Mustang Newb

[dodgeshadowchik]

Hey everyone! I was refered to this forum form a friend of mine; saying that it's probably one of the best out there for info on Fords!

So here's the story.. I'm going to be purchasing an older Mustang here shortly. I've been hearing some mixed opinions as to what to get. All I can really afford at this time are the fox body cars and the early sn95's. I found a red 96 GT that I really like; but I've heard that since its the first year of the 4.6 to stay away form it. I'm also looking at a few 88-89's with the 5.0. The 96 is a stick shift car, which is what I perfer; so I'm really leaning towards that one. Is there anyhting I should be aware of to look for?

As for me, I came form the "tuner" world. I've ALWAYS wanted a mustang, so I'm pretty excited about this! I'll be selling an 99 Eclipse Spyder to get this car. I'm just tired of the money pit dsms... I guess you can say. The "project" car; which was not suppost to be a project car is a 95 Eagle Talon. It's always broken; so it turned into a project. So I got a little frustrated and vowed to go back to domestics.... :-D

I'm also a fan of the Shelby Dodges and own a 1989 Shelby CSX-VNT; which is a hopped up version of the Dodge Shadow. It's a fun little car for a front driver! It's a limited edition (1 of 500) so I don't drive it often.

Again, hello everyone! Thank you for any information! Hope you all have a great day!

 

[Black Talon]

Welcome to SVTP.

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

Thanks!

 

[FISHTAIL]

Hey, welcome. If you must get an early 4.6 stay away from the GT's. It's not that they are junk, it's just that they are slow as hell. The SOHC 4.6's are no where near as mod friendly as a 5.0 will be. If you want something you can build to go fast by yourself, bit by bit, and on the cheap, stick with a 5.0L. If you want something a little (ok, alot) smoother in the power band, and are willing to spend more money to mod, get a 96-98 Cobra.

The SN95 cars are also a little bit nicer than the fox-3 cars are. Plus you get 4 wheel disc and more wheel/tire options out of the box. You can always upgrade a fox, but still, that's money and time spent that could be used elsewhere. I love the hell out of my 92GT, but unless you are willing to put some money and work into it, it won't be as nice as an SN95 car.

My advice: Stick with 94-95GT, or a 96-98 Cobra. 5spd cars only. There are tons out there...be patient, and don't settle.

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

Thank you for that info!

I may end up with an 88; only cause the guy wants to trade me straight up for the eclipse i have. But I'm not going to rush into it per your advice. But if this car is fairly clean, it may just happen since there will be no money transaction; which is nice.

 

[hweb30]

Hey, welcome. If you must get an early 4.6 stay away from the GT's. It's not that they are junk, it's just that they are slow as hell. The SOHC 4.6's are no where near as mod friendly as a 5.0 will be. If you want something you can build to go fast by yourself, bit by bit, and on the cheap, stick with a 5.0L. If you want something a little (ok, alot) smoother in the power band, and are willing to spend more money to mod, get a 96-98 Cobra.

The SN95 cars are also a little bit nicer than the fox-3 cars are. Plus you get 4 wheel disc and more wheel/tire options out of the box. You can always upgrade a fox, but still, that's money and time spent that could be used elsewhere. I love the hell out of my 92GT, but unless you are willing to put some money and work into it, it won't be as nice as an SN95 car.

My advice: Stick with 94-95GT, or a 96-98 Cobra. 5spd cars only. There are tons out there...be patient, and don't settle.

Good advice. Never settle on the car. If you dont see one you're 100% sold on, then wait a week or two and see what pops up locally

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

Yeah, I passed up on a few rusty foxes... I really get annoyed when people lie about the condition. This guy said his 93 has only "a little rust. above the wheel well and some surface on the frame" I though "ok, its old, so that sounds allright" Went to go look at it... didn't knw "a little rust" included the face there were no floors or 1/4s. The rockers were all bondoed up and repainted. the doors were rotted, as well as the hatch. Thats more than "a little rust" buddy!!

The other day went and checked out this 94 yellow GT 5speed the other day. Really clean car for the year. I could only find a few rust spots here and there. Paint could use some help, but overall it did not look bad! Its got some miles on it; but it runs great. All stock except for a flowmaster exahust. Going to go look at it again tonight and possibly pick it up.

 

[FISHTAIL]

Cool. If you get it, post pics. You might also want to look at cars further south, specifically, below the rust belt. My 92GT has just shy of 200k on it, and there is no rust to speak of on the car. Not even under the hatch.

It's not a bad trip down this way, or further south than me for that matter, so I'd start looking down there too. Plus, then you get to take your brand "new" car for a road trip on the way back :beer:.

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

I will definatly post some pics!

The current owner said the car is from the south; which I would have to believe based on how little rust there was.

He wasn't there the other day when I checked it out; so today is the test drive.... that will be the make or break on this.

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

Well... here's what I found.

