Stangforlife

So I've owned a V6 Mustang for a while now, but I'm thinking about upgrading. My plan is to get a year 2000 GT with about 140k miles, manual transmission, still runs, and the body/interior is in good condition. Price: ~$4.5k. Next, I would buy a used engine, 4.6L V8 from a 2002 with 35k miles for about $2k, and stick it in the GT I bought. Total cost so far: $6.5k. Now to a noob like me, thats sounds really enticing, becuase thats about how much my V6 is worth, and it has way more miles.

So my question is, is this too good to be true? How hard is it to just swap engines like this? I feel like I'm missing some really important information.

And as a side note, there are experienced mechanics in my family that could give me a hand with the job if necessary.

Thanks for your help guys!

Stangforlife

On a side note, I came across this little fixer upper job (pictues attached). It's a 2001 GT with 28k miles and the guy claims the engine/trans are still in perfect condition. He also says the only things damaged are the front bumper, hood, front fenders, and front suspension. However, you can tell by looking at it, the radiator is likely totaled, one rim and tire is finished, and the frame might be damaged. He wants $2800 for it.

How much do you guys think it would cost to fix this? I can figure $800 on a nice body kit and $300 on a radiator, but the rest like new suspension and a paintjob for the kit I am unsure of. Worth it?

Still open for advice on my first question, too. Thanks!


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contentsunderpressur

The drivers side of that car looks like it's damaged pretty bad. I would buy it for the spare parts but not to fix up unless you got an estimate from a body shop first to make sure it's fixable. I think you should go with the first option and buy the gt and swap motors. It's not that bad of a swap. Good luck.

Hyper00

I would buy the 00GT in good shape, but then buy a nice shortblock (eg. SHM, MMR, or VT)and have it rebuilt.

Derf00

That's a lot of miles for an 00. I have an 00 and it has 113K. Also, you may need to look into differences between 00 and 02 motors. They use different trannies and I'm sure teh ECU's are different along with a few wiring things. Rather than waste the money on the Swap and hidden costs, buy an 02 GT and call it good.

Stangforlife

Thanks for the advice guys, that really helps. I will keep my eyes out for a good deal on a matching engine and car.

And as for that rebuild option, assuming things in were in relatively good condition and there was little to no frame damage, would it still be a bad idea? How hard would it be to get a new bumper, hood, headlights, radiator, suspension, and get my brother (hes good with cars, although hes on vacation for another week) to help me remove and replace all the broken parts? The parts themselves are relatively cheap, and I could probably avoid a lot of the labor costs, but am I going to run into some severe mechanically issues that are going to wrack up a bill?Bear with me on this, I've never done much work on a car. You guys seem inclined to say it's a bad idea, and you're probably right, but I'm just curious why.

96GT226410

Bad idea buying a car that is that messed up. You have no idea what you're getting into. The engine swap is real easy. Remember, if you buy a GT with 140K and swap a low mileage engine in it, the rest of the car still has 140K on it. I'd be worried about trans, rear end, suspension, and electric problems.

silverstang1996

exactly what i was going to say man, you might have a low mileage engine/tranny but everything else had 140k, and there is a lot more parts that could need replacing.

Stangforlife

Yeah, I thought about that briefly. I guess I should stop spending time trying to shortcut my way to a GT and spend it on making enough money to buy a new GT :]

I am a college student, though, so money is fairly tight. :[

silverstang1996

yeah, shortcuts aren't the way for cars, there is way too many things that could go wrong with them.