new to mustangs

[kilbrethj]

Hey everyone!! this is my first time on the forum. I dont have a mustang yet but my dad had a 69 when he was my age (22) and an 83 boss. If all goes well i will be picking up my first mustang on friday. its a 95 gt with a 5 speed. it was in an accident but was fixed and repainted. 250$ maaco paint job. hahaha so long story short needs a new paint job. my brother inlaw does body work for a living so he said he could fix the dents and paint it all up for $1200. it also needs a clutch, tires and rims, and the exhaust maniflod is leaking. it also needs a new piece of weather stripping for the rear window and a little interior work. NOW for some good news, it fires up and idles and runs farely good. i just got off the phone with the guy and i got him down to $1000 cash. does this sound like a good deal? its definately going to be a project but my buddy just got a 97 cobra and i can't let him have all the fun.

 

[Husky44]

Congrats, and welcome to Stangnet!!!

Can't really tell you if it's a good deal or not--who cares, you're happy, right? So it must have been a good deal.

Some advice: Read much, ask when you don't understand, and plan your build. AND--LISTEN TO THE ANSWERS YOU'RE GIVEN!!! You don't necessarily have to follow all the advice (you'd be really schizophrenic if you did), but at least consider the advice of those who have gone (and screwed up) before you...

Take your time, look at what others have done, and don't get all hyped up to build a 414 ci, twin-turboed, water-methane injected monster. Figure out what you want your car to do, then how to build a car that does that.

And always remember, there will always be one faster. Don't build your car to be better than <_______________>. You'll always be disappointed. Build your car to make you happy. That's achievable.

Oh, yeah--and congrats on your find--not sure if you realize what an exclusive club you've just joined--SN95s are the beginning of the "Retro-Mustang" era, and 5.0s are the last of the real muscle V8s!

And this is the part of Stangnet where all the really cool people hang out!

 

[Venom351R]

How bad was the initial accident? If it was fixed correctly and you dont mind doing a little extra work w/ out spending to much out of pocket up front then go for it. You have a lot of options when it comes to modding 5.0 mustangs so if you plan on doing anything with it other then fixing it up with the stuff you already listed then its important to decide what direction you want to go in and what you use the car for.

 

[kilbrethj]

The car is basically going to be a daily driver with mods going on as money comes in. it will not be a drag car or anything like that. just something to cruise around in and do some donuts and stuff. haha i have heard that the computers in the 94-95 are a pain. other than swapping in an older computer can you just buy a custom tuner or something? its got a cai on it already and i am going to put on bbk shorty headers and a full exhaust but i'm afraid the computer wont take to it. also what would be a good cheap clutch to put in. i was looking at the ram stage 1 from american muscle. thanks guys

 

[Hef5.0weisen]

computer won't care about exhaust stuff.....

brother in law should do that stuff for free ....lol

youcan get tuner's for these cars, but don't worry about it for now...

my .02, before you get caught up in all this "mod" stuff, get the basics down. clean it up real good, replace the small nit noid stuff that is broke (look, you'll probably find a bunch), freshh fluids all around, basic tune up under the hood..blah blah blah. get a Haynes manual or the like, it'll help. another thing to think of is access/ownership of tools...they're not cheap, you can get a decent set of tools for the cost on installing some of the stuff you'll want later....unfortunately, all this will cost a good bit, but again, basics first

good luck, have fun and welcome

 

[whitesqual]

I am going through a similar situation. I bought a cheap mustang, had a bad fuel pump so it didn't run. Replaced the fuel pump, and it had a knock. Find broken piston. Of course it had been wrecked and fixed(poorly). I had a friend that does custom paint offer to put a custom paint job on it for cheap. Was supposed to get the car back from him 4 months ago, and still nothing.

I guess the point I am trying to make is, dig deep, look at the car VERY closely before buying. Look at inner fenders and radiator support for wrinkles. If these are bent at all, and you want your car fixed right, it will cost a LOT even if a friend is painting it.

My "cheap" project quickly turned from daily driver, modding when I have the money, to I have only driven it a couple of miles in two years, motor and supercharger, wheels and tires sitting in the garage, waiting for the car to get back from paint, and my painter won't answer my calls.

It would definitely have been easier to just buy a car that had good paint and body, that ran! But I didn't have the money fro something like that at the time, so my cheap beater is definitely for me!

So If you don't mind a few unexpected setbacks and have plenty of time to take care of it, do it. When your car is done, it will mean a lot more to you than just buying one that didn't need the tlc!

 

[revhead347]

If you get a car that runs for $2200 (body work and car together), that's not half bad. These cars are almost 15 years old, and it's getting hard to find one that doesn't have some sort of body rust, or bad paint, or has been in some sort of fender bender. The cracked exhaust manifold isn't an issue, the stock ones are not very good, and really hurt performance. If you are strapped for cash and live near GA, I have 2 sets of stock exhaust manifolds here you are welcome to. A decent clutch is around $250 if you install it yourself. I think you're off to a good start.

You can actually do quite a bit with the stock computer. You can put entry level aluminum heads (AFR 165, Edelbrock performer RPM......) and a decent cam without too much overlap (Steeda #19, Trick Flow stage 1) in without messing with the computer. Once you get a tuner or a chip, this computer is no worse than any other. It's definately easier than to switch to the older style computer.

Kurt

 

[kilbrethj]

Ya tools are not really an issue!! i have been stockpiling them for a while. i am in college right now for welding. I own a lifted jeep cherokee so i am not shy when it comes to turning wrenches. do it quite often!haha yah i plan on re-viving it before modding it. i want it to be reliable. but i figure since i have to pull the manifolds off anyway i might as well put headers on it. i have never put headers on and i have never replaced a clutch so it will be something new. i am hoping that by the end of next summer i will have it on the road. if i dont spend much money in school then i can probably do everything this winter.

 

[revhead347]

The headers are very straight forward, and you should definately upgrade them when you do it.

The clutch is pretty straight forward to, it's just a lot of work. We'll walk you through it if you need help.

Kurt

 

[kilbrethj]

Thanks guys!! right now i am just worried about money. i have like 8k saved up but i am in college so i have a hard time bringing myself to spend it! i will be out in may so the project may be on hold till then. i just hope i get a clutch and headers for christmas!!! haha that would be nice!

 

[greengoblin95]

congrats on your find. these can be very time/money consuming. as someone already stated, build the car to make you happy. these cars are very hands on, you might have some electronic issues, but those can fixed via tunes. enjoy