MM&FF set on ruining 1331 mile Teal Cobra

[93SVTCobra]

It's his car.....let him enjoy it any way he sees fit.....

We don't have to agree with what he's doing to it but at the same time I don't really want anyone telling me what to do with my cars.

 

[BADBOYSPACK]

Anyway, where can I get the latest fart can?

I wouldnt know, as you so kindly put it to all of us that "You are probably the same guy's that beat off to Barret Jackson "

I hardly ever watch it to be honest with you.

 

[LEE93COBRA]

It's his car.....let him enjoy it any way he sees fit.....

.

+1


For the purists here rest easy, they are helping the value of your car go up.

That seems to be a concern with some people here

 

[9 deuce gt]

I wouldnt know, as you so kindly put it to all of us that "You are probably the same guy's that beat off to Barret Jackson "

I hardly ever watch it to be honest with you.

Ok. Well, if you find any deals on the mufflers, let me know please. Im jealous of the Cobra, so what better way to rebel than to have a loud Accord!

 

[BADBOYSPACK]

Wow, the all might fart can exhaust, not my cup of tea.

 

[Robert M]

It'll add some more desire to our cars and make them just that much more valuable.

I agree, reading about, and seeing a project on the pages of a magazine do much to keep the hobby going. It is something the average guy can relate to. Seeing and reading about a concours restored example of a specific car is nice for many, but a "build it up from scratch" attracts a very large readership also. Keeping these Fox bodies up in the lime light will keep the desire going. It will attract the person who was not able to get into these cars 10-15+ years ago and is now at the point in their career/life to pull the trigger on either a nice original, or project in the making. At one point in time, 5.0, MM&FF, S.F. etc. were all individual magazines and very thick (many articles and features, vendors, advertisements, etc.). I have them from that time period, I also have them from recent times, the later magazines are not as thick, why?, less readership, less interest, less vendors advertising, etc. I think 5.0 and S.F are even combined now, why? the readership had dwindled and the magazines were having a hard time staying afloat as independent titles. The interest and features have to stay with the following in the hobby. A low mile 93 Cobra roller is an interesting project for many out there. It is not often that a nice low mile Cobra roller (or any Cobra) is available for a magazine project and thrashing. It would be nice to see the import magazines (which are now the "thick ones") get thin and the Mustang magazines get thick again. <--We'll see. The magazine(s) have to appeal to the "dream" of the hobbiest. Some dream of wrappers, paint daubs and inkstamps, others dream of standing the car (possibly a 93 cobra) up on its rear bumper at the drag strip.

Thick Mustang magazines are good for all of us in the Mustang hobby.

R

 

[LEE93COBRA]

I agree, reading about, and seeing a project on the pages of a magazine do much to keep the hobby going. It is something the average guy can relate to. Seeing and reading about a concours restored example of a specific car is nice for many, but a "build it up from scratch" attracts a very large readership also. Keeping these Fox bodies up in the lime light will keep the desire going. It will attract the person who was not able to get into these cars 10-15+ years ago and is now at the point in their career/life to pull the trigger on either a nice original, or project in the making. At one point in time, 5.0, MM&FF, S.F. etc. were all individual magazines and very thick (many articles and features, vendors, advertisements, etc.). I have them from that time period, I also have them from recent times, the later magazines are not as thick, why?, less readership, less interest, less vendors advertising, etc. I think 5.0 and S.F are even combined now, why? the readership had dwindled and the magazines were having a hard time staying afloat as independent titles. The interest and features have to stay with the following in the hobby. A low mile 93 Cobra roller is an interesting project for many out there. It is not often that a nice low mile Cobra roller (or any Cobra) is available for a magazine project and thrashing. It would be nice to see the import magazines (which are now the "thick ones") to get thin and the Mustang magazines get thick again. <--We'll see. The magazine(s) have to appeal to the "dream" of the hobbiest. Some dream of wrappers, paint daubs and inkstamps, others dream of standing the car (possibly a 93 cobra) up on its rear bumper at the drag strip.

Thick Mustang magazines are good for all of us in the Mustang hobby.

R

very well said Robert and I agree completely

 

[cobra186]

I also agree and understand they are in the business to sell magazines and not to worry about the collectability of certain vehicles.

My main point to the the thread was they are doing it to a 1300 mile cobra. I would have traded them a running/drving high mile cobra even for their stripper. They could have written a lot more tech articles from a high mile car that will need resto. work on the interior, mouldings, suspension etc etc. that this low mile car does not need.

 

[stangbear427]

^ Agreed.

