1997 Crystal White Cobra.. Forged, TKO, Tuned, Clean!

Rock777

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1997 Crystal White Cobra.. 03 Cobra motor swap, TKO, Tuned, Clean!

$9500 or best offer...

1997 Crystal White Cobra w/ black leather interior. This Cobra is a great, all-around sharp car, has top-notch modifications, everything works, and can be driven every day or as a weekend cruiser. The body is 13 years old and original paint, so does have imperfections, though it often gets comments about how good of shape it is in. Runs excellent and sounds even better. I am selling it because my wife is pregnant and am trying to keep my priorities in line. I bought it in April from Reno Nevada (little ways from St. Louis), because I was very picky on what I wanted and what condition I wanted it to be in. Reno doesn't have the salt that we do around here, so the underneath is very clean and not all oxidated/rusted. It has been garaged by the previous owner and myself. The interior is black leather and in excellent condition. I believe the seats are out of a 2002 GT and have ZERO rips or tears. Everything works without any issues (power seats, windows, locks, stereo, cruise, etc.)

The odometer shows 90,xxx miles, but the entire drivetrain has less than 10k. The engine is a factory forged 4.6 32 valve, 8.5/1 compression engine bought from Ford (03/04 Cobra motor minus the supercharger) and has approx. 9k miles. It has the Tremec TKO. The rear end was completely rebuilt less than 1500 miles ago with all new bearings, shims, seals, and a 4.10 ring and pinion, sealed with a heavy-duty rear differential cover and ARP bolts. The car was tuned by PurPerformance in St. Charles on a 100 degree day in the middle of July with high humidity and put down 288 rear wheel horsepower and 288 rear wheel torque, all on a low compression motor. Everything has synthetic fluids (engine, transmission, rear-end). Fresh coolant, water wetter, and thermostat. No leaks, burning fluid, fluid disappearing, etc.

As with almost any 13 year old car, it does have some flaws, though none that would keep anyone from driving this. On the paint, there are a couple places that have been touched up or patched (pics below of all mentioned areas): at bottom of driver's side fog light there is a crack. Could probably be epoxied and touched up to be completely unnoticeable but wasn't terribly noticeable to me so I haven't attempted to fix it. Also, there is a spot on the passengers side upper rear fender, right behind the rear half-glass that the previous owner has patched. I don't know what happened, but it looks as if the paint may have been thin or flaking or something so he cut a small section of it out and touched it up. The same goes for a spot on the passengers side roof, near the windshield. Like I said, all of the imperfections are noticeable when looking for them but I almost always forgot they were there until washing the car because they are subtle. Having said that, I get compliments on how clean the car is all the time, so these aren't enough to "ruin" the look of the car.

Only other issues, well not really issues, just things I want to point out: The check engine light is on, BUT the only code it puts out is dealing with the air smog pump, which was removed when the new motor was put in. The SCT tuner reads codes and I've checked many times to assure there is nothing else popping up and this is the only one. This can easily be turned off by a tuner, I just forgot to tell the guy when I had the car tuned. Also, if you haven't had a lowered car with long-tubes, they do hang lower. It doesn't pose a problem most the time, just something to be aware of as you really can't do speed bumps or any big rise in the road (manhole cover sticking up excessively high). Dips in the road don't cause any rubbing. My driveway is on a decent incline with a curb from the road and it has no clearance issues. The car has Eibach lowering springs and has a slight raked stance, so with a little taller/stiffer spring up front it could gain more clearance.