Car started up fine, no weird noises... the low oil light came on, so i shut it off and checked the oil. It was down about a quart and a half. So.. added some oil and restarted.. took it for a drive. The car, despite the high miles, ran and shifted REALLY nice. The car itself didn't make a ton of squeeks and rattles like i thought it would've. It is stock as stock can be; except for the flowmaster exhaust. Everything worked.. the windows, locks, ect

Things that concerned me:
the paint. i noticed that it definatly was repainted at one point. the fender and door are a different yellow. However, the repainted fender had the same VIN as the one on the dash... so maybe it was a repaint due to age? I didn't notice any mismatched body lines or gaps; so I honestly do not think it was wrecked. Or if it was, it was not anything major. The owner said the title is clear.

The driver's side window appears to be off track somewhat. it doesn't fall down in the door; but it does move around.

The air bag light pops on and off too.

Other than that... it's pretty solid. Of course I did find some more rust spots. LOL!

So, any thoughts?

Going to go back friday for one more look-see

 

[FISHTAIL]

Get a carfax on it...they aren't perfect obviously, but it helps. The repaint could have been from some minor damage (rubbing a light pole in a parking lot perhaps) that would have warrented a repair of the fender, but not a replacement. Any number of things could have caused someone to have various panels painted on the car.

I don't know if the SN95 regulators are the same as the fox cars, but if they are, it sounds like the window needs new bushings. They are cheap, a little bit of work to replace, but nothing terrible.

The airbag light would bug me a little bit...did the horn and cruise work? Are you sure the airbag is actually there? It's possible that the car was in an accident, fixed without the insurance companies knowledge (hence the clean title) and to keep costs down, the airbags weren't replaced. There are companies out there that make inserts for the wheel that look like an airbag, but aren't. Given that the car may have had some accident repair work done, and the airbag light is flashing, I'd be suspicious. Have the owner get that light checked out.

The low oil light is a little strange too. It's not strange that the car leaked oil (5.0's love to drip out of the rear main) it's strange that the owner didn't make sure that stuff was in order before you came to look at the car.

Anyway, everything could be on the up and up, but there are a few red flags there for me. Tread carefully.

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

Thanks! I'm definatly going to take an even closer look tomorrow.

The kid is NOT a car guy at all. Honestly, I don't even think he knows where the oil goes. So the fact he didn't top it off doesn't surprise me. He bought the car because it "looks cool". :rolling: Actually.... I can use this to my advantage.. and at least he can't hide anything. :lol1:

I loved the :??: look he gave me when i asked about the airbag light and clockspring. I know on the Talon, it just needs a clockspring. But yea, that coupled with the repaint does makes me wonder...

I'll probably show up friday with my friend's snap on scanner to see if i can access that air bag light and see what it is.

It did have a horn; didn't test the cruise tho.. honeslty forgot too!

Thank you for the advise!

 

[ChiSVT]

Get a 95 5.0 GT instead of a 96 4.6..Welcome.

 

[FISHTAIL]

Thanks! I'm definatly going to take an even closer look tomorrow.

The kid is NOT a car guy at all. Honestly, I don't even think he knows where the oil goes. So the fact he didn't top it off doesn't surprise me. He bought the car because it "looks cool". :rolling: Actually.... I can use this to my advantage.. and at least he can't hide anything. :lol1:

I loved the :??: look he gave me when i asked about the airbag light and clockspring. I know on the Talon, it just needs a clockspring. But yea, that coupled with the repaint does makes me wonder...

I'll probably show up friday with my friend's snap on scanner to see if i can access that air bag light and see what it is.

It did have a horn; didn't test the cruise tho.. honeslty forgot too!

Thank you for the advise!

No problem. Sounds like the clock spring is ok, if the horn is working, then it's likely intact. Problem could be the module, a bad sensor, etc etc. Bringing the scanner sounds like a good idea.

Don't forget to post some pics.

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

here's some pics I took with the cell phone of it.

it definatly needs a good scrubbing. and new taillights and wing.... lol

 

[FISHTAIL]

Yeah the wing and taillights need to go. You didn't mention it was a vert....if that thing had been in a bad front end collision and repaired by Scruffy the body man in his garage on the cheap, it would probably be a huge rattle trap with a top that didn't close properly.

If the top works correctly, and lines right up, and the car isn't to rattly, then it probably wasn't wrecked. That's not to say it wasn't repaired correctly off the books, but the chances of that are greatly reduced IMO.

How much is he asking for that bi-plane? I mean Mustang...oke:

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

lol yeah, its a convertible. i tend to type too fast sometimes!

well if i do get it tomorrow, i already have the spoiler sold. Believe it or not!! some guy with a v6 mustang that he put a body kit on. :facepalm:

yeah, you know.. for a droptop.. the thing hardly made any noise.

Oh, it's under 3k. I'm going to try to talk him down to 2200.

 

[FISHTAIL]

well?

 

[dodgeshadowchik]

I'm hoping today maybe....

the kid works crazy long hours, so he hasn't had a day off since last time I looked at it. I think in the last email he mentioned wednesday. which is today!

So.... if it happens I'll be sure to post about it!

 

[CobraBob]

Welcome to SVTP! That yellow Mustang definitely has potential. Gotta start with a good cleaning and wing replacement if you get it. But you already mentioned that. Best of luck with this one. Hope it works out for you.