Deciding first car HELP!!!

[Taylor F]

Hey guys this is my first thread. I really need some help with what i should get as my first mustang. My parents are giving me a choice with what i want. And i was wondering what chassis would be the best to start and keep for a long time with a lot of potential. Like how strong the chassis is for handling, power, abd what are strengths and weaknesses of all the chassis (belowa bit) know anything can be upgraded bu whats my bang for buck and as how much money will get me stock. Ive narrowed it down to:
New Edge GT
1965-1967 289
Foxbody (roller cam years only)
Sn95 with the 5.0.
-Thanks

 

[General karthief]

Welcome to stangnet
This is a big decision, obviously the newer the car the more gadgets they have, from a money standpoint I think the 94-5 sn 95 are going to be an affordable choice and because the sn95 was only two years with the 5.0 they may hold their value pretty good.
Of course this is an opinion and not based on any factual information or experience.

 

[southcross2631]

A 87-93 fox coupe would be first choice. Lighter , stiffer than a fastback . Try to find one that hasn't been modified too much.
Get a 5.0 car so you don't have to spend the money on changing over. What are your ultimate goals with the car?
Autocross, drag racing , street cruiser ?
65-67 would be careful somebody hasn't rebuilt a rust bucket to sell quick. I did a nut and bolt restoration on a 69 Boss 302 and found out it had been hit hard in the right front and had to replace everything from the firewall forward. The customer spent twice his budget to fix a bad repair.

 

[Taylor F]

A 87-93 fox coupe would be first choice. Lighter , stiffer than a fastback . Try to find one that hasn't been modified too much.
Get a 5.0 car so you don't have to spend the money on changing over. What are your ultimate goals with the car?
Autocross, drag racing , street cruiser ?
65-67 would be careful somebody hasn't rebuilt a rust bucket to sell quick. I did a nut and bolt restoration on a 69 Boss 302 and found out it had been hit hard in the right front and had to replace everything from the firewall forward. The customer spent twice his budget to fix a bad repair.

Well im 16 and i love cars but cant really decide. It would be a daily driver si maybe a street crusier. How well do those cars handle the 87 to 93?

 

[General karthief]

Lets make a list of what is needed in your case, and I'm attempting to think about a 16 year old in today's world,
Daily driver: this pretty much eliminated everything over 20 years old. You likely do not have the place, tools and experience or money.
Budget: unknown but I would guess none or very little.
Driving experience: again unknown, you should not learn to drive in a 500 hp S550. It would be fun for a minute. Then expensive.
Cool factor: this is a must at this age.
A V6 mustang well done with wheels and a few exterior mods can be cool and insurance will be affordable.
My advice, being older and mostly been there and done that I would grab a econo car to get me back and forth to work. With the daily drive handled you can save up, look around and decide what model really gets your blood flowing, get the tools and experience you need to keep your crap running and looking good.
Now tell us a little about your situation.

 

[Taylor F]

Lets make a list of what is needed in your case, and I'm attempting to think about a 16 year old in today's world,
Daily driver: this pretty much eliminated everything over 20 years old. You likely do not have the place, tools and experience or money.
Budget: unknown but I would guess none or very little.
Driving experience: again unknown, you should not learn to drive in a 500 hp S550. It would be fun for a minute. Then expensive.
Cool factor: this is a must at this age.
A V6 mustang well done with wheels and a few exterior mods can be cool and insurance will be affordable.
My advice, being older and mostly been there and done that I would grab a econo car to get me back and forth to work. With the daily drive handled you can save up, look around and decide what model really gets your blood flowing, get the tools and experience you need to keep your crap running and looking good.
Now tell us a little about your situation.

I do have my own toolbox and my dads a mechanic. I do have *SOME* experience working with him after school and atart taking apart units. I do agree that a 500 hp S550 is way too much. In trying to stay in like 225 ish hp. And having a part time job dosent buy much of anything. Im not trying to soind like i know everything elieve me im just sone stupid 16 year old and has no idea whats going on. You say anything 20+years or older would be a bad idea. Would it be for reliability reasons or...??? Idk my budget would be about $8,000-$9,000 (i have so much becuase ive worked since i was like 9 to get a car). Since i have a descent amount should i just put it away for a nicer car after college? I dont wanna buy sonething that I can get hurt or sonething. I wanna habe fun but not be stupid with the car either.Thank you for the very helpful advice. I hope to hear back from you for more advice.

