Some of you folks who went to school during the Pleistocene Age might remember the Three Rs. For those that are a touch younger, this was shorthand for reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic—the basic building blocks of an elementary school education in the United States since the 1800s.
For Ron and Cindy Bramlett, however, the Three Rs represent the Mustang Cobra Rs built by Ford’s SVT division in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Ron and I have been close friends since the mid-1980s. He and Cindy have owned some of the nicest classic Mustangs on the planet, including a 1966 Hi-Po GT hardtop that remains in their collection. Ron has also enjoyed building modified Mustangs. His most famous is the “Ronster” 1966 roadster built in 1995, which many consider one of the first restomods.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Ron and Cindy have Ford SVT Cobra R Mustangs on their roster. It all started with an encounter with a 2000 Cobra R in 2001.
”Cindy and I were at a SAAC (Shelby American Automobile Club) track event at Sears Point Raceway when a gentleman pulled in with a new 2000 Cobra R on his open trailer,” Ron said. “We looked it over and watched it on the track. That car influenced me to learn more about Cobra Rs.”
Today, Ron and Cindy own examples of 1993, 1995, and 2000 Cobra Rs. They were more than happy to show them to us and tell the stories behind their acquisition.
1993 Cobra R, #91 of 107
The very first Cobra R was the ultimate factory Fox-Body Mustang. Of the three Rs, it was the most like the Cobras’ spiritual ancestor, the 1965 Shelby GT350-R—a stripped down Mustang upgraded for road racing on a budget. Though street-legal, Ford wanted the owners to actually race their Cobra Rs. That’s why you needed to show a competition license to buy one.
This particular car is Ron and Cindy’s second 1993 Cobra R. When they were looking for it, their oldest son, Ron Jr., emailed them the link to an Autoweek online for-sale ad. Ron Sr. called the seller and asked about the title.
“He told me it was in his name and that everything was in order. He even offered to send the title by mail before I paid for the car,” Ron explained. “Although I declined his offer, he sent it anyway — a pretty sneaky way to sell a car, eh? The seller later told me he knew who I was and trusted me to return the title if I decided not to buy the car.”
The R was based on the production 1993 Mustang Cobra. To reduce weight, SVT removed the fog lights, radio, air conditioning, power windows, power mirrors, sound deadener, and undercoating. They also replaced the rear seat with a fiberboard panel and carpet.
To improve handling, the Cobra R’s suspension got progressive-rate Eibach coil springs; Koni struts and shocks; thicker sway bars; and urethane rear control arm bushings to reduce deflection. A strut tower brace and a stiffer floor pan with subframe connectors reduced chassis flex.
The Cobra R had four-wheel disc brakes with 13-inch rotors up front and 10.5-inch rotors out back. It also got five-lug front spindles and rear axles designed for the upcoming SN95 Mustang.
Under the Cobra R’s hood was the same 235 horsepower 5.0L engine used in the production Mustang Cobra. The Cobra R did get an air-to-oil engine oil cooler, an aluminum radiator with de-gas canister to remove air from the cooling system, and a recalibrated cooling fan clutch to keep engine temperatures under control.
To handle the power, Ford opted for the Borg Warner T-5Z five-speed transmission with stronger internals plus an upgraded clutch with greater clamping power. The time-proven 8.8-inch rear end came with 3.08:1 gears and a Traction-Loc differential. Racers quickly dumped the 3.08s for shorter gears like 3.55s or 3.73s.
1995 Cobra R, #180 of 250
This 1995 Cobra R is one of three that Ron and Cindy have in their collection. It has a mere nine miles on the odometer.
“We had two Cobra Rs, both race cars with a lot of history,” he explained. “To complete our collection, we wanted a stock Cobra R so everyone could see how it came from the factory.”
Ford SVT powered the Cobra R with the 351W (5.8L) engine from the F-150 Lightning pickup. It was rated at 300 horsepower and 365 lbs.-ft. of torque. That was enough power to allow the car to crack 0 to 60 MPH in 5.4 seconds, 0 to 130 MPH in 34.1 seconds, and top out at 151 MPH. On the quarter mile, you could expect 14-second ETs at 99 MPH.
The suspension was upgraded from the street-only Mustang Cobra with stiffer springs, stiffer sway bars, and adjustable Koni struts and shocks. They allowed the Cobra R to pull 0.89 Gs on the skid pad. Other race-spec parts include oil and power steering coolers; a high capacity radiator; a 20 gallon Fuel Safe fuel cell; and a strut tower brace.
Ron found the Cobra R on eBay. If you’ve ever sweated an online auction for a car, you’ll appreciate his story.
“The seller had a ‘Buy It Now’ price tag on the car, and two bidders kept bumping it up $100.00 at a time over several days,” Ron explained. “Every day I checked on it, wondering if one of the bidders finally hit the ‘Buy It Now’ button. With less than an hour to go in the auction, the bidding got to within a thousand dollars of the ‘Buy It Now’ price. I thought, how stupid to sweat out so little money on a car like this!”
“I called Cindy and asked her if we should buy the Cobra R, and she agreed. I hit the button rather than making it a three-way bidding war. Those other bidders got lost in the idea of buying it for as little as possible and just didn’t think about what the car really was.”
Today, the Cobra R has that same nine miles on the odometer. In 2006, it won a Gold Award at the only Mustang Club of America show it has ever been to. Ron told us the club thought he was crazy for wanting to pull onto the show field with the Mustang on the trailer and push it into its designated spot. (They did accommodate his request). But after all, it just wouldn’t be the same if it had 10 miles on it, would it?
2000 Cobra R, #250 of 300
The 2000 Cobra R is one of the fastest factory road race Mustangs ever built. It could do 0-60 MPH in 4.4 to 4.7 seconds with a top speed of 170 MPH. It could crack the quarter mile in 12.8 seconds at 110 MPH if you were so inclined.
Ron got the opportunity to buy the Cobra R thanks to a friend on the East Coast who was bidding on it in an online auction.
“The car was about an hour away from me in San Jose,” Ron explained. “There was still a day to go in the auction and he was high bidder. When he told me what he had bid I told him, ‘You’ll never buy the car for that amount of money!’ I was positive the bids would go higher but they didn’t.”
The next day, Ron called his buddy and congratulated him on the winning bid. He also got a big surprise—the friend asked if he was interested in buying the Cobra R for the bid price.
“Shipping was going to be a lot more than he had planned, so he decided to look for a 2000 Cobra R that was closer to home,” Ron said. “Cindy and I jumped at the chance to buy the car for such a reasonable price. I think he was just as happy as I was when I said I would buy it!”
The Cobra R got a 5.4L 32-valve Modular engine rated at 385 horsepower at 6,250 RPM and 385 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4,250 RPM. The engine is backed by a Tremec T-56 six-speed. The 8.8-inch pumpkin had 3.55 gears and a Gerodisc electronically-controlled differential.
Ford SVT engineers upgraded the front suspension with gas-charged Bilstein struts, 800-pound Eibach springs, and a 28mm sway bar. The Cobra R used the same independent rear suspension as the street SVT Cobra. It features steel upper and aluminum lower control arms, Bilstein twin-tube gas shocks, 750-pound Eibach coil springs, and a 26mm sway bar.
Stopping power is provided by 13-inch Brembo front disc brakes with aluminum four-piston calipers. The rear brakes are 11.65-inch Brembo discs with single-piston calipers and Akebono pads. A four channel ABS system helps with the panic stops. A set of 18 x 9.5-inch five-spoke cast aluminum wheels are wrapped with sticky BF Goodrich KD tires.
Want to Learn More About the Cobra Rs? Visit the SVT Performance.com Cobra R Mustang forum and Become Your Neighborhood’s Resident Expert!
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