what should i do?/looking for some advice?

Get the body you like best. You can run into just as many BS issues with an sn95 as a Fox, you can even end up with a New Edge lemon, although not as likely. If you want a fully loaded street car that goes 12's it's going to take some cash, and you will probably never get that money back; it's only an investment in your personnal happiness, not a financial one, so don't get stuck with one you won't want to keep forever. I personnally would hunt for a low milage Fox. With that kind of cash you can buy on the spot, usually for much less than the semi-extravagant prices people ask for a good clean one. They are the cheapest to maintain, and easily the cheapest to get into the 12's reliably. As for the braking stupid parts BS, it'll happen, but these are Fords we're talking about and any V8 Mustang more than a few years old is going to do it too. So get the style you like the most, and fixing it won't hurt so bad when it brakes. A Mustang can easily be purchased and made too do what you want for $12k, if you know what to do with it. You have a very obtainable goal, now you can refine the details. We'll be here to help. Thanks for doing your part over there! Good luck!

With $12,000, I would find a real clean 93 cobra, a car that will hold its value if not increase. That car comes with most of the upgrades you want already, and a good platform to go off of. Not to mention the collector aspect. If you have that kind of cash, roll for the 93 cobra, it will be worth your while