cobra II value?

[KurtPB]

i found one nearby and was curious about some things. i called the owner and talked, he said things such as: no rust, burgundy leather, all original, 130k. it has white steel wheels that i havent seen on a mustang II(sorry, no pic, but the car below is what it looks like beside wheels). i asked if it had a c4 'cuz i seen it was an automatic, he didnt know what a c4 was. he also said he bought the car for $5000, found out it was "all original"(supposably) so now he's asking $8500. is he really asking a reasonable price? mind you i didnt find out the year and i dont know a lot about these cars besides the fact that if it is "all original", they arent too fast. i can also call the owner if anyone needs any more info to help me. thanks.

 

[LILCBRA]

being all original, it isnt leather, its vinyl. if he doesnt know what a c4 is, then he probably has no idea what it is worth either. 8500 i would say is pushing it, especially around here. maybe if he has some kind of special documentation on it, like being some stars car or in a movie or such, but i seriously doubt that too. i would put money on it that he is trying to scam someone to make a profit for himself...seen it too many times to count.

 

[KurtPB]

well i'm thinking of calling and asking for a test drive and take a camera with me so i can take some pics. also, it has a single tail-pipe, i wasnt sure if this was just how they came factory because of the mess the late 70s-80s was for american producers or if like the Mach's, they came with a 6cyl in some(i assumed it was a 302 when i called and the owner didnt specify). i will try to get a test drive today, pending on how the weather is and i'll try finding our camera to take some pics. with me being young and never really having done research on the II's, anything anyone can tell me about them driving wise? i'm not worried about not being used to the power output, i think my turbo shadow would smoke the brakes off of it, also i dont expect it to handle like a modern sports car. i'd just like to take it down army post(Des Moines road), onto interstate, around a couple blocks, etc.

 

[LILCBRA]

the cobras could be had with any engine. other than that, i really dont know what else to tell you about the ride. it will probably be a little soft compared to what you would think. if it is a 302, it might surprise you with the acceleration. back in the earliy 90s when i was going to lincoln tech (now it doesnt exist) in dm, i raced a turbo shelby daytona and ran neck in neck. actually his car surprised me at that time.

 

[KurtPB]

so i'll make sure it's a 302 before anything, thank you. i also didnt expect it to handle like it was on rails, heh. if i drive it later, it'll be to just see how it drives around town, highway, how it pulls getting on the interstate, etc. i'll also take some pics if i can with our digi-cam, if not, i wanted to get software to upload pics from my phone so they may not be best quality.

 

[Dano78]

It might surprise you. The II actually handled really well for it's time. I had a V6 CBII that had the front and rear saway bars, limited slip, 4 speed, 14x7 wheels, lowered 2" front 1" back. That thing would take a freeway on/off ramp cloverleaf at 50-60mph without much trouble at all.
If it is a V6 car, I wouln't knock it. There is alot of potential in those V6s and with the way gas prices are heading, might not be such a bad idea. I drove from Albuquerque, NM to Las Vegas, NV (Nellis AFB) on several occasions with that V6 car and it averaged 16-18 mpg and that's clipping along a 3000-3500 rpms. Never said I drove slow, time is of the essence too. That little solid lifter engine sure seemed to like it between 2800 and 3200 rpms. But had I had a T-5 (or other 5 speed) or drove slower (possibly the speed limit..!.?) it might have crept into the 20 mpg range.

Kinda :OT: but a neat story....
When I was in highschool my auto shop teacher had an all black '72 Capri with a pumped up 2600 (2.6L) V6 -sister engine to the 2.8- and it would lay posi scratch almost a block long with 265x50-14s. (car had fender flares too) It blew the doors off my 290hp 302 powered '67 Fairlane at that time. (We lined up one afternoon on our way to Burger King for lunch) He had a 4bbl carb, headers, dual point mallory, 10:1 c/r, 4 speed, 4:11 limited slip and some mystery cam he never disclosed. Just blew my mind....

