real bad. The 4V heads are notorious for making some off valvetrain noises.

[kirks5oh]

you're buying a 100k mile, 12 year old car. be realistic. other than that, follow the advice stated above. don't worry about 300 vs 315 hp. either you're going to mod it, or you're not going to mod it. if you mod it, then an upgraded chip and ported intake won't mean shit to you, because that is essentially ford's 'fix' to the (embarassing) issue.

[Buckeye1647545503]

Just be ready to spend $ 4v's are nice engines bit not cheap to mod.

[,,,,,,comma,,,,,,]

4 valve motors are awesome stock but thats it, they have a valve problem that was a recall, check the vin to see if it was fixed. If you mod it the 7 and 8 cylinders are known for running to hot.

[schmuckingham]

4 valve motors are awesome stock but thats it, they have a valve problem that was a recall, check the vin to see if it was fixed. If you mod it the 7 and 8 cylinders are known for running to hot.

 

coolant crossover mod:)

[Bam]

Buy it and throw a blower on it, that's what I want one for.

[schmuckingham]

Buy it and throw a blower on it, that's what I want one for.

 

and watch the rods go kasnap

[Bam]

and watch the rods go kasnap

 

w/ sub 450wheel? Nah....Just buy a cheap heaton off someone that upgraded and call it a day. Drop the top and cruise.

[NTHER91]

watch out cuz your buying the slowest cobra and should not want to be fast just look ok and be a vert. dont ever try to make a vert fast its annoying

[schmuckingham]

w/ sub 450wheel? Nah....Just buy a cheap heaton off someone that upgraded and call it a day. Drop the top and cruise.

 

Listen to my words, not my hands

[Got-Boost?]

I wouldn't buy a '99 honestly, it's considered the bastard year. To many miles IMO and to many clean/nice Cobra's out there unless he's giving it away...

[buelliganx1]

Meh I'm a mopar guy at heart so I'm used to being the bastard child. He wants less than bluebook for it so I'm not to concerned about the price. I'm not trying to build the fastest street car in columbus I just want it to sound good and be reasonably fast and be fun for me my wife and my boy to go cruising in.

Thanks for the advice if I end up getting it I'll be sure to post some picks.

[warrior62]

w/ sub 450wheel? Nah....Just buy a cheap heaton off someone that upgraded and call it a day. Drop the top and cruise.

 

It's not a simple as just buying a heaton and bolting it on

[kirks5oh]

It's not a simple as just buying a heaton and bolting it on

 

+1. takes a lot of parts to do the eaton swap.

[Got-Boost?]

Meh I'm a mopar guy at heart so I'm used to being the bastard child. He wants less than bluebook for it so I'm not to concerned about the price. I'm not trying to build the fastest street car in columbus I just want it to sound good and be reasonably fast and be fun for me my wife and my boy to go cruising in.

Thanks for the advice if I end up getting it I'll be sure to post some picks.

 

It's not just that....it's got the early IRS which isn't beefed like the 03/04 Cobra so wheel hop is insane. Not to mention visually it has a Mustang GT rear bumper (doesn't say Cobra like later years), has a GT spoiler (not Cobra specific that year), the hood later became the base V6 hood, GT seats (no improved bolsters like later), the wheels were special that year but later became a GT package and then V6 pony wheel the last few years, no special colors other than Green that year, etc..etc..

 

Have you driven it yet??

 

Even if it's perfect you are talking $6k or less value...

 

 

 

 

If you are set on that style, I would at least get a 2001 (2000 was only available in AUS other than the "R"-model).

[buelliganx1]

According to kbb its value in fair condition is around $10,500 and inexilent its over $12k, it doesn't have stock wheels and a for the other stuff I kinda like the gt spoiler and the fact that it says mustang on the bumper instead of cobra. I'm assuming that since it is a mustang and the after market is huge that someone makes a kit to beef up that irs somewhat our at least deal with the wheel hop somehow. I am stuck on that style though because I'm not a fan of the sn 95 our whatever they called that thing before it and my wife hates the fox bodies and the newer ones are out of my price range besides I'm 37 and will rarely if ever take it to the track and I'm definitely not going to be street racing it.

