79 cobra buck tag

[79 cobra]

Anyone know how to decode 79 buck tag . I've seen 82 and up . Not 79 .
Maybe hissing cobra knows ?

MUSTANG
285308 61R F MR 0949
1GG A DF TT M
RW AC HB DRM
CBR WQM 3
2 4 6 DCR

[Hissing Cobra]

79 cobra, the only thing that I know to be correct on the bucktag is the CBR designation. That is the only proof that your car is a "True" Cobra. Other than that, I haven't a clue. Can anyone educate both of us on the bucktags?

[RACECAP97]

The only factual thing I can come up with is: "Build-date data is stamped into the tag in the middle of the fourth line. I also found the 79 5.0 performance reports: The quarter was clocked between 16.4 and 16.7 at between 82 and 84mph. These were recorded at sea level of course. I couldn't find any reports on the 2.3L turbo cars. I'm sure they were much slower though, hehe.

[79 cobra]

racecap97 I have a Motor Trend from march 79 . They have the 79 5.0 4- speed cobra vs 79 Z-28 . They have a 16.8 e.t. / 82 mph best for cobra . It was a bit out gunned .

I have a Popular Hot Rodding from april 79 . They have a yellow 79 5.0 4-speed cobra , and a 79 2.3 turbo notchback with trx package .
The cobra ran a bone stock 16.03 e.t. /88.23 mph .
The 2.3 turbo ran a 17.28 e.t. /80.04 .

I have a Car and Driver from sept. 79 . They have a 80 cobra 2.3 turbo with 132 gross h.p.
It ran a best of 18.2e.t. / 80mph .

Same mag they also have 79 motor stats , called "mustang shakdown". All cars are 4-speeds . It don't show body style .
2.3 turbo 132 gross h.p. 18.2 e.t. /80 mph . Yes it says GROSS h.p.
V-6 109 h.p. 18.6e.t. /75 mph
I-6 85h.p. 19.2e.t. /72 mph
5.0 140 h.p. 17.0 e.t. /85 mph

I ran bone stock 5.0 , with auto , 3.08 - 1/2 interior in
16.27 e.t. / 83.53 mph on a bad run . I should of run close to flat 16 . It was my first time .

[RACECAP97]

The book I got the info from is an average from the popular mags at the time they were all testing the 79's. They gave abreviations of the magazines they took the info from so i'm not sure what most of the abreviations stood for. I knew that the 2.3T's would be quite a bit slower because they have a hell of a turbo lag. Mine i'm sure from sitting and having almost 100,000mi on it is a little worn but it still feels like a slug. There is a guy that races at our local track with what he claims to be a bone stock 5.0 pace car that runs a high 16sec quarter. He has the interior completely gutted and a really crappy excuse for a roll cage welded into it. Keep in mind that where I live is a mile above sea level and N/A cars run a sec and a half slower than they would at sea level. That would lead me to believe that his car is not stock. From what you are saying and what I have read if he was stock he should be running around an 18 here. One other thing to note is that a notchback being lighter will usually run about a sec or a little less than a hatch of the same drive train.

[79 cobra]

You are right about the weight differences between hatch / notch .

I would like to have a 79 notch 5.0 . I seen one on a used car lot , 8-10 years ago . It was a plain black notch with 5.0 emblems . I thought it would make a good sleeper . I never seen another like it .

Well the 79 cobra also has the plain frontend too . Maybe why I like . I got a stock looking glass hood on it minus the hood scoop and no rear spoiler . Less holes in the body .

[79 cobra]

What do you run 1/4 . Does it drive ?

If your up so high , why don't they build the drag strip going down hill ?
You could shave a lot of time off your E.T.s .

Just kidding .

[RACECAP97]

Hahaha, a down hill drag strip. Thats exactly what I need to race my slow crap on. I live in Denver CO. The drag strip i'm refering too is called Bandimere Speedway. Its actually built right into the side of a mountain. Well a foothill I guess. Thats where they hold such races as "The Mile High Nationals", "Mile High Truck Fest", ect... Generally racing up here with a N/A car you can expect to lose a second to a second and a half, with a nitrous car about a half a second or so, and with a turbo or super charged car its not much. My pace car has nothing done to it yet. It is still completely stock. Which is the only reason I bought it. Nothin has been tinkered with yet. It was sitting for 7-8 years, then only driven in summers. It smokes so I don't drive it much. I'm sure the valve seats are cracked, possibly getting a lot of blowby, ect.... I do however happen to have pretty much everything needed to convert to EFI from an 84 SVO. Even the hurst shifter. I have been reading a lot about building a 2.3 T. My overall goal is to look stock on the outside, stock interior minus the impossible to find hounds tooth material on my recaros, and to run around mid 13's at this altitude with a quiet car. Shouldn't be too difficult from what i've read. Just getting the EFI conversion done will be the biggest thing.

[79 cobra]

I just looked up Norwalk Raceway Park , its only 853 feet .
I'm not really in to 2.3 t , but they do handle better .

My friend had a pace car 4 years ago . He had a 2.3 t . He sold it cheap . $500 or so I can't remember . It had bad sunroof rot . It went with lots of spare parts . A glass front end minus hood , and nice 79 decklid .
I was too late to ask for parts . That made my search for parts much harder .