98 Cobra vert - should I buy it?

fastlane65 · Apr 16, 2007

A friend has a triple black 98 Cobra convertible he's selling to help finance his new Shelby. It only has 24K miles and is in really good condition except for the recent eight inch cut in the top.

I'm a classic guy. I've never owned a "late model" Mustang. My first car 20 some odd years ago was a '66 coupe. Right now I have a '68 vert, a highly modded '67 coupe with a GT40 5.0, a '58 Thunderbird, and a '03 King Ranch daily driver. I'm probably going to sell off the '68 vert and the Thunderbird to make room.

What will I be getting into? The car is stock, what can I look forward to for upgrades? How hard/expensive will the top repair/replace be? What is a good purchase price?

If / when I get it, I'm sure I'll be back with lots more questions. Thanks.

Kilgore Trout · Apr 17, 2007

A new top will be about $1000 installed if they can re-use the rear window and headliner. Add $250 if the headliner cannot be re-used. Add $350 if the rear window cannot be re-used.

To determine fair price use www.nada.com and www.kbb.com and average the results for private party sale in poor condition. The poor condition is due to the top and I do not care how glossy the paint is with a messed up top it is in poor condition for the purposes of appraisal.

95 yellow 5 0 · Apr 18, 2007

if you're replacing the top, you should spend the extra money and get an 03/04 Cobra top if it will work. They're all cloth and look a lot nicer.

$12k or so would be a good price if it's in good condition. Maybe lower depending on your area... around here it'd go for $13500 I bet.

First mods you'd wanna do to it are Maximum Motorsports Full Length SubFrame Connectors, JLT intake, and MGW short shifter. Then depending on your taste, go with an X-pipe and a straight through muffler to make the most power. I loved my Bassani off road X with bassani catback 3.5'' tips on my 98.. looked and sounded sick. I also loved my 96 cobra with off road h pipe and flowmasters. If you're not in a hurry to do exhaust, I'd go with a 4.10 gear even if you plan to stay n/a, some say 4.30s but 4.10s were fine for me. You'll need a white 23 tooth speedo gear to fix the speedometer and I actualy have one around here somewhere. Then an FRPP aluminum driveshaft while the gears are being done. That's a good start for mods, then of course shocks, struts, springs, and bigger tires.
I miss my SN-95 mustangs!!

GToddyT5 · Apr 19, 2007

No speedo gear...speedcal. Do it and do it once, then you're OK if you change tranny, gear, wheel height.

95 yellow 5 0 · Apr 19, 2007

GToddyT5 said:
No speedo gear...speedcal. Do it and do it once, then you're OK if you change tranny, gear, wheel height.

that's if he wants to spend $99. For $10 his speedometer will read correct in the mean time.
Speedcal's are generally for the electronic odometers in the 99+... which brings the thought that mine still doesnt work!! I don't think it's spliced right or the wires are shot!!

GToddyT5 · Apr 19, 2007

95 yellow 5 0 said:
that's if he wants to spend $99. For $10 his speedometer will read correct in the mean time.
Speedcal's are generally for the electronic odometers in the 99+... which brings the thought that mine still doesnt work!! I don't think it's spliced right or the wires are shot!!

Not exclusively. http://www.dallasmustang.com/page/speedcal.php
Some earlier ones use a VSS also. The plastic gears are cheap and aren't durable, making them a poor option.

fastlane65 · Apr 20, 2007

Thanks everyone for the advice. I brought it home yesterday for $9k. Alternator is whining and I'm not feeling great about the rear end, but nothing a good weekend in the garage can't solve. This is a really fun car to drive. Its not as brutally fast as my '67, and its a WHOLE LOT more stable than my '68. I've got a bit of a learning curve ahead of me, but I feel this is going to be a lot of fun.

Kilgore Trout · Apr 20, 2007

Nice! BTW, those convertible top prices I mentioned above were for cloth not vinyl. Vinyl is about $500...

How about some pics of the engine?

What is the problem with the rear?

95 yellow 5 0 · Apr 20, 2007

wow that car looks nice....

ur makin me miss mine ...

GToddyT5 · Apr 20, 2007

Nice car, congrats. I still don't know if I'd rather the black vert. I'm content with my yellow, but I sure would love the batmobile look with black FR500s on a triple black cobra.

rrohrig · Apr 20, 2007

You got a steal of a deal. I have my 98 for sale and am getting calls at $14,000. Will need to take your friend out to thank him.

msanantonio · May 10, 2007

98 cobra-

Congratulations on the new cobra. I just bought a 98 chrome yellow cobra vert with just over 35,000 miles paid just over 14K but it was worth every penny. Car is real clean and has the driven by an old lady story behind it. The car has the SVO side exhaust, BBK cold air kit , Short shifter( unknown) and 17" chrome cobra rims with 275's all around. ( ok so there was a middle age motor head after her ... Also has a yellow light bar and the leather piping in the seats are trimmed in yellow. Love the car. I had a mustang GT vert and sold it for this. I loved my GT but this car is a blast to drive and it does promote a lot stares and comments.
I can't leave well enough alone so I just purchased a new set of Nickel Coated drilled and slotted rotors and yellow powder coated cobra calipers. I also put in the billet pedal set and I have a pair of true projector headlightsyto go on the car when I get a chance. ( I keep all the orginal equpiment just in case ) .I am looking to put a set of gears (either 3,73 or 4,10s not sure yet . Need to drive it some more to figure out where the Power RPms are ( looks like around 3-6 k) I live in NY and the weather is getting nice. Nothing beats dropping the top and taking the family out for a ride.

Mark

Sun Devil Cobra · May 10, 2007

Very nice.

98 Cobra vert - should I buy it?

fastlane65

New Member

Kilgore Trout

Fried or Broiled ?

95 yellow 5 0

GToddyT5

95 yellow 5 0

GToddyT5

fastlane65

New Member

Kilgore Trout

Fried or Broiled ?

95 yellow 5 0

GToddyT5

rrohrig

New Member

msanantonio

New Member

Attachments

Sun Devil Cobra

New Member

Similar threads

98 Cobra vert - should I buy it?

New Member

Fried or Broiled ?

New Member

Fried or Broiled ?

New Member

New Member

Attachments

New Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency