Brother's '88 Mustang Cobra EXTREME makeover

[lamonpat]

Well, I know it's not a Ford forum, but I just had to share.
My brother redid his 88 Ford Mustang GT Cobra over the last 6 months. He always wanted that model of Mustang and he bought his in April 2005. The day he bought it, he knew that he had to make this car "his". So the work began in the fall, as a winter project. Now he's about 85% done, the interior is still to do this summer.


Here how he bought it.

[lamonpat]

Then in the fall...

[lamonpat]

Then in the begining of May...

[lamonpat]

And finaly how it's looking now...

[lamonpat]

The front bumper is little darker than the rest of the body but not as bad as it shows on the pics.

[lamonpat]

.

[lamonpat]

last one...
I know, the "Crazy Horse" on the window has to go and it will, once we get the time to do it right.

[jayhawk]

I see his old Sunbird in the background. :wink:

And THANK GOD he painted it! What a lousy shade of green!

[lamonpat]

Yeah, that's the 90 Sunbird with a 305 in it. ;)
The Chevette will finish it's life as a derby car one day...

[Chain]

Much better looking..... That was a strange green color.

Only thing is need of tint.

[ManktheTank19]

Car looks sweet :)

[92CamaroRS]

I liked the green:???: But it looks nice teh way it is.

[lamonpat]

He's so proud of his Mustang. Heck, he did everything himself, except the rebuilt of the engine.
The green wasn't that bad in real, maybe it's the pic...

But guest you will have to clean it before car shows?

[GT2000]

Yeah the green wasn't bad, I would have rocked it, but the blue and grey is sweet. And I love fox bodies. Did he do anything to the engine modification wise? or just rebuild it?

[lamonpat]

He modified the engine... but I'm a big zero for "under the hood" things... so I can't tell what he did.

[JoeyK]

I'm def. not feelin' the paint scheme but the blue is real nice & overall the car looks pretty sweet. I love the old 5.0's:)

[lamonpat]

Actually, the car has 3 coats of black, then a coat a blue pearl (from the 2006 GMC Canyon), then a coat of silver pearl on the front (a GM color but I dunno for which car) and finally 4 coats of clear on top of that. We still haved polished the paint... gonna have to get it done in 2 weeks.

[JoeyK]

Originally posted by lamonpat
Actually, the car has 3 coats of black, then a coat a blue pearl (from the 2006 GMC Canyon), then a coat of silver pearl on the front (a GM color but I dunno for which car) and finally 4 coats of clear on top of that. We still haved polished the paint... gonna have to get it done in 2 weeks.

Ahhhh, ok. It's (WA) 9792 - Indigo Blue. That is a nice color. Both the GMC tricoats are very nice (The red & the blue) He's lucky he did not get solvent pop though with 4 coats of clear. Why are you polishing? orange peel? Dieback? Dirt?

Why didn't he put the bumper on the stand & paint it at the same time? The front bumpers way off. (Color match)

[lamonpat]

We have to polish because there's a little bit of dirt and a very small place with orange peal.
He didn't install the bumper on the car to paint it simply because of a lack of time at the paint room he had to rent. Also, the paint match is worst on the pics than it is in reality.

[JoeyK]

All in all looks like a good job. He must have some training, shooting a tri coat & having it turn out decent. Too bad on the bumper, tricoats are horrible to replicate perfectly, that's why you should always try & paint everything at once. it's cool though, most people would go for a solid color on a Mustang. I like the candy paintjob on it.

[XoticGA]

Scrumptious :D

[matts]

i like the paint job........it's those rims that would have to go if it were me. get me some Cobra R rims or just regular pony wheels.


and im not sure it's why im asking........but instead of having "Mustang GT" stamped on the rear/side fascia shouldn't it say "Cobra"??

[urweak]

paint work looks good. personally though i dont like the body style. I like the notch backs alot better.

