1996 SVT COBRA

Carlos97

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So I have a 96 Cobra in my dad's garage and he had it for 4 years kept away and another 5 I believe before he bought it since it actually drove. Now I'm not a real mechanic mind you, I can do little stuff like fluid changes and not so difficult parts for a nooby. But I wanted to know what else should i change out due to it sitting for almost 10 years. I would appreciate it if someone could give me a list as to what I should change out. Not just obvious things it needs but also stuff to make the car drive better. I've never driven a mustang so I dont know how it feels on the road but for you who know how the stock suspension feels like and feel as though it need to be upgraded please give me a list as to exactly what I should change thank you I know this was a pretty long post

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StrayBullitt

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I've owned a couple SN95 cars that had sat for about that long prior to getting them.. some things to look out for would be damage from rodents, seized brake calipers and seized fuel pump.. had to do those on both, had to replace the Idle air control valve on one of them and definitely fluids, had a lot of moisture built up in the oils. Good Luck !
 

Carlos97

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Mar 16, 2019
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Chester, PA
I've owned a couple SN95 cars that had sat for about that long prior to getting them.. some things to look out for would be damage from rodents, seized brake calipers and seized fuel pump.. had to do those on both, had to replace the Idle air control valve on one of them and definitely fluids, had a lot of moisture built up in the oils. Good Luck !
Thank you! Much appreciated

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scottydsntknow

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Well... the stock suspension was garbage when new so plan on replacing everything if you want the car to drive somewhat properly although the factory 4 link solid axle setup will never be very good... New shocks, struts, matching springs, Max Motorsports CC plates, new rear LCAs, new OEM UCA bushings on UCAs and axle housing itself, rear swaybar is a known weak point and will snap after awhile so good to upgrade that...

As far as the engine and trans... Drain the trans and fill with 3.2 quarts of Mercon V through the shifter hole with the shifter removed. While the shifter is removed replace it with a MGW short shifter. If the clutch feels good then leave it, the stock unit is very durable but the throwout bearing might be squeaky or making a lot of noise if its sat this long so that would be a good time to do the whole clutch while you pull the trans. Exedy Mach 400 clutch kit for that. Engine... new OEM Ford (black) plug wires from Rockauto, new Autolite plugs (torqued to 15ft lbs with antiseize with actual torque wrench because its VERY easy to strip the heads), change all fluids/filters, make sure the IMRC (intake manifold runner control) is working (its a little motor box with a cable that opens the secondaries at 3000rpm).

Throw a good tune on it (a real tuner not any "tunes for life crap" from bama or wherever) and 4.10s or even 4.30 gears because the earlier modular Cobras have horrific low end power. Mid pipe and catback for the exhaust since the stock manifolds are actually not really restrictive and there you go.

If you want to just drive it then honestly just do a basic tuneup, throw some fresh gas in it and fire it up and see what she does but above is all what I would do to a blank canvas car I was just going to drive for awhile.
 

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