Need help on 03 cobra purchase..Dont know if these are normal

[Vanilla Mustang]

Hi,

I've been on and off here with questions about Cobra's. Seriously looking at this one and I need some advice from you experienced SVT guys.

1.There is a horse on the grille and not a cobra, is that normal at all?

2.I dont see VIN tags on the fenders and on the hood, is that normal?

3.The clutch is REALLY stiff and makes a squeaking noise, is this normal? Might this be some high performance clutch the previous owner put in?

4.The headlights arent Ford, they are some other brand..TYS or something like that. Might they have been replaced?

The combo of questions about the front end make me wonder if it was in an accident but the carfax didnt list anything.

Thanks for any help here! The car has about 33-34k on it, its convertible. Theyre asking 20,900 right now but i might try to get them lower. The car fax said the dealer got it in 07 but i forgot the month, so theyve had it almoast 2 years which makes me cautious. One owner...

 

[Vanilla Mustang]

hi again,

Been reading the stickies and saw it came with the horse. sorry!

 

[COBRA90GT]

Yes, you are correct about the front grill. Cobras (except late model Shelby GT500s, IIRC) came from the factory with the running horse in the front grille. It's often one of the very first cosmetic mods that cobra owners do...

Where were you looking for the fender/hood VIN tag at on those items? Are you talking about the "hidden" VIN or a sticker VIN attached to the sheetmetal?

As fas as the squeaking clutch noise, it's possible that it might need a new throw out bearing...do you know if it's the original?

Headlight assemblies are pretty easy to change out - it's possible the previous owner may have swapped them for another pair (clear style or another shade of "smoked" out headlights? ).

It sounds like you are skeptical about the car's front end - perhaps you can ask a trusted body shop guy to examine the car more closely prior to purchasing (fender, hood, gaps match up? are both cobra side emblems facing the correct direction? paint overspray ?, other minor details, etc). That should give you some reassurance.

Maybe it was sitting at the dealer for awhile or the owner used it as a "demo car," etc, etc. It's too difficult to say for sure without researching it more....g'luck!

 

[Vanilla Mustang]

I wanted to pull the headlights out and see what was goin on behind there. i might do it next time i go back

I thought there were tags on every panel, like white tage that say ford on them with the VIN stamped in

 

[silvervenom]

I wanted to pull the headlights out and see what was goin on behind there. i might do it next time i go back

I thought there were tags on every panel, like white tage that say ford on them with the VIN stamped in

get the vin number and have it run by svt. That will tell you if its real or not and also it will give you a build number .... what color is the car? check that against the paint code on the drivers door