1997 Cobra SVT Roush - what do I have?
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 15
From: MD
AJ, It's funny because I have never had a car that so many people want to trade for. I put it on CL before I decided to keep it and I must have had 5 offers to trade and I was simply trying to sell it. I did have a guy offer up his 2004 Mach 1 and came out to see it and wanted to do it, but the Mach 1 had many mods and 115K miles so me being a total novice deduced that the 2004 that once had a SC and still had other mods was likely ridden hard by first owner. What do you think of the trade? Did I pass up something good or did I make the right decision. This is what it had (he still wants to trade BTW):
Accufab Bigger throttle body, fuel rails, bigger injectors. Fuel return system, fuel pressure regulator, high pressure fuel pump, steeda stage 3 clutch, 24 spline air craft material input shaft. Solid rear axle, eibach sport line lowering springs with a coil cut out in the front. Cobra termibator body kit all around. Steeda forged short through shifter with steeda ball. Aem air fuel gage/ boost gage. Stock wheels painted black (professionally) brand new tires all around. Drilled rotors. Tokiko struts. Steeda adjustable clutch & quadrant.
So was this car dogged in your expert opinion? Oh, it also had a ripped leather seat.
Accufab Bigger throttle body, fuel rails, bigger injectors. Fuel return system, fuel pressure regulator, high pressure fuel pump, steeda stage 3 clutch, 24 spline air craft material input shaft. Solid rear axle, eibach sport line lowering springs with a coil cut out in the front. Cobra termibator body kit all around. Steeda forged short through shifter with steeda ball. Aem air fuel gage/ boost gage. Stock wheels painted black (professionally) brand new tires all around. Drilled rotors. Tokiko struts. Steeda adjustable clutch & quadrant.
So was this car dogged in your expert opinion? Oh, it also had a ripped leather seat.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,966
From: Raleigh, NC
I personally don't like cars with other people's mods on them. Especially that many. A lot of times they very well may have taken care of it like a baby, but unless you know then... well, you don't know! I prefer to mod my cars the way I like to anyway. Of course that's a risk with any unmodded Mustang as well, especially Cobras, but you can only use your best judgement I suppose. I wouldn't have traded with him because you have basically the same engine in both, and yours has a good bit lower miles. Nothing really to gain unless you really wanted a Mach with a Cobra body kit that's likely been driven hard, I'd say you're better off with the 97!
6th Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 8,540
From: South FL
Oh man it's a vert, too!!! Don't ever let it go if we figure out it's for sure a real one!!!
If you look under the car at the suspension, it will tell you a lot. Roush back then used blue springs and specially valved Bilstein shocks/struts. The sway bars will also be blue.
It may be the Cobra "Sport" which would have been the side skirts and exhaust mods only. Exhaust is Magnaflow made for Roush. Some of the early mufflers had ROUSH embossed on them. The real kicker is Roush used a long muffler (loud) and what are known as "Roush Shorties" (extra loud) back then. Would be interesting to see which this has. Shorties were like gold for awhile. Like I mentioned before, back then there were a lot of 'odd' builds from Roush via special orders and authorized dealer builds that strayed from the standard "Sport, Stage 1 and Stage 2" packages.
If you wouldn't mind, join FnSweet.com. It's the unofficial Roush forum. Post up the pics in the 94-98 section. Some of the other old timers might be able to ID this car further for you. A few of the members are the staff that used to build them back then. (Just realized FNS is updating the server again. Keep checking, though.)
If you look under the car at the suspension, it will tell you a lot. Roush back then used blue springs and specially valved Bilstein shocks/struts. The sway bars will also be blue.
It may be the Cobra "Sport" which would have been the side skirts and exhaust mods only. Exhaust is Magnaflow made for Roush. Some of the early mufflers had ROUSH embossed on them. The real kicker is Roush used a long muffler (loud) and what are known as "Roush Shorties" (extra loud) back then. Would be interesting to see which this has. Shorties were like gold for awhile. Like I mentioned before, back then there were a lot of 'odd' builds from Roush via special orders and authorized dealer builds that strayed from the standard "Sport, Stage 1 and Stage 2" packages.
If you wouldn't mind, join FnSweet.com. It's the unofficial Roush forum. Post up the pics in the 94-98 section. Some of the other old timers might be able to ID this car further for you. A few of the members are the staff that used to build them back then. (Just realized FNS is updating the server again. Keep checking, though.)
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 15
From: MD
I will post on that site when it comes back on line. Thanks.
Yeah, the guy that owned the Mach 1 was a tinkerer and had only had it for 7 months. So if he is getting rid of it already he either did not like the mods he bought it with or picked up on a problem. The original "moder" took out the SC and sold it separately. Question: If you put a SC on that engine does that make the engine work a lot harder? Is the engine designed to take such power?
Yeah, the guy that owned the Mach 1 was a tinkerer and had only had it for 7 months. So if he is getting rid of it already he either did not like the mods he bought it with or picked up on a problem. The original "moder" took out the SC and sold it separately. Question: If you put a SC on that engine does that make the engine work a lot harder? Is the engine designed to take such power?
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 15
From: MD
I just looked under and the rear shocks are still blue in color, but the sway bar is just a metal color perhaps because it is old, who knows. Perhaps when the site comes back up I will post some pics from various telltale areas. Not sure why it matters because I like the car regardless and until I bought this car I did not know the difference between a Mustang II did not know the difference between a 74 Mustang II and a 66 Shelby GT I think I am OK if its not a real Roush, but now I am just curious now.