 

[19COBRA93]

Maybe they're focusing on the low mile roller for a reason. There are quite a few people out there with low mile rollers, or project cars. Maybe they're building this one to sort of guide that group on ideas and what they could do with them.

Like for example, that Teal one that keeps getting tossed around, I wish someone would just finish the damn thing. I nearly bought it a couple years ago myself.

Anyway, I'm sure there's some logic to why they're building that particular one. Has anyone tried contacting them?

 

[Robert M]

I also agree and understand they are in the business to sell magazines and not to worry about the collectability of certain vehicles.

My main point to the the thread was they are doing it to a 1300 mile cobra. I would have traded them a running/drving high mile cobra even for their stripper. They could have written a lot more tech articles from a high mile car that will need resto. work on the interior, mouldings, suspension etc etc. that this low mile car does not need.

Yes, if a higher mile, more used Cobra would have been available and fit the criteria they are expecting to present in future magazine issues, it would have been better.

However living here in Lakeland where Primedia and these magazine titles were based until about a year ago, and knowing many/most of these editors personally, and also knowing some of the Amos Publishing editors, I know where they are coming from. To even get a magazine project car started they have to first of all agree with their senior managment what a buget is going to be on a specific magazine project, then the specific vehicle has to be approved that fits into that budget, then they contact vendors for specific parts/products to be used and mentioned in upcoming features/articles related to the project(s). Last of all they have to judge the market for what is "hot" and will sell magazines related to the specific project car that fit into the budget and was available to them for a price within the budget. If restoring these cars at this time is a small "niche market" and the car is not quite of age to be of highly restorable interest, the project and the car which fit into the budget goes a different direction. If restoration is the top interest in the current market, a restoration project is the best way to bring new readership/$$$.

All of this said, if modding is "hot" and the car that they could find (that fit the budget) was a low mile roller, that is the best budget option at that time. If restoration is the "hot" item, then a higher mile car that is complete would be the better magazine option. Most of the time, a magazine budget on a car this new, Cobra or not, will not allow for a restoration first to bring it up to magazine quality, and then the mods after that which are the current "hot interests" in readership.

Without the magazines pumping out interest in these cars, they, the magazine guys would not make money, they would be out of a job and the hobby would suffer to the other guys who are on the news stand. The price/interest in these cars would quickly flatten.

Like I said, yes it would have been nice to use a "more used" Cobra, but how many magazine quality Cobra's that are complete and ready for modding are out there for that price? Not many that I can think of. Remember, a car this new would most likely not have a budget for a restoration and modding. So the question again is, what will sell magazines and bring new or renewed interest to the hobby, which also makes money for the magazine guys? and stays within a realistic budget for the type of vehicle that it is, given its age and desirability at that specific time?

R

 

[Robert M]

I would have traded them a running/drving high mile cobra even for their stripper. They could have written a lot more tech articles from a high mile car that will need resto. work on the interior, mouldings, suspension etc etc. that this low mile car does not need.

I also want to add, if you knew them, the magazine editor(s) and they knew you at the time all of this project was decided, possibly a trade could have been made? maybe? But then again if restoration was not in a realistic budget and not as "hot" as "modding", they would continue with something that does not need so much work in a direction they were not intending to go, restoration. I have followed many 5.0 restoration features in Mustang Monthly including most, if not all of the items you listed above, they are common among most any of the Fox body cars Cobra or not, but building a modded Cobra in the magazine, that stands alone.

BTW-What is in the magazine right now is 3-4 months behind what has actually been done to the car, if the project has gone forward on a schedule, the car is well beyond a "original roller" by now.

R

 

[19COBRA93]

Yeah, they likely bought this car 6 months ago.

 

[Robert M]

I guess that I should also mention, if a magazine title leans a spcific direction, lets say "modded cars" and the editors of that magazine are who found this project roller, most likely the car is going to get modded, that is their magazine interest/following, for the most part. If this Cobra would have been found by, lets say, Donald Farr at Mustang Monthly, which leans more toward restorations and original cars, this roller, if accepted as a magazine project car, could have gone a whole different direction, it all depends upon which magazine title/editor(s) find which cars for magazine projects.

R

 

[Robert M]

Yeah, they likely bought this car 6 months ago.

When Primedia was here, I had helped on a number of projects. Sometimes cars would sit on the back lot for a long time, months, or even a year or longer waiting for a budget, a story, time, vendor parts, etc.

