[bigfoot]

Hi im new here and sorry to say im more of a chevy guy but im lookin in to getting a Mustang. i'm not sure of what year to look at though. I need a daily driver around $15,000. I l ike the '03 cobra alot. I want a supercharged 4.6L but im not sure thats the way to get the most power for the money. whats the best bang for the buck?

[NMR-2vGT]

Welcome to the site!!!

[NMR-2vGT]

To answer your question, the 03 Cobra is the best bang for the buck but your going to have trouble finding one for 15k.

[GTsetGO]

what lethal said. i wouldn't trust any 03/04 cobra that was that low

[MikeD05GT]

get a sn95 cobra for 9k with good miles and in good shape and spend the rest on a blower or tt

[Blk01ponyGT]

yeah you wont find a termi for 15k....get earlyer cobra like jlaw said and build it up..its still a pretty good 4v base

[Eagle2000GT]

The only Mustang with forged rods and pistons is the 03/04 Cobra. Whether 4v, 3v, or 2v, all other Mustangs have cast rods and pistons and are limited to around 420 rwhp. If you are going to supercharge (and you do not intend to rebuild the motor) it really doesn't matter which motor you buy. The Cobras and Mach 1s have a better suspension than the GT. Cobras have independent rear suspension which is supposed to be better for road racing, but not as good for drag racing.

If all you want is a fast daily driver for $15,000 then buy a 99-00 GT (They already come with the performance improved heads) for $7-8k and put a supercharger on it.

[HMUSN]

welcome to the forums

[MikeD05GT]

yea but id still get t earlier cobra...i personally think its the best bang for buck

[00vabchgt]

welcome to MM. and yes, if you're looking for a blown 4.6L, your best bet is with an 03/04 Cobra...

[KingChronic]

welcome. theres no doubt the 03/04 is the most bang for the buck.

as for buying a older cobra, and building it up, it would cost more than a 03/04. i tried that route. i had a 99 cobra. and bought ALLL kinds of stuff. bought all the internals, boguht 03/04 heads (cheaper than porting the 99's).

i had spent about $8K, and i still didnt have a tranny, rear end, or power adder. and i was doing my own labor, so that was no problem.

i ended up cutting my losses, selling the car to a friend for $11,500, selling the same friend all the the other stuff for $4500, had $16K in my pocket, put naother $10K down and got a really low miles 1 owner 100% stock 03.

so take it from somebody who tried that move. its cheaper to just get the 03 to start with.

[bigfoot]

Ya I really like the '03 cobra. I Dont know how much I will be spending forsure yet. Im finishing high school a year ahead of time and I start work the week after I get out of school. I want to save up like $5,000 and then take a loane out to pay for the rest. I know this might be a dumb ? but I dont know till i ask so what dose 2v,3v, or 4v mean. I'm new to Ford like I said befor and I really want to learn some more about Mustangs. Thanks for the help sofar.

[KingChronic]

2v, 3v, and 4v are how many valves there are per cylinder. 4V > the rest

[MikeD05GT]

really?? i geuss i could see it being just as much money...jsut go for termi then man...it has everything u want stock lol go figure....and 2v 3v 4v are valves per cylinder...

[Eagle2000GT]

As a Chevy guy, you're probably used to a 4 inch piston. The 3.5 inch bore in the 4.6 motor limits the size of the valves. (There are after market 2v heads with larger valves but the motor has to be bored out .030s over to use them.) To increase the air flow Ford went with a dual overhead cam 4v head for the Cobras and Mach 1s. In '05 they upgraded the heads on the GT to a single overhead cam 3v head. As far as air flow goes 4v > 3v > 2v. The 2v GTs can overcome much of the breathing problem with the use power-adders (superchargers, turbochargers, or N2O).

The 03/04 Cobra is an elite car. Not only is it fast from the factory but it has huge potential beyond that. It is also an expensive car. If you have a limited budget, you can get near stock terminator performance out of a GT for under $15,000. It all depends on what you want and can afford.

[Eagle2000GT]

Last year, I considered trading in my 2000 GT for a low mileage 2005 GT. My car is listed at 260 hp. The 05 at 300 hp (3v > 2v). The stealership said $13k difference so I left and never went back. I had the Procharger installed with custom tune for less than $6k and I'm running somewhere around 450 hp (crank). It all depends on what you want and can afford.

[MikeD05GT]

wow eagle really?? coz im always lookin at new gt's

[Eagle2000GT]

Yep. There are a lot of guys on this forum running that or more on their GTs. Assuming a 15% loss through the drivetrain, 385 rwhp converts to 452 hp at the crank. And, its available for a total cost of $15,000 or less. A lot less if you can do your own work.

I've been really debating with myself lately on whether I want headers or not. LT Headers and mid-pipe would probably put the car around 425 rwhp. That would be around 500 at the crank. But that would push the rods and pistons to the limit and the car has 92k miles. Oh well, maybe common sense will prevail and maybe it won't.

[MikeD05GT]

yea but even if u get forged shit...wont you still be ahead of the game (the 05+)

[06RedfireGT]

jlaw if you can afford it go for an 05 GT. Guys are making 300rwhp with an intake mail order t une and UDPs. The 3V is such a better platform to build off of. It is relatively easy to hit 400 n/a rwhp with a 3V. You need some fairly aggressive cams, ported heads, and full bolt ons. That was on BBr's car and they could have made more but ran out of fuel on the stock injectors.