Hey Yall, I'm New Here

dannyboy3141

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Aug 18, 2016
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Hey, as you might have guessed, I'm new here. Unlike many of you, I do not presently own a mustang. My dad is a mustang guy (he's rebuilding a 65 coupe presently) and I'm getting into them. I was always more of a mopar guy, but I found that I have more of a preference for stangs. My question to all of you is what should I get? I am lookng for something a little older, something that could possibly be a good rebuild, that I could use as a daily driver. Sure, I'll take care of any performance later, but it's gotta be functional and practical. Any years/models/styles you guys suggest? Anything I should stay away from? I am keenly studying up on the late 80's foxbody hatchbacks right now. Suggestions? Would 90's be better? What should I look for and why?
 
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Welcome to Stangnet.

The newer the mustang you get, the fewer the problems in general.

Classic mustangs ('64.5-'73) have risen so much in price that you'll pay a small fortune for a car that will have you tied up for years.

Mustang II's? You just gotta wanna there.

Fox chassis ('79-'93) are probably one of the better deals out there right now. Prices are starting to rise a little bit. The '79-'86 (four eyed) models are a little tougher to fix up mainly because the aftermarket companies are focusing mainly on the '87-'93 models. That being said, I have an '83 and an '86 model myself and it's really not that tough to find things for them, you just have to be a little more diligent in your research. Fox mustangs are probably the cheapest route out of all the mustangs you could build.

'94-'98 mustangs are a body style that you just have to like. The '94-'95 models use the old 5.0 pushrod engines and you'll have a little more difficulty with the computers in them than you would with the '96-'98 models that came with the 4.6 modular engines.

'99-'04 new edge mustangs can be very hot cars when given the proper mods. You'll begin to pay a little more initially for them over a fox. Of course the Cobras and Mach 1's are nice, but you'll pay a premium for those. I really like the edge body style.

'05-'09? These are becoming reasonable in price and have all sorts of aftermarket products. In addition to a higher initial investment though, you'll also note the mods for these models are a bit pricier than the previous models (not to include the classics, people think those parts are made of gold).

'10-'14? The '10 is really just a restyled '05-'09. It changed, of course in '11 with the new coyote engine. These cars are sweet, but there initial cost is pretty dang high. Mods are plentiful, but you'll pay a nice chunk for them.

All that said, I believe the fox chassis mustangs are the best value. They are as light as you find outside of the first couple year of mustangs. There are so many still to be found that if you decide to do some modifications to them that are a little irreversible, like mini-tubbing the rear end, smoothing the engine bay, etc....you won't feel too bad about cutting it up.
There are so many cool things you can do to a fox body, from an original resto to a hot restomod. Change out the interior if you want, swap an engine, whatever. It's all good.

Plus the '79-'95 subforum here is where all of the cool kids hang out!:D
 
on line? Late Model Restoration (LMR), CJ Piny Parts, Mustangs Unlimited, eBay and a few others.

Locally? Craig's List, I also found a salvage yard that is no longer in business. The original owner died and the yard was willed to his son. His son kind of collects fox bodies from other yards. It was through him that I found my '83 t-top coupe. I found him by asking the various salvage yards if they knew of any place with fox platform vehicles. One of them finally knew a guy that had some fox mustangs. I called him, he knew someone else, I called him, and he knew the guy I'm getting my stuff through.

It pays off to be persistent.

There are others on line out there, yellow bullet forum has a classified section, four eyed pride forum, ours, of course, Corral net. Look at other mustang forums out there. If you want to build it, it can be done.