Every now and again a guy gets a smokin’ deal. A big part of getting lucky is paying attention and doing the groundwork. Congratulations!

Ahhh yes. The infamous “exhaust delete” option. Very rare. It adds lightness.

I owned a '98 Cobra for a number of years. Very fun motor. It loves to rev and it sounds incredible at high RPMs.

Just tell people. “I can quit buying cars anytime I want, I just don’t want to”

I'm not a Ford guy but this is a really cool car! I remember when these Mystic Mustang's came out. They were a Big deal. What a cool story you did really good on this. I look forward to future videos on it.

One of these lived about a mile from me through high school, gorgeous car to see in person.

The look on your face when you started the car at the start of the video.... priceless. Enjoy and be safe.

I owned a Mystic Cobra from 1998 to 2005. I thought this could have been mine until I saw the underside. I beat the absolute snot out of that DOHC 4.6 at open track days and it never missed a beat. I wish I still had that car. One thing to note: 96 Cobras had problems with the cooling system as they came from the factory. There was a Ford TSB about it and they ended up changing the radiator, AC condenser, fan/shroud assembly and God knows what else. 97-up Cobras incorporated all those changes along with deleting the honeycomb grille in the nose. If you live in a warmer climate (or if you're just curious) you might want to see if that work was done on this car.

I had a '98 Cobra in Bright Atlantic Blue. To this day, I think it was the most beautiful color for that era. The SN95 chassis is pretty lousy. But aftermarket support is great. Swap the four link for a torque arm & panhard bar setup, throw some better springs on it, and hit the track. Sadly, mine was hit and totalled in 2013. I parted it out. The VERY first thing that sold were the door panels, because mine were perfect, and apparently they get trashed easily. Good luck finding those. I hope you get to enjoy the car for a long time.

Outstanding. Glad you got the story from the previous owner too.

Dude you have to feel great about this. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to start and I was like oh well he only paid 1500 for it. Dude for a 96 mustang cobra that has 90k miles and runs you just got a steal! I also just bought a GT500 that is getting built in October. I’ll have to send you a video of it when I get it!

I wish I had the money and wasn't in so much pain from my back issues. I would love to be able to restore vehicles like this. Oh well I can dream. I really love watching your videos and how much you love doing what you do. Keep up the good work. 👍👍

Back in the day, just anyone, not even a bodyshop, could buy this paint without actually working on a Mystic Cobra. It is from BASF, and the steps you had to take were crazy. You had to call in a BASF rep, he had to document the VIN and the actual damage. He would approve the amount of paint needed, and put in a special order.

Thanks for giving this Mystic new life. I have one that needed paint work, and it was not cheap, but I had to do it.

Yeah it is a manual but it is a T45, so have fun with rowing that shifter through the gears. Just noticed the Mach460 wing mirror speakers are in the non-cobra too.

One of my favourite channels gets even better!

Man, I just started watching your channel last week and have really been enjoying it. Then, you go and pull this?!?! My best friends Mother in high school had one of these... first car I ever did a burnout and doughnuts in. I'll be watching this with much enthusiasm and nostalgia. Love it!

Man I know its a project to you, but those sn95s are special to me. My first car, 98 v6 and i love it like no other because my mom bought it brand new. Seeing you post this video made my night. Take care of it for me please, I cant wait to see what you have in store for her

This guy gives us great content. Somebody's got to know someone to give this guy a mystic door for that car.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one that can't stand automatic transmissions. The third pedal will always be a requirement for any vehicle I purchase.

Very cool! Glad to see it’s getting re done! At least it looks like you have the space to do all this work!

That's cool. An amazing coincidence...until a week ago I didn't know these existed, then I saw one around here (Toronto).

Congratulations! You're a Ford owner, I am so proud of you! You are going to find out what it's like to own a quality piece of automotive machinery, and once you've driven it on a really nice road trip you'll never look back. Thanks for another great video.

Great videos, keep them coming.

Something tells me that our boy could fix any car.

That year Ford has an SPOM (Speedometer/Odometer Module). If you plugged ANY gauge cluster (that fit) in, it would show the odometer reading. The odometer reading is saved in a small digital module that you should be able to see right around the top of the driver's side kickpanel.

The interiors were swapped?...That is insane...And this is why I subscribe.

As a ford man this made me very happy

8:54 ANY paint work on a Mystic Cobra requires VIN certification through a Ford-recognized body shop in order to obtain the paint; my guess this is not cheap, plus I wouldn't be surprised if they send a rep out with any amount of paint to witness the paint work, as well as retain possession of any unused stock (the paint has special proprietary uses; read into that what you will).

There used to be a mystic Cobra like this where I live. I haven't seen one of these in about a decade. Pretty rare to see. I see more Terminators than these and I'm in the middle of nowhere Canada. Heck I see more Lamborghinis than these. Nice find!

WHAT! Gotta be one of the greatest steals ever!

Just discovered your channel, watched a handful of videos, subscribed to you just cause I want to see the progress on this.

