Rocket22

showing up on the low end of the price point. I have seen some c4's as low as 3+ grand. I am not really singing the praises of the cobra either (only 3081 converts oout of 6,200 in 1997). It has its faults too. for starters it is a ford, so you know it has some cheap parts. But as a comparison, it will hold up better than the c4 (again see weatherstripping) and much miuch easier to maintain.

I will say the 4 v per cyclinder have some very good pull through the RPMs and makes a very unique sound compared to the regular GT's. Most of the cobra's have been hit with some type of bolt on mods and beat on.

It is funny though, I have had a number of people in plain GT's pull next to me and act like they want to race. I am not a racer at all, but will give them a ldownshift so they can hear this engine sing.

RUU

If only there was a Mustang Forum out there somewhere...

Slow_Lane

Well the SN95 Cobra and the C4 are both cars which when they were new represneted the hottest things available in their price range. Time marches on and unfortunately many C4's and probably a whole lot more Mustangs (both in actual numbers and percentages) have fallen into "trailer park" condition. I know all about this being a C4 owner and former Mustang and F-body owner. It's just a fact. So yep you can probably find a sleeze ball or two rolling in one but that doesn't change the fact that a nice well kept one is still a neat car.

The Mustang, at least up to 2005 was a cheaply built car. I bought a new 2004 and at times was kind of amazed at the cheapness/cost cutting. That said, my 04 needed exactly 1 battery and one alternator in 125k miles of my ownership. And it was a DD with some weekend autoX to boot. It was even on the orignal clutch when I sold it.

Year to year the Corvette was built to a slightly higher price point than the Mustang. And I think in general Corvettes are more toy cars for their owners less are used as DD and live slightly less abused lives. The suspention design on a C4 for example is light years better than any Mustang.

The Mustang's (particularly the 79-04 models) beauty lies in 1. they are easy to work on and modify and 2. aftermarket parts are plentiful and cheap for them. 3. despite some inherant cheapness inthe car overall, they are pretty stout in the mechanical bits and take abuse well.

Someone above mentioned that it might take a supercharger to make a 32V mod motor run hard. I suppose that depends on what you're comparing it to but with so many cheap and easy bolt ons, including supercharges available new and used it'd be easy to do and fairly cheap.

I would imagine that 10-20 years from now as people are cruising around in their super Fiskar-Prius Leaf-Volt self driving isolation pods that any V8 powered performance car will be considered neat and the older and less refined the better. I could be wrong though.

cv67

Only hear of Mustang hate here and on 3rd gen

They arent bad cars at all. Had a couple 80s 5.0s, the 86 was dead nuts reliable I mean POUNDED on that thing for 96k and couldnt hurt it til it was stolen. Ate brakes like nobodys business and the cooling system was a little weak.


Impala, check out the new 5.0 Coyote motor they have. That thing for what it is..its a beast of a motor. NA...it would embarass about any C4.
Ford has a good thing going with the stang.

Like F22 said you have to like these cars they are a little temperamental, not cheap and have to hunt parts sometimes. And a pain to work on too THAT I dont miss. But they are fun..and look cool.

Rocket22

I had a 92 5.0 convert that I had from 15K miles to 190K miles, and nothing went wrong with it....nothing! The roof looked like crap but it was brakes, oil change, fluid change, plugs, water pump, and radiator that I damaged, and that was it. Nothing major ever was an issue; trans, engine, drivetrain, suspension, it was all original and still going strong. Yes, the interior was cheap, but the most reliable car I ever owned, OK the maxima was also very solid to 200K.

Here is what scared me with the vette. I had a few cold damp, morning non starts (clutch down, no start) and it would start when the day dried out. the whole car just started to scare me, and I am a pretty good garage mechanic.

Again, spent way too much time trying to get the standard brakes to give me any type of performance and they just arent that good and didnt think you should need to buy a big brake upgrade for a car that was chevy's best.

