raven_ghostwolf

Here are a few pictures of my 83 convertible before and after the dash insert swap, I took out the woodgrain and put in the pieces I had from a 79 Pace Car. You can see the "engine turning" on these as well and the location of the "turbocharged" badge same as Explosive's.


All I can say if it is not an 80 Cobra someone spent a hell of a lot of time, money, effort and was very lucky to find all the correct parts to make a clone of a car that has very little collectible value.

Sparky73

Wow thanks for all the great info. Just out of curiousity.. 'Explosive' stated there is no such thing as a "Cobra GT". So why would the back bumper and side skirts have that cut out? What is it supposed to say, and what do I have? a GT or a Cobra?

ACE, what type of transmission DO you have then?

What is this 3 speed with a shift kit..? Decent tranny or should I attempt a manual swap?

symonds86

raven said that the parts that are cut out are more than likely added pieces, and that it probly a cobra

Sparky73

So when I get the VIN, what do I look for to tell whether it's an actual cobra, just a GT, or neither? Will there be a certain number or letter to tell me what it is?

ACE

I have a T-5 behind mine. The c4 is a great trans just no od.

Explosive

The buck tag will say Cbra or some close abbreviation if it's a cobra.

raven_ghostwolf

Explosive is correct the vin will not tell you if it is a Cobra or not, you need to see if it still has the buck tag to determine that. It should be located on the driver side front of the radiator core support behind the headlights. All the VIN will really tell you is the year and what engine it was originally equipped with.

From the VIN it shows on ebay " 0f03a162374" the car is as follows;
0 = 1980
F = Built at Dearborn
03 = 3-door hatchback (includes Cobra)
A = 2.3L (140 cid) 4 cyl. - Here is where your issues may be. Most of my sources say that the 1980 turbo equiped cars should have a "T" engine code. If this is true then it cannot be a Cobra, the Cobra package only included the turbo 4 or V8 engines.
162374 = Consecutive unit number


If it is an 1980 there is no way it can be a GT. They quit making the GT model after 1969 and didn't bring it back until 1982. As I stated before those side skirts and rear valance where added by one of the previous owners THEY ARE NOT ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. Look at the 2 pictures I posted earlier there should be no side skirts or rear valance.

86GreenMachine

I thought cobras only came out in 1979 and 1993 in the foxbodies.

Explosive

79 through 82 I think, and in 93

Not very long at all though.

raven_ghostwolf

Fox Body Cobras in the US (don't want to deal with the Canadian explanation right now) Where built from 1979 - 1981,
in 1982 the Cobra Package was dropped with the re-introduction of the GT.
The 82 GT however used many of the same body treatments and interior features as the 79 Pace Car and 80 - 81 Cobras.
The 1993 SVT Cobra was a totally different creature than the earlier fox body Cobra's