I have always loved ford mustangs ever since my uncle got his 95 cobra. I have been working for the last few years and am about to turn 18. I should have enough money to get a car by the summer but really dont know which one to choose. Id like to get a very fast car. People at school drive ricer cars (lots of civics, some lancers even a supra). They always make fun of me wanting a mustang when I bring it up at school. Neways I want to get my dream car and I want it to be able to smoke them in a race. I do have limited money so Im having a hard time deciding what to get. I will only have around $7000 to spend by the summer but was hoping maby to take out a loan to pay for the rest. If my parents actually let me keep the car I have now and sell it I will have more around $16000 cash. Id like to get a year 96+. I dont know if I should get a mustang gt and have money to put in it or just go with my dream the cobra. The problem with that is it would pretty much clean me out and I wouldnt be able to do much of anything to it for another year or so. So is the cobra really worth all the extra money because The gts around here seam to be much cheaper? What do you guys think? what would be a good year and model mustang. What are the big diffs between the gt and cobra? Another newb question here but when did they start supercharging the cobra's? Thanks!
A good option is a 98, they sell for around 10,000 or so according to Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Better yet a 99 (around $12,000) , with the IRS it can handle better on the curves.
The '94-'95 5.0 Cobras were rated at 240hp, '96-'98 Cobras DOHC 4.6 305hp and still have the solid rear axle, and the '99-'02 Cobras (they did miss a year or so in there) were rated at 320hp and they have Independant rear suspension. I believe the '98GT rated at 225hp and the '99+GT's are rated at 260hp.
I personally like the '96-'98's. They have great styling and the solid rear axle. Good luck however you decide to go!
I would say @ 18yrs old, don't get the cobra, INSURANCE WILL KILL YOU! You should get the GT and do mods. You could easily have the same HP as the cobra, for about the same cost, and still keep the lower insurance premiums. As a side note, I love the 94-95GT, cuz it has the 5.0 L, but when I switched form a 98 GT to 95 GT, my rates went up almost $40 a month, even though it was an older car, it was becasue of the higher displacement.
Also, here is the best way to buy a car for cash...AUTO BROKER...find'em in the phone book. They go to the dealer auction and buy it for you, you get to inspect it and tell them how high your willing to go (you can low ball, but the broker will only play that for a while if it to low to win, still you figure you'll pay about the trade-in value) plus the brokers fee (here it's about $500). And if you wanted a convertible, and buy in say, December, you might just steal the thing, dealers aren't looking to buy a car and keep it till spring/summer, so they are spending their money on trucks and the other winter cars.
Good luck dude, stay focused, get a GT, mod it & you'll be converting those ricer to ford dream owners, in no time!!!
CAN YOU FEEL THE RUMBLE!!??
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Just another horse lover...
This time around it's a 95GT Conv AODE
Thanks for the info. Ive hear about the much higher insurance on cobras but never really understood it. Is it just because the 98 cobra has more hp then the 98 gt? because they both have a 4.6l v8 and neither is supercharged or nething like the newer cobra's so whats up with the higher rates?
insurance also looks at the value of the car. a 98 cobra is worth more thana 98 gt.
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1998 SVT Cobra #4941 of 5174 built on June 19,1998
4.30s, Speedcal, WMS CAI, Pro 5.0 shifter, Sniper Tuner, March pulleys, Mac O/R H pipe, Flowmaster orig. 40's, King Cobra clutch, D/S rotors, FRPP 9mm's, Max. Motorsports C/C plates, Termy front control arms, H&R SS springs, MM solid steering rack bushings, Tokico HP struts and shocks, Mac subrames, HID Bi-Xenon 6000k kit, Saleen 18" wheels, Saleen S-281 spoiler, sequential tails
Up Next: Termi diff, 31 spline Axles, LPW girdle, MM LCAs
well back to which one to get. Insurance really shouldnt hurt because for all that matters my parents could be insured on the cobra and me on one of their cars and Id still be driving the cobra. What I really need to know is which car would be better upgraded. I know I eventually either want to turbo or supercharge the car. Both kits come with many replacement parts so what I kinda want to know is do the parts that make the cobra faster then the stock gt get changed with most kits anyway? Because if they do and the gt and cobra are going to end up with the same power Id be tempted to buy the gt and fix it up. Is there a real advantage to buying a cobra over a gt when you plan to put on some type of forced induction? I guess what would help would be the specific differences between the cobra and the gt and what do you guys think, are there things on the cobra that just make it that much nicer then the gt? Thanks again
my last car was a 97 gt and i currently own a 98 cobra. i'd definitely say go with the cobra. the gt comes with a 215hp sohc motor where the cobra comes with a 305 hp dohc. if you are going to mod either one than why not start off with 305 hp? the cobra is also a lot more exclusive. it comes with better rearend gears also. better brakes, better suspension, nicer wheels, better headlights. gas mileage is about the same too. so, why not go with a cobra! the value of the cobra will be higher than the gt when it comes to selling it. good luck, i hope this helps.
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1998 SVT Cobra #4941 of 5174 built on June 19,1998
4.30s, Speedcal, WMS CAI, Pro 5.0 shifter, Sniper Tuner, March pulleys, Mac O/R H pipe, Flowmaster orig. 40's, King Cobra clutch, D/S rotors, FRPP 9mm's, Max. Motorsports C/C plates, Termy front control arms, H&R SS springs, MM solid steering rack bushings, Tokico HP struts and shocks, Mac subrames, HID Bi-Xenon 6000k kit, Saleen 18" wheels, Saleen S-281 spoiler, sequential tails
Up Next: Termi diff, 31 spline Axles, LPW girdle, MM LCAs
My biggest concern with the cobra is that if I spend my money on it instead of the gt I will have nothing left for upgrades. The guy driving the twin turbo supra is what pisses me off the most talking **** about my dream car but in reality Im not sure if the stock 98-99 cobra can beat him. The other car is the 2004 WRX STI. What do you guys think?
a twin turbo supra is a tough car to beat. i dont think my 98 cobra could beat one, but i never raced one. the wrx shouldn't be too bad, but those are fast too. the 96-98 gt's wouldnt be any way near as close as the cobra. the cobra has a 80 hp advantage over the gt. go with the cobra. if you've never owned a fast car, you should be more than happy with it in stock form. maybe an aftermarket shifter, but thats about it.
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1998 SVT Cobra #4941 of 5174 built on June 19,1998
4.30s, Speedcal, WMS CAI, Pro 5.0 shifter, Sniper Tuner, March pulleys, Mac O/R H pipe, Flowmaster orig. 40's, King Cobra clutch, D/S rotors, FRPP 9mm's, Max. Motorsports C/C plates, Termy front control arms, H&R SS springs, MM solid steering rack bushings, Tokico HP struts and shocks, Mac subrames, HID Bi-Xenon 6000k kit, Saleen 18" wheels, Saleen S-281 spoiler, sequential tails
Up Next: Termi diff, 31 spline Axles, LPW girdle, MM LCAs
if your having dreams of beating a TT supra you better get some extra money for modding the car, if its one of the late model supras hes making 320hp stock. (assuming he hansnt modded his car)
and if you do manage to get your car up to his hp range DO NOT race him from a roll. the supra's are pretty much widely aknowledged as kings of the high roll. so make sure its from a stop.
id say go with the cobra, with all the extra time, money and effort your going to be putting into the gt your going to end up with basically the same amount of hp as the cobra, so why not start with the higher hp anyway.
GT 215 vs Cobra 305, do yourself a favor, save time, money and effort and just get the cobra.
right stang for me? 
