BTU83

Hello,

I'm new to the forums. I own a 2006 Mustang which has been alright, but lately I have been looking into getting another classic car for restoration. I recently saw a 1979 Mustang Cobra for sale in my area with 144k miles. They are asking for a few thousand and they said it was rust free. I have not seen the car in person yet. I think the 79 to 81 Cobras are really cool and I would like to restore one, but I'm wondering what I should look for when buying. I want one that is a strong runner and this one apparently is. What problems should I look for? What problems do these cars suffer over the years usually? Any general expensive fixs I can expect? Are parts easy to come by? Any information regarding these topics or about these year Cobras in general would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Explosive

You should really check the four eyed pride forum.


But check the floor pans, and really the entire underside for rust. Fenders and doors. If it has a sun roff be sure to check out the sunroof area they are known to rot. We have a black 79 Cobra and It nice to have a Fox and yet it's not like all the other foxes out there.

Explosive

P.S. Check the hatch, they tend to rust on the foxes as well.

BTU83

Thank you I will check there. Is 144k on the original engine a lot for these cars? Also do you have any detailed pics of your car? This one for sale is black and green.

stang8689

If its rust free I would jump on it, 144k on a 79 is not bad. Worst come to worst you can rebuild the engine down the road

Explosive

Yup, heres some pics of mine, it's in peices in some pics so I'll try and get the pics from when we bought it.




Interior may be different than mine, Our car used to have a turbo 4 in it, thus the turbo badges.



Note the door handle near floor, and lock in the arm rest, I always thought it was cool,



Side of the door,



Back seat,



The dash, one thing to note is the engine turn on the dash, notice the circles on the dash around all the gauges, that was something they did to the Cobras.







Heater controls, not sure if the one you're going to look at will be different. Our car was ordered without A/C so the control may have something extra if the car has A/C





The rear with no louvers on it,



Another side shot.



Also, in some of the pics the center counsle is removed since we have the drive train pulled but i you need more pics of any specific area let me know. Just look the car over good, especially underneath. The 79 Cobras are becoming rare.

BTU83

Thank you for the pictures! I notice there are a lot of Cobra emblems inside and out. Are there any more I didn't see? Also, did you take your hood emblem off? I read that these engines are fairly bulletproof up to 150k. Sound right to you?

Explosive

Off the top of my head, there are Cobra emblems on the inside of the car on the doors, one on the dask above the glove box None outside. Although I've heard of some having V8 on the outside depending on what engine the car was produced with. The Cobra was just a apperance package for the most part not really a model. If cared for properly they should last a while.

BTU83

Is this an easy car to restore? To work on?

rmodel65

all foxes are easy to work on and parts are easy to come by, now cobra specific stuff for a 79 might not be easy.

i wish explosive had left his car stock it was a very rare car, but to each his own. I hope he at least turbos it so its not false advertisement