With A Proven History, there’s no Mystic-ery to This 1996 Mustang Cobra
It seems that the common trend in the last several years is to buy a rare car or truck as a collectable, just to let it sit.
Most of got into and/or grew our interest on cars and racing from seeing all the varieties of the cars and truck at shows, competition at race tracks, and even just getting daily use on the public roads.
For Daniel Roberts, the fact his desirable 1996 Mystic Cobra is one of just 2,000 original built doesn’t make him hesitate to use it.
In fact, the unique Cobra with the color-shifting paint got just plenty of use at the beginning of his tenure. “The Cobra served as a daily driver for nearly a decade before being turned into a street/strip warrior,” said Daniel.
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Now, there a little more to story, as when Daniel laid eyes on the car in 2013, he wasn’t just thinking about buying it, but engine swapping it. “Back in 2012, I purchased a 2012 Coyote crate motor, then used it in another SN-95 Cobra I had,” Daniel said. “When this car popped on the local used car market, I decided to swap the Coyote motor over from the other SN-95.”
After a few years of enjoying the Coyote-swapped Cobra, Daniel decided it needed some upgrades. “It still has the unopened 2012 Coyote crate motor, and the car has over 400 drag strip passes and multiple half-mile events under its belt, plus auto crossed. It’s been with me through all three duty locations while in the military: Virginia Beach, Hawaii, and San Diego.”
When the time came to do the upgrades, Daniel tried to stay as close to factory parts as possible. Utilizing a 2013 GT500 2.3-liter supercharger (ported by 1320 Junkie) with the same model heat exchanger/pump to boost the Coyote’s output, Daniel also employed a stock 2013 GT500 cold air intake.
The engine drinks E-85 from a set of ID 1300 injectors on a VMP Performance rails and a DW pump pushes it from the tank to the front. BBK long tube headers expel the gases through a full three-inch exhaust system.
For the transmission and rear end, Daniel once again called on the OE-design, selecting a 2003 Cobra T-56 6-speed transmission with a level 2 Tick performance kit, along with a 1994 Cobra 8.8-inch rear end holding a 4.10 gear set.
UPR and Maximum Motorsports got the nod for chassis and suspension upgrades, including a replacement K-member, caster / camber plates, and chassis stiffening parts (a roll cage, torque boxes and subframe connectors). Strange struts and coil-over shocks help with body roll and launch control.
Getting the Cobra up to speed has helped Daniel realize his goals of a drag-and-drive are now possible. “COVID and deployments have stopped us from doing them in the past,” he said. “It will be truly a dream come true to compete and do this bucket list item.
The goal is to complete at Death Week and run an average of 6.8 in the eighth-mile. Here’s to hoping I can keep doing these events, as I have a whole built motor ready to put in for next year.”
Daniel picked Death Week as his debut drag-and-drive event for a couple reasons. “It appeals to me because of its proximity to the west coast,” he said. “I believe it’s the only one that comes out this far. We need more of them; there are so many interested people out here.”
The drag and drive events appeal to me because it proves that you know how to put together a car,” Daniel continued. “I am mainly a one man show for the car’s development, and I’m excited to see how it performs.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Daniel Roberts.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com