Instead of Being Pampered for Its Rarity, this ’93 Mustang Cobra Will Be Pounding the Track and the Street for the First Time at Sick Week
As the second coming of the factory horsepower wars is slowing fading away, it brings to light the future collectability of these cars and trucks. Some of them will be stashed away, only to see the light of day on a perfect afternoon, or on a show field.
Some may just be stuck in hibernation, not turning a tire to increase future worth. And then there’s this 1993 Mustang Cobra, one of just 4,993 produced in entirety. One of 5,100 if you count the ultra-rare Cobra R models.
But instead of leading a pampered life where some would judge it based on correct factory parts and 31-year-old tires, this one cracks off 9-second runs with the third-pedal still employed as the stick-shift ride it left the factory as.
Jonathan Whitaker has owned several fun cars in his life, having competed in drag racing as well as road racing and even the Grassroots Challenge events. “I have been racing since I was about 8 years old,” said Jonathan. “I had a dirt kart track on my dad’s property, and was into shifter karts really young. I have done about every form of motorsports racing, with the exception of drifting, which I plan to get into soon. I’ve raced motocross, side by sides, autocross, road course, and drag racing.”
Although Jonathan has been through more than just a couple cars, this 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra model has stuck around for a while, although he did consider selling it once.
Now we hate to break the bad news, but it’s not originally a teal model, the rarest of the three colors offered. It instead started as one of 1,854 black models produced, and it has an interesting history.
“Originally the car was black, but at some point, it was fully stripped and painted teal,” said Jonathan. “When the car was brand new on the lot in 1993, it was actually stolen from the dealer but recovered. Surprisingly, the title was never branded.”
After it passed through a few owners, Jonathan’s chance to pick it up came to be. “I bought the car off my buddy about three years ago,” said Jonathan. “It already had the roll cage and a Gen 2 Coyote swapped in, with a T45 manual transmission and no power adder.”
Sporting just 14,000 miles upon purchase, Jonathan decided to enjoy the car with the modern 5.0 Ford powerplant rather than try to restore back to original instead.
The Cobra was driven whenever he could find time, and raced on several fronts, including the National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) True Street class and Stick Shift Shootouts, as well as the ModNationals event held annually at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Eventually, Jonathan wanted more than naturally-aspirated power and a better transmission as well. “Over time we slowly upgraded it, first putting in a Tremec T56 Magnum transmission with a McLeod RXT clutch and Quick Time bell housing,” said Jonathan. “Then we added a P-1SC ProCharger to the mix.”
These changes and upgrades helped get the Cobra into the 9-second bracket, cracking off a 9.84 at 142 mph before the end of the 2022 calendar year.
Despite showing potential that warrantied the roll cage and parachute, Jonathan decided to make a change in 2023. “Over the last 14 months, the car was down for a lot of upgrades and fabrication,” said Jonathan. “Spiker Motorsports in Port Orange, Florida took on the task, as I traveled for work most of the 2023 year.”
The biggest change was moving the power-adder of choice from a supercharger to a turbocharger, the latter being a single Forced Performance 91-millimeter turbo. “It is running Jeremy Howell’s original turbo kit from his Flat Fox Mustang,” said Jonathan. With Jeremy’s car clocking low 7-second passes, Jonathan is hoping it’ll get home into the 8-second zone.
The otherwise stock Gen 2 Coyote long block has a Gen 3 intake manifold, and the ecu functions are handled by a Holley Terminator X. The T56 Magnum transmission continues to live in the transmission tunnel, and sends the power to a built 8.8-inch rear end.
A full suspension system from Strange Engineering in employed to get the hook and handling right, and Jonathan is kept safe in the 25.5-spec roll cage surrounding a mostly stock interior.
“I have been watching Sick Week and Hot Rod Drag Week for years, just waiting for the right moment to attend one,” said Jonathan. “Sick Week is particularly enticing because it is local to me, and I have been to all of these tracks before.”
So as he prepares for his first drag-and-drive event, Jonathan will use his racing experience to help him wheel the Cobra he calls Solo Jazz into competition. “I think my biggest strength is problem solving,” Jonathan said. “After competing in Grassroots Motorsports for years (which is a low dollar form of racing), things break all the time.
You are constantly faced with finding creative solutions to complex problems because you are budget restricted. This, along with being an engineer and working at a power plant where things break constantly, you have to have the ability to think outside the box.”
Jonathan will be joined by friend Kyle Cox as his co-pilot, who also brings a wealth of knowledge being a local shop owner at Knights Automotive. “He has a lot of experience, and has been involved in the build of this car since I’ve owned it,” he said. “He is very talented and great at diagnosing issues and fantastic at electrical and wiring, which is my weak point.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Jonathan Whitaker and NMRA.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com