terboracer

i have to say this is terrifically helpful. thanks again all.

here are some cars i am looking at. i did a search on yahoo for 85-93 mustangs, under three thousand bucks, within 200 miles of my place.

http://used-cars.autos.yahoo.com/use...Ztbz1NdXN0YW5n


http://used-cars.autos.yahoo.com/use...Ztbz1NdXN0YW5n

and here is a cheap one that looks good...

http://used-cars.autos.yahoo.com/use...Ztbz1NdXN0YW5n


there are a dozen more but i dont want to overwhelm you all. any comments on these 3?

4fit?

Bobby, 93s have hyper pistons which can't handle quite as much abuse as the forged pieces. Granted, I know folks pushing 500 to the wheels with hypers, but forged is the way to go in high horsepower applications.

4fit?

Thanks bro.
terbo, out of those cars, I would have to choose the 86.

terboracer

oh man i want this car so bad i can taste it. ok somebody mentioned that the 86 models had flat topped pistons and bad heads. is this true? should i look for something after 86? 4fit yours is an 88 and its a beauty.

terboracer

oh btw, do people prefer automatic or manual for hotrodding? i would think manual?

roundman

most of the guys and gals on here are manual tranny fans, but I prefer an automatic and they can be hot rodded to be just as fast if not faster than the manual trannys without the need to worry about clutches and flywheels wearing out too! and since both the AOD and AODE are locked up to the converter in 3rd gear and overdrive, there is no so called mileage penalty with an automatic tranny either!

4fit?

Thanks man, but it's a 89.
As far as transmissions go, I like a manual if you are just planning to hop it up a little it. But, if you plan to go all out with it and see the track on a regular basis, then C4 automatic gets my vote. Hopefully, I will have one of those in mine before too long.

terboracer

my confidence has been shaken guys! ive been talking my car selection over with some friends, and they all keep telling me that mustangs, and fords, tend to fall apart alot. now im looking forward to doing alot of work on this car, but i want it to be upgrading and tuning, not repairing. can somebody give me the truth about fords? are they at all reliable? remember im a VW guy so i dont know much about american. i love mustangs! can i afford to count on one?

mustang86cars

My 86 is the 4th mustang I've owned and have had only minor stuff go wrong on any of them. My 86 I bought new many years agao and to this day I love to drive it and always can depend on it. As far as fords quaility goes, I own 2-pontiacs, I have owned many chevy's and they all tend to be as reliable as the other. The only brand other than imports that I havent owned was the chrysler. Go with what you like, all the brands are as good as the others.

I love my Stang and you will too, you cant beat the punch out of that little pony!!!!

roundman

I have owned Ford cars and trucks since 1969 in one form or another and the newer models beginning in the 80's are much more reliable than the older models that may have given your friends their bad impression of Ford quality but I can tell you that they are wrong as can be. My '88 Stang which I bought brand new is still going strong and I have been drag racing it since '94 when it was still my daily driver. I only had one failure of the ignition module on the distributor in the whole time I have owned the car and I didn't baby it believe me. In my opinion the quality of Ford cars and trucks matches or exceeds the quality of all the other car makers out there so don't let what some of your friends say about Ford keep you from buying and enjoying a Mustang if that's the car you want to own and drive.