[lamonpat]

Originally posted by matts

and im not sure it's why im asking........but instead of having "Mustang GT" stamped on the rear/side fascia shouldn't it say "Cobra"??

In those years, the Cobra was like a trim level of the Mustang GT.

The "Mustang GT" is graved (sp?) in the bumper cover, like the Pontiac is on the 99+GA.

As for the rims, he'll have to wait until next year because his bank account is now close to 0 :P

I keep telling him that the Mustang would have look better all blue.

[nineteen88ga]

Originally posted by lamonpat
Yeah, that's the 90 Sunbird with a 305 in it. ;)


Never mind the Mustang....lets see the sunbird!

[lamonpat]

There's a thread about that Sunbird from last summer somewhere on the GAOC.

[EKling]

are those wheels from an impala?

[lamonpat]

Nop, because they are 4 nuts and I suppose they are aftermarket.

[MJE95GAGT]

Wasn't 93 the only year for a fox body Cobra? Either way it looks great. I actually like that original green though

[92CamaroRS]

Originally posted by lamonpat
Nop, because they are 4 nuts and I suppose they are aftermarket.

Wouldn't a cobra have the 5 lug wheels? i thought only the 4 cyl models had the 4 lug wheels.

[TA^Guy]

Nice looking car but it's not a Cobra by any means.

The Modern Fox body Mustang Cobra was in 1993 only. It also had many different appearences over the GT. It had a LX style front grill opening between the headlights with a Pony logo, GT styled lower body panels without the vents in front of the wheel openings. The rear bumper cover wasn't as low and smoother in appearence, and the spoiler wasn't a wedge like the GT but instead a 4 post style. Tail lights were also special. They looked like LX lights but has small black horizontal stripes. Only other model they were found on were '94-'86 SVO Turbo Mustangs. And last two items are the turbine style wheels, and the obvious Cobra badges on the fenders. The only appearence difference with those and the rare Cobra Rs are the wheels. The R's have black 6 spoke wheels.
Originally posted by matts
...and im not sure it's why im asking........but instead of having "Mustang GT" stamped on the rear/side fascia shouldn't it say "Cobra"??
No because it's not a Cobra. :D
Originally posted by MJE95GAGT
Wasn't 93 the only year for a fox body Cobra? Either way it looks great. I actually like that original green though
Yes, '93 was the return of the 'Cobra' for the Mustang. There was no 1988 Cobra.
Originally posted by 92CamaroRS
Wouldn't a cobra have the 5 lug wheels? i thought only the 4 cyl models had the 4 lug wheels.
False. All Fox Bodies Mustangs had 4 lug wheels even the GTs. I even think the '93 Cobra's had 4 lug wheels but I know for a fact that the Cobra Rs had five lug wheels. IIRC in 1994 with introduction of the SN95 cars Ford switched to a 5 lug pattern.

[92CamaroRS]

Originally posted by TA^Guy
Nice looking car but it's not a Cobra by any means.

The Modern Fox body Mustang Cobra was in 1993 only. It also had many different appearences over the GT. It had a LX style front grill opening between the headlights with a Pony logo, GT styled lower body panels without the vents in front of the wheel openings. The rear bumper cover wasn't as low and smoother in appearence, and the spoiler wasn't a wedge like the GT but instead a 4 post style. Tail lights were also special. They looked like LX lights but has small black horizontal stripes. Only other model they were found on were '94-'86 SVO Turbo Mustangs. And last two items are the turbine style wheels, and the obvious Cobra badges on the fenders. The only appearence difference with those and the rare Cobra Rs are the wheels. The R's have black 6 spoke wheels.

No because it's not a Cobra. :D

Yes, '93 was the return of the 'Cobra' for the Mustang. There was no 1988 Cobra.

False. All Fox Bodies Mustangs had 4 lug wheels even the GTs. I even think the '93 Cobra's had 4 lug wheels but I know for a fact that the Cobra Rs had five lug wheels. IIRC in 1994 with introduction of the SN95 cars Ford switched to a 5 lug pattern.