 

[General karthief]

A tool box and some experience along with dad being a mechanic is a leg up on most 16 yr olds, that and your budget shows you have some goals already instilled.
From a safety standpoint you can build that in.
A 225 hp starting point is conservative but realistic.
i would still do the econo car for daily duty and that gives you more options for buying and building what you really want, that also opens up the years you can choose from.

 

[Taylor F]

A tool box and some experience along with dad being a mechanic is a leg up on most 16 yr olds, that and your budget shows you have some goals already instilled.
From a safety standpoint you can build that in.
A 225 hp starting point is conservative but realistic.
i would still do the econo car for daily duty and that gives you more options for buying and building what you really want, that also opens up the years you can choose from.

Thabk tou for replying. Yea tools are not an problem. The problem os finding the right car to daily to drive to school and work while being a bit practical but.not too important because i can drive a 4x4 in bad snow days

 

[Olivethefet]

I'd be looking for a early 2000s V6 or GT. They are fun, not that old, not over the top with horsepower, and should be fairly reliable. Also, as funds and experience grow either model can be modified for more power and performance. The problem with anything much older is the simple fact that as things get older they just tend to break more. I love the fox bodies, but I think most agree that unless the car has had an extensive bumper to bumper overhaul they tend to need a lot of work. Same thing with the first generation mustangs. Not to mention the newer cars have way better safety features that are always a plus. If your dad is a mechanic he should be a good source of advice on reliability. 8-9K will buy a very nice car in this year range.

 

[southcross2631]

My son drove 5.0 fox body Mustangs for years. Now he has a 2015 V-6 stick shift Mustang that he bought from a lady one owner 15,000 miles.
He paid a little more than your budget, but he has a car that looks new and drives like new and performs almost as well as a stock 5.0 and handles better.
He wanted a V-8 but the insurance was too high. you should be able to find a low mileage late model for your budget and later on they make a supercharger kit that really boosts those cars.
You should be able to find a nice unmolested 5.0 for your budget. I was looking online and there out there. Convertibles are becoming collector items. Those prices are all over the place. The Fox body cars handle pretty good stock and they make all sorts of bolt on chassis parts to make them even better.
I live in Tn. and they range from $1500 rough to 8,000 for the nicer ones and they are usually not rusted out here.

 

[Foxslider]

Foxbody. I mean its really your decision. When i was 16 a 92 gt was my first car in 2003. Bone stock. Was fun working and modding it myself.

I just picked up another fox a few months ago and was in between a fox or sn95 5.0 myself. Ended up going fox again.

They're a lot more rare to see on the street, specially now days. Most people wont know the difference between any 94-98 so youll just blend in. That a major benefit imo w/ a fox. They're cooler. Me and 3 other guys had em in high school and we all used to park next to each other.

Whatever you choose, drive safe and smart. And let us know what you do.

 

[Foxslider]

Lets make a list of what is needed in your case, and I'm attempting to think about a 16 year old in today's world,
Daily driver: this pretty much eliminated everything over 20 years old. You likely do not have the place, tools and experience or money.
Budget: unknown but I would guess none or very little.
Driving experience: again unknown, you should not learn to drive in a 500 hp S550. It would be fun for a minute. Then expensive.
Cool factor: this is a must at this age.
A V6 mustang well done with wheels and a few exterior mods can be cool and insurance will be affordable.
My advice, being older and mostly been there and done that I would grab a econo car to get me back and forth to work. With the daily drive handled you can save up, look around and decide what model really gets your blood flowing, get the tools and experience you need to keep your crap running and looking good.
Now tell us a little about your situation.

Ya, it was 15 yrs ago i had one for a daily. But ima argue the fact that one can still daily drive a fox. Mine only left me stranded,.... well i dont remember. Maybe a couple times. It was battery or starter if so. I think if you buy a fairly decent one that is near stock under 150k. Should be plenty dependable.


Btw, whatever you do. Get one with a working a/c/heater so you dont hate it.

 

[Taylor F]

Ya, it was 15 yrs ago i had one for a daily. But ima argue the fact that one can still daily drive a fox. Mine only left me stranded,.... well i dont remember. Maybe a couple times. It was battery or starter if so. I think if you buy a fairly decent one that is near stock under 150k. Should be plenty dependable.


