Going to buy a damaged '01 GT!

[Yanos]

Hi!

I’m new to the Mustang scene. I currently own a Porsche 944 Turbo with a decent amount of mods (low-mid 13s @ 106-107 mph), but I’m going to sell it because of the expensive maintenance and the very weak tranny that prevented me to exploit the power on a track.

I’m going to change it for ’01 Stang GT with the Bullit wheels – a beauty! It's not official yet, so if it's a lemmon I can still change idea. I really love it. It’s damaged but it’s a nice easy project that shouldn’t cause too many problems. Here are some pictures:
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6

Here are the necessary parts:
- Front bumper
- Rear bumper
- Front fender (passengers side)
- Both headlights
- Braking light (passenger side)

Body work on:
- Both rear quarters
- Rear bumper bar
- Front of passengers door
- Right front rail
- Possible right front suspension

Glass repair on:
- Hood
- Trunk

A good friend of mines will do the body work and glass repair for cheap, so it’s not a big problem. Being given that I’m very new to the Mustang scene, I don’t know where to find good body parts deals here in Quebec. Your help would be really appreciated. There are two solutions:
1) Finding cheap used parts (OEM bumpers / fender / headlights / braking light)
2) Finding nice aftermarket ones (like a Cobra or Cobra R bumper and so on)

I’ll first shop for both OEM and aftermarket parts and then evaluate the best “look for the buck”. If you know where I can find cheap OEM or aftermarket parts here in Quebec (or places that won't cause high shipping costs), it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Yan

 

[speed545]

Thats a nice project!!!!!!
Car doesnt look to bad. Meaning, no damage to the structure.
I would go with aftermarket parts. Except for fender and things like that, a roush look would be awsome.
Have a look on mustangdirect.com, the guy is from Chateaugay and he s a official roush distributor.
Or you might take a chance on scrap yard for OEM body parts.

Good luck

 

[Yanos]

Thats a nice project!!!!!!
Good luck

Thanks!

I also really like the Roush look, but I think I prefer the look of the Cobra R bumper. I contacted Mustang Direct and he has a Cobra R bumper replica for really cheap.

What do you guys think about this replica? In person, is it really similar to the original one? It looks like the lip is bigger and "ricier". I didn't find any high resolution picture of this kind of replica on a Stang.

Edit: added pic of the replica

 

[mpcv2000]

I have a 00 GT front bumper and a set of headlights if you need them.

The front bumper has a rip underneath( concrete curb ) so when it's in place you can't tell and it was on my car like that for over a year , I can take pictures tomorrow evening if you want , you'll see what I mean and the headlights they are factory Ford , I swap them for 03 Headlights and a 01 Cobra bumper kit.

Make a offer if you're interested by PM ( [email protected] ) or phone me 519-319-0061.

The bumper is in a Ford bumper box so it's big , you'll be responsible for shipping...

Here's the last pic. I took of my car( april 04 ) with the actual GT bumper & headlights .

Here's now with the new kit :

 

[Stangfreak95]

This looks like a good project. I'd do it !

And BTW, welcome to the boards

 

[speed545]

Thanks!

I also really like the Roush look, but I think I prefer the look of the Cobra R bumper. I contacted Mustang Direct and he has a Cobra R bumper replica for really cheap.

What do you guys think about this replica? In person, is it really similar to the original one? It looks like the lip is bigger and "ricier". I didn't find any high resolution picture of this kind of replica on a Stang.

Edit: added pic of the replica

I'm not a big fan of the Cobra R look. You said it, it look Ricer. About the fact that it is a replica, i wouldnt mind. If Ted from Mustang direct sell it, i' m sure it s ok. The only car i saw with a Cobra R front bumper looked a bit silly cause the front seems to be a lot more massive than the rear. That is probably why you have the install that huge spoiler too on the trunk.
I think that Roush bumper come with everything like fog light, grille and emblem.

BTW, Did he sell his 12.8 sec 2000GT. For 19500$, it was a freakin good deal i think.

 

[TheDamned]

Welcome to the board Yanos (Hey, i think i saw you somewhere)

Well, for the Cobra R repelica bumer, I think it's a bit too ricey. I never saw other good-looking GT with these bumper... except the red REAL Cobra R on CarDomain

...

So, if I was you, I would go with a Cobra or Roush bumper as mentionned before.

Good luck

 

[Boss 351]

I don't like the crinkle on the 1/4 panels... is the rear pushed in alot? That would make a nice parts car for me to put that mod engine into my fox body

As for the Cobra R bumper I don't think it's rice at all, it's just a nicer than stock bumper cover, nothing wrong with that IMO. Rice would be a V6 stang with an owner telling everyone his car beats Cobra R's on the street all day long lol.