[-Alex-]

Likes Got-Busa? said, if that's the style you want and an '03-'04 is out of your range, than hold out for an '01. They have improvements over the '99 stock, not to mention by the time you upgrade/improve a few things on the '99 you'd probably have more money in it than just buying an '01 from the start.

 

If you don't mind telling, what kind of price range are you in? You may be surprised at what you can get if you think a '99 vert is worth blue book.

[buelliganx1]

I'm looking to spend 10k or less andit has to be convertible v-8 and a standard transmission

[dre2013]

friend of mine had a '99 cobra a few years back...had nothing but problems with it, and it only had 60k miles. it was in damn near perfect condition and he bought it for 8k, this was back in '06-'07...i definitely wouldnt pay anywhere near 10k for it, youll never get your money back out of it because no one wants them. if u want stick, vert, and v8, you can get a reallly mint condition ls1 f-body for alot less than $10k as well. hold better value, be faster, and reliable. just my .02

[buelliganx1]

But the problem with the f bodies is the interior makes me want to throw up. I like the cars and I know they are quick I just cant get past the interior styling.

[Got-Boost?]

According to kbb its value in fair condition is around $10,500 and inexilent its over $12k, it doesn't have stock wheels and a for the other stuff I kinda like the gt spoiler and the fact that it says mustang on the bumper instead of cobra. I'm assuming that since it is a mustang and the after market is huge that someone makes a kit to beef up that irs somewhat our at least deal with the wheel hop somehow. I am stuck on that style though because I'm not a fan of the sn 95 our whatever they called that thing before it and my wife hates the fox bodies and the newer ones are out of my price range besides I'm 37 and will rarely if ever take it to the track and I'm definitely not going to be street racing it.

 

KBB isn't even close on what those '99s are worth. Try Edmunds or something else....even $10k for that car is a joke. All those reasons you like it are reasons its not worth the money. Heck, buy a GT and pay half that price if you want that look. Not to mention with the IRS, you probably won't be any faster than a GT if you don't know how to launch it. The IRS is nice for cruising though. Just saying, look around LOTS of deals on 01+ cars which would be a much better buy for the money...

 

Before you waste a bunch of time, go drive the '99 and see what you think. Do a couple spirited launches from a stop sign or light and see what you think. You'll know right away if you want it or not...

 

If so...

 

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/new-edge-cobras-410/782331-2001-cobra-low-miles.html

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/new-edge-cobras-410/794378-2001-oxford-white-coupe-54k-mi.html

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/new-edge-cobras-410/779443-2001-ford-mustang-cobra-black-virginia.html

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/new-edge-cobras-410/781407-2001-performance-red-cobra-62k-miles-11-000-kentucky.html

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/new-edge-cobras-410/786853-fs-wtt-2001-laser-red-med-parchment-cobra.html

 

For a little more you could do this:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/terminators-buy-sell-254/794388-fs-2003-zy-cobra-whipple-21k-miles.html

[Buckeye1647545503]

http://watertown.craigslist.org/ctd/2521208022.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/2487423954.html

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/cto/2567694769.html

[buelliganx1]

Got-busa non of those are convertibles and all but one are too far away to consider and Buckeye the first two ar SN style cars which I'm not a big fan of and the third is nice but it's $6,000 more than this guy is asking.

For what it's worth I drove the car yesterday and it drives nice, no valve train noise, no leaks, and this thing is really clean probably one of the cleanest that I have seen underneath is also very clean. Carfax shows no repeated service calls for anything wierd just the normal oil and lube stuff.

[Buckeye1647545503]

you do know that 94 to 05 is the same car correct? and you made people think you are looking at the 99 for 10k. If it is 10 then the one I posted is a far better deal. If the 99 is 4500 then this all is a different deal less than 5k for anything convertible and 4v is a good price (even if it is a bastard child)