[302THEBOSS]

Hey guys. I am more of a classic musclecar buff, and although I do know more about new Mustangs than the average person and maybe more than the average Mustang enthusiast in some areas, one area that is foggy to me is the SVT Cobra. What exactly were the differences between the SVT Cobra and Mustang GT. Can you guys give me a miny history lesson here? (Darn, I thought I was done with history for the summer)

[dollarbill]

What year Cobra are you talking about?

[Snake Pliskin]

You're looking at an 11 year production run. This could be pretty extensive. I'll hit the high points. The zenith of the Fox bodies was the 93 Cobra sporting all wheel disc, 17" wheels, and a motor with GT 40 heads, Cobra intake, 65mm t body, tuned suspension and mild, tasteful body differences to set it off. That Cobra was rated at 235hp but was really around 270. The 94 and 95 were the last of the 5.0 cars and I believe rated at 240. Cobra's from 94 forward always had the round fog lights to set them off from GT's. The 96-98 cars received the DOHC motor rated at 305hp. The blocks were aluminum. They also acquired the dual snout hoods. The 99 New Edge Cobra is somewhat of a sore spot in that motors were originally rated at 320 but due to intake and exhaust changes after developement, the engines were weak. Ford did the right thing and "fixed" the motors to produce advertised hp. Because the fix took so much time a 2000 Cobra was never built. The 01 was essentially a carry over from 1999. Svt took 2002 off to develop the 03-04 cars known as terminators. They have Iron blocks and forged internals to contain the boost of forced induction. They also got Tremec 6 speeds. All of the new edge cars have IFS which no GT has ever had. All Cobras also have upgraded interiors over Gt's. I'm sure I've missed a lot and may be a little off on some things but I think thats all I can come up with right now.

[dollarbill]

Good description snake, I'll futher state the 99+ Cobra's came with IRS (independent rear suspension) which was great for coner carving but not so great for drag racing and it add a good bit of wieght to the overall package. The 03-04 are absolute powerhouses, stock high 12 second cars, and are underrated at 390 horse.

[302THEBOSS]

Snakes response is basically what I want/wanted. I want to know the differences in the engines, which he may have covered the entire thing. But, for istance, were there year with all forged internals that the GT didnt have, were the cams different on the OHC versions, etc.

[lxarlo]

i believe the only years that cobras had forged internals was 03-04. these cars also had cast iron blocks as opposed to 96-01 which had aluminum blocks. yea the cams are different because cobras from 96+ had a dohc version of the 4.6 where as the GTs had single over head cams. on a side note, in 99, the year ford had the tsb for the power issues, that is the year that the cobras lost their imrc or (intake manifold runner control) but were rated at 320 hp.