FordMuscle Staff and Rufus Crow, III. Track Photos by Steve Harris.

It's been more than two years since Project Cobra was stolen from FordMuscle and today we are proud to say the 1993 Mustang is back in our stable. Call it a testament to a Ford enthusiast's tenacity or a stand against all that is evil in this world. Either way, the good guys won this time and now we're going to pick up where we left off more than two years ago thanks to FordMuscle friend Rufus Crow.

How'd We Find It?
Some of you might remember that FordMuscle's 1993 Project Cobra was recovered more than a month after we reported it stolen in the article "An Empty Space" back in June of 2004. In that short 30 days, the moths that took the car managed to turn it into an inner-city pile of urban blight that in all probability, suited their dwellings. The Cobra was far from what it once was when we came upon it in the impound lot. Gone, and presumably sold, were not only our upgrades such as the AFR heads, but also the rare '93 Cobra specific parts such as the hatch wing, tail lights, wheels and intake manifold. The biggest crime however was the rattle can "ghetto camouflage" paint used to ward off the police. The thieves had completely devalued the rare and immaculate SVT Teal color in attempts to disguise the car as another "five-point-oh" side show special. See sidebar.

Needless to say, while the damage to the car was mostly visual and could be repaired, at the time our sprit could not be. The thought of taking repossession of damaged goods, which the insurance company had declared as "salvage", was too painful. So we opted for the insurance payout and the car went through the auction process. From there a 16 year old bought the Cobra with the intention of resurrecting the snake. From the looks of it he got about $2000 into the project before he was already in over his head. Next, the Cobra was found for sale on CraigsList where it was spotted and recognized as the former FM project car by long time FM friend, Rufus Crow. After some phone calls back and forth we advised Rufus to pick up the Cobra for as cheap as possible, as it was clearly not worth the $13k it was before the theft. He negotiated the pink slip for $3,000 and soon it was back in rightful hands.

An Autocrossing Focus
The very last project car article we wrote about the Cobra before its theft was the upgrade of the entire suspension system. We said in that article we were performing these modifications in the anticipation of entering the car in local autocross events. We never had the chance to make it through the cones, however in a case of pure serendipity, Rufus' intentions in seeking a 5.0L Mustang were also rooted in building an autocrosser. Having formerly piloted BMW's around SCCA and NASA sanctioned events, Rufus had recently decided that he had grown tired of the well handling but under powered strudels and wanted to bring V8 power to the track. When it comes to autocrossing American V8's, Fox body Mustangs rule. Picking up our old Cobra, which still had all the Eibach and Koni gear we had installed, was a perfect starting point.

The Resurrection
When purchased, the car had been outfitted with the correct Cobra hatch and a pair of GT-40 heads. However, there were still plenty of loser mods to be righted. We've even taken a strange liking to the unintended paint scheme which appropriately resembles a snake shedding its skin.

Rufus immediately went to work fixing some critical issues to make the car functional, as many of the parts we noticed missing or broken had not been repaired by the former owner. In fact, the car stalled out on the initial drive home after he bought it from the owner. The alternator had been poorly installed and failed to charge the battery. Since the car now had a salvage title and had not been registered since the vehicle theft, it had to be inspected by a Bureau of Automotive Repair station. Rufus recalls...

"It took me three tries (to pass) since the Cobra wing was missing which housed the mandatory third taillight. They failed me on the second try because of the clear turn signals installed by the previous owner which needed to be amber. Around this time, I found a pair of 85-86 taillights which resemble the pinstriped unique '93 Cobra lights and I sold the LX lenses that where on the car."

The body was straight but tainted with funky blue and gray rattle can primer. Some of it cleaned up and the rest will need repainting.		Getting the engine back to proper operational and aesthetic conditions was a challenge. Along with missing or hacked parts, such as no oil cap or dipstick, the color blind thieves had painted the valve covers red. Rufus has it back to Cobra specs with the GT40 heads and Cobra intake.
Missing bolts and incorrectly installed components were all over the engine bay. Here the AC compressor wasn't even secured down. Rufus removed it and placed a A/C delete bracket in its place.		Bizarre half-assed problems continued to be found and sorted out. Here Rufus discovered a fulcrum held in with a non-stock brass bolt. New OEM Crane pieces were ordered to replace the botched job.
Fortunately the thieves never wrecked the car, so it was entirely in proper form. Maximum Motorsports components are slowly being installed to stiffen up the handling.		Rufus complained that the thieves tore out the stock shifter and boot. We confess, when we visited the car in the impound lot we paid the yard worker a few bucks to let us in the car and unbolt a few things. "Rufus, sorry had we known you'd own the car we would have left the B&M short throw shifter in place. But nice job on the custom machined shifter base. "
The Eibach springs and adjustable Koni struts and shocks were apparently beyond the skillset of the thieves as they left them in tact. Rufus upgraded to 2004 Mach 1 Mustang 5-lug brakes and rotors, both front and rear. '99 Cobra wheels look killer on this car as well.		The car has a crazy history that attracts attention. Look for it at Northern California car clubs and autocross events.

What's Next?
We're going to continue to work with Rufus to get the Cobra back in action. In fact, we just started prepping the car for a set of RHS Cylinder Heads. We had the car baselined on a Dynojet to see where it is before we perform the head swap. To our surprise the Cobra laid down 260 horsepower and 310 ft.lbs of torque with the iron GT40 heads and mildly cleaned up Cobra intake. We're excited about finally getting to continue where we left off with this project car.