Overall, this car is in awesome condition and alot of fun to drive. No idle issues, bucking, hard starting, etc. Just turn the key and go while listening to the radio and the A/C on if you so desire. It runs solid and smooth as it sits naturally aspirated, but definitely has the foundation laid to add a supercharger or turbo, which I planned to do sometime soon until now. It is very fun to drive just as it sits though! Below are all of the mods that I can think of. I also have the original SVT Certificate that came with the car brand new. Please feel free to PM, email, or call with any questions at all. [email protected] (618) 604-9496 Brandon


Engine
- 2003-04 Cobra longblock 8.5:1 compression(9k miles)
- Forged internals
- Iron Block
- Mildly Ported/Polished (cleaned up) '03/'04 heads and '01 intake
- S&B Powerstack filter w/ custom intake tubing

Fuel

- 1997 return-style system and rails
- Kirban adjustable fuel pressure regulator
- Completely rebuilt/sonically cleaned fuel injectors (1k miles)
- Fuel pressure gauge (liquid filled)

Exhaust
- BBK ceramic coated long tube headers
- VRS x-pipe w/ high flow magnaflow cats
- Borla Stinger stainless steel catback

Drivetrain (Transmission-Rear)
- Tremec TKO 5-speed transmission (filled w/ Amsoil Synchromesh)
- Lakewood Bellhousing
- Ford Motorsport Aluminum Flywheel
- Centerforce Dual-Friction clutch
- Steeda Triax shifter
- UPR billet clutch quadrant and quick-click firewall adjuster
- New Ford OEM clutch cable
- Aluminum Driveshaft
- Rebuilt rear-end w/ 4.10 ring and pinion gears (Amsoil synthetic fluids)
- Upgraded differential cover w/ ARP bolts

Suspension/Brakes
- Eibach lowering springs
- Hotchkis caster/camber plates
- Tokico rear shocks
- Rear drilled/slotted rotors
- Red ceramic coated brake calipers

Cooling
- Visteon/C&R Racing Large 2-row aluminum radiator
- 180 degree thermostat
- Manual electric fan switch

Exterior
- 18x10.5 and 18x9 AFS ’03 Cobra wheels
- Toyo T1R tires 295/35/18 rear and 275/35/18 front
- New fender cobra emblems and grill emblem w/ subtle red inserts
- 14” shorty antenna
- Rear windows tinted

Interior
- Black leather seats from a 2002
- FMS carbon fiber/leather shift knob w/ stainless insert w/ shift pattern
- Carbon Fiber design black shift boot
- Kenwood Head Unit w/ Ipod port and MP3 port and remote control
- Mach 460 speakers

Tuning

- SCT SF3 Handheld Tuner
- Custom dyno-tune from PurPerformance in St. Charles, MO



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mrxr250rider

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nice car,i love those wheels. sorry if i missed it but why does it have a 94/95 wing and newer svt badge on the decklid it looks funny.
 

Rock777

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Wish you were local.

I'm just up the road from you. Heck, I bought it from around 2100 miles away, ha. I completely know what you mean though, is nice to be able to drive nearby and look at it.

nice car,i love those wheels. sorry if i missed it but why does it have a 94/95 wing and newer svt badge on the decklid it looks funny.

Thanks for the compliment. Not sure which of the two previous owners put the 94/95 "crab claw" wing on it, but I personally like it. To me, it's a tad more aggressive looking with the extra curve and sharper corner. As far as the badging, I replaced the SVT trunklid emblem when I put the different cobra fender and grilles emblems on. The original SVT trunklid emblem was looking a little dull and had some small cracks, so I replaced it for a cleaner look with a subtle touch of the more recent Cobras. Most have complimented on it, you say it looks funny, but it's all good, guess that's why they're called opinions.
 

triblk6spd

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Hrrrm...what kind of power does it make? Running an 8.5:1 comp in an NA configuration SHOULD yeild low hp and tq numbers. This seems a perfect platform for a more nonconventional (turbo?) Form of forced induction.
 

Rock777

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You are exactly right, it is definitely all set up to run a power adder, drivetrain is basically waiting. It put down 288rwhp and 288 rwtq on a 100+ degree day in July, so should put right around 300 on a cool day. It runs great N/A, but definitely has potential for a turbo or supercharger.

Hrrrm...what kind of power does it make? Running an 8.5:1 comp in an NA configuration SHOULD yeild low hp and tq numbers. This seems a perfect platform for a more nonconventional (turbo?) Form of forced induction.
 

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