There have been many variations of the Fox body Ford Mustang over the years, ranging from mild to wild. The special editions, Cobras, Saleens, ACS/McLaren and numerous others give collectors and fans endless variety when it comes to finding a car that fits their personal budget and tastes. This is a new one for me, however, as apparently Ford offered a Cobra trim line in the early 80s equipped with a 3-speed automatic and a 4.2L V8 engine. This 1981 Mustang Cobra listed here on craigslist is a bit of a project with an asking price of $9,500.
My favorite detail about this car is not the decal kit or the hood decor but the wheels. I’m not sure what they are, but I’d be willing to wager they’re worth a decent amount. Regardless, the rest of the Mustang needs some love, with rough cosmetics and weathered decals. The Cobra was more or less just an appearance package car, with some blacked-out cosmetic treatments, the option to choose the V8 or a 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder, and not a whole lot else, besides the decals.
It’s still a looker, however, and I can imagine when it was new, it had good street presence. That’s what Ford was often selling with the Mustang: a vibe or an appearance. It wasn’t exactly an era when performance cars were in season, so you had to make do with the purely emotional connection between the owner and a so-called muscle car. You could still claim to own a Mustang Cobra, even if it was a shell of its former self. The black-out treatment is evident here on the nose panel, as well as on the side-view mirrors.
What’s so strange to me is Ford didn’t choose to do much with the interior, with the cockpit of this Cobra looking more like a Ghia edition than a fire-breathing muscle car. It almost makes me wonder if this particular car is a hodge-podge of parts, but there’s no way to confirm that. The seller claims it is “…Cobra-style seating and trim,” so it’s supposedly correct. More importantly, the Mustang still runs and drives, even if the 115 b.h.p. engine is entirely ordinary. It looks good, sounds good, and it’s a Cobra – what more do you need? Thanks to Barn Finds Curvette for the find.
Jeff’s analysis is correct, and fitting. On the “looks” side, the Cobra package in 1981 consisted of the decal package and also the air dam and hood scoop. It also included suspension upgrades and the TRX tire/wheel package. This one has the T-tops but doesn’t have the cool Recaro seats. A Marti Report would tell us how many were built, but they are rarely seen today.
This one needs work but doesn’t look bad. As with all Fox Mustangs, there are many directions one can go with it.
Those don’t look like the TRX metric wheels I’ve seen on other ‘Stangs, but if they are, they’d be the first to go if this were my car.
TRX tires come only from Michelin, are special-order I believe, and far from inexpensive. Based on years-ago experience, I can’t recall any improvement over standard rubber. The only other car I’ve seen using them was the Renault 5 Turbo, which is why you see some many R5 Turbos running on Gotti replacement wheels today.
I think the wheels on this car are Weld Drag Star’s, but there aren’t clear enough pictures to tell for sure.
Coker has the metric tires on their website for $468 each.
Steve R
Seller say that in the ad….he says the TRX wheels are included…..
It’s probably more of a project than the seller suggests. If it runs well, why not back it out of the garage for pictures? Speaking of pictures, why not show the rusty areas mentioned in the description? People on this site tend to love 4 eye Mustangs, but the asking price of $9,500 is a lot of money. You can find decent, late-90’s 5spd, 5.0 LX’s for a few thousand more, those would make for a better driving experience.
Steve R
Since this car is advertised on Canadian Craigslist the price listed is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. $9500 CDN is approximately $6800 US.
Look a little like AC Schnitzer wheels.. if they are, then yep, worth a decebt amount.
4.2L was a 255 cubic inch V8 that was a smog dog designed to appease the EPA in a time before electronic fuel injection and roller camshafts allowed for cleaner burning engines without sacrificing power.
These wheels were probably purchased as an alternative to the TRX tires. I had a set on an early turbo Mustang (4 cylinder) and when my neighbor heard that I was removing them he bought them for spares for his wife’s very low mile convertible Mustang. I would have given them to him. But he offered a decent amount, so I made him happy!
That too would be my supposition (alternatives to the TRX’s). The TRX tires are reproduced, and they are not cheap– but it is not like they are a million dollars. If you are interested go to Coker and check them out.
I’ll have some info on these repro TRX’s, but not right now…..
Yep, I had several friends who had Fox body Mustangs or Capris. We were teens/early 20s at the time. Many decided to get different wheels when they went to replace the TRX tires because the only Co making that size was Michelin, and they were more than double the price of other tires at the time. I knew a guy who worked at a tire shop back then. Whenever they had a call from a Mustang or Capri owner with TRX tires, they would automatically give them the TRX tire quote, and a quote for a new set of rims and tires for $200+ less than the TRX tires alone. Lots of Fox bodies rolling around on after-market rims and Grand Prix Radial GT white letter tires back then. Good news was, a Fox body is a Fox body and the rich guys who could afford the TRX tires could also afford to do burnouts, which led to them getting curb rash or running off in a ditch, so there was always somebody looking to buy some TRX wheels (probably before their Dad saw their’s were damaged.)
A hatchback with T-tops? Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. I like it though
For the right price it could be fun. I had to educate myself on the 4.2 l V8. General consensus was get a 5.0 from a pickup truck and junk the original engine.
What a different time. Consider that the standard notchback and hatchback Mustangs had full wrap around frames on the door windows, but the T-Top version had to be designed with frameless side windows. The convertible would need frameless side windows, too, but they didn’t offer a convertible Fox body until 83. I cannot imagine a major car manufacturer these days authorizing that kind of expenditure for an aesthetic feature that would be on a small % of the total vehicles sold. Today, they just want to sell another million of the same thing that looks like that other thing sold by that other company.
Interesting observation DGMinGA. And, all of us armchair designers/ engineers/ executives, then and now, are quick to criticize the decisions: “Why don’t they offer T-Tops, that can’t be that hard to do”, or “Why did they offer T-Tops, they are so expensive and they probably leak.”
I was a Ford service manager in the ’80s. On one February day when it was slow. I decided to do an update and purg of the TSB (technical service. Bulletins) book. It was so big and heavy that I decided to split them up by decades. Which basically split them into 2 books. I don’t remember the application (I think Mustang) But TSB #1 was for “T” top water leaks.
Would love to see a Marti report on this car. 1981 cobras were the fewest made of the early fox cobras at 18xx. With T tops, AC and looks like pewter interior could make this a rare car. Hopefully, it finds a good home.
Many of the part, hood, front air dam and spoiler were similar to the pace. This one in silver black with red stripes mimics those colors. This is rough but with some work will look great and engine mods either to the ,5.0 liter or a crate engine will easily turn it into a fire breather.
“I purchased it intending to build it, but have decided to concentrate on another project instead” is double speak for “I bought it, took a closer look after I got it home, and it’s worse than I had thought”.
If the bottom of the doors are crap, and one quarter has an old repair, chances are the front floor pans are junk also. If you’re not good with sheetmetal repair/replacement, you’ll be upside down before you control it.
T-top doors have unique reinforcements also, so you can’t just swap out doors without a bit of work and understanding. The door glass is also different.
It’s a project, and a worthy one, but be honest with yourself and abilities.