Vehicle Description
Well-built Factory Five Cobra roadster. Late-model Mustang Cobra
5.0 with Tremec 5-speed manual. Huge Wilwood disc brakes, AutoMeter
gauges. Fully sorted, ready to rock Cobra that's surprisingly easy
to live with.This gorgeous Factory 5 Cobra is a great illustration
of the virtues of factory engineering. It was built a few years ago
but you can see that they guys doing the fiberglass work really did
a nice job, because it's smooth, the panels fit well, and there's
just no evidence that it's 'glass until you rap your knuckles on
it. All the kit makers take a few liberties with the Cobra shape
(nobody can tell without an original sitting nearby anyway), but
the Factory 5 cars are more accurate than most and the stance on
this one looks downright predatory. With two extra inches of
wheelbase, there's a bit more room inside, but again, you'll never
notice just standing next to it and the driver will be eternally
grateful for the upgrade. The metallic green paint with white
stripes is a traditional Cobra look and we like the somewhat subtle
color combination. The addition of yellow hashmarks on the front
fender is a nice touch, and recalls when these were actual race
cars?hash marks were often used to help spotters tell the cars
apart from a distance or at night. Other thoughtful details include
the jacking stubs, mesh grilles over the headlights, and those
massive KC Highlighter driving lights in the grille opening?talk
about flamethrowers! For authenticity, this Cobra also wears
appropriate 'Powered by Ford' badges, bullet-style side mirror, and
a flip-up gas cap on the rear quarter. Nobody will mistake it for
anything else and it's quite nicely finished and ready to
rumble.The interior shows that this Cobra was built for combat,
eschewing the original low-back buckets in favor of modern
high-back racing shells with 5-point Simpson racing harnesses. The
rest is familiar Cobra, from the simple door pockets to the flat
dash wrapped in vinyl and filled with Auto Meter dials. A
wood-rimmed steering wheel is quite authentic-looking and the
drilled aluminum pedals are just plain cool. You'll note this car
includes a correct forward-canted shifter for the Tremec 5-speed
underneath, as well as a full switch panel to control the various
functions like lights, fuel pump, and other vitals. It is wired for
a stereo, but there is no head unit, so you could add that if you
like, but we suspect that the side pipes provide all the stereo
accompaniment you'd want. It's a bit of climb over the deep bucket
seat, and there's a bit of wear on that high-traffic spot, but the
rest is in excellent condition and shows minimal signs of use. Once
you're in there, the driving position is superb, the pedals are
well-arranged, and the steering feels hard-wired into your
cerebellum. The trunk is neatly finished with carpets and a pair of
charging stubs, but there is no top?in a Cobra, what's the
point?This Cobra should last practically forever, because under the
forward-tilting hood you'll find a bone-stock 5.0 liter V8 from a
Mustang Cobra. The distinctive intake manifold gives it away every
time, but by keeping it stock, reliability is bulletproof. And with
1000 fewer pounds to haul around than in the already pretty quick
Mustang, performance is electrifying. All the factory electronic
controls are still in place, so it starts easily, idles well, and
never gets fussy. A few dress-up parts like the finned aluminum
valve covers recall the '60s while a giant radiator with an
electric fan keeps it cool. A/C and power steering aren't on the
menu in a Cobra, but you do get nice features like a modern
alternator, hood struts to keep the hood open (most Cobra kits use
a prop rod), and a set of beautifully made exhaust headers that
dump into those satin-black side pipes. Even with 302 cubes instead
of 427, the sound is spectacular. Factory 5's chassis uses the same
round tube ladder setup that the originals used, with CAD
engineering to allow the Mustang components to bolt in place.
There's a Tremec 5-speed manual transmission with a stubby
driveshaft spinning the Mustang's 8.8-inch rear end, which feels
like it has 3.73 gears inside?this sucker is PUNCHY! The front
suspension uses custom coil-over shocks and tubular upper A-arms so
ride height is adjustable, while the rear still uses the Mustang
4-link setup with coil-overs and quad shocks to tame the rear end.
It works rather well, and this sucker does hook up hard! Brakes are
beefy Wilwood discs all around, with the rears being brand new and
installed at a cost of over $3000. Take a moment to note the
beautiful aluminum panel work on the floors, the heavily reinforced
chassis, and even the factory Mustang fuel tank hanging out back.
You'll have no problems servicing this Cobra and parts are
available just about anywhere. Ride quality is surprisingly good
for a Cobra and with so little weight, acceleration and braking
will strain your neck muscles. And while Halibrands are cool, the
17-inch Cobra R wheels on this Cobra work extremely well and carry
recent 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 rear Continental performance
radials.There's certainly a pecking order when it comes to Cobra
kits, but this green Cobra is right in the sweet spot: still
affordable, still fast, and extremely easy to own. You couldn't
build this car for the asking price and given the lead times on
kits, you could be having fun right away rather than two or three
years from now. That sounds like the best idea of all. Call
today!Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or
professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory prior to
purchase.
