Question on buying a terminator in FL

[Nikola_Tesla]

hi guys, i joined a few months ago, wanting to buy a terminator, however got busy moving to FL. I found a terminator cobra for sale, wanted to get some opinions from the experts here. I saw the car last week and visually the car looked/sounded decent..and pulled hard.

Engine is built, the owner had the CP pistons put in with all ARP fasteners including Head studs etc.. the car also has a solid rear axle, switched out from the IRS. Has couple of nice upgrades like twin disc clutch etc. Question is, is the car worth selling my daily driver Lexus to buy it? I figured id daily it for a few months and get another daily.

Here’s the craigslist ad..

Mustang cobra 2004 🛑clean title🛑 terminator✅


Thank you for your time

 

[MG0h3]

I always get curious when I see only 500 miles on a new engine and its for sale. Then again I have a Cj5 with a 408W like that after 2yrs.

Car has a lot of stuff going on that has the potential to be good or bad. Straight axle and coil overs usually means it was raced. Is that a deal breaker? Does it have an aftermarket K up front? Looks like the wheels are sitting a little shallow in the wells.

I'd spend a lot of time talking to this guy and ask about the engine and who built it. Receipts? Go over it with a fine tooth comb.

 

[BlksvtCobra01]

I always get curious when I see only 500 miles on a new engine and its for sale. Then again I have a Cj5 with a 408W like that after 2yrs.

Car has a lot of stuff going on that has the potential to be good or bad. Straight axle and coil overs usually means it was raced. Is that a deal breaker? Does it have an aftermarket K up front? Looks like the wheels are sitting a little shallow in the wells.

I'd spend a lot of time talking to this guy and ask about the engine and who built it. Receipts? Go over it with a fine tooth comb.

I agree. OP have a compression test done before thinking about purchasing, check for leaks too.


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[COOL COBRA]

For 20k, and that many miles & potential unanswered questions, I'd keep looking.
Normally a SRA swap car wasn't built for a casual cruiser.

 

[Nikola_Tesla]

Thank you guys. He had sent me few pics of the motor getting built. Looks like he reused the manley rods. I had checked for leaks and couldn’t see any visually last week. He said he wants to sell it to get a nice daily, he also has a lightning truck which has more work done to it.

As far as the front goes, im not sure, all he said was it was lowered and the rims and the offset make it appear that way as in “tucked”..

 

[MG0h3]

Grab the title or run a carfax to see how long hes had it. Longer the better in my opinion.

If it isn't all ragged out I could see 18k.

Something looks off about the car. Could just be the wheels though.

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[01yellercobra]

I'm pretty sure you can see a round tube behind the brakes in the one pic. My guess would be they used foxbody control arms instead of the SN95 arms. I know theres about a 3/4" difference between the fox and SN95 arms that MM makes.

I'd really be curious as to what mods it had. A rebuilt engine and a pullied eaton don't go together IMO.

 

[MG0h3]

Ok I see the aftermarket tubular k member now. You can see the black tubes coming up to the bottom of the strut tower

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[1Kona_Venom]

no

 

[NateDogg]

Rule #1 about living in Florida.

Dont buy cars from Miami. They usually are shit boxes put together with stolen parts.

I'd pass.

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[Nikola_Tesla]

Thank you all for the comments, i talked to him and the whole reasoning of building the motor and putting a solid axle was going turbo in the future...carfax claims its a clean title. I am thinking i may just pass on it and keep looking in this forum for a cobra.

 

[TK1299]

Looks like the wheels are sitting a little shallow in the wells.

Wheels are definitely offset. It's almost like the wheels are back spaced for a different vehicle.

 

[MG0h3]

Thank you all for the comments, i talked to him and the whole reasoning of building the motor and putting a solid axle was going turbo in the future...carfax claims its a clean title. I am thinking i may just pass on it and keep looking in this forum for a cobra.

How long has he had the car? My car is in great condition with more miles and I'm considering going turbo. It would end up with a lot of the parts this guy has. The coil overs and aftermarket K (if its a good one) are expensive parts. I have $3k dollar wheels on my car that I sometimes considering swapping out for a drag setup so maybe hes in the middle of that. Just be cautious.

Wheels are definitely offset. It's almost like the wheels are back spaced for a different vehicle.

Ya seems odd for sure......

 

[thatdude305]

Thank you all for the comments, i talked to him and the whole reasoning of building the motor and putting a solid axle was going turbo in the future...carfax claims its a clean title. I am thinking i may just pass on it and keep looking in this forum for a cobra.

I live up in Ft Lauderdale. I would be very very careful with what comes out of Miami. First of all if your getting a terminator you need the IRS. SRA kills these cars. pass on this, there is always good cars for sale always. join SVT performance facebook group and look there also. Let me know if you have any questions

 

[josephcostello]

My opinion: that cars been hit in the front. Passenger bumper doesn't line up right it seems, paint around shock tower looks trash, theres paint on the bushings to cushion the hood and whats up with the wheels in the front? For 20k, there are wayy more terminators that are 10x better and haven't been gone through.

EDIT: Second picture from the side you can see a change in color of paint between drivers fender and door, may be the lighting. Then scroll to the pic of the engine bay and you can see a bolt missing from the center of the fender on the drivers side where it's not missing on the passenger. The other bolts seem to have been moved at some point as the paint on them is chipped.