Btw, whatever you do. Get one with a working a/c/heater so you dont hate it.

Thank you very much for a lot of helpful information. However my dad kinda wants to stay in the 60s so 1st gen mustangs.do you have any advice or experience with those cars. Thanks

 

[General karthief]

If it's a 1st gen mustang you're looking for the find the weakness between the two of you. Most of those stangs are going to need both bodywork and mechanical and wiring. Look for one that fits, don't like bodywork? Make sure body is in good shape keeping in mind the age and likelihood of hidden body damage/poor bodywork. And RUST! There are several builds going on in the classic forums right now that are dealing with rusty bodies.
wiring on original 60's cars are over 50 years old. Most are hacked up, even on nice ones, look under the dash for problems.
Keep in mind that buying and using a 50 year old car as a daily driver is going to cost you a lot more than what you have in the bank.
I go back to my original advice of a econo car for getting you around now and that gives you wiggle room to shop for the right car that you can fix and modify to your liking.

 

[Taylor F]

If it's a 1st gen mustang you're looking for the find the weakness between the two of you. Most of those stangs are going to need both bodywork and mechanical and wiring. Look for one that fits, don't like bodywork? Make sure body is in good shape keeping in mind the age and likelihood of hidden body damage/poor bodywork. And RUST! There are several builds going on in the classic forums right now that are dealing with rusty bodies.
wiring on original 60's cars are over 50 years old. Most are hacked up, even on nice ones, look under the dash for problems.
Keep in mind that buying and using a 50 year old car as a daily driver is going to cost you a lot more than what you have in the bank.
I go back to my original advice of a econo car for getting you around now and that gives you wiggle room to shop for the right car that you can fix and modify to your liking.

Alright cool thank you. Im not trying to be difficult, but when you say econo car do you mean sonething like a honda civic?
Thanks

 

[General karthief]

Well yeah that would be a good example of an econo box.
the idea is to have transportation to get to work, school and the other fun stuff a teenager will do without worrying about having to get the work you are doing done in time to get to work,school or a date. That scenario will cause you to take short cuts and I guarantee it will cause you frustration and eventually dealing with a break down at the least appropriate time.

 

[Foxslider]

No experience with the oldies. But a 60's mustang would be even cooler. Long as its a v8. Buy a niceish running one thats not a rust bucket. Fine for a daily for a young gun.

 

[Neuron]

New edge. 4 wheel disc brakes, best stock performance, tightest platform and decent gas mileage. Plentiful parts too.

 

[2Blue2]

A V6 mustang well done with wheels and a few exterior mods can be cool and insurance will be affordable.

This is good advice,

but my heart is still for the sixtes mustangs.
There are deals to be had but intensive inspection is the key to finding the right daily driver.
Remember old cars need to be tinkered with on a regular basis it seems.

 

[southcross2631]

Having done both repairs and restorations on the earlier Mustangs. The best advice I can give you is to buy the best restored one you can find in your budget range. Even if it is a low optioned 6 cylinder coupe.
I would even budget the money to have it checked by a knowledgeable mechanic. Not only for the mechanics ,but for hidden damage and rust or rust repair.
Properly repaired rust is not a cause for alarm because the early Mustang's are going to have some . Even southern cars can have floor pans replaced, the biggest concern is the torque boxes and the cowl area.
I did a 69 Boss 302 for a guy who got the car from south Ga. It had been wrecked and sat for a long time. The whole area up under right front fender and the defroster vent had to be replaced . The 65-66 Mustang's have been around for over 50 years and have been passed around from who knows how many owners.
You may find one that's been in one family forever and has been well cared for, or you may find one that has been 2 cars put together from a bad wreck.
I bought a 69 Camaro once that looked and drove great. You could not tell it had been cut in two and pieced back together. I found out when I went to replace the carpet and found the splice.
Just be careful and don't jump on the first one you see. Take your time and make sure the paper work is correct. People will put lipstick on a pig and try to sell you anything. Don't believe half of what the seller tells you unless they can prove it and then still be skeptical.
I sold this Mustang for 18,000 and it was a show winner. After I got done rewiring it , redoing the interior.