By Dean Larson

By now you’ve probably noticed how much we enjoy finding good deals on fun, affordable replica cars, and today we feel we’ve outdone ourselves. We’ve profiled many Cobras in the $30,000 dollar range and shown you that decent cars can be had if you’re willing to make a compromise or two. The Cobra we’re bringing you today blows away many of our $30k Cobras and it’s being sold for just $26,500.

This steal of deal comes in the form of a slick-looking Factory Five on Houston Craigslist. We’ve been watching the price on this car fall for a couple months now and thought it wasn’t a bad buy when first listed at around $34,000.

In our last $30k Cobra round up, we explained that many bargain Cobras are Mustang donor cars like this one, which reuse the pony car’s engine, transmission, rear axle, most suspension components and a host of minor parts. While some might prefer crate engines and all new components, Mustang donor Cobras use some of the Mustang’s best engineered parts and offer great performance at a lower price than a from-scratch build. Powering the Cobra is, of course, the fuel-injected 5.0-liter V8. This one has had its wick turned up to make over 400 hp at the rear wheels according to the seller, a decent feat for a engine that pushed 180-190 hp to the wheels in stock trim. Interestingly, the seller notes that the engine has been hooked to a Tremec T-45 transmission. This transmission would have been found in later ’96-’01, 4.6-liter Mustangs, while most 5.0 liters were paired with Tremec T-5s.

Anything the Cobra lacks from its pony-car beginnings, it makes up for in execution. The garnet-red and silver paint suits the car and presents very well. The details all look in order from the wheels to the side pipes, roll bar and bumper jack points. The Cobra’s interior is very basic, but is very tidy and still looks new.

If you’re in the market for a Cobra in or around Texas, this Factory Five is definitely worth a look. The car looks to be cosmetically and mechanically perfect with just 2,300 miles, and offers a lot of bang for your buck. Just compare the $26,500 asking price to the cost of buying a new Cobra kit ($19,990), plus the driveline, paint, wheels and tires, and you’ll see why we consider this the best deal out there on a Cobra today. See it here on Houston Craigslist.