[importowner]

So as my name implies, I am an import owner, they are all I drive and ever will drive, flame if you must, I have made my decision.

All that aside, my dad has started working at a predominantly Mustang performance shop lately and made him miss the days of his old Mach1.

Being around turbo mustangs all day has made him want a turbo mustang and he almost bought a new 07 Mustang GT TT, but I told him it would be more fun to do one ourselves.

So heres my question.

We have narrowed it down to the 02+ Mach1 or Cobra and we cant decide which. So.....which one?

Since he wants it turbo, I thought the Mach1 would be the better choice since the S/C would be useless and the Mach1 could be built to Cobra specs for less money than a cobra, possibly even built better.

But at the end of the day, my general knowledge of mustangs is QUITE limited.

Money isnt a HUGE issue, but we'd like to make it reasonable, though I am aware I am talking about a turbo mustang, so it wont be cheap by any means since I want it reliable.

Also, outside of a rear mounted turbo, are there any decent turbo kits for mustangs of that generation.

Please look past my silly import ways and help out my pops here.

[energiesource]

well they were only made in 03 and 04
but if you plan on going forced induction, id say a cobra, they have stronger blocks.

[importowner]

good to know. Around here there is no such thing as a stock Cobra, so they will want more than normal for mods I dont care about....so the price difference is a bit more than normal.

btw I had this site bookmarked for all the old johnny ricer movies...gotta love those.

[energiesource]

where is around here?
a tt cobra would be the idea setup.

[Saleenwolf720]

I would go for the 03-04 cobra bro. They have stronger blocks as well as stronger internals from the factory. Also, both hellion and HP performance have excellent turbo/twin turbo kits for that car.

By the way, I'd like to think the people here at MM are above import flaming, so feel free to stick around since we could always use another import driver's perspective.

[energiesource]

Originally Posted by Saleenwolf720 By the way, I'd like to think the people here at MM are above import flaming, so feel free to stick around since we could always use another import driver's perspective.

Haha not so sure on that part

[Saleenwolf720]

Originally Posted by energiesource Originally Posted by Saleenwolf720 By the way, I'd like to think the people here at MM are above import flaming, so feel free to stick around since we could always use another import driver's perspective. Haha not so sure on that part

hehe :wink , well I always welcome new perspectives, and usually the only imports that get ripped on were asking for it.

[weems]

if money isnt a problem , go with the cobra , much better platform..

a mach isnt really made for boost , we have 10:1 comp.

[RyanGT]

Well if they going with forged internals then they could get dished pistons with the mach.

[energiesource]

but the interals in the cobra will already handle ANYTHING you put into it, so why bother with the mach and the aluminum block

[G.T. Rags]

Originally Posted by weems if money isnt a problem , go with the cobra , much better platform.. a mach isnt really made for boost , we have 10:1 comp.

coughs nitrous coughs

[RyanGT]

I thought only the termi's were fully forged?

[04GTAMPA]

The Cobra will be easier to build. Minimal work implied and much better platform to work with. As for the Mach, it could go great with some aggressive cams and an F1 or Twin 70+ Turbos. Otherwise, the Cobra will hold close to 900-950 safely on a turbo and only about 800 on a supercharger.

[DrHolliday]

Another thing to keep in mind is the cobra has the independent rear suspension. and the mach has the solid rear axle.

[neckbonekat]

Originally Posted by DrHolliday Another thing to keep in mind is the cobra has the independent rear suspension. and the mach has the solid rear axle.

Wouldn't changing out the rear of the Cobra be cheaper than forging the Mach 1 engine?

[importowner]

Originally Posted by neckbonekat Originally Posted by DrHolliday Another thing to keep in mind is the cobra has the independent rear suspension. and the mach has the solid rear axle. Wouldn't changing out the rear of the Cobra be cheaper than forging the Mach 1 engine?

(Ben Stein) Anyone? Anyone?

Originally Posted by Saleenwolf720 By the way, I'd like to think the people here at MM are above import flaming, so feel free to stick around since we could always use another import driver's perspective. hehe :wink: , well I always welcome new perspectives, and usually the only imports that get ripped on were asking for it.

I hope thats true, as I dont tend to go around picking fights like the guys who come on our import sites and tell us to crash out cars into a brick wall seeing as they are only good for the scrap metal

And from what I know about V8s, yall dont need much boost to make hella good power, so wouldnt a 10:1 compression car help make more power at the same boost lvl, seeing as I dont plan on running any crazy boost pressures. And how strong are the rods on the mach? Also as mentioned since I wont be running crazy boost numbers, do you see the aluminum block being THAT big a drawback.

No nitrous. However safe it may be, its out of the question.

And Lets just say I live in Texas.

[HessiaN257]

I would def. go with Cobra. My friend has a Procharged Mach 1, and blew a rod through the block with only 10 pounds of boost. 10:1 compression ratio is a little high if you are running boost, it really wouldn't be a safe thing to have.

[06RedfireGT]

The Cobra anyday of the week. You could easily make 800rwhp on pump gas with that car. The Machs are still great cars, but for high HP boosted applications the Cobra is better. The only downside is the IRS but you could make it work, or swapping in a solid axle isn't too bad.

[02StangGToWNEr]

Like everyone else said, just go with the Cobra, and call it a day. Stock, the Cobra will beat most contenders on the Streets, besides Z06 Vettes and other exotic-like cars.

[C MY 4D]

Go with the cobra.....

YouTube - FastMark's 03 Cobra 8.95@154 Hellion 88mm turbo

YouTube - FastMark's 03 Cobra 8.95@154 Hellion 88mm turbo

Just got back home from the strip. I ended up running a best of a 9.75@141. The motors bone stock with the hellion T76 turbo kit, 4r70W, solid axle, running on the 335 Hoosiers. I ran out of time but made about 8 passes and every pass got faster and faster. The tune up is still way to mild, 23 PSI, 14 degrees of timing and mid 10-1 AFR. I did use a 75 shot to spool the turbo up because I don't have a transbrake and can only hold about 3000 RPM on the brakes, which is 0 PSI. I tried running the nitrous out on a full pass but the car went slower because it's a wet kit and I was only seeing about 750 PSI and it went rich and started to misfiring. The best part of the day was the crowd, they gave my car a lot of attention because it's so quiet and appears totally stock (wheels and all) and ran 9's, it was way too fun. In the morning I'll figure out how to get the Video off my wife's Sony handcam.

YouTube - FastMark's 03 Cobra 8.95@154 Hellion 88mm turbo

YouTube - FastMark's 03 Cobra 8.95@154 Hellion 88mm turbo