nagata

What area of Ohio are you in? Maybe that's where I need to be looking!

amoosenamedhank

I would honestly say be willing to travel for the right car... The perfect might not be down the street so I guess it all comes down to what do you want?

nagata

I agree to a point, and have traveled to get the 'perfect' motorcycle. I'm more than willing to travel a few hours for the right car, but I can't justify more than that, at least not for a car as common as a Mustang GT. I'm not gonna settle for crap, but maybe I am expecting too little. When I think about a car in the age range I'm looking at, I expect blemishes, some pieces that need replaced, some minor work that needs done; sounds like you guys have higher expectations, so maybe I need to raise mine.

amoosenamedhank

Well I would completely agree with you if we were talking about a 1996 Grand Am. But people are weird about these cars, most treat them like a rolls royce phantom or something. I'd say up your standards some.

Mustang3GT07

OP, just avoid all the headaces and just buy yourself a 96-98 cobra. Because I bet when you get this gt, you will spend time on here and after awhile your going with wish you just bought a cobra. So do it once, and do it right, get a cobra!

Fstanggt96

Sorry didnt read all of that lol. Just get a Mach 1 trust me I sold my 96 GT for my Mach and the differences are unimaginable, you just cannot compare the two. Whatever you do, get a 4v lol. Just so you know, I ran a 15.4 @ 92 mph with my 96 GT... It had a Bassani offroad x-pipe and weld in flows and I though that was some BS so I sold it.

crash

I didn't read every post but my biggest advice is to have patience and not jump on the first car out there. I almost bought a 96 Saleen but doing the PI swap is kinda outta my league, any how, patience is a virtue and when the time comes, you'll know it.

nagata

Well guys, again, I sincerely appreciate all the input! I'm not sure where to go from here. I love the 96-98 body style, but this thread has shown me that the 2v 4.6 in those years is, frankly, despised. My idea was to spend around $4k on a GT, have some fun with it, and upgrade as possible; I could spend quite a bit more if I wanted, but I have a hard time justifying spending more on a vehicle that is just for some fun and won't have covered storage, as I don't have a garage right now. Perhaps I'll keep an eye out for a 96-98 Cobra, but the prices I'm seeing on them seem really high for the condition and mileage of the cars. Tough for me to spend $6k+ on a vehicle with 150k or more; maybe I have the wrong mentality for these vehicles?

I did find a 96 GT 5-spd coupe about 3-4 hours away that looks to be in really good condition with a PI swap done and a whole bunch of mods (3 angle valve grind with +1mm Ferrera valves, Comp 262 cams, BBK LT headers & X-pipe w/ Magnaflows, FMS 4.10s, Accufab 75 mm TB, C&L plenum, K&N intake, STS...claims dyno tuned with 300 rwhp, 320 rwtq), 63k, asking $6400, which all sounds damn nice, but the idea of buying a vehicle that someone else significantly modified makes me a bit nervous. I know if it's done right, there's nothing to worry about, same as if I did the work/had the work done. The bolt ons don't bother me, easy to check and verify, but I don't know that I have enough knowledge to be able to tell if the heads, cams, valves, etc. were done right and I'm not being BSed.

Mustang3GT07

^The GT you found seems like with all the bolt on's done.

nagata

Seems like what? All the work sounds great, and the bolt-ons are easy to check, but what about the head work? I'm sure the heads have numbers stamped on, but verifying the cams? Not sure if I'd be able to find a trustworthy shop to have it inspected at, since it's so far away.