blue95stang

I'm currently looking at 03-04 Termis and Machs... I'm stuck on which to get... Most will say termi because it's supercharged and such... But really I need more than that to convince me. I really love both cars but the cobra is almost imposible to find at an actual 'good price'. The mach I am finding in azure blue for 14k with low miles and very good condition.

Any advice or feedback please help me decide!

StriderTacticaL

Both cars are nice but with the Termi you are getting much, much more.

Supercharger, forged motor, much better trans, and a nice interior and exterior. Just a car with much more potential.

Not a real hard decision here...

But of course for the right price, anything is worth it.

WannaBeGearHead

IMO I would rather get a Mach 1. I am a N/A and spray kinda guy. Mach 1s are good at making power N/A and they can handle quite a bit before you need to upgrade the internals. With a ported, short run intake and cams and you will most likely see upwards of 350rwhp N/A. Their heads are the same as the 03/04 Cobras. They have a good flowing intake and if it wasn't for their relatively "weak" intake cams they would make very good power stock. A few bolts and traction and there have been people hitting high 12s.

I would rather get an auto Mach 1 but it would be fun to throw some 4.56 gears and spin the crap out of the manuals

Snakebite64

Tough call but good luck. Oh nice price on the Mach

SVTeeshirt

as much as i hate how everyone ogles the 03/04 cobra, unless you find a similar milage mach for $5k+ less the 03/04 cobra takes it, as mentioned above, forged internals, supercharged, 39# injectors bigger MAF, 31 spline IRS and a t-56. The entire drivetrain is more stout, the only thing prone to breaking is the IRS which is a quick fix. Machs were overpriced for a LONG time, they are just now coming down, if you can find a good deal on one buy it but otherwise i vote for 03/04 cobra, a few years ago Machs went for 17-21ishk while cobras were going for 22/23-26k.

uberstang1

What exactly is you're budget for this purchase.

Soldier GT

Eventhough the Mach is a fantastic car, like Strider said, you are getting much more of car if you go with the Cobra..

oxfordgt

Get a 99 gt and use the extra money to build it faster then both those cars put together.

SVTeeshirt

While this is a good idea, most people have to pay for labor, honestly even if you pick up a 99 GT for $5k, you've got nearly $10k(call it 8 with stock h/c/i) wrapped up in parts alone as far as improving the rear to the motor.

Shortblock $2k
Ported heads/cams/valvesprings$1700
Promotion T-45 tranny upgrade $1500
built rear 31 spline complete $1000
DIY blower kit $2000

do these numbers not look right? If not please correct me.

Thats a total of 13-15k, assuming he can do everything. Yeah you could skip forged internals and what not but then you're not getting everything you could get with an 03/04 cobra, if O.P is gonna be happy with 380-400whp forever yeah thats a great idea but it really depends on his goals with the car.


Assuming he can put the entire thing together himself this would probably be a good alternative but many people can't. I don't know what exactly shops charge for labor but i was quoted @ $480 for new sparkplug wires and install... so i can't imagine how much it would be to put together an entire car. (Car was missing and could not for the life of me figure out what was wrong so took it to a shop for a diagnostics test. Turns out i just got back to back sets of faulty spark plug wires and that was the miss even though the ones on the car had 150 miles on them, the ones before under 500.)

NO i did not let them install the wires, i did it myself for the third time and the miss was finally gone.

Spilotro

I prefer the Mach, due to its appearance, lighter weight, and solid rear axle. With some suspension mods, you get all the cornering performance of the Cobra and more. And, if you just must make huge power, no one is stopping you from forging the internals. Being more of a road course guy, it doesn't take as much power to impress me as some of you folks, though.

I don't want to detract anything from the Cobra, however. From a strictly unbiased point of view, it's one of the best (if not the best) production Mustangs ever built.