Choose the best Mustang for me...

...or anyone.

 I'm looking into buying another Mustang. I've had a couple of Fox chassis mustangs ('79/'83) and my mom had a couple of 1st-gens ('65/'72).

I am looking for cheap (because I'm cheap) and rust-free. I can do most anything other that rust repair, so engine/ suspension issues wouldn't be a deal breaker. I was thinking Mustang IIs; Fox chassis and SN195 (I know they're still considered Fox chassis, but still have the 302 and were updated to better wheel selection). Prefer 302/5.0 and has to be a manual.

Just looking for opinions/comparasions from people who have had anything in this range.   

Thanks!

I've owned two fox body 5.0s and currently have an '01 New Edge GT. The early SN95s (1994/5 with the 5.0) have a lot of value with a better front brake/wheel bearing setup, and rear disks as opposed to drums. And their prices seem to have hit rock bottom and are on the rebound lately. Fox bodies seem to be either completely trashed/rusted out or $10-15k. I'd skip over the '96-98 non-PI cars and move right to the '99-04s if you'd like newer. S197s are a huge step up, but can still be pretty pricey in v8 models.

Good luck finding a decent Mustang II.

Fox prices are insane for anything that isn't a rotten POