early 2.3 turbo, cobra?

[phil5.0lx]

okay at my local salvage yard there is what i think is a early mustang cobra?
it is silver with a big running horse decal on the sides 2.3L carbed draw through turbo and 5 spd. what am i looking at? thinking about picking up the whole drive train and rebuilding the motor and maybe trans. do not have anything to put it in right now (maybe a lakes style roadster?) but since the yard owner thinks the motor is no good i can pick it up CHEAP!!! question is, is it worth it? i mean i know it's not gonna be a demon but in a light enough vehicle it might be fun. and if nothing else gives me more to play with
so the questions are; what is it? and what should i do with it? leave it alone or play?
and how much "play" (re; power) is it feasable for this little guy to make?

 

[phil5.0lx]

sorry had to add to turn on e-mail notification (i forgot)

 

[MontereyDave]

- Back in 82 when I turned 16 I got at 79 Mercury Capri Turbo, sister-car to the Mustang you describe. My uncle had one of those silver/black 79 Mustang Cobra 2.3L turbos, with Recaro seats, similar to the Indy Pace car that year. I loved my Capri, ran great till the turbo died (then it ran like a 2.3L Pinto ).
- Ignore the 80's style shorts (people actually did dress like that back then, just watch Magnum PI reruns if you don't believe me ). But, here are pics of my old Capri from back then. Like the Mustang turbo, both cars had the Michelin TRX aluminum rims (Mustang GTs did too). They were great tires but a little pricey and they had a metric rim diameter (390mm, between 14" and 15") so you almost had no choice but to buy Michelin tires.
View attachment 412687

 

[Shawneebear93]

Mustang Cobras with 2.3 turbos were available from 1979 through 1980. It was rated at 131 horsepower. The Cobra models of those years didn't have running horses on the sides though, the had "Cobra" about where a 5.0 emblem would be.

 

[Red_LX]

If it has a running horse on the side, that may be a dealer-installed decal of some sort, you might be looking at a Turbo GT.

 

[phil5.0lx]

hmmmm. sounds like it might be worth getting, and ya it has some unique looking seats with a mesh in the head rest (recaros?) so are parts available for these little motors? can they be hopped up?
sorry about all the questions just trying to figure out if i want to go through the trouble of taking the engine and tranny out

 

[hyperse7en]

i have a 79 cobra. behind the drivers side light, is a tag. if you take off the top mounts on the radiator, and tilt it back, you should be able to look down there with a light and see the tag. it should say either cobra on the bottom, or cbr on the end of the numbers. its tricky to find, but it should be there. the carbed turbos, can be fixed up to gain power. i need one of those trannys! lol it is highly reccomended to put an EFI turbo 2.3 in it, if youre looking for real power. if you can afford the car, i would totally do it. if you want it original, then that would be a great starting point too! IMO it would be worth it, as long as it isnt totalled, or rusted beyond repair. you NEED to bring that cobra back to life.........oh one more thing

 

[Anlushac11]

I am in favor of keeping the carb turbo.

They can be tweaked and tuned to make serious power.

I would love to have one again, this time with a good and clear title, to play with and experiment with.

IMHO 245hp is easily doable.

 

[RogerC62]

I was just skimming through this section of the forums. I used to have a 79 pacecar edition. A previous owner installed a 302 in the car and the original turbo 4cyl came with the car. When I sold the car the new owner didn't want it so I have an engine laying around taking up space. Thought I would use it sometime but If someone wants it I'm willing to sell. Just drop me an email.