Hey, I was wondering, which 94-04 engine has the most and cheaper performance parts available for it: the 4.6 or the 5.0? Also, where do you buy your performance parts? The reason I am asking is because I have the oppertunity to buy a 95 GT (5.0) or a 96 GT (4.6) for about the same price. Thank you!

 

You should get alot of input on this. I liked my 97GT (same as the 96) and there are alot of parts for it. From what I can tell though from reading magazines and seeing cars at shows, the 5.0 is easier to build up horsepower on. I recommend looking at a couple of magazines, do some reading, price parts in the ads (tons of those), and get input from folks on here. Oh Scott.......where is your input?

 

buy the 95, it is much easier to modify, stronger, more perf parts for it, and has more low end torque

 

i bought my 95 GT because it was a 5.0, i like the way they sound a little better, and i knew more about the mods for them, as far as cost, your basic bolt ons are all about the same price. theyre both awesome cars, and modualr power has become easy to build up so go with whatever you like better
itll be cool either way; youl have the last year of the 5.0, or the first year of the 4.6

 

The 95's stock HP rating is higher, despite Ford underrating the 95's.

Also, if you're looking at a crate engine.....a 5.0 might be the better choice. It's hardER to find 4.6 crate motors.

Also, don't buy just for a year see if one car was beaten hard, or if one has visible damage. Check A/C, transmission, and other options that could factor into your decision.

 

Matt has a great point. If both engines and transmissions seem to be running fine I would key on the quality of the paint, panels, and interior also.

 

Thanks for all the advice! I'm leaning more towards the 95, since after I checked all the engine specific parts in JEG's and a few other sites, 5.0 specific things tend to be about $20-$30 cheaper. I will also keep checking up on them in mind before I buy, since everytime I consider getting a car, I have a mechanic friend of mine double check everything for me. Does anyone have any links for 5.0/4.6 performance building articles? Any cheap parts sites/catalogs you are using?

 

www.summitracing.com

www.50resto.com

www.yearone.com

www.fordracing.com

go to Muscle Mustang and Fast Fords online and they have alot of articles on file from their previous magazines.

I hope I got the weblinks right, if not, search for them. Good stuff on all of them.

 

yeah parts for the 5.0 are cheaper. and there are more choices. only a few make parts for the 4.6 but the parts they have are good. you really only have like 2 choices for heads and intakes for the 4.6 but like 20 for the 5.0. and it all depends on the condition of each car for me. id get the one that was better taken care of with less miles. and even less mods unless they have paper work and all for them

 

www.musclemustangfastfords.com

 

Hands down, 94-95's are cheaper to mod. That is the beauty of having an engine platform that runs such a long span. 5.0's have been around forever, and will be around for a long time to come.

I am probably gonna make someone mad here, but here it goes.

DO NOT get a 96 to 98 gt. From the factory those cars are low torque low horsepower dogs. The only way to make them decently better, is to do a pi head, cam, and intake swap. Which if you are lucky may net you 260 or so rwhp. In doing this you end up raising your compression, which make it harder if you decide to s/c the car later. Another thing to notice is, NOONE makes aftermarket heads for those cars, and most likely noone will anytime soon. Aftermarket intakes are scarece to say the least. Put all the bolt-ons you want on those cars, anything short of a power adder, or the swap, and you are just gonna have a slow car you dumped alot of money in to.

If you want a 4.6, either look for a cobra, or a 99+ gt. There is no since in starting out in the hole when it comes to hp if you have other options.

For what it is worth I have owned:

1989 lx 5.0
1994 v6
1996 gt
1993 gt
1994 (project I am working on now)

I will NEVER again buy a non pi 4.6 for the purpose of making it fast. I fI do get another 96-98 gt it will be a vert for the wife to drive .

 

Yeah i would go with the 5.0. 4.6 is good too but is more expensive and not nearly as many choices.

 

isn't the '96-98 4.6 Mod motor basically the same thing as the '99-'04 Mod motor, except for the higher horsepower components they added to it?

i've also read in articles that came out in '96 in magazines that the '96 Mod motor is a much more refined engine than the pushrod 5.0 was. i can't say i've driven or been in either engine-equipped Mustang, so i'm just curious about your inputs on that.

 

It is the same basically. But the heads/intake and cams it had made it a very poor performer. You have to spend upwards of 2,000 to get it at or just past the par of a stock 99+ gt. The reason why they perform better than a 99+ with teh same heads and intake is because the 96-98 4.6L motors had flat top pistons as where the 99+ have dished to keep the compression slightly lower.

 

I've got to agree with evrything joker said.