Dude! Really inspiring listening to the story so far. Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to next episode! 😃

Nice!! Never apologize for buying another project. Forgiveness maybe, from sig other. Keep up the great videos.

You won the lottery on this car, I say keep it and do a mild build on it. Full exhaust system, do a restore on the paint, swap the interior back over, better wheels/suspension, and love it till you get to pass it onto your kids.

Best channel ever... Me and my dad own a 98 cobra and it is the best mustang he has ever had. The bad part is the owner before us killed it SO HARD.He blew up the engine, broke the exhaust, killed the interior, and ruined every part of the paint. We have big plans for it, we plan on putting forged rods and pistons on it, performance cams and heads, new interior, turbo charge it, new suspension, and better wheels. But it does need a rebuild due to the guy before us driving it with year old oil blew it up and then lied saying it was in excellent condition. We are still getting metal from it do to the carnage from the owner before us. We have put on different wheels, better headlights, and many other things. Just be warned that their is a plug on the passenger head that for us drained the oil itself and cost us $250 in oil as we tried over and over and over and eventually fixed it.

Welcome to the SN95 Mustang club! Depending on the damage to the door panels, it might be easier to restore them yourself. You could even repaint the gray interior panels black if they're in better shape, no need to swap them.

Good for you, What a great deal!

I have a Mystic. 13,335mi. Vortech T-trim w/ Aftercooler, KOOKS 1¾ stepped to 1⅞ primaries to 3" collectors(custom), KOOKS X-pipe, 3" BASSANI cat-back, 4.10's, Kenny Brown chassis everything, chrome 17x9 Ford Cobra R wheels in front, chrome 17x11 Cobra R replicas in rear. I LOVE THIS CAR! One fender bender had me waiting for Dupont to come mix the paint and then destroy and reclaim any paint left over. It has spent the last 12 years in climate controlled storage.

Glad to see you have a soft spot. I agree that the only thing saving this car is that its a mystic car. Also happy to hear itll be more of a driver's car than a show piece.

Good work finding it, Eric! Looking forward to watching the series on this!

I had a 98 cobra. I loved that car. A lady made an illegal left-hand turn and totaled it 😢 Then I went out and bought an 03 cobra. I can't imagine myself driving any other car again. I have tried to buy a newer mustang. I almost bought a gt350 but it just wasn't the same as a whipple cobra or as fun to drive as my 98

A man after my own heart.....love ya work!!

Your builds are smart and well thought out

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Congratulations.

Cloth seats. I think that’s pretty rare for a cobra.

I have one of those. Love it! The paint cost is ridiculous. I need to repaint a ton on my car still. My car has a lot of panels that look like your spoiler. Sun is killer on this paint color. Car was left outside while I was in Iraq and the paint suffered for it. :(

Very enjoyable video. What a fun project.

Oh Jesus, you weren't kidding when you told me about this at the Euro show. What a cool find

I was just out of high school when those Mystic cobras were at Ford dealerships. The salesman would tell us that to get the car painted you had a contact Ford and Ford would fly out a special repairman, that could do the Bodywork and the paint for it.

You kind of need a 1960's mohair tonic suit to go with the paintwork, that would blow a few minds 😁

Great story, thanks for sharing.

The first step in any program, is to realize you have a problem, lol... This looks to be a cool project. I always wanted to restore a 60's mustang (we're talking 25 years ago), but every time I thought about it, there were fewer available, and those were accordingly more expensive. I was almost going to pull the trigger on a V8 fastback, but the owner wrapped it around a tree before I could get it. sigh. If I was going to restore a Mustang today, it's be a Hot Wheels or a Corgi...

Mystic was my first Mustang of six. Saw this posted on SVTP and lookin forward to your challenge..lol.

Even if you burn out on restoration it’s a money maker. It seems to me he knew it was getting repoed and swapped the good stuff over to his cousin. Nice to get it all back.

Great story to go along with a nice car and a terrific price!

fkn sweet man, love the 96 cobra, the best amerian v8 sound to me.. looking foward to see more of this build..

I once had a 96' Cobra Mustang with a Vortex supercharger for a short time and that car could move ! But I never could wrap my head around why Ford went metric with the 4.6. Since I had two LX notch backs, a 91' and 92' with a 5.0 and a 331 stroker. But I always did like the body style of the SN95. Hope you can give that old Cobra a second chance on life.

While the 03-04 mystichrome is much better looking. (the 94-01 I think is a test run for the the paint trying to get it right) at the end of the day a mystichrome cobra is a mystichrome cobra. Lovely to see another 4V related video

I connect with this on a spiritual level

You’re a winner. Glad I’m not the only one.

I saw five at a restaurant near Carlisle PA during the Ford Nationals this year. I remember these from back in the day, and honestly they are more interesting now IMO. Nice score.

Good for you man! Have fun bring her back to life....

I really hope build videos are coming. I really wanted this version of mustang when I bought mine

For a non traditionaly styled Mustang it does have good look. Even though both cars were jacked you got the jackpot.

