Budget Track Build - V6 Mustang

Patientzero said:

I would stay away from the SN95 V6 completely.  It's a turd and the chassis needs a lot of work compared to a S197.  It is the cheapest but will require the most money. 

A SN95 V8 car has plenty of power to get yourself in trouble, I've had 3 of these cars and I enjoy them.  The motors are reliable stock and make good daily drivers as long as there isn't snow. This is probably your best bang for the buck(kronor?)

The S197  V8 is a much better chassis, better suspension, much more parts availability, cheap brake upgrades, tons of wheel options.  As you can see in this thread it doesn't take much to turn these into a really good car but it looks like it is toward the top end of your budget - This would be my pick if you can afford it, I don't think I'd turn my daughter loose in one though. 

The S197 V6 gets you most of the same benefits with an easier to drive package for a new driver.  The V6 is only a few HP off the early V8 cars and it's still enough to be fun in my opinion. - Not all of these cars came with ABS, I don't know if that's something you care about.

 

 

Thanks, very good input. We'll stay off the SN95 V6, thanks for confirming (or adding soap to the slippery sloap...).

There will be snow IF this really is to be her daily driver. Of course she could use of of our other cars if the conditions become really bad though. ABS and the ability to use traction control and/or ESP when needed would be nice.

My hopes are that in 2 years time there will be S197's that have just the right combination of a slightly tired appearance (so you don't feel bad using it) and a reasonably solid body rust wise, at a price we can work with. If not a good SN95 V8 may be an option (but maybe not in the winter). We'll see and no doubt you will all be informed :-)

Gustaf

In reply to therealpinto :

I had a S197 GT and with good snow tires it did fine in a couple inches of snow / ice.  I wouldn't have called it sure-footed, but certainly controllable and safe.

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

The GT at least has a limited slip, the V6 does not.

I actually did some work today. Here is the video of the whole process for anyone interested. Skip the video for pictures and cliff notes.

First I made a bracket to mount a fire extinguisher in the car. I thought I had a bracket that a friend gave me but turns out it was for the SN95, not the S197. This was before blending the welds and paint.

Then I made some bracket cooling deflectors. They turned out pretty good IMO but I may get some thicker aluminum and remake them at some point.

Here they are bolted up to the lower control arm through an existing hole.

Nice brake duct!

A limited slip diff is good for not getting stuck in the winter (or to get you farther out in wherever you're going before getting stuck...) but it is also a certain recipe for tail-out action. Not all bad but in some ways, an open diff is "safer".

Anyway, that's no deal breaker, I have been surviving over 25 years of winter driving and the only real daily winter driver with an LSD I had was the Sierra XR4x4, all wheel drive so that's a different story.

Gustaf

In the next installment of the Budget Track Beater saga; I picked up a couple new tires for spares, changed the oil, made a mount for the transponder, and test fitted the other set of wheels on the car.

At almost the last minute I came to the realization that I didn't have a spare for the car so jumped on Tire Rack and ordered a pair of the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's. Based on what I've read these should make a pretty good dual purpose tire. They aren't going to be that fast but they should last awhile and have good street manners considering I have to drive 2hrs to the track.

These are mounted on the 18x10's performance pack replica wheels. I'll order two more in a couple weeks. These are mainly just my emergency plan in case I cord a tire at the track, I'll still be able to drive home. Eventually these will be the main wheels on the car and I'll save the 315's for time trials and autocross.

The extra height on these gets rid of the fender gap, almost as tall as OEM.

This is what I came up with for the transponder mount. Just a simple L-bracket made out of some scraps that attaches to the license plate mounting holes.

I'm catching up on some of your vids and wanted to heed warning on the background music I noticed in the alignment one. There may be a day when any video you uploaded that has any of that music is all the sudden gone. I'd hate for you to put all that work into this and then none of it be allowable. Either way keep up the good work. I hope to see you out on track next year.

In reply to captainawesome : 

Thanks for the heads up, it wasn't something I even considered so when I uploaded that video it flagged a portion of it and YouTube muted the audio in the background.  It's insane that that is an issue. 

In reply to Patientzero :

I've had one flagged before that didn't even have music in the background. I don't know if it's an algorithm or people who flag them, but hopefully you can keep that one up. Lot's of good info in there.

I picked up a GoPro 7 black a couple months back and haven't had a chance to use it with my RaceChrono app so I did a few laps around my neighborhood to make sure everything worked correctly before I head to Topeka this week. I would like to get another one and have it facing backwards and do a picture in picture.

Finally got this pig on the track.

