New to the Forum (pic heavy)
10-05-2011, 12:37 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Iowa
Posts: 15
New to the Forum (pic heavy)
So our story is a long one.
I was going to by a 64 coupe for my wife's birthday in 2008 as a surprise, It was a re builder down on Arkansas, well for some reason i thought I'd better show her pics and see if she wanted it. She told me she did not like the body style but had found one local that she did like. Turns out it was a 77 Cobra II. I have never been a huge fan of them (that has changed lol) but if that's what she wanted than so be it. My only stipulation was it had to be a manual. So $1800 later we owned a 77 Cobra II that runs hard, needs the front suspension rebuilt, is primer grey and yes it is a 4 speed and yes my wife Lori can bang gears with the rest of us. Here is where i run into a few problems. After a few months it starts back firing through the carb, we find a loose rocker so we adjust them all to make sure we are all good. Runs great for about two days. Same thing happens. So in true muscle car fashion i decide the motor is coming out and getting an overhaul. ( after all we had no idea what had been done to the motor, but did find a Harlan Sharp roller valve train) So when we get the motor out and the fenders off (to redo the engine bay) we find it is really a frankenstang............. some one has done a lot and i mean A LOT of patching. So i decide we need to find a plain Jane donor car to cut the original sheet metal off of and transfer it to Ella(that's what Lori calls her)as we are searching I look for a buck tag, it is missing and start looking at the rest of the body. It has an ok re skin on the quarters and some bad patch job s done on the floor. Oh and the engine wire loom has actual speaker wire in it. So now we need to fix those areas also. Anyway long story short I answered an ad on Craig's list for a 77 Mustang II . I t has a dent In the drivers quarter and some one in the 80's decided to cut a hole in the roof for an after market sun roof (which is gone now) but all the other things i need are there. So I buy it last Sat. and bring it home and by the end of last sat night it was striped to needing the interior out and the cabin loom , rear bumper and suspension taken off.
As I am sitting there and looking at the radiator support that i plan on transferring to the other car I see the magic Buck Tag and also the 69R meaning it's a Mach I. So now I don't want to cut either car up! Do you see the spot I'm In? So any way it's nice to be on here sorry for the lengthy story. What I need to know is how to find out if the Cobra II is real or fake. Lori said she searched both titles and the Cobra comes back 3 door coupe and the other comes back Mach I. But I thought the vins did not give that info, only the buck tags or Mardi Report did. Here is a few pictures I'll up load the ones from this week end later and post them. As of now the plan is to swap the roof to the Mach I from the "cobra II" we think is fake.
and the cut and spot welded mess
I was going to by a 64 coupe for my wife's birthday in 2008 as a surprise, It was a re builder down on Arkansas, well for some reason i thought I'd better show her pics and see if she wanted it. She told me she did not like the body style but had found one local that she did like. Turns out it was a 77 Cobra II. I have never been a huge fan of them (that has changed lol) but if that's what she wanted than so be it. My only stipulation was it had to be a manual. So $1800 later we owned a 77 Cobra II that runs hard, needs the front suspension rebuilt, is primer grey and yes it is a 4 speed and yes my wife Lori can bang gears with the rest of us. Here is where i run into a few problems. After a few months it starts back firing through the carb, we find a loose rocker so we adjust them all to make sure we are all good. Runs great for about two days. Same thing happens. So in true muscle car fashion i decide the motor is coming out and getting an overhaul. ( after all we had no idea what had been done to the motor, but did find a Harlan Sharp roller valve train) So when we get the motor out and the fenders off (to redo the engine bay) we find it is really a frankenstang............. some one has done a lot and i mean A LOT of patching. So i decide we need to find a plain Jane donor car to cut the original sheet metal off of and transfer it to Ella(that's what Lori calls her)as we are searching I look for a buck tag, it is missing and start looking at the rest of the body. It has an ok re skin on the quarters and some bad patch job s done on the floor. Oh and the engine wire loom has actual speaker wire in it. So now we need to fix those areas also. Anyway long story short I answered an ad on Craig's list for a 77 Mustang II . I t has a dent In the drivers quarter and some one in the 80's decided to cut a hole in the roof for an after market sun roof (which is gone now) but all the other things i need are there. So I buy it last Sat. and bring it home and by the end of last sat night it was striped to needing the interior out and the cabin loom , rear bumper and suspension taken off.
