Choices

[Paladin]

Good afternoon. Brand new to this forum so if my questions are dumb.....oh, well. I do not own a Marauder currently but i have been a huge fan of the Panther Platform for many years, having used them for work for decades. I am hoping to gain insight as to the advantages of a 2003 or 2004 Marauder. I know that the 2004 Marauder had what has been described as an “upgraded transmission” but is the difference worthwhile? I would also like to add a supercharger at some point for no other reason than i believe it would be fun. Is one model or year or another better suited for this modification? Does the addition of a modest supercharger have a large impact on longevity? I typically keep my cars for at least a decade or more.

[justbob]

Not all that much of a difference in trans. Certainly not worth the trade off of the lack of seat pockets, auto fuel door, auto parking brake release, and whatever others I can’t remember on the ‘04’s. I couldn’t even imagine one without seat pockets..

Biggest issue was early ‘03’s had some bad paint prep on the roofs. Mines fine but has always lived in a garage. I’ve seen plenty that didn’t fare so well at all.




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[gdsqdcr]

Paladin

Welcome to the forum! I am in Pleasant Hill with a 03 DPB. No issues on my paint at all, but she lives in the garage and is only out on sunny clean days. I have a tune and a J-mod (previous owner), and the car scoots.

Not many Marauders for sale in CA right now ...and the only one I saw is no longer listed on Craigslist or Autotrader.

I don't know about the SuperCharger at all ... to rich for my blood considering the CARB restrictions. Thinking about getting into a '11 or newer S197 mustang GT convertible manual. Seem to be quite rare ... but they are a mustang that my 10 year old can wrench on, modify etc ...

[RubberCtyRauder]

ADTR.net in California has CARB legal supercharger for Marauder..$$$$$. plus they sell numerous panther upgrades.

[Grimrepairman]

Welcome.
One additional advantage of '03 is no traction control to turn off.
Supercharging if done correctly should have little to no effect on longevity. I purchased my car with the supercharger already installed. To my knowledge it was installed for over 10 years and 100k miles. Engine still runs perfectly fine, plenty of oil pressure, no smoke or other issues.
In my opinion it gives the car the power and "attitude" it should have had from the factory.
Good luck and hope you find what you're looking for.