You sure john? I know i don't know much about mustangs, but i know i've seen a ton of 5 lug GT's around, heck, one of my classmates has a 5 lug GT foxbody.

[nineteen88ga]

I've actually seen both 4 and 5 lug GT's.

[lamonpat]

Originally posted by TA^Guy


And last two items are the turbine style wheels, and the obvious Cobra badges on the fenders.
No because it's not a Cobra. :D



Yes it IS a GT Cobra. I don't know how it worked in the US, but here in Canada those GT Cobra were very popular in the 87-90 years. Here we see them all the time.
The car originaly had those turbine ugly wheels and the Cobra snakes on the front fender.
My brothers didn't put the turbine wheels back on the car because they were looking like crap, and for the Cobra snakes, they aren't on the car yet.

Edit : If I have the time during my lunch time, I'll try to find a pic of a GT Cobra.

[matts]

ive seen both 4 and 5 lug fox bodies too.

[3 DeeJay]

Looks good... jus as long as cobra symbols don't go on it...

[ramairgt2]

I had a 76 cobra mustang. It was a real pretty blue. The car is still in my family. I bought it from my sister when I was 16. She bought it from my brother who bought it from his girl friends dad who was the original owner. I sold the car to my niece. I might buy it back from her though soon. My dad always wanted a 90 mustang with the 5.0 and 5spd. none the less though Beautiful car bud

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by lamonpat
Yes it IS a GT Cobra. I don't know how it worked in the US, but here in Canada those GT Cobra were very popular in the 87-90 years. Here we see them all the time.
The car originaly had those turbine ugly wheels and the Cobra snakes on the front fender.
My brothers didn't put the turbine wheels back on the car because they were looking like crap, and for the Cobra snakes, they aren't on the car yet.

Edit : If I have the time during my lunch time, I'll try to find a pic of a GT Cobra.
I would love to see some information to back this up.

Because this is what a fox bodied Cobra looks like.
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003/09/93cobra/images/lead.jpg
If there are any Mustang in the world that I would own, one of them woul dbe a '93 Cobra or Cobra R, the other woulds be a '86 Mustang SVO or '86 Mustang GT.
Originally posted by 92CamaroRS
You sure john? I know i don't know much about mustangs, but i know i've seen a ton of 5 lug GT's around, heck, one of my classmates has a 5 lug GT foxbody.
If it's a 5 Lug it's very good change he converted it. My friend who owned the 9 second '87 GT converted his to a 5 lug so he could run Weld Dragstars.

Just for the heck of it I looked it up quickly and found a photo of a Cobra with aftermarket wheels showing off the 4 lugs just as I expected.
http://mustanglife.tenmagazines.com/mygallery.ten?id=3517


Like I said before I'm almost 100 positive that the only Fox bodied Mustang to have 5 lugs stock was the '93 Cobra R.
http://www.vcmoore.com/pics/cobrar/93r_81.jpg

Here a little info about the "R" after a quick search...

In the 1960's, Ford used the letter "R" in select production vehicle identification numbers to indicate a car was equipped with the maximum-performance version of that models most potent powerplant. In time, these models were commonly referred to as "R-code", "R-cars", and "R-models". Then in 1993, Ford released a competition-oriented version of its already unique 1993 Cobra Mustang. The Cobra Mustang with the "R" Competition Package was built and sold as a two-passenger automobile with specialty seating and the1993 Cobra "GT-40" powertrain. The race-oriented "R-package" involved improvements in the car's structure, chassis, cooling, and braking abilities. Ford's weight reduction program called for the elimination of the air-conditioning, radio, speakers, rear seats, rear carpeting, filler panels, insulation, padding, seam sealer, and rear safety belts. The reduction was effective by eliminating nearly 400 pounds from each car. However, an additional 250 pounds of weight was put back in, which was attributed to the radiator's increased capacity, the de-gas tank, oil cooler & plumbing, chassis stiffening, bracing, larger brakes, 5-lug wheel configuration, as well as the use of a full-size spare tire.

