Too Much Power

Sorry to say this, but for a novice driver like you say you are, unless you truely know what the hell you are doing and respect the power of a 12 second mustang, it will wind up wrapped around a pole, guaranteed.

Im 17 an have already wrecked my stang from the rain... i over reacted when i drifted over towards a curb an lost control... its cost me over 3000 dollars of MY own money to fix.... i know have a 12 second car that ive put blood sweat an tears into and love the hell outta it.... it will literally change the way you think about the car.... go for it if u want it...

If your Dad has not been in a low 12 car then it is probably too much for him let alone someone who still does fishtails in parking lots. No flame just understand the hard part in a low 12 car on the street is NOT spinning the tires. Too much gas or sloppy clutch work with reguler street tires is an accident5 waiting to happen. A mid 13 second is a great toy. A low 12 is a serious amount of power for the street without ALL the responsibility and skill to handle it.

My friends car is slow by my standerds a and his only a high 12. Having both owned high nine nirtous injected street driven cars and such.

It only took him 1/2 day of letting a freind use it while he borrowed said friends truck to move before the phone call came. uhhhh my foot slipped off the clutch and I hit a curb. 1 flat skinny 1 dented weld and 1 lesson learned.
12 second cars are not toys in the hands of the inexperienced.

1986LX2002 said:

Well, it just depends. Do you think you have the responsiblity to handle a performance car? Just because you say you wont drive fast doesnt mean you wont, there will probably be a time you'll drag race on the street and hopfully you wont crash and kill someone or yourself, remember thats a big thing to think about and to live for the rest of your life if something goes wrong. Also how do your parents feel about it and more than likely your insurance is going to go up. Not trying to scare you or drive you away from getting a fast car trust me i felt the same way when i was 17. Just remember driving is like handling a loaded weapon it only takes a split second for something to go wrong. So think about it real hard, if your not rdy to drive a hi-po car with a 5spd maybe you should wait.

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not true i only paid 100 a month for mine.....................and i was 17 at the time.

Michael Yount said:

in my mind something's not right about an extremely clean 86 that runs 12's for $3000.

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My thoughts exactly. Either the car is actually a clean '86 with a non-emissions friendly (and probably not very streetable) engine swap, or the guy is full of b/s and it won't run in the 12's on it's best day. If you're sure everything is on the up-and-up, buy it. If I ran across a clean 4-eyed mustang that runs in the 12's for $3000, you wouldn't want to get between me and the bank.

Heck, even I'd buy it.....and then sell it to batty!

Going from a V6 Car to a 12 Sec. car is a big wake up call. Your driving skill's will totally need to be changed and improved and your knowledge of how the car is running and what it is doing is very important as well. Having some mechanical knowledge is very important I feel as High performance engine's require alot more attention and maitenence.
I've alway's felt that it's best to start with something fairly mild like a stock 5.0, and slowly (Take Your Time) build it up to were you want it to be as fund's become available. Your mechanical knowledge and skills will improve greatly through the transistion and so will your driving skill's.
I bought my 87 GT stock when I was 16 and have slowly brought it up too what it is today (See Sig) at the age of 21. Alot of blood, sweat and tears were involved but I'm thankful now that I started off with something stock as the learning experience was unexplainable and at most time's it was a great and rewarding experience.
Now if you've had experience with 13 or 12 sec. cars and have some basic mechanical skill's and knowledge then great look into the car. If not I would reconsider. I've seen to many horror story's of car's being wrapped around a pole or engine's blowing cause some kid didn't know how to drive or maintain the car proparly.
I also agree with what Michael Yount has to say.... $3000.00 for a 12sec. car sound's too good to be true. Chance's are the tranny is going or somehting else is and the guy want's to get rid of it before it cost's him. Or Maybe Not.... just check over the car very carfully if your going to consider buying this car.
Not to discourage you or anything, just seriously consider this if you want to make the big jump to a totally different car.

Shon

Im 16 and have owned 2 cars, a 78 mustang (first car, trying to sell it now) and my 89 which I got in feb. personally I think the number one thing to consider is your ability to drive a stick, you said before you have never driven one before. its easy to get yourself into an accident from bad clutchwork on a low horsepower car, muchless a modified 5.0. I went from a mustang 2 auto (they are slugs) to a high 12's 5.0 within the first six months I had my liscense, many a times I brought the backend around in the rain, im fortunate I didnt kill someone in the process. its made me a better driver for it, but all the same, its alot easier than you will ever realize to get yourself into some serious trouble with cars like these. on another note, if you decide not to go with it, id buy it, mark it at 6k and try to sell it

I think he said earlier that the seller is a family friend - history of the car is known, and they know where the seller lives, so it sounds like someone is doing someone else a favor on the price - but check it out anyway.

If the brakes are stock especially - as others have said - you can get into a lot of trouble in a big hurry if the car is as quick as others say.

If you have the presence of mind to ask others about it before you jump in, then I'm guessing you'll have a healthy respect for the vehicle. I think some of the posters may be forgetting that the car does have a gas pedal, and you don't have to mash it all the way down every time you drive it. Take it easy and you should be fine until you begin to adjust to the power. A little over 30 years ago, I survived a mid-11 second, 3-cylinder 2-stroke Kawasaki motorcycle with a powerband the width of a razorblade (from 35HP to 90HP between 4000 and 5000 rpm) and a tendancy to wheelie if you even thought about it - at age 17. You can probably survive this if you think with your big head.

Michael Yount said:

I think some of the posters may be forgetting that the car does have a gas pedal, and you don't have to mash it all the way down every time you drive it. Take it easy and you should be fine until you begin to adjust to the power.

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Yes, that is true.....BUT 90% of kids under 18 have a VERY hard time doing that. It's pretty hard to resist showing all your buddies how fast your new mustang is, even when you can't control it....you end up doing stupid things like having street races all over the place because its a "new rush" that they've never felt before....this is where the dangerous stage of having a 12 second car with an unexperienced driver would be.

Maverick hit it dead on...... there is too many dumb kid's out there who don't know how to control themselve's with a high powered car.

I went from a 22 second car to a mid 13's car. I had no problems. If you can drive, you will be fine.