Newbie here ... coming over to the "other" side

Longhorn97 · May 17, 2011

For the past 20 years I've always had a daily driver and a GM street/strip car. Typically LT1 cars (since they came out). I find myself not racing much anymore and just sold my 10-second '95 Impala SS. I drive an '08 G6 daily but am looking for something more fun to drive daily that I can mod and race once or twice a year. GM isn't offering anything that interests me but I've found a 2000 Mustang GT with a 5-speed local. It's clean with low mileage, stock, and priced right. My payoff on my Pontiac is less than it's worth so when the dealer pays it off I'll pay cash for the Mustang and not have a car payment anymore. Also, I live about 100 yards from where I teach/coach (HS math/basketball and softball).

Never, NEVER, having owned a Ford will this be a good car to mod, drive daily, race a little, and enjoy driving? I'm thinking of adding gears (4.10s?), LT headers, exhaust, cold air kit, tuning, and some system mods. This has the 8.8" correct? Most of GM offerings were junk in the 10-bolt department. What should I look for when I go drive/inspect it? I know it came from the factory with 260hp. What kind of rwhp's could I expect with bolt-ons while keeping it as a daily driver and not killing gas mileage?

Any help would be appreciated. Be kind to me, I've in the process of losing my bow tie ...

fiveoho · May 17, 2011

we'll overlook your poor previous decisions and accept you as you now can see things clearer.

- welcome to stangnet. lt's and ls's are no doubt fun cars but mustangs have their fun factor too. i also have a 2000 GT. i love my car. by no means is it a screamer but it is a fun, quick car. your thoughts are spot on with the mods, especially a gear (something i need to do myself). that car is rated 260hp stock and yes you are correct, 8.8 rear. if i am not mistaken, all 99-04 GT's are 3.27 geared.

my car was bought used and pretty much stock. since then i have added the following:

-o/r x pipe
-mac catback
-diablosport tuner
-cai
-p/p 70mm tb
-p/p oem upper plenum
-steeda underdrive pullies

noticeable gains for sure. more responsive and no loss in fuel mileage. as bad as i hate to say it (and you probably already know), it takes these mods to slightly edge a fairly stock LT car. LS cars....well, they are fast. but with the right mods and/or possibly FI, these cars can become very quick.

welcome to :SNSign:

joshjwc9 · May 17, 2011

The LT1 Impala's are actually some of my favorite GM's. I looked at a few myself before wanting a 5 speed in the Mustang.

Basically to reiterate what fiveoho said, going with almost all of the boltons will make your car more fun, and not sacrifice any MPG's. Hell, I have a Vortech and still get the same MPG's as what I did NA.

Although, 99-04 GT's are rated at 260hp/302 ftlbs, an xpipe, shifter, gears and subframes will make this thing drive like a dream, although like fiveoho, LT1 cars will be only slightly slower and LS1 cars will still keep up and beat you in a straight line.

With those listed mods you will be in the 260-285 range. Depending how much you pay for it, I think about doing lowering springs, shocks, CC plates and a shifter. About $1000, but you will love the way your car handles afterwards.

Longhorn97 · May 17, 2011

I'm just tired of having high HP cars that I drove once or twice a year when my DDs were 4-door 6 cylinders. No fun! My Impala made 527 at the rear wheels, had 1.4x 60' times (at 4,100 lbs.), ran high 10s, and I drove it to the track. Yes, it was a handful on the street and wasn't very docile but I'm not looking to recreate that or make that much power. Just something fun that accelerates, stops, and corners well and that I can tinker with on the weekends and mod and bracket race. How strong are those 5-speeds? Anything in particular I should look for when I test drive it? It's white with 85,000 miles and other than some 18-inch Boyd wheels (which are pretty nice looking) it's bone stock. Also has gray leather interior. I think I can get it for $7,500 tax, title, out the door. I sold my Impala for much than that so I'm not opposed this summer, when I'm off from school, to putting a couple thousand into mods to get it the way I want and still have a car that's paid for.

