And so it begins... 1984 Predator Cobra Build

[mattster34]

Well after a flight to Oklahoma City and 800 miles of driving here and there and everywhere... the 1984 Predator Cobra is home. it was a whirlwind weekend filled with adventure and a detour or two.









The car is the true definition of a labor of love... The guy I bought it from was nice and didn't know much about it aside from what he had heard from Orlando when they spoke. It was pretty much in the condition you see here when they got it aside from the gas tank being taken out and disposed of unfortunately. After pushing it onto the trailer and making my way back to Oklahoma City, I headed out to Killeen to pick up my engine block.



Fully reconditioned 1986 block bored over .040 with new rods and pistons, engine stand included. All I have to do right now is get the paint off of it that got spilled onto it. Not bad for $300, huh?

After Killeen I headed to Austin and met up with Jeff (SVO here). He had a wrecked 85GT that he saved from a salvage yard and after checking the photos of the Predator I sent him, pulled out what he thought I would need.

Him with the Predator:


Truck-O-Parts. Rear end and T-5 transmission, gas tank along with boxes containing rear wing, air filter assembly, gauge faceplate, a host of other pieces


Seats and Dash


Jeff's 85 LX


And His 85 Coupe 4 banger (work in progress)




A couple other cars in his shop:
2008 Shelby Terlingua V6. Currenty being repaired from hail damage



2008 Shelby GT500 GR40RT



I have to give Jeff heaps of thanks for all his help. he really jump started my build with the amount of parts/advice he was able to give me this weekend. And once the new car smell wears off from having my new toy and I have a better idea how I plan on proceeding with the build, I will probably be taking the car to him for the bodywork among other things.

I'll have more pics of the goodies I got on my trip over the next few days, as well as the good news/bad news I have on what needs to be done to put her back together.

Matt

[02Z06]

Looks like an awesome start! Can't wait to see the progress!!!!

[bluesfannoz]

+1 Sweet! Glad to see you got it home safely!

[mattster34]

Here's a few more pics of the parts pickup.
New Center Console, picked up off CL. Originally an A/T console but I have the 5-speed bezel to replace it.

Correct taillights, CL purchase


And the best part of the day, complete gauge cluster with 140mph speedo!!! Thanks Jeff(SVO) for being willing to part with your baby. It was for a good cause!

[02Z06]

Wow, very nice scores! We will have to get pictures of your red/red '84 Predator next to my red/red Dominator at some point!

[Blainer]

Yeah!!!Another mustang in the process of being resurrected!!!

[86-5_OH]

nice pickup man. restoration for this car is not waiting ahahhaa

goodluck with the build and congratulations on buying # 49

now i wonder which # predator ima buy in the future hahaha

[MAPSVO]

I want wheels like that, who makes them, are they for sale?

[mattster34]

I want wheels like that, who makes them, are they for sale?

The wheels on the Predator are Shelby wheels, but they are very similar to Minilites which are still produced. That's once of the things I am considering. If I want to convert this car to 5-lug for improved brakes I can still get Minilites and keep the original look.

[jsam]

gonna make a nice ride. hope the cylinder walls are in the motor are not pitted. they look a bit rusty. good luck with it

[MAPSVO]

If you should ever want to sell those keep me in mind. I have 3 Turbo GTs with the 14" wheels. I would like something different for one of them and TRXs are out as far as I am concerned. Nice car by the way.

[SVO]

Matt it was great to meet you, and your new project!

You really did your homework to pull off everything you did in one weekend, NICE JOB.

Yeah, and as you noticed I do have a lot of restoration projects on my plate, in fact I was there till 3am after you left.

Remember, like I said, pictures, pictures, pictures, in fact nows the time to learn to scrap book, you can call it "The Soloman Predator Scrapbook"



Jeff

[mattster34]

gonna make a nice ride. hope the cylinder walls are in the motor are not pitted. they look a bit rusty. good luck with it

Actually that was just a bit of dirt, wiped right out.

[mattster34]

Matt it was great to meet you, and your new project!

You really did your homework to pull off everything you did in one weekend, NICE JOB.

Yeah, and as you noticed I do have a lot of restoration projects on my plate, in fact I was there till 3am after you left.

