‘Mustang Forums’ Member Resurrects His 2001 Cobra

A hydro-locked engine and a worn-out transmission sidelined this SVT Cobra for years. Now, its owners plan to bring the car back to life.

When it comes to New Edge SVT Cobras, the supercharged ’03-’04 Terminator cars seem to get the lion’s share of attention. The 1999 and 2001 Cobras are still tremendous cars, however, and have a lot to offer for Mustang enthusiasts.

One of our members, Maxx1, has a clean-looking white 2001 Cobra that he just can’t quit. The car has a few bolt-on upgrades, and it looks handsome on a set of staggered, polished FR500-style wheels.

Unfortunately, one of those bolt-ons caused serious engine damage to his car a few years back. On his way to the gym in a heavy rainstorm, the cold air intake began sucking in water. And, after driving through a large puddle, the engine quit — it was hydro-locked.

Maxx1 loves the car, though, and wants to restore it to its former glory. He has no plans to get rid of it. He has a few goals for the project, which he’s outlined in his initial post.

Plan of Attack

For starters, his Cobra needs a new engine. As much as he’d like to do a Coyote swap, at this time, it’s cost-prohibitive. He’s actually considering a Terminator engine swap.

He also needs to rebuild his transmission, since his second gear synchro was on its way out back when he was still driving the car. He estimates his budget to complete the project at between $6,000 and $7,000, and he plans to complete the rebuild over the course of a few years.

When it’s all over, he wants a daily driver with stock reliability, but more than the original 320 horsepower. That also means that he’s like to maintain creature comforts like cruise control, a nice stereo, and air conditioning (a must in New Mexico, where he lives).

Thankfully, he won’t be without a Mustang while all of this is going on — his girlfriend has a 2006 Mustang GT. With a little work, he’ll be back in his own Mustang soon enough.

Photos: Mustang Forums members

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Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.
When he's not busy working on his Harley-Davidson bike, the vastly experienced writer has covered an array of features, reviews, how-tos, op-eds and news stories for Internet Brands' Auto Group and is also a co-founder and co-host of the popular podcast Cammed & Tubbed.

Check him out on Instagram at: Camvanderhorst.

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