[MagusXIII]

Originally posted by TA^Guy
I would love to see some information to back this up.
Here you go, John.

http://www.mustanggt.org/canadiangt/canadiangt.htm#1984-1992

I remember that the Cobra was the EXACT same thing is a US GT from 1984 through 1992 for Canadian Mustangs. And a book I had (but cannot find right now) had a section on the Canadian Cobra. It was merely badging and decals for Canadian V8 models and there were no parts or performance difference from a 1984-1992 US GT.

[MagusXIII]

Originally posted by 92CamaroRS
You sure john? I know i don't know much about mustangs, but i know i've seen a ton of 5 lug GT's around, heck, one of my classmates has a 5 lug GT foxbody.
John already answered this for you, Cory. But I can vouch for the fact that most Fox bodies were 4lugs as my father's 1993 Cobra had 4lug turbine rims.

Originally posted by TA^Guy
Like I said before I'm almost 100 positive that the only Fox bodied Mustang to have 5 lugs stock was the '93 Cobra R.
John, the 84-86 SVO had 5lug rims.

http://www.foureyedpride.com/svo/svoportal.html

[TA^Guy]

Thanks Don for the clarification and link.

The addition of the “Cobra” name leads many people to believe that these cars have additional performance equipment or special features over a regular U.S. GT, but that is NOT the case. The bottom line is 1984-1992 Canadian Cobra GT’s are simply the Canadian version of the U.S.-sold 1984–1992 Mustang GT. The difference is in NAME only; there are NO fundamental differences between the Canadian and U.S. GT models. Performance-wise, the 1984-1992 Canadian Cobra GT’s were absolutely no different than their American GT counterparts (including horsepower figures, available engines, transmissions and suspensions). This fact has been verified through a number of sources including the comparison of Canadian vs. U.S. Ford sales brochures and individual car’s build sheets and window stickers.

So it's just a GT called something else. I stand corrected, however the only Cobra to us americans was in 1993. The Sexiest Fox body of them all IMO. :D

Originally posted by MagusXIII
John already answered this for you, Cory. But I can vouch for the fact that most Fox bodies were 4lugs as my father's 1993 Cobra had 4lug turbine rims.


John, the 84-86 SVO had 5lug rims.

http://www.foureyedpride.com/svo/svoportal.html
SOB! I knew that too... :) Don , I forgot your father owned one of my dream cars (yes, there is a Ford in my long list of cars I dream of owning), and the others would be a '86 SVO (The turbo hood, wheels and that dual split rear spoiler... god that was a sexy car. Plus it was the first year for composite headlamps, but they were still different than those on the '87-'93s.) And the thrid dream Stang of mine would be a red '86 GT with chrome '93 Pony wheels, twin turbohood, SVO dual spoiler. If you wan tto get real detailed welding in the fender flairs from a Capri woul dtop it off prefectly.... :drool:

[theGeneral]

Whoa, lots of work into that car.

[Refuse Winst]

THat car looks great... awesome work. There's only two small things I could really critique... one is the rims, they just don't really look right on the car, but that's been mentioned.

The other is that the color of the front bumper dosen't seem to match the rest of the car from the side.... just seems out of place. From the top you can really tell that it dosen't match the hood, seems weird.

http://gaownersclub.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=781920


Other than that, it's great!

[lamonpat]

Thanks for the comments!

The front bumper is now resprayed and match the rest of the car a whole lot better. We still have the remove the "Crazy Horse" on the windshield.

Here a pic of the Mustang all shined up at a local car show (before the bumper respray).

[lamonpat]

For the rims, my bro plans on buying new one someday. But for now they'll have to wait because he invested over 7000$ in the car since last fall and he is now broken... ;)