 

[KurtPB]

well turns out it's actually a 2.3 cobra II. i didnt drive it for the simple fact that the only way i'd consider getting it is because i have an '88 TC 2.3t motor/ecu. and the simple fact he is asking $8500, maybe if he took $7k off the price, i would take it.

 

[78StangII2+2]

When I was in highschool my auto shop teacher had an all black '72 Capri with a pumped up 2600 (2.6L) V6 -sister engine to the 2.8- and it would lay posi scratch almost a block long with 265x50-14s. (car had fender flares too) It blew the doors off my 290hp 302 powered '67 Fairlane at that time. (We lined up one afternoon on our way to Burger King for lunch) He had a 4bbl carb,

I had a 74 Capri, as well as a 75 & 77 and they were quick and fun to drive. No pics of the latter 2 but here is a pick of the 74.

There was a 73 Capri for sale in our area on Kijiji;

With respect to the 2.3 Cobra, if it is in good shape, it might be a good $3000 -$4000 car to use as a base for the 2.3 Turbo. It could still be the "Right car for the right times" There is at least one other 2.3 Turbo II out there.

/paul
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2219901

 

[DarkFireGT]

I paid $1500 for my 2.3L Cobra II, which was a pretty good deal. It hadn't been started in 20 years and was stored in a barn in California. It's 90-95% complete and has very minor rust on a couple of body panels. It has 60k miles, I believe. Now mind you, I spend way more than that going to get it and bringing it back. I would say $3500-$5000 would be a good price. I wouldn't pay more than that unless it's pristine.

 

[Project 77]

78 2.3 Cobra II's aren;t very common are they? I hink I have seen one or two of them.

 

[Dano78]

Very, very few 4cyl Cobras were made. Almost non-existant. I did see one in the local junk yard and yarded out it's buck tag because I couldn't believe it myself. Ran the codes, and the truth be told. It was a T-Top car to boot!
From a few reads I've crossed, 1978 was the only year that you could get the 4cyl and Cobra package together. I think Ford was dying to sell as many cars as possible either that or clear out stock to gear up for the up and comming Fox platform for '79.

 

[KurtPB]

haha, so i searched on craigslist for "mustang" and actually found the car i was asking about.

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/car/673279177.html

if it wasnt for the price, i would actually like to take it on as a efi 2.3t project but i'm sorry... i dont care about how rare it is, it's still a cobra II with a 2.3, not some GT500kr.

 

[Dano78]

OMG It's an automatic too!?! What a turd. They should have changed it from a Cobra II to a Possum II or Snail II, hardly deserving of the Cobra nameplate. I bet it's got 2.79s in the rear aswell. The topper is the asking price.... Jack Roush himself had better have personally owned and autographed this car to even consider it.... of course if he did, it'd probably have a 351C just like his '75 did.

Also in addition... I made a big mistake. Appearantly you could get a Cobra II with a 4 banger throughout all the years. I got up this morning and initiated a search of my shop and office for a buck tag I swiped form a 4 banger CBII I saw a the local yard. Indeed it was a 1976 6R03Y108*** with CBR in the upper RH corner of the tag.

 

[KurtPB]

i was hopin' for it to be an II with an auto 302, that way it'd have some potential. but oh well. i'd also love to have a II in the future, just not for that sort of price

 

[Project 77]

I had a 77 Cobra II with a 2.3 and 4 speed, I used to call it the garder snake LOL. I'd like to find one just like this one for sale in Iowa, and do a 2.3 svo turbo swap

 

[KurtPB]

well come pick this one up and i have a 2.3t/t5 from an '88 TC lol.

 

[Dano78]

Now an SVO Turbo swap... that might be the ticket to putting venom back into the Cobra bite...

 

[cobraii351]

Hey Project77,

Send me an email would you please.

Thanks,
Tim

 

[KurtPB]

Now an SVO Turbo swap... that might be the ticket to putting venom back into the Cobra bite...

could go right in, eh. getting it to run properly with the gauges and such.