Hi all, I'm never really over on this side of the forums but I got a question. I've been saving and looking for a 03/04 mach 1, but by doing this i'm pretty much liquitating my bank account, or I have to chance to get a 97/98 cobra with money left for mods and what not. So my question is, I saw this 1997 triple black vert cobra near me. Its got 11k original miles, adult owned, stock, clean carfax...etc. He wants $11,500. I'm am a little aprehensive considering that the car is now 11 years old and that things could break down easier. I've also heard the t-45 are POS's. What are the problems people have had with them? What would you do? and would a 97 cobra and mach 1 be pretty much neck and neck in a race?

Mach's are 320hp from factory and 96-98 cobra's are 305. I'm very happy with my 97, but I do have LT headers and full exhaust with a tune. I honestly would go for that Cobra. That's a heck of a deal! 11kmi is hard to find and if it's been taken car of you just cannot go wrong. You could spend 4k on a KB blower and be right about 400rwhp. You would have no problems getting your money back from that cobra if you bought it for 11k and drove it for even 50kmi. The car would be worth it all day if it's in nice shape. A cash cushion is always nice to have for mishaps that aren't anticipated for!

If the Cobra is legit I would pick it up in a heartbeat. 11k miles on a 97 Triple Black Vert for 11,500 is a steal!

i own a 97 cobra with black everything... its worth it. Get the cobra. I met up with a mach1 on the highway, wasnt a race tho just messin around but he couldnt touch me.

i just recently bought a 97 black on black cobra, i paid 10,000 for it and it had 40k miles. so 11,5 is a steal for that one. esp if its all black. my cobra rides soo good, i wouldnt trade it for a bmw or mercadez or any of them, mainly because im a mustang fan and cobra is my dream car. tahts just me though.

I like the mach 1s but i love my cobra more. I would get that cobra it is one heck of a steal. Just get that put a kenne bell on it with some gears and you are sitting really good. You wouldnt believe what a supercharger does to this car.:)

the 3vs are responding better then the 4vs are to boost. just thought id add that. but the 05+ = ugly to me. i like 96-98 cobras the best.

3 valves do respond better but are also 20k-up cars lol. ;)

yea plus the 05+ looks ugly to me, i dont like that style at all, 96-98 cobra = hottest car :).

just to be sure, aren't the 97 cobra's 4V motors?

96+ cobras are 4v's.

+1,000 for the cobra. Especially since its a triple black vert. dont get any better than that.

triple blk give that bad ass vader look

thanks for opinions guys. I think I am now leaning towards the 97 cobra. How are the interiors in these? I've never driven a 96-98 mustang only the03/04 mustangs.

by the way, I was surfing cardomain and saw a pretty sweet cobra. Here are a few pics. And also a pic of the mach 1 that i'm considering.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s167/stang1101/2401737_17_full.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s167/stang1101/2401737_18_full.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s167/stang1101/100_0003_1.jpg

The 96-98 interior is plain...just like most Mustangs. The MAch 1 int. is sweet. It's no where near as nice as the 03/04 cobras but itll do. The motor should be the big seller for ya.

ORIGINAL: darcnytemare

The 96-98 interior is plain...just like most Mustangs. The MAch 1 int. is sweet. It's no where near as nice as the 03/04 cobras but itll do. The motor should be the big seller for ya.


Yea, the mach 1 interior is so nice + the shaker hood :D. I'm just torn between spending almost all my money on a mach 1 or having 9-10 grand extra to play around with.[:@]

I'm going to add a Mach owner's opinion into the mix. Go with the Cobra. The Mach may have a better interior (subjective of course), little better suspension, and is definetly quicker, but the Mach is not worth passing up a deal like that. 11K miles is almost unheard of on an 11 year old Cobra. My younger cousin has a 98 SVT . Very quick car, but my Mach will pull it pretty good. He runs mid-high 13s with 3.73s. I would keep the extra cash and lightly mod the Cobra, unless you can afford to part with the cash, in which case I would definetly getthe Mach.I paid $20k for my Mach with 25k miles on it. If I had the choice between the deal you have found and my Mach, I would go for the Cobra. The Mach has the upper hand, but not a $9k upper hand!!

ORIGINAL: Stone629

I'm going to add a Mach owner's opinion into the mix. Go with the Cobra. The Mach may have a better interior (subjective of course), little better suspension, and is definetly quicker, but the Mach is not worth passing up a deal like that. 11K miles is almost unheard of on an 11 year old Cobra. My younger cousin has a 98 SVT . Very quick car, but my Mach will pull it pretty good. He runs mid-high 13s with 3.73s. I would keep the extra cash and lightly mod the Cobra, unless you can afford to part with the cash, in which case I would definetly getthe Mach.I paid $20k for my Mach with 25k miles on it. If I had the choice between the deal you have found and my Mach, I would go for the Cobra. The Mach has the upper hand, but not a $9k upper hand!!


how much quicker is tthe mach? Can he cobra handle 99-04 2v gt's? This may sound like a newbie question but my buddy has an 04 gt and he can chirp into 2nd and 3rd everytime, can the cobra's do that with the t-45?

