Hi everyone! I’m new to this forum and I hope I am posting in the right thread. (Please let me know if I’m not) I am debating on whether to sell or restore my 2001 GT convertible that has been sitting in front of my house for about 6 years. (It sat 6 years because I had the most fun in this car and always wanted to fix it.)
I bought the car (my first car) from a shady used car dealership in Southern California when I was 18 in 2008. I always loved Mustangs and especially the power of the GT and the look of the 1999-2004s. I ended up taking a couple auto classes in college, was able to put it on the lift, and found out that it appeared to be t-boned on the driver’s side since the “subframe connector bar” (excuse me if that isn’t the right name of the part), was bent in towards the passenger side, like this (>). The stock radio was missing and there were some wires hanging by the pedals but the sound from the off-road Spintech exhaust literally sold me. It ended up costing $19,800 in the year 2008 for a 2001 GT Premium convertible with 50k miles. (Idiot, I know)
Long story short, there is the damage from being t-boned before I purchased the stang, then I was rear ended twice and t-boned once while I had the vehicle (8 years). There is a rip in the vinyl convertible top while I’ve been quoted around 3k for (Some kid stealing my purse).
The car, if I remember correctly had about 110k miles before the engine ran out of oil and blew on me. At that point, when the engine blew, the transmission and differential were leaking quite a bit but everything else was up to par.
6 years is a long time to let a car sit I’m assuming. I would love advice on what kind of cost it would be to get it up and running. The 1999-2004s that I look at are normally in really bad shape. Is 10k or more a reasonable amount to assume to restore this Mustang? I have never dealt with a car sitting this long and would love to know your opinions on what parts I would HAVE to fix to even get it started again. I would also want to paint it eventually!
RECAP:
The engine ran out of oil in 2014
Transmission and differential leaking
Ripped convertible top and headliner
Frame damage from being rear ended and t-boned (Still drove okay, went through tires a little fast)
Paint is faded from the elements
My questions are…
Is it even worth trying to restore?
Should I just sell it and buy another Mustang?
Thank you so much guys and gals and I would really appreciate any feedback or opinions!
