Canadian Cobra.

Right?
I may be wrong, but I believe Ford released one in Canada with just decals...

Please correct me though.

Oh, and pictures?!

 

sure, wow very nice u kinda sound like me when i was younger, and u mean disc brakes in front and rear (which is nice cuz foxs come with drum in rear...anyways

for power u can do some bolt ons for now before u figure out what u wanna do with the engine, Cold Air Intake, MAF conversion would be nice, Headers, O/R H or X pipe, advance the timing up to 15 degrees,

u really want to get some good weld in subframe connectors first, and upper and lower control arms, this will really Help and improve the car ALOT!

also check into getting some better rear end gears, 3.55, 3.73, 4.10

these foxes are real fun and start to come alive with some good solid work to them,

 

what gears would u recomend im pretty sure they r just stock highway gears and i dont want to go to agressive, and lose some gas mileage. I'm going to be on a pretty tight budget till the spring and i dont wanna work on it then i want to drive it, so maybe it will start to be a project next fall.

 

4.10 or 4.30 for now. I'd look into a set of heads, and a cam.

 

i think by the sounds of it u r on the losing side of the battle on the gears i think 4.10s or 4.30 is not wat im lookin for this is going to be a street car that makes the occasional trip to the 1/4 mile for fun so it will be more than likely 3.55s and possibly 3.73s

 

Welcome, well you jumped right into one of the biggest arguments on this forum . GEARS

with a 5 spd 3.73 are imo the best gear for stockish foxes.

 

im unsure about the T-5, but my AOD was running 2700RPM at 70. that was with 3.73 rear end. i would think the 4.30 will be way to steep for what you want, but as for more power, unless you want to spend some money just start with the simple boltons, they will be great supporting mods when you decide to do heads, cam, and intake

 

Don't do 4.30's get 3.73 or 4.10's the gas mileage won't be that noticable. Also like said before subframe connecters are a must!! Make sure they are welded in.

Alot of mods depend on what you wanna spend.

 

All the GT's that were in Canada were also called Cobra's so you do not have a real Cobra.
Gears would definitely be a start and also if you already have a cobra intake then possibly a bigger TB and MAF

 

All the GT's that were in Canada were also called Cobra's so you do not have a real Cobra
Gears would definitely be a start and also if you already have a cobra intake then possibly a bigger TB and MAF

wat is the difference between the cobra motor and just a plain 5.0

 

well i was lookin around for a while and all my buddies that have foxes r runnin 3.55s and one has the same as me. I think for wat im going to use the car for i will be better off going with the 3.55s with them it will still pull not bad and anything more than that i would not be able to keep tires on it.

 

another thing which would be better shorty's or long tube headers. this car is going to be a daily driver and maybe make a few trips to the strip on just 4 fun nights.

 

Long tube headers are definately better for pulling every bit of power out when talking exhaust. 3.55's with a 5 speed is not bad at all. I wouldn't go any higher than 3.73's for myself, but I drive a LOT (30+ miles one way to anything), so it's very important to me. My list for you would be as follows in this order:

Advance timing to 12-14 degrees (free)
Subframe connectors and torque box reinforcement
Upper and Lower control arms
Gears
Headers, x pipe
MSD Coil, wires, cap and rotor
Cold air intake
MAF Conversion with 70mm or bigger Mass Air Meter
65mm Throttle body
Underdrive pullies
Electric Fan (might need Alternator upgrade depending on amp draw)
MSD ignition box

By the time you get to all that with your tight budget, you will know more about what you want out of the car. Then you can consider Heads, Cam, Intake, etc. and everything off the list will support them, aside from the 65mm TB since it will be too small for nice heads, but you will hurt yourself going to big now.

 

i am about a half hour out of civilization to lol and i drive it pretty well every day i got a decent job for may and june of this year so i might be able to put a good bit of money away for the winter to start working on it im pretty sure the timing has been advanced already b4 i bought the car and it already has underdrive pullies like i said above i didnt really notice if there was headers on it im pretty sure there is not but thanks for the advice

 

Cobra motor has different heads (I think), intake, cam, tb, computer, mass air meter, and injectors.

