Buying A 1997 Procharged Cobra

gvignoli

New Member
Jul 25, 2017
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Hello all,

I'm new to the forums and I was looking for some help. I'm considering buying a 1997 cobra with around 100k miles. The seller says he bought it about from an older guy who had a procharger installed by roush. The car reportedly has a port and polish, 3.73 gears, new clutch and is tuned for 6-8 psi. The motor is also claimed to be "rebuit" but no documentation on what was actually done. The seller claims there is no records about the install. But. I am inclined to believe him because theres a sticker on the inside of the gas door saying "super charged, premium fuel only". Is there a way to look up roush installations. Also, in a worst case scenario if the engine was not built to handle the horsepower, is it a ticking time bomb? I took the car for a ride and it pulls really hard, it seems like a professional install as far as I can tell.

Thanks for the help!
 
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For $10k, I would buy a GT and then modify it. You don't know how much that one has been beat on. It's your money though; do as you see fit.

I agree that I don't know how much it was beat on. And honestly the guy sorta drives it like it's stolen. But I have considered just modifying a GT. But I have moved away from a garage and all my tools. So I was trying to get into something that didn't require a ton of work for now.
 
For $10k, I would buy a GT and then modify it. You don't know how much that one has been beat on. It's your money though; do as you see fit.

I agree that I don't know how much it was beat on. And honestly the guy sorta drives it like it's stolen. But I have considered just modifying a GT. But I have moved away from a garage and all my tools. So I was trying to get into something that didn't require a ton of work for now.
 
The main problem areas are the cracked rods of sintered metal and cast pistons, the crank is forged and the block is bullet proof Teksid. At that boost you should be OK as long as there is NO detonation and you keep the oil full and clean, cannot stress that enough. No guarantees though because most people will forge the engine before big power adders, for a street car that doesn't get beat on like racing does it isn't necessary but nice for peace of mind. I would start saving to forge it later on if there is no documentation of the rebuild, could get lucky and it was forged during the"rebuild". I would think Roush has records but probably under the sellers name.
 
Talk him down to 8k and drive it like you stole it.

I was thinking this exact same thing.

I appreciate all the replies. And thanks Neuron for the tech info, that really helped. I have a stretch price of 15k that I would spend for a Terminator with probably around 100k miles. In your opinions, considering I will be buying either car with a small loan. Would you guys invest in a Terminator or spend less money to get a gt or older cobra knowing it won't bring the same money on resale?
 
I was thinking this exact same thing.

I appreciate all the replies. And thanks Neuron for the tech info, that really helped. I have a stretch price of 15k that I would spend for a Terminator with probably around 100k miles. In your opinions, considering I will be buying either car with a small loan. Would you guys invest in a Terminator or spend less money to get a gt or older cobra knowing it won't bring the same money on resale?

03/04 Cobra for sure.
 
Terminator if your budget allows. You can even throw on a smaller pulley and get a tune and even more HP. Only two downsides(my brother owns one) over a '98 (he owned previously); more weight from cast iron block and supercharger etc and the turning circle was even larger(275-40 9" rims vs 245-45 8"rims). The leather is a little better quality and the IRS makes handling on the road(not drag strip) much, much better. I know NA cars can go 200K easily not sure of the Termi's. A lot of bang for the buck and it is all factory installed and proven.