That said, I still appeciate a nice c4, but on my drive home I saw a 1984 or 85 with 20 in wheels and the corvette banner on the windshield, along with some funky aftermarket exhaust. that summed it up for me.

Slow_Lane

I wonder if something was wrong with your brake system? Late C4 brakes should be more than adequate for street use. I could see upgrades for track days etc. I know my 89 had some worn out brake lines which I replaced on all four corners and that made a world of differnce in my braking performance. My f-bodies had suffered from the same issue. Easy fix. Could also have been an issue with brake booster etc. Any 20ish year old car is going to have issues from time to time, the Mustang is no exception.

One question...are you going to put the 97 Mustang up for sale if you happen to run across one with tacky 20's and some giant pony decals because they're out there.

lt4obsesses

I've got to chime in here.

I'm sorry that you purchased,what seems to be, a bad example of a late C4. Front end damage and all. And of course, if driving around with a perfectly functional optispark distributor caused alot of stress for you because it might fail, someday, well...I dunno.

To compare a better of example of a Mustang to a bad example of a
C4, sure the mustang may compare well. But put that same mustang up against a more comparably maintained LT1 C4, and you wouldn't give a second look at the mustang.

As far as the whole "kid rock", "trailer park" thing. All I can say is that I see more 90's mustangs littering the lots of high schools, trailer parks, and Wally Mart than anything else.

Sorry if this comes across bad for you, but as someone said, there has to be a mustang forum out there somewhere.

Nice mustangs are nice, nice corvettes are nice...to each his own.
Good luck and God Bless.

JeffnSharyn

"I still appreciate a nice c4, but on my drive home I saw a 1984 or 85 with 20 in wheels and the corvette banner on the windshield, along with some funky aftermarket exhaust. that summed it up for me."

rocknroller

I had a '98 Cobra and it was a great car for the time. Only got rid of it to get an '03 Cobra. For the time the DOHC Cobra was top notch and I'll probably be getting another one in the near future. Great styling and very good performance. In my case, it was also a very reliable car.

RUU

Impala Balko

Well with that being said I guess your a Ford lover from way back and your done here, so go join a Mustake.... Mustank.... I mean Mustang forum and stop trash talking us loyal C4 owners who obviously did a better job in maintaining our Corvettes than you did.... My suggestion is if you do not have the money or mechanical ability to deal with the maintenance of a hobby, toy, muscle, sports car, or whatever you want to call it maybe you should stick with a more reliable Civic or something of that nature and stop whining and moaning about simple maintenance issues like brakes or optispark distributors.

Alan777

Cobras don't impress me unless it's an 03/04. The earlier ones feel like boats. Much more comfortable for a cruiser/day to day use though. Whole car just feels less responsive imo.

JeffnSharyn

I don't believe I exactly fit the "Kid Rock Fan Club" so much, although I do like some of his songs. I'm blessed enough to be able to buy whatever I want cash. I looked at the C5 & C6, but the C4 is just more appealing to me.

I bought my C4 last month to use as a fun daily driver. 1 owner & in great overall condition:


And I have my DeTomaso Pantera for fun on the weekends:


And my Jeep Comanche for just buzzing around town:


I GAVE my mint 2000 Mustang GT Convertible to my Niece for her 1st car:

Z51-R

I bought my 89 Convertible because I think it looks better than a C5 Convertible and I always liked the look of the TPI engine.



And I am the second owner of the car

Mustang? I would rather walk than drive a Mustang.

My L98 may not kill a Mustang but I have a Chevy that can

My 1944 ****** is also better than any Mustang



Did I mention I hate Mustangs? But I hate people bashing Corvettes on a Corvette Forum

Go here to sing the praises of your Cobra http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/



IBTL!

1993C4LT1

I like some Kid Rock songs. That video of the Mustang is hilarious.

lt4obsesses

Nice 4th Gen. I do miss my 98 LS1. Though I did trade it for my LT4, so I can't cry too much.

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Took this shot w/ check in hand to buy this

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