Longhorn97 · May 17, 2011

Also, I'm thinking of trying to run IHRA Pure Stock once or twice a year. This particular car would run E/PS which has an index of 13.40 in the 1/4 and 8.70 in the 1/8. Minimum weight with the driver has to be 3290. With a 4.10 gear, lightweight wheels, drag radials, good clutch, LT headers, aftermarket exhaust, cold air kit, suspension mods, tuning, ... would this be an attainable goal? Stock Eliminator Pure Stock rules allow all of the above mods but not much more else. Anyone with similar mods and thoughts on if it would run this would be much appreciated.

Rejekt · May 17, 2011

Gears and Novi 2000 s/c and don't look back )

slayerripkdc · May 17, 2011

Yes with 4.10's, long tubes, mid pipe and stickies you should be pretty close to mid to low 13's with good 60ft. These cars are pretty stout all around. As long as the previous owners maintained it well. They can take a good amount of abuse as well.

JymboSlice · May 17, 2011

what rejekt said. Have fun

Longhorn97 · May 18, 2011

No superchargers, or nitrous, permitted in Stock Eliminator. I'd like to try to run low 13s on the engine and with bolt-ons. How does tuning work on these cars? With the LT1s we had to send the pcm to Ed Wright, etc. to have it retuned for the car and it's specific mods. Would I just need to purchase some type of hand-held and do it myself? I'm not familiar with how the 4.6L is tuned.

SteedaGT9150 · May 18, 2011

you can purchase a hand held tuner from a company such as american muscle and they will write you custom tunes for free, or you can get a legit dyno tune from any shop

boston2k4 · May 19, 2011

Howdy Longhorn97
as a previous Bowtie guy myself (made the switch 12 years ago) i can say you will like these cars they are much easier to work on! (minus Longtubes)
i no longer need to take time off from work to do my spark plugs anymore.

They tune very easily with a handheld and easy email downloads from BamaTunes or others.
the 8.8 in my eyes is a very strong piece with minor bracing/welding seen lots pushing well over 600 not at all like chevy junk wich would pop on a rough stock launch. now the trans ... its like hit or miss. they burn through forks like a fat girl at a chinese buffet, they dont stand up well to super aggresive high hp applications but if you take care they last long enough.

first thing you should look for even if it looks stock.
pull up the carpet in the trunk, look for 4 screw holes and a big hole = nitrous
check the rear fenders for rolled lips = ran track alot
check the rear seats for loose bolts or mis alignment = weight reduction racing
if you have reason to believe its totally stock id say you found a good one
of course drive it real good with no radio jazz going on, some car dealers like to "rock out" to distract you from the little noises that can be expensive throw out bearing clutch chatter etc
its just where im from the "totally stock, never raced" ones usually mean spent more time at the track then in the driveway.

and since you will be moving on from a chevy just remember bowties are for little boys

Green&GoldGT · May 19, 2011

I've been looking for a cheap 94-96 Buick Roadmaster or Cadillac Fleetwood with lt1 for the longest time. I can't figure out why people ask so much for them.

Forget the novi 2000 ideas. Go with a kenne bell or turbo.

04GTMustang · May 19, 2011

fiveoho said:
we'll overlook your poor previous decisions and accept you as you now can see things clearer.

Welcome bud and yes I say with 100% bias that mustangs are wonderful cars to mod! lol

i would say you could expect around 250-260rwhp with all the above mods you listed. bone stock your looking at the 230rwhp ball park. Welcome!

oh and as someone said AmericanMuscle.com is where its at to buy the parts. Awesome people to deal with ridiculously fast shipping and awesome prices. So check them out for sure.

mixednuts · May 19, 2011

04GTMustang said:
oh and as someone said AmericanMuscle.com is where its at to buy the parts. Awesome people to deal with ridiculously fast shipping and awesome prices. So check them out for sure.

True very true -

-Mixed

Deleted member 38176 · May 19, 2011

04GTMustang said:
oh and as someone said AmericanMuscle.com is where its at to buy the parts. Awesome people to deal with ridiculously fast shipping and awesome prices. So check them out for sure.

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