I had a great time today at Heartland Park.  I was able to knock off a couple seconds every session and my fastest lap came on the last lap of my last session so I can't ask for any better than that.  I had zero issues with the car and drove it 2hrs home. 

-My brake deflectors seemed to work great.  I never experienced any fade although I need to brake later and harder. 

-I was worried about oversteer being an issue with the bigger rear sway bar but the car felt really well balanced.  I was flat out through several 3rd gear corners and it seemed very neutral. 

-The tires have grip for days and I don't think I even came close to getting them hot.  I started out at 34f/32r and after the first session they were up to 38f/39r.  I lowered them back down to my initial settings and left them there the rest of the day.

-Front camber seems to be at a good spot with -2°, I measured temps across the face of the tire and inside to outside was within 10 degrees.

-The biggest complaint I have is the seat.  I'm sure I will have bruises on my legs from bracing myself against the door and the console.  I had to use the steering wheel as a handle to keep from sliding while shifting.  I might throw my Sparco Evo in out of the other car.  I needs to be addressed one way or another.

The video.

Glad to see you got some laps in. I need to look into that RaceChrono or a better overlay for my gopro. I'm having issues with the satellite signals, so all my data from the gopro is spotty and weird as hell.

In reply to Loweguy5 (Forum Supporter) :

I need to tally it up.  I plan to do another video in the next day or two with a recap of the whole project.  If you don't watch the videos I'll post it here too.

In reply to Patientzero :

Ditto on Patientzero comments on the applicability of SN95 V6 cars. I know this because I own one and have built it into a barely competent CAM-T Autocrosser. If you like a good challenge by starting out with the wrong tool for the job then have at. But if your goal is to actually build a competent track car then stay away. The level of modification required is phenomenal. 

Probably my final video on the car this year so this is the "Season 1" finale.  A recap of everything we've done to the car including total cost and some plans for the future.

In reply to Loweguy5 (Forum Supporter) :

Including the price of the car I'm at $6734, parts only is $2534.  I go over it in much more detail in the video.

In reply to Patientzero :

Interesting that on your fastest lap you were ~1 sec down from your previous fastest lap (lap..5?) until the last corner on the straight and you gained 2 sec through there to set your faster lap. Great baseline setup for the car. "Cheap" track time is great!

In reply to TXratti :

Yep, I noticed that too.  I think there is tons of time to make up and sub 2:10 should be easily attainable next time out.

This morning we got our first dusting of snow for the year so yesterday I went ahead and got the car put away for the winter.

I don't have anymore room at my house to keep it inside so I got a storage unit put it up on jack stands so I could pull the wheels. I topped the tank off and added a bottle of Stabil. I also pulled the battery out so I can keep it on a tender at the house.

I got some 55 gal contractor bags to put the tires in and sealed them shut after pulling a slight vacuum on them with the Shop-Vac. I'll keep these in my basement where it's 65° year round.

One quick question, did the V6 performance pack of that year have the small brakes with upgraded pads out of the factory or was that only the newer 11-14 ish that they did that. 

Before I found my Brembo upgrade, I was researching which of the mustangs came with 13" rotors and came up with only one odd ball, a V6 performance pack that did not.  IIRC the 11-14 all came with 13" rotors except the V6 PP cars, they came with the older S197 12" but with upgraded pads, you know for weight savings.

I'm really not sure.  I think it uses the same pads as a GT but the rotors have different part numbers.  I could measure one for you.

Nice work. I bought a V6 as a DD with no intention of doing anything more with it. I couldn't stifle the curiosity though and did a track day with it.

(don't hate on me for linking the watermark pic--it's on his web site)

I did change the front pads to track pads. Didn't have the tool for the rear pistons so didn't bother. I was very surprised at just how good it was bone stock. No problem with the brakes at Summit Point. Biggest gripes were couldn't hear the exhaust at all so would hit the rev limiter and the seat is absolutely useless, as you discovered.  It did pop the moronic plastic thermostat housing though, which meant a tow home on my trailer.

These cars are very underrated. They do have a few quirks but are great used car bargains.

thedoc said:

Awesome build.  I have not gone back to watch the videos as of yet.  I have a friend who auto crossed a very well sorted 6 for years.  He can drive like a bat and had the suspension set up perfectly.  He sent many, many v8's home with their tail pipes between their tires.  These cars can do very, very well.  I am jealous of the deals you are scoring!

don't most cars go home with their tail pipes between their tires? asking for a friend

Nice build-any more updates to this car?

I guess I forgot to update this thread.  It got sold April last year and the proceeds bought a new transmission for my other Mustang.