Good on you for getting an awesome deal. I had a buddy say "you can't beat free." I disagreed, I've seen "free" or cheap cost people a lot of $.

Nice bud, 96' laser red here too. Forge the engine and throw some boost at her if it's not all rotted out

Dude you have great taste? Well done on winning the auction please keep the videos coming keep safe dude

You have good taste! I have a black 97 Cobra! The 4v is a great engine, and the 96-98s have the Teksid block and a forged crank from factory so there is great foundation for boost! WARNING: the 96 had a small radiator that was changed in 97, get the bigger rad and fan! I put 140k on mine, then decided I wanted for speed so I put forged rods and pistons for a 76mm turbo, T56 magnum, etc. Love it to death. Mine never had any of the interior problems however. Mines been driven but I always maintained it perfectly and stored inside at night By the way, last I knew to get the correct code you have to verify you own an authentic mystic to Ford and they'll relinquish the codes to a shop. That was years ago though.

I remember going to the Tulsa auto show and seeing one of these when they came out. I drove an 88 Mustang GT at the time so I was a Mustang guy.

I feel your sense/desire to rescue cars. It’s a hobby if you’re an optimist or a disease if you’re a pessimist. Either way, if the wife’s happy - then fantastic. I’ve used the excuse “it followed me home” to my wife. Leaves me with 16 mid 90’s Suzuki Vitaras, 3 -2000 Saab 9-3s. (& 2 new VWs so we can actually drive). My kids have graduated from the Suzukis to the Saabs. I have no mechanical skills whatsoever.

This guy could step in shit and come out with roses growing from his shoes.

As someone a long time in the motortrade I know as should you that those colors fade differently. As well as a different drum of paint. And look totally wrong. I once owned 2 94 Falcons the same color, built the same month and they were different colors!! Dont stuff around, find a good painter and have the door or probably the whole side painted. Cheaper in the long run and a better job.

This is on the order of my Neon ACR. I still have to explain that it's kinda special and a lot of fun to drive. Great detective work on these cars. Cool story! Thank you for sharing.

Keep us updated on the project.

Hopefully one day u get a motor for one of these I plan to fix mine up it's a 1998 4.6 they did some weird cutting and cut the top like a targo top. Loved the car interested in hearing and seeings what goes wrong and your opinion of the car as you take it apart

You rarely make much restoring cars compared to the hours put in. I have a estimated 14,000 hours into my 1966 Impala SS 427 was a 327. This includes floorboards, trunk floor , and fixing the rest of the body. New wiring, building the motor,and Painting .

4:05 Tell me I'm crazy! Great video. Good luck.

mustang guy here yes had an SN95. Great score and story.

You definitely have to fix that Mystic Cobra only 2,000 of them exist they are very rare and worth a lot of money you can't part it out it's killing a unicorn thank you for saving it

No one speaks of the matching tubs in the background? Those tub colors match the Mystic Mustang!

Yes! Have always wanted one of these.

I like the color it's two tone my eyes are drawn to it. The black grey is very unique. It's odd the two cars came from the same owner. What are the chances off that. I think you made a good choice. You got a really good deal. I enjoyed the video and story on the two cars.

Well since you have access to so many engines and parts. Two words COYOTE SWAP!!!

The absolute best color mustangs ever came in

Fun, interesting and informative story, love it!

You can get the Cobra R wheels from OE Wheels for about $700. for the set. As for the paint. You might as well suck it up and have it done right.

I love what you do. Thank you

Happy for you bro. Nice car.

Nice project! As most of us already know, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Well, with what you paid (even if you paid through the nose for shipping) at least your lady can't be mad about it.

According to Wikipedia, all of NINE 1996 Mystic Cobras had cloth interiors (black, in case you're curious), so seeing one with cloth, regardless of backstory, would throw me off too.

Oh and another thing, the stock wheels look great IMO but with the wide hips on the car they really need wider wheels to fill out the back, and 1 inch bigger (18s). If you're dead set on OG 17s that's cool too. I'd sell you my set of OGs but I'm sentimental about things lol

there is no cure for it just keep flipping those bangers and stay with in the part out margin lol

Smoking deal!!….yeah!!…you will for sure be right about the smoking all right!!….standing in the side lane!!

I love Mustangs, but from that era, both of them need LS swaps. And you're the perfect guy to do it !!

Wow that is a steel for those two cars. You can pay for the paint work on the good car with the part money you get from the other ones.

I had a 97 V6. Loved that car.

Good luck with the Cobra, I like it, also like watching you tear into a motor so I subbed, you DID say you were going to make a vid about the most severely damaged parts you've pulled out of various motors. I know I'd like it, also think other members would like it, let her rip!.

Dang. I'm not a Ford fan and I don't even like SN95's but I like (and want) that car. I remember when they were new. Thing is... I really like that gray interior! Especially the cloth seats. I hate leather with a passion. Too bad you won't just clean it up and save a ton of work... then hell I might just buy it from you. Seriously.