Couple ? a/b 99 Cobras - looking at 1 to buy

[Family5.0]

OK, so a friend/client has had a 99 Cobra for a/b 3 or 4 yrs and is talking to me a/b selling it to me. We're talking price around $14,000, the kbb.com private party price. It's red/tan and has a/b 55,000 miles. It's had the fix.

So what are the problems, if any, of long term ownership of these cars? Is there anything that's such a pain you regret buying yours? Did you get the honest 320 hp after the fix if you got one of them that needed it? I'm very familiar w/the cheap mods on 5.0s that pick up another 15-20 hp but what can you do to the "fixed" 99 Cobras to bump it from 320 hp to around 340 or 350 fwhp? I'd like to be able to take out the mostly stock LS1s and my dad's LT4 330 hp 1996 Vette. Of course, if it still has the stock gears I'll probably put in some 3.73s, but what else?

Please feel free to give your general impressions and experiences (good bad or indifferent) of owning your 1999 Cobra. Thanks for your input as I really need some opinions b4 buying.

 

[Mac99Snake]

I have a 99 and love it. As for problems: Nothing since the HP recall. I went through the stock BFG's by 17K and replaced them with Bridgestone RE730s. With K&N, shorty headers, X pipe and Cat back, I pulled 301 rwhp on a dynojet. I say, drive it, listen for any "tick" between 2000-3500 rpm when cold and then take it up to 80-90 and see if there is driveline vibration. If it checks out, take it and let the modding begin.

Mac99Snake

 

[99SVTAddict]

No problems with them. They make the power they should. Add an off road pipe and a good catback, pulleys, and a cold air kit and you should be where you want to be.

Forgot the 3.73 gears though...these motors don't come to life until around 4,000 RPM's. I have 4.10's.....were great at first but don't seem to be enough now I'm switching to a solid axle now and might do 4.30's this time. When you get your gears, you will need a chip to adjust the speedo...do a tune at this time as well. Also, after gears you may get a "vibe" at higher speeds. There's ways to fix this....I just added an aluminum driveshaft and I have no vibe at all.

The only thing that gets old is the IRS wheel hop when you take off hard...when the tires don't grip, you get hop. There are things to do to reduce this (I've done them all), but if you like to drag race, eventually you will want to swap to a solid axle. After 2.5 years of hop, I'm finally just swapping it out for a solid.

With 55,000 miles on the car, if it looks to be in good shape, that price is about right...no higher though.

Good luck

 

[trents99]

The only thing I don't like about mine is the oil consumption but hey it's a Ford so it's nothing new.

 

[99CobraJMS]

My only problem is tire consumption

In general the 99 is a great stang, if not , I would not have invested all I have with MODs on this car.

No regrets here.


John

 

[CobraCruiser]

The '99 Cobras are good cars. I put 35K on my Rio Red 'vert in three years and three months before I got my '03 vert. I had no issues. The fix was done, but, other than sound, I noticed no improvement in performance. I could break the tires loose from a roll in first before the fix but not after. Not all '99s were down on power. I got good wear out of my BFGs. I replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza RE010s. Way better in the wet and dry.

As has been said, take the car out and open it up. Check for vibrations. I would bet that it is alright.

Buy it and enjoy it!

 

[Family5.0]

Sounds like all of you are happy w/your 99 and that gears and the basic mods will pick up the pace a little. I think it's time to get a little more serious a/b numbers with the owner. Thanks for the input.

 

[RAYS99COBRA]

I love my '99. Never had any problems with it. Gets the 'thumbs up' from other motorists all the time and get compliments on the color (Electric Green) all the time. It's not my daily driver, so every time I drive it, I fall in love with it all over again. The '99s are great cars IMO, even though there was an issue with HP but mostly all 99s have had "the fix" so that shouldn't even be an issue. If it's solid, I say go for it. The price sounds right. Good luck. I think you will be happy with it.

 

[Thunder5.0]

I have a Green 99 Cobra and I blew the clutch with a 125HP NOS shot on my fourth pass. The car also bogs every once in a while at around 2000rpm. Other than that, it runs great.

 

[Family5.0]

I just looked on the web at a list of recalls and TSBs related to the 99 Mustang. The recurring themes address the tranny and trouble going into reverse, clutch groaning noises at 2500-3000 rpm when shifting, vibrations at various speeds, and some intake or head leakage. Have any of you run across these problems? I'll be buying this car with a/b 60 months and 57,000 miles on the clock so there won't be any warranty. I know recalls are fixed regardless of the mileage but TSB problems are fixed free only if the warranty is still in effect. So, if I have any of these problems they'll know how to fix it but it won't be free. Just trying to see if another year Cobra has fewer problems or if these TSBs (there are 182 of them on edmunds.com) are a long list of issues that don't plague more than a few cars. Isn't there some way that I can get a dealer to run the vin through the system to check the records for work done on it?

I talked to the owner of the car and we'll get together next week so I can drive it for a couple days. I'll post my impressions after some wheel time. Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[COBRA90GT]

... Isn't there some way that I can get a dealer to run the vin through the system to check the records for work done on it?...

Yes, a dealer can run an OASIS report (includes a history of any work performed in the past year, IRRC) or you can run the VIN# by SVT (1-800-ford-svt) to verify if the recalls/TSBs have all been performed. Also, you could try asking one of the techs over at http://www.flatratetech.com/ to see if they can lend a hand w/ that OASIS report...