I've been looking at different mustangs to replace the 99 coupe I have. My options are looking to be 99 GT 35th SE, 2001 GT, 99 Cobra, or 97 Cobra. Why 97? Because it has to be Mystic!

My questions are:
what car is the best investment? It will be a daily driver.
Do the 99 and 97 snakes have forged internals? How well will they handle a supercharger in the future?
Are there any mechanical issues I should know before I make a decision in the near future?

Thanks in advance!

 

The mystics were in 96 only.

Since it will be your daily driver, don't look at it as an investment, but rather what you will enjoy driving day in and day out.

If you have a 99 now, you might wan to consider an 01 Bullitt, or the 01-02 GT you mentioned.

 

In my past experiences, I've known what I wanted, but then I settled for what I could find. Decide exactly what you want in the way of power, color, and body style and then look for that. If you want a 99 Cobra, dont get a 99GT. I did the same thing. I love the GT, but I regretted not holding out for what I wanted. It took me till my 3rd car to get exactly what I wanted. Not sure if that helps though.......

 

No 97 and 99 cobras dont have forged internals from the factory. That is the weak part of the cars. I think the most power you can safely make is around 480 rwhp and that may be a little bit to high still.

 

Doh! Yeah, I meant '96. Anyway, thanks for the input so far...

I won't settle. That's what I did when I bought the coupe. I'm actually selling the mustang to buy my long-time girlfriend an engagement ring (she doesn't know that though). So if anyone is interested in a 99 coupe with 01 or 02 (can't remember which) GT leather seats in it and has been babied drop me a PM or email and make an offer.

480 rwhp is more than enough I don't want to buy the car I'll die in...yet. I'm leaning toward the mystic 96, the 99 cobra, or the 01 GT. Hopefully I can look to get it in the winter after tax time. I'd love to have a DHG bullitt, but...i may be looking for quite a while to find one that the owner doesn't think is made of gold.

 

I think I know where you can get a 96 mystic car from. Its in ga. Let me know if your interested and I will find out the specifics on the car.

 

as far as cobra's i'll give me take on all teh years with a 4.6L.

96-98's. Great motor, specially for blown applications. Lots of guys have pushed hte limits of these motors and had great luck. A good friend of mine has a 96 with a vortech, 530rwhp and no issues. I personally would stay around 450rwhp. Another friend has over 300 passes on his stock 98 motor. With over 600rwhp from a vortech, 4.56 gears, and a c4 tranny, he was crossing the 1/4 trap at 8300rpm (give or take a few). That motor lasted along time till it finnaly went out. These flow best for a blower car (aside from an 03). I dont like the t-45 tranny. Other than that, its a solid car. N/a form, i highly recommend 4.10 gears or higher.

99/01 cobra's.. they are good cars. powerful n/a motors, dont make quite as much with a blower as a 96-98 car, but a p1sc with 12lbs of boost and 3 core intercooler brought 455rwhp out of a friend of mines 01. Good on nitrous. I'm not fond of the IRS. 4.10's are perfect for this car in a n/a form. BEWARE of wheel hop though, it'll break a half shaft in the IRS quick.

96-01 cobra's all have a 8bolt forged steel crank, but that is the only thing forged.

03's... the badarse of the cobra's. Blower from the factory, built COMPLETELY forged motor capabale of 900rwhp+ with the right tuning and mods. Only cobra to have forged internals. (crank rod and piston). Responds extremely well to mods. for $1500 you can have a 500rwhp car pretty easy. The IRS had some changes made, but still isnt that great. The addition of Bilstein HD struts and shocks made this car handle much better. t-56 6-speed tranny was put in place to handle the power of the car and does it rather well. Its a great all around car.

 

Get the 01 Cobra. You get the revised B' Heads, better flowing intake, Coil on Plug ignition, and more low-end torque. Plus when (and if) you decide to go dedicated drag racing, you can always find someone who is willing to swap their stick axle for an IRS. You also get a nicer riding stang.

The reason I don't say 99 is that most of them has some power issues which the dealer had to recall and fix. Although it was supposed to be fixed, Ford changed the tuning in 01 to take advantange of free flowing components.

Good Luck!

 

what car is the best investment? Probably the 96 Mystic.
Do the 99 and 97 snakes have forged internals? No, but yeah know that now.
How well will they handle a supercharger in the future? The DOHC will probably handle it better in the long run.
Are there any mechanical issues I should know before I make a decision in the near future? 99 - down on power due to some manuf (outsourced) issues. Required the FIX to meet advertised power specs.

My recommendation .... not on the list a 01 Cobra or {on the list} the 96 Mystic ... love the DOHC. Although the KB SOHCs are looking impressive.

Tough call.

 

The only reason I liked the idea of getting the 99 Cobra would be that they would be cheaper due to to stigma associated with them and they would be the newer body style. But since the 96 seems to have a little more potential and is more blower friendly, the 96 seems to be the way. Plus the mystic cobra has a always been kinda like my personal 'eleanor' in the way we've been close, but never got her. So I guess I just have to decide between the 96 cobra and the 01 GT.

I checked and though the 01 cobra would be nice, the prices would have to come down some more. The 01 GT's advantage to me is that they can be a little cheaper and easier to find than the 96 cobra and can be automatic. I do a fair amount of city driving and I'm not sure how great it would be to ride one of those infamous clutches that long. Those mystics can be hard to find though, or at least the ones that aren't modded up already and/or ridden hard at the track.

Please continue if any one else has any input. I'd love to get as much info on them as possible!