 

[Yanos]

I'm still hesitating on which bumper I'm gonna get!

For the rest, are there any scrap yards here in Quebec that hold '99+ parts in stock (tail lights, rear bumper, front fender and so on)?

 

[Solid HoRNZ]

If you gonna buy a damaged car, I'm telling you to check the frame if it wasn't damaged or twisted. If the frame is damaged, well it's a ****in pane in the ass and it could be dagerous cause your handling could be affected. So just make sure the frame is good. Of corse if the car wasn't involved in a good impact crash, well you won't have to worry

 

[DoctorGeek97GT]

Yanos -- mind if I ask how much you're paying for this? Also... how in the heck did the previous owner wreck the rear bumper without damaging those exhaust tips?! Amazing.

 

[Solid HoRNZ]

how in the heck did the previous owner wreck the rear bumper without damaging those exhaust tips?! Amazing.

It's probably from a junkyard and people picked on parts that they needed.

 

[Yanos]

I don't like the crinkle on the 1/4 panels... is the rear pushed in alot? That would make a nice parts car for me to put that mod engine into my fox body

Hehehehe, the rear isn't pushed at all. The rear bumper bar is slightly bent, it's easily repairable.

Same thing for the 1/4 panels, they're repairable at the body shop. I didn't see the car in person, but on the pictures that's an easy job.

 

[Yanos]

Yanos -- mind if I ask how much you're paying for this? Also... how in the heck did the previous owner wreck the rear bumper without damaging those exhaust tips?! Amazing.

9300$ canadian, obviously not repaired

I guess that the exhaust tips are ok because the other car was high enough to only damage the bumper? That's not a parts swap because you can see a part of the remaining bumper on the drivers side. That's what worries me the most about buying a car from distance, you can't really look at all the details. At 9300$, I'm pretty sure that it'll still be a great deal even if there are some surprises here and there. I've made a small estimate (in canadian currency)...

A good friend of mines works at a body shop so 1100$ is a pretty accurate number even if it sounds low.

 

[Kevindust]

I appologize for being a negative voice here but...
I think it's great that you want to get yourself a Mustang, I am just going to play Devil's advocate for you. Buying an accidented car is something you should investigate to the max. IMO if the car is selling somewhere in a recking yard, it means the car was recked. If the car had a mild-medium accident and could be easily repaired, the insurance company would have done it and handed it back to the original owner. If the car is damaged and for sale privately it MUST a) Have so much damage, it is was (and is) not financially worth repairing or b) The person who crashed it had no collision insurance and the insurance Co. is screwing them. Either way, I believe: if it was truly worth repairing and driveable, the recking yard that now owns the car would do it themselves and take all the profit from selling a complete car. If you know the true history of the car, this argument will mean nothing to you. i.e. Maybe it's your best buddy that scored a deal because he owns a recking yard and his girlfriend works for an insurance company. But if you don't have an inside deal on the car, you had best get the car to a mechanic and on a frame alignment machine to check measurements before you even consider buying it. For the same amount of $$$ spent on this project, you can easily find a 99+ Mustang (all GT's are pretty much the same performers from '99 to '04) with decent mileage and no accidents. Then if you still need to think of it as a "project", start saving for that supercharger... Or if you particularly love the '01+ years, your friend with the body shop can find you a great deal on a used '01 hood and some bullitt wheels.
Again, not trying to be negative, just want you to know some of the choices you have...
My lousy 2 cents...
Kev

 

[DoctorGeek97GT]

Found your car in autotrader, but they were asking $13900 originally? How did you get them to go to $9300?

Autotrader Link

Kevindust is right though -- Insurance companies will put crazy money into getting the car back on the road. I can't help but wonder why this one wasn't fixed up by insurance.

 

[Yanos]

Insurances from the United States and the Canada don't have the same opinion on a damaged car. The Mustang would be my fourth US rebuilt car and all four had minor damages. I can't tell you why exactly, but they often have less than 2000$ in damage.

Yes, it's the Mustang that was originally on trader.ca. The guy said that its ad was all "screwed up" with the wrong price and the fact that they wrote "convertible".

 

[drizztkun]

i'd say do it, i did it myself last year, got myself a 98GT for 6000$ i still have body work to do but i did everything myself so thats why. but it's not too much of a pain. for the parts there's a place in Cote st luc that used to have lots of mustangs part. otherwise i suggest you look maybe Ebay, i often seen jobbers fender for cheap... those for my car are like 100 shipped here

anyway good luck (with the inspection also )