As I am sitting there and looking at the radiator support that i plan on transferring to the other car I see the magic Buck Tag and also the 69R meaning it's a Mach I. So now I don't want to cut either car up! Do you see the spot I'm In? So any way it's nice to be on here sorry for the lengthy story. What I need to know is how to find out if the Cobra II is real or fake. Lori said she searched both titles and the Cobra comes back 3 door coupe and the other comes back Mach I. But I thought the vins did not give that info, only the buck tags or Mardi Report did. Here is a few pictures I'll up load the ones from this week end later and post them. As of now the plan is to swap the roof to the Mach I from the "cobra II" we think is fake.
and the cut and spot welded mess
10-09-2011, 10:45 PM
#2
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 33
I had a 77 Cobra once and I recall reading that there was no data for what cars were Cobras. Also remember reading that this is one reason they weren't demanding high prices either. Could be wrong, will have to see where I found that. Good luck, they're getting scarce.
10-10-2011, 12:41 PM
#3
I like your story. Beautiful car! I can't wait to see what this looks like in a few months or a year.
My first car was a 76' blue with white stripes "Cobra II" in Hawaii. I wish that I still had that car!
James
My first car was a 76' blue with white stripes "Cobra II" in Hawaii. I wish that I still had that car!
James
10-11-2011, 11:41 PM
#5
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Iowa
Posts: 15
Well the saga continues. After much deliberation and him hawing around it looks like the Mach I is getting rebuilt and the Cobra II is going bye bye quick.
It came down to building the better car. And the Mach needs way less work.
So unless I can by some miracle find a roof or skin for the Mach I the Cobra II is going under the knife.I will post the rest of the picks in the morning.
It came down to building the better car. And the Mach needs way less work.
So unless I can by some miracle find a roof or skin for the Mach I the Cobra II is going under the knife.I will post the rest of the picks in the morning.
10-20-2011, 10:43 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Iowa
Posts: 15
So as promised, More pics. And more to come.
This is where it was when we went to get it. It had been pulled out of a barn and tarped.
The back yard exhaust got all hung up on the trailer.
All ready to go!
So lets see what it has on the OD.
Did i forget to mention it was a two owner car that had never been molested?
(bedsides the crappy 80's sun roof that was cut in and missing now) With a documented 21,000 miles!
Let the tear down begin(this was going to be a parts car).
My wife digging in, it is hers after all.
I may be sleeping here.
and after it was all tore down i was sipping on beer, looked up and found THIS! Couldn't believe it was there. The elusive Buck Tag! It is like snipe hunting trying to find one of these on a Mustang II. And it reads 69R So we will be keeping this car now and fixing it. Since it is a Mach I and they are becoming more scarce then Cobra II now-A-Days.
This is where it was when we went to get it. It had been pulled out of a barn and tarped.
The back yard exhaust got all hung up on the trailer.
All ready to go!
So lets see what it has on the OD.
Did i forget to mention it was a two owner car that had never been molested?
(bedsides the crappy 80's sun roof that was cut in and missing now) With a documented 21,000 miles!
Let the tear down begin(this was going to be a parts car).
My wife digging in, it is hers after all.
I may be sleeping here.
and after it was all tore down i was sipping on beer, looked up and found THIS! Couldn't believe it was there. The elusive Buck Tag! It is like snipe hunting trying to find one of these on a Mustang II. And it reads 69R So we will be keeping this car now and fixing it. Since it is a Mach I and they are becoming more scarce then Cobra II now-A-Days.
11-02-2011, 10:39 PM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Iowa
Posts: 15
So today was exciting, we got a double hump cross member in the mail. Have not been working on the Mach for the last week and I hear it calling me. It will be going on the rotisserie soon. then the real fun begins.