 

i dont really care for the lowered suspension im 6'3" 250lbs and i dont really want to be crawling in and out of another car so that might be getting thrown and going back to stock ride height i like the look of them at stock height anyways and i think i found a set of 16" ponys for it for $400 with 2 new tires is this a good price i would rather them than the 15" turbines i will probably keep them for if i go to the track tho so i dont have to burn off good tires there is a spot close to my house that sells used tires and if u burn them off in less than a week u can take them back and get another set. anyways thanks all for the good advice

 

Lowered suspension is not just for looks, it's also for handling. Keep that in mind. Also, your ride quality would probably improve going back to stock springs, though. Almost everything on my list is a few hour project or less. No need to wait till winter. Upgrade as you go. Plus, you don't want to have done so much in one shot (as a beginner), and have the car not run right come following spring. Makes it harder to know where to look. Subframe connectors you would want to remove the carpet though, to prevent fire, when getthing them welded in. Could do bolt in, but I wouldn't. My personal preference.

 

is there anything else i could do to get the better handeling and stay cloce to stock ride height

 

Oh yeah, Pony's and two new tires... 400 not great, 300 to 350 would be better depending on the brand/type of tires.

 

take a picture of under the hood maybe it has some upgrades we can point out that you dont know you have

 

I would honestly get 3.73, the gas won't be a factor from 3.55's. But you will do what you want anyways. Alot of people regret not getting better gear.

 

My opinion is do the 3.73 !

 

another question r the tail lights out of a hatchbact and a notch the same when i got the car it had euros and im thinkin about going back to stock and i know a guy that might trade as long as they will fit my car is a 88 fastback and his is a 89 notch

 

Taillights are all the same from 79 to 93. As far as the suspension, you can tighten things up dramatically by changing all your rubber bushings out to a poly type. Two of the biggest companies that handle everything you would need are Energy Suspension and PST (Polygraphite Suspension Technologies). That will take the initial 'squish' out of the suspension and help a lot with body roll.

 

Tail lights are NOT the same...the GT's came with the "cheese grater" tail lights and LX's do not have that effect.

GT

LX

 

finally got some pics tell me wat u think of the car

 

1988 mustang gt cobra pictures by adammacdonald_48 - Photobucket

dont think that last one worked so here u go
sorry for the bad pics most of them came off my cell

 

Sorry man but that intake is not a cobra intake, it's a stock intake with a cobra Pentium cover which is simply for looks.

Here's a pic of a cobra intake for reference. http://finaltouchpowdercoating.com/carl/Cobra_Intake_Installed.JPG

Your headers are stock, the car looks totally stock motor wise. The mirrors, belt lines along the windows all l have been painted red rather then the factor black as well. I can't really tell but it looks like you have a 160mph cluster or more in it as well.

As far as gears go for a stock heads/cam fox I wouldn't go any higher then 3.73's or you'll be running out of gear in the 1/4 mile. There isn't a huge difference between the 3.73 and 3.55's but either one will be a drastic increase for you over your stock 2.73 or if your lucky 3.08 gears. I'd put money on your car having the lesser of the two ratios though.

Longtubes vs shorites... longtubes can make more power, sounds deeper but cost allot more, requires more time to install and depending on brand most have clearance issues with the steering shaft and again depending on brand some hang really low and non are smog legal if that's your thing. So for a stock car i'd just go the shorty route, cheaper, easier and still get some gains over the shitty pinched stockers.

Tail lights are all the same, just depends on preference. I personally think the euro tail lights are among the worse taste mods someone can do to these cars so please sell them on craigslist and put some lx etc back on the car.

 

sorry for the confusion i have aftermarket tail lights in my 88 gt and i am wondering if taillights out of a lx notch will fit i dont care for the aftermarket or the cheese graters. i believe the only differences between the gt and lx are body kit and taillights so the gt taillights would just be an upgrade from stock. but im just making sure they will work

 

thanks for clearing that up for me im new to the mustang and dont really know to much about them and for the headers i didnt get a look at them till today so i didnt notice they were stock till i opened the hood and actually looked i know this car is no jem but its wat i could afford maybe i will put a bit of money into it then sell it in a few years and get an lx or a real cobra

 

Keeping the other set of rims to use at the track is a good idea but you by no circumstances want to go to a place that sells used tires and buy a shitty set to use at the track. You might as well not change them at all, the purpose of having another set is so that you can run slicks or something like MT drag radials. 3.73 is where I would go on the gear you won't notice any MPG difference but you will feel the 3.73 more. I was going to say if it had a gt40 (cobra) intake it might have heads as well but as someone pointed out that is NOT a cobra intake just that plate. Subframes are going to be a must even without mods if you take it to the track and hook a few times you will tear **** up without them soon. I would also ditch the air box and get a CAI and exhaust, then start saving your money, if you are not married and don't have a girlfriend your car is where all of your money will go from now on. Its 20+ years old and its an addiction once you start. Switching to maf would be ok too although its not really necessary right now but you will definately want to if you decide to to H/C/I swap