Remember, like I said, pictures, pictures, pictures, in fact nows the time to learn to scrap book, you can call it "The Soloman Predator Scrapbook"



Jeff

Thanks for all the help this weekend. It was all fun and games until I had to unload the truck...alone... But I do appreciate all the parts and your help in going over the car, adding to the list of things that need done. It was a big help and greatly appreciated!

[85 GT Kid]

Wasnt this in the FYI section a few weeks ago. Anyways CONGRATS always sweet to see another predator/dominator ressurected.

Off topic but what happened with that 85 GT "SVO" saved.

[mattster34]

Wasnt this in the FYI section a few weeks ago. Anyways CONGRATS always sweet to see another predator/dominator ressurected.

Off topic but what happened with that 85 GT "SVO" saved.

The 85 GT was wrecked in the front and unrestorable. SVO bought it complete from the salvage yard and is being used to restore the Predator. I got the transmission, rear end, seats, rear wing, dash, gas tank, fog lights and bracket, entire wiring harness, and lots of other little pieces I can't remember at the moment. He took off and kept all the parts I didn't need if there's anything you are looking for. It was a charcoal gray GT with gray interior.

I will probably have to get both floor pans, driver's rocker panel and the hatch from him also as there was rust in places the pictures didn't show and I didn't have time over the weekend to get them removed from the 85. It turned out for the best for the 85 because if he hadn't had that car I was planning on picking up a perfectly fine running 85GT here in Houston and tearing it up to restore the Predator. Now I can buy the running 85 GT and have it as my daily driver.

[85 GT Kid]

No im not looking for anything I was just wondering what happened to it. Is your car supposed to be red or is that a color change?

[mattster34]

No im not looking for anything I was just wondering what happened to it. Is your car supposed to be red or is that a color change?

Original color was Bright Canyon Red with Canyon Red interior. It has been repainted very poorly. The GT 302 stickers that run along the bottom of the doors are still there, they just painted over them. I think what they did was when they put the 87-93 hatch onto the car they painted the rest of the car to match the hatch. At least they kept the GT 302 badge for the hatch and put it back onto the car.

[02Z06]

Sounds like you've got everything planned out. I'd keep the wheels on there though, it's part of what makes it a Predator Just my $.02

[mattster34]

Sounds like you've got everything planned out. I'd keep the wheels on there though, it's part of what makes it a Predator Just my $.02

Yeah and changing the wheels, even for similar-looking wheels, goes against my desire to keep it as stock-looking as possible.

A bit of good news that wasn't in the previous pics, there were three of the four wheel center caps in the car when I opened the driver door! They need cleaning and probably re-chroming but at least I have them.

[85 GT Kid]

Have you thought of soda blasting the whole thing. If you wanted to you could leave everything on the car as its really gently on the bumpers and moldings and will not pit glass. A few hundred dollars will have it stripped if you do it yourself.

[mattster34]

Have you thought of soda blasting the whole thing. If you wanted to you could leave everything on the car as its really gently on the bumpers and moldings and will not pit glass. A few hundred dollars will have it stripped if you do it yourself.

I would probably say yes it wouldn't be problem to take a stab at doing it myself, but living in a relatively new subdivision with only a one car garage, I'm not sure how the neighbors would feel if I made that big of a mess outside. Now if I were at my previous residence where the house next to the carport was unoccupied, I'd be all over it. Here...not so much.

[85 GT Kid]

Well one good thing is its basically just baking soda (just dont use it to bake lol) and its biodegradable and safe for the environment . Or you could have a shop do it but my friend mick that restores shelbys said its like 1200 to do a car at a shop.

[mattster34]

A small update. I had about a hour to dig into the Predator before work Sunday and did a quick vacuum and wipedown of the passenger side and back seat. it cleaned up pretty nice. It's too bad I can't keep the carpet. With the amount of "presents" whatever rodent(s) that were living in the car left, I'm sure the carpet is plenty saturated as well.

I did get a chance to lift up the carpet and the front half of the floorpan on the passenger side is super-clean. The sound-deadener was just lifting off on one piece too!. The rear half of the floorpan wasn't as pretty. There were several pits that I could see through and the carpet pad was stuck to the floor as well. We'll know more as soon as I can get the carpet out.

[85 GT Kid]

You should check out my door panel backing board build I did it'll make your DPs look awesome (especially where the material is in good shape).

http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...ght=door+panel