@stang101: yeah the cobra's can easily chirp them, ive done it. Like i said b4 i got the pleasure of cruisin around with a mach1 and i have to say from a stand still soon as i hit 2nd i pulled away of him, and form a 35mph roll i did the same. im pretty sure he was bone stock, at the time i only had a 65mmtb and cai. so im kinda partial to the cobras.

97-98 Cobras usually run 13.7+ stock. Machs are low 13s stock. I ran a consistent 13.4 at 105 when I first got my Mach. A Mach friend of mine was nailing 13.3s over and over with basically the same trap speed. The Mach has better cams for low-end torque and 3.55s which have alot to do with the better ETs. The Mach heads are better as well. The Cobra can handle 2v GTs easily. The t-45 is not the best tranny in the world. It will hold up fine as long as you don't mod past it's limitations or powershift every weekend. My younger cousin has a TKO-600 in his 98 SVT. His t-45 crapped out on him once he started going to the track every Sunday and beating on it. Plus he is planning on forging the motor for F/I, so the trans would've had to be replaced anyway.

As far as spinning thru gears, I have 4.10s, but I can smoke through 1st, 2nd, and over half of 3rd. The t-45 weak compared to the 3650. The Mach 3650 is good for 450rwhp, safely.

ORIGINAL: h0micide

@stang101: yeah the cobra's can easily chirp them, ive done it. Like i said b4 i got the pleasure of cruisin around with a mach1 and i have to say from a stand still soon as i hit 2nd i pulled away of him, and form a 35mph roll i did the same. im pretty sure he was bone stock, at the time i only had a 65mmtb and cai. so im kinda partial to the cobras.



You're friend needs to practice. The Cobra in question is a fine car and is very quick, but there are several improvements that make the Mach a good bit faster. He should of pulled on you.

Well... called the guy on the Cobra today, and it sold[:@]. I knew it wouldn't last to long[&:]. Looks like I might be getting the mach now.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s167/stang1101/100_0003_1.jpg

wow 11k miles... if you don't buy it you should be beat with a large stick. Autotrader.com look for 96-98 cobras.. find any with miles that low and a price tag to match let me know.

+1 for the mach. Depending on what you want to do with the car, the mach 1 has a solid axle, sub-frame's, higher compression to respond better to bolt-ons, mach with 3.55's vs cobra 3.27's, 03/04 cobra heads they are better for boosted application's, better stock stereo,and its newer. But thats just my 2 cents.:D

If you're going to clean your bank account out for a mach, don't do it. You all know the cobra is way sexier, and it's easy to make up that power difference between them. I really wanted an all black cobra, but I found a siiiiiiick deal on a laser red one (dark red), and it is one of the nicest looking cars on the road and sexy as hell. The deal also left me with 2 grand in extra cash to do every modification interior and exterior I wanted (besides supercharger) (crying in the background) that wasn't already done. My 2 cents is to wait for another one of those perfect deals. You'll know when the right car calls out your name. I waited, and got my dream car (affordable dream car for now) and this cobra is all I could ever ask for, as well as the loudest damn car in the city lol ;)

The interiors may be a little plain on the cobra, but hey, who cares!! You add a nice cd/mp3 player, some gauges, new shift knob to go with the sts, bullit pedals, new cobra floor mats, and your golden. I feel sorry that you missed that deal, you wouldn't have regretted it.

Get the Cobra dude!!! Spend the extra $$$ on some mods and personalize it. 11k is rare for a rare ride.

IMO the Cobra with only 11K miles is a great deal. And I'd choose it over the Mach 1. As far as the interior of the Cobra, it wouldn't be hard to spruce it up with aftermarket seats and maybe a bit of trim modding. If the Cobra was higher mileage I'd say the Mach 1. But everyone has their own preferences and if you like the styling of the Mach 1 then I'd go for it. Either way you win IMO.

Def buy that car. They're pretty quick with mods. I don't really ever race or beat on my cobra but no one has beaten me around here yet.


EDIT: Sucks that it sold

If it were me, I would either wait and save up some more before I bought the Mach I, or I would search around on the net and see if you can find a nice 96-98 Cobra with decent miles and a good price. They are still good cars and very sharp looking on the road.

i'm currently looking for an 03/04 cobra, and have found a pretty sweet 04 red termi ,but they also had a mach for 14.9k-i'm considering getting that in my name for my brother so we can have two 4v's