R

 

[2001BlackSVT]

If this car was an R model I could see where you guys were coming from, but it's just a cobra, of which a few THOUSAND were made. It's not a few hundred vehicle limited production run like the 93R, 95R, and 00R, or the 1994 Hardtop Convertle Cobras, or even the mystics. The car is only 13 years old, it's missing the drivetrain, who gives a shit if they mod it? Personally, I'd rather mod a car with low miles, because it would be in awesome shape and would take less money to make it look nice. Maybe I'm naive but I hardly see that car as a "collector"

 

[9 deuce gt]

What would happen if they make this car really nice. Say a T56, built 8.8, a nicely built 306 or 347 with all the latest technology making 425-450 hp, large brakes (Baer or keep the Ford Cobra theme, possibly Brembos), some nice 5 lug wheels to go with the brakes, and totally detail the stock paint. Keep the interior stock. I and many of you would classify that as a sweet car. What if this is the car MM&FF builds and only takes it to the darg strip to "see what it can do" and occasionaly to the autocross.

What would your impressions be then? What if they don't build this thing into a dyno/track/thrash mule? Would the opposition still be there for you guy's?

 

[cobra186]

If this car was an R model I could see where you guys were coming from, but it's just a cobra, of which a few THOUSAND were made. It's not a few hundred vehicle limited production run like the 93R, 95R, and 00R, or the 1994 Hardtop Convertle Cobras, or even the mystics. The car is only 13 years old, it's missing the drivetrain, who gives a shit if they mod it? Personally, I'd rather mod a car with low miles, because it would be in awesome shape and would take less money to make it look nice. Maybe I'm naive but I hardly see that car as a "collector"

You obviously have no clue about the 93 Cobra market. If these cars were not considered collectable... they would not be bringing 2-3 times what NADA and KBB say book value is. The 93 Cobra is one of the first late model collector cars and is highly sought after for many reasons.

If this 1300 mile car was put back stock it would bring more than its original MSRP, which can't be said about 99% of car that are less than 20 years old.

 

[buddha93]

As it's been said several times over, it's the editors car and he can do with it as he wishes.

While a restoration would be ideal to someone who wants to store it as a collector car, many more (myself included) couldn't just sit on it and hope it goes up in value, putting little if any miles on it.

If I wanted a low mileage Cobra for the collector value, I'd just plunk down the the big bucks for one with the original drivetrain. I'm not saying there's a huge selection of them out there, but we've all seen them pop up over the last 18 months or so, especially since the 07' Shelby was announced.

 

[stangbear427]

If this car was an R model I could see where you guys were coming from, but it's just a cobra, of which a few THOUSAND were made. It's not a few hundred vehicle limited production run like the 93R, 95R, and 00R, or the 1994 Hardtop Convertle Cobras, or even the mystics. The car is only 13 years old, it's missing the drivetrain, who gives a shit if they mod it? Personally, I'd rather mod a car with low miles, because it would be in awesome shape and would take less money to make it look nice. Maybe I'm naive but I hardly see that car as a "collector"

That's because you aren't looking at the right numbers. Forget about the R's, they're irrelevent. Forget about the missing drivetrain, it doesn't matter. All that matters is the mint condition and the odometer. I'll tell you why it's a collector:
4993 Fox SVT Cobras. Total. Ever. You say "thousands" like it's a lot. You know how many Mustangs Ford made in the AeroFox body? HUNDREDS of thousands. In 1993 alone there were over 114,000 Mustangs made, almost 50,000 5.0 GT & LX's. JUST IN '93. And less than 5,000 Cobras. Is this falling into perspective yet? Maybe not? OK, lets keep going:
Over 6000 Cobras in 1994. But wait- '94 was the beginning of the SN95. If you want an SN95 Cobra, they made another 5008 of them (NOT including R's) in '95
10,000+ more in '96
10,000+ more in '97
10,000+ more in '98

See where this is going? If you want a real, SN95 Cobra, there were well over 40,000 made. How many Fox Cobras again? Yeah. But wait:
There were 8,095 Cobras made in 1999. The "New Edge". I assume I don't need to keep going to make my point. You want to know who gives a shit? I do. Not that '93 Cobras are getting modded, what's a Mustang if you can't mod it? But don't go blowing it off like there's plenty to go around because it isn't a Cobra R. That's just stupid. Don't be an idiot. Of those 4993 Fox Cobras, how many haven't been totalled? Cut up and turned into all out racecars? How many do you think that leaves on the road? Of those still on the road, how many are in perfect condition with less than 2,000 miles on them? I'd bet there are more impossibly low mile 1993 Cobra R's. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this is a rare car, I don't care if it has an engine or not. I won't know how I feel about what's being done to this car until I see it done, I'm on the fence. If they build it like 9Deuce specified and treat it real nice I'll cream my pants over it. I can appreciate finding a nice clean project as much as the next guy- but that's no reason to downplay what this "roller" really is.
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