So I finally stepped up to the plate......

[Smokin35s]

So I sold my turd 1996 GT Auto and just bought a bone stock 1999 Cobra with 69,000 miles, black with black leater. I was orginally looking for a 1999 GT, however I came across this and I had to have it. The thing is damn near mint and run and drives great!! I just wanted to know if there is anything I should do first, I honestly know nothing about these, I know it all about a SOHC but nothing about a DOHC - hence problems, maintence, etc. Help me out!!!!!!!!!
Here is what is coming first:
Tomorrow - Buff the thing
Friday - tint
A few days after that - Lower 2"
Rest of the summer - O/R X pipe, Short Throw
Any suggestions on brands or any different mods let me know.
Thank you,
Justin

 

[DoubleONegative]

In this order

Find out if the car has had "the fix"
Tri-Ax or Pro-5.0 shifter
Catback and mid pipe( i went with the FR500 cat back with a Mac_prochamber they are my only mods) see sig for numbers
Gears man gears 4.10s minimum

 

[Smokin35s]

Oh god, what is "the fix"? The guy told me about getting a better performance intake and exhaust from the SVT dealer, but he didn't know much about it. Could that be it and how do I find out if it has been done or not? Is it a warrenty thing?

 

[99SVTAddict]

It sounds like it had the fix....they ALL had the fix for the most part. Consisted of them cleaning up all the excess flash material in the intake, new mufflers and computer tune. Call 1-800-SVT-FORD and give them your VIN...they can tell you if it was done.

Don't lower the car 2"...you will hate the ride. Go with a 1.5" drop. Good springs are Eibach, H&R, Steeda, Kenny Brown....If you go with a 2" you will need caster/camble plates and new shocks/struts right away.

Make sure you get a cat-back to match the X pipe.
Good short throw is either Steeda TriAx or Pro5.0.

As someone else said, go with gears...4.10 or 4.30's.

 

[Milehigh_Stang]

Yep, what 99SVTAddict said. The number he gave you will also be able to hook you up with a replacement SVT owners cert showing you build number. The big difference between the cobra and GT has to do with 4V engines desire to rev so gears are a must! The intake and exhaust mods are again to aid in that. Now the bad news - hope you didnt want to drag race it. The GT's have solid rear axles and the cobras have IRS which totally sucks at hooking up at the drags. Lots of wheel hop and such. You will see in many sigs that the put in a swapped in a solid axle to put the HP to the ground. The cobra will easily out handle a standard GT though thanks to the IRS.

Oh, and I have the Tri-ax and love it!!

 

[Snarf]

Look under your hood- you should see a clear urethane sticker on the front edge near the hood release with a Ford logo on it, mentioning something about a PCM reflash. If you see that- you've had 'the fix'. It entailed in total:

-Acid honing the intake manifold
-Flowmaster catback
-A PCM reflash (to better use the above two mods)

I would reccomend some full length subframes along with the things everyone else mentioned. They are a cheap cheap mod and you'll feel a huge difference after theyre installed.

 

[BLK_ROUSH]

BTW ... CONGRATS on the purchase!