Yeah, it was a completely different car. My wife rarely drives my car, but she recognized it was different almost immeadiately. All of the twisting and flexing is gone.
Stock for stock, the coupe wins in stiffness. I've never had my 2000 top leak, and with the Griggs subframes, MM STB, and 4 pt rollbar, I'd have to say that ...
Coupe is stiffer no matter what you do to the vert, except if you weld on a hard top... and even then the coupe will be stiffer...
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Here's their subframe kit. $275 sounds like a lot but the quality is awesome and you get a free ds safety loop and clearance for side exhausts!
I had an 01 gt coupe, and now own an 03 cobra vert. Coupe is way more stiff and u can absolutely tell the difference. If u r lookin to attract the ladies go with the vert. If u r lookin for a stiff ride to mod like crazy i would definitely go with the coupe.
Think about this way...the Mustang has unibody construction (i.e the body and chassis are integrated), so chopping off the top to make a convertible is like removing a big part of the bracing stucture.
If the Mustang were body-on-frame, the difference between coupe and vert wouldn't be as dramatic...