High-Performance Ford Mustang Buyer's Guide: 1979-2005
The Ford Mustang is loved all over the world, and as such it has become an American icon.
In High-Performance Ford Mustang Buyer's Guide: 1979-2005, Travis Thompson has created a one-stop resource for everything Mustang related. From which Mustang has the most powerful engine, which one has the best handling suspension, or which Mustang has the most aftermarket upgrades availabile.
Whether your want to keep your Mustang stock or modify it, this book has the info you need.
High-Performance Ford Mustang Buyer?s Guide: 1979?Present covers all V8-powered Mustangs, including SVO models, and compares their standard performance features and discusses what it takes to make them go faster with aftermarket performance parts or factory upgrades.
Book Excerpt: 1979-2005 High-Performance Ford Mustang Buyer's Guide
1994-1995 MUSTANG GT AND COBRA
COBRA
The 1994 and 1995 SVT Cobras have a number of upgrades in key areas to increase their performance out of the box. The most noticeable upgrade upon first glance is the more aggressive front bumper that incorporates a pair of round fog lights, replacing the GT's easy-to-miss rectangular fog lights.
This simple change greatly improves the Cobra's look, so much so that many GT owners swap out their bumper for the Cobra piece. The traditional Mustang galloping horse logo can still be found in the grill opening, though many Cobra owners have replaced theirs with a snake emblem. A unique Cobra wing and standard 17 x 8-inch chrome 5-spoke wheels round out the external Cobra cues.
In the interior, the Cobra looks much like a GT, with the exception of a few upgrades. The Cobra's leather-wrapped steering wheel says "Cobra" in the center horn portion, and the shift knob and boot were also upgraded to leather. Finally, Cobras got white-faced gauges for a sportier look, and a 160-mph speedometer (remember when Mustangs only came with an 85-mph speedo?) and 7,000-rpm tach.
Under the hood, '94-'95 SVT Cobras came from Ford with 240 hp @ 4,800 rpm and 285 ft/lbs of torque @ 4,000 rpm. Like the '93 Cobra, the '94-'95 Cobra 5.0L features cast-iron GT-40 heads with higher-flowing ports and larger 1.84/1.54-inch intake/exhaust valves.
The GT-40 heads also come with Cobra-specific valve springs and aluminum roller-tipped 1.7:1 rocker arms for reduced friction and additional valve lift. Cobras have a specific roller camshaft that focused more on producing low-end torque than high-end horsepower.
Cobras have a high-performance cast aluminum intake manifold. Although it's found on this GT-40 engine, this intake is commonly referred to as the Cobra intake. (A GT-40 aluminum intake is available from Ford Racing. It uses 1.65-inch tubular upper intake runners with a cast lower intake).
The Cobra intake features larger, staggered lower intake runners and a higher-flowing upper intake. To complement the higher-flowing intake, the Cobra also has a larger 65-mm throttle body, 70-mm MAF, and 24-lb/hr injectors. Lastly, the Cobra engine has its own pulleys, which were sized (like aftermarket underdrive pulleys) to reduce the amount of power required to drive the accessories.
TABLE of CONTENTS:
Acknowledgments
About the author
Introduction
Planning your project
1979-1986 Mustangs
1984-1986 SVO Mustang
1987-1993 V-8 Mustangs
1994-1995 Mustang GT and Cobra
1996-1998 Mustang GT
1996-1998 Mustang Cobra
1999-2004 Mustang GT
1999-2001 Cobra
2003-2004 Mach 1
2003-2004 Cobra
2005-present Mustang GT
Source guide
Author Travis Thomson uses over 300 color photos to show you what each year of these Mustangs looks like, both stock and modified, so you can decide which model is the best to meet your performance goals for the drag strip, race track, or simply street performance.
