I bought this King Cobra on 11/30/2024. I bought it from a friend I met online that collects KC’s and he was kind enough to sell me this one and also give me doors and fenders for it. I had been looking for 2 years as I wanted a 4 speed and with less than 5000 made in 78 that means there is very few on the road and very few that are good enough for a project. They were just not popular like my 71 Mach 1’s that I own. I love the uniqueness of this car. The decals are like none other Mustang and the rarity is so rare that a car in perfect shape sold for $30,000 just months ago. My goal is to make this into a perfect condition show car.
This is the Marti Report for my King Cobra. It has the black paint with the orange King Cobra decals. That is exactly want I wanted along with no T-tops. All my Mustangs have Marti Report, and I would never buy a car that didn’t have one or if I had question about its authenticity, you can buy a cheaper report for $25. This one cost $55 dollars.
As you can see I will be replacing the entire interior.
Back view of my car. I will update every step of the project. Stay tuned.
King Cobra Wheels with 70-Radialm it will have to have 196/70×13 Raised White Letter Radial tires. Those are what they came with factory so its going to be important to get those. You will find some companies that still sell, the white wall or white raised letter tires. Details are key to perfection restoration.
Starting the Restoration Process 3/29/25
I got the moved into the shop and still need to make room for the other KC. So far, I have been taking what’s left of the motor out and ordering parts. I got a great deal on an aluminum radiator for it. fix any issues with bent parts. and taking some of the interior out. Picture coming.
Dismantling interior, engine, engine bay
I think the motor is still good, it will turn so that is a good thing. Actually both of the KC I have the motors are not locked up even the this one looks to be in bad shape. I am going to break it down and have a professional rebuild the lower end and switch it to a 4 barrel carb and intake, better cam, headers. I am keeping this one and selling the other one when I am finished. Here are some photos of taking it apart.
Luckily the floor is not rusted, it seems someone put rusted parts and all the rusted dust came off. Ill just need to replace the carpet which someone used a light green house hold carpet on the front part of the car. Very strange and it was badly done.
The steering wheel like all of these KC has small rust spots which are coming up with a steel wool pad, which im going to add some liquid that helps with the wool. Even wheels in this shape which they are all like this go for up to 600 dollars. You can’t buy them new nor would it be affordable if you could find one but mine will clean up just fine. The chrome dash plate I have a brand new one for. Someone added the snake which I was kind of hoping it was part of the KC option but no its just a sticker. Although since its mine I may do something really cool with King Cobra emblem.
The dash is in bad shape, I already have a new one and I have a new headliner. I may go ahead and pay to have the headliner and seats redone. I’m going to see how it goes with my Mach 1 first. So that is it so far.
4/7/2025 More Demolition
Replaced the hydraulic lifters for the hatch so I do not have to have a stick hold it up. Taking off all the weatherstripping and removed all the plastic pieces for the backend. its time to clean out the back end and remove the front seats so everything can be cleaned and get ready for the carpet. It takes a lot of time to remove weatherstripping and they all have to go. It cost about 800 for the full weatherstripping new. It has to be replaced so there is no getting around that. Good thing is there is no actual rust on the floorboards. The rust you see is someone put something in there and the rust dust came off. That is a big plus.
4/8/2025
I removed the driver side back seat glass to clean it up and see if I can make the chrome look good again. I am also working on the floor chrome panels. They were both brown when I took them out and I have spent a lot of time working on them so they are starting to look good.
