mustangGT90210

I'm looking for my first car, and I'm pretty much dead set on a Mustang with a V8 and a stick. I was wondering, can anybody tell me a bit more about the Fox and SN95(I believe) Mustangs, and what some of their tendencies are, like for maintenence and things like that?


PS, Mods, if there is a designated spot for threads like this, could you move this one and/or direct me to that board?

Laser98

MustangGT90210 if you look on the top of this page in the red banner you can click on "timeline" to access the years of stangs you are interested in. It has the hp numbers for each engine plus other usefull information.

For the Fox mustangs I would go with 87-93
For SN95 look at 94-2004

The fox had the 5.0 pushrod (as well as the 94/95 SN95), and the SN 95's from 96-2004 have the modular 4.6 (which were dogs from 96-98)

boduke0220

if you want a cheap go fat car get a 87-95 5.0...they mod really easily and sound great. but if you want looks and pretty good performance get a 99-04 GT like i did..they dont mod very well but they're still fun to drive and can be had for $6k now.

FLAstangx3

Uh, your FIRST car????? You might want to just settle for a 6 virses a V_8 in a FOX body. They pack a mean whollop. Make sure you can handle it.

cheech6g

I got a 99 GT for my first car in 2004.......greatest thing thats ever happened to me. As for maintenance, expect to put a couple bucks in as time goes on, but thats with any car really. Just take care of it and it will last a long time. I had 40k miles when I bought it, and now there is 82k and it still runs great. Good luck

cntchds

Good luck finding a 6 in a Fox body...

I have an SN95 (1994) GT with a stick and 207,XXX miles on it. I have had to change almost every sensor that can go bad on this thing, but the mechanicals work like they are brand new. Remember, this is a 14 year old car, and you should expect the electricals to be doing pretty lousy, especially with that kind of mileage. Overall it isn't bad, just make sure that you always keep up on maintenance and the 5.0 will take the beating.

Evil_Capri

Moving to 'General Mustang Chat,' but will leave a link . . .

boduke0220

If its your first car..dont get an S195 or mach..wayyy to fast for you...Heck I just got my license back in february but i dont go over the speed limit much. so i guess it depends on how responsible you are. 0-55 im a bat outta hell, after that im a grandma lol

StangMahn

the whole "start with a lesser car" is an whole new topic that could go on forever, so I wont go there

I'd go with a late '90's V6, theyre good cars, and look pretty good, there's tons of aftermarket mods
the 5.0's are really good, and have major potential, half the engines at my dragstrip are 5.0's

mustangGT90210

Yep, I know about the timeline, I've lurked the site for a few years now, finally decided to register for some help.
My price range sits around 3,500-4,000, so no real new car for me
Well, my dad's got a 2004 V6 Mustang that I get to drive a lot, and I gotta say, from anywhere but the back, it sounds like its being choked. That, and it's slow. I'll take me a '92-'96 Prelude VTEC before a V6 Mustang. I'd have the VTEC right now if it didn't have problems out the wazoo, but it was fast! I'd make sure I could handle the power. I won't buy the car without a test drive(of course) so that's where I'll figure out how well I handle it.

Of course, it all gets tougher with you throw torque converters into the mix. Modulating the throttle just isn't the same.
I know the V6's have potential, but in the end, I don't have the money to dump into the car to reach that potential and make it even as fast as its V8 counterpart, so I'm just going V8 out the box, save me money down the road.

After seeing the timeline, I have to wonder if my dad did anything to his '96 V6, in 2002 it came back from the shop, with a 232 horse rating

boduke0220

oh, you could get a 5.0 for around there.

or if you like more looks im sure there are a few NPI ( non-performance improved) 96-98 GT's around for that money. you could to the PI swap and have a high 13 second car, or get the 5.0.

I'd get the 96-98 Gt because they are probably more reliable and safer, and slower since your starting out lol.

mustangGT90210

......

I'm not good with slowness. 1995 Honda Preludes with the H22A1 VTEC engine, which I say have a freaking sweet dashboard and go like stink, go for less than the 96-98 GT in my area, do better in gas, and are faster. Yes, I've driven one, it was a hoot, and that's what I'm looking for. A fun car.

From what I've heard the 4.6 is a bit less reliable than a 5.0 also

future9er24

Not sure where you're gettin that from

The mod motors are a very capable platform, and so long as you arent boosting a motor with a non-forged bottom end, you'll be just fine.

That being said, a 5.0 Fox would be a great start. Just make sure you're ready for torque and some sliding. If you're used to things like Honda Preludes and V6 stangs the first thing you're going to noticed about a 5.0 is the low end grunt. That was the first thing i noticed when I swapped one into my II. Still, doesn't seem like a bad idea for a first car. Best of luck

mustangGT90210

Thanks, Arin.

I'm becoming more accustomed to V8 grunt. At the farm I work at I've gotta drive this 5.4L F150...Often through a forest of trees with about 1 foot of space to play with in between trees with the truck there. Why I need to trim so many is beyond me, but it's a great obstacle course!

And tell me you have a white with blue stripes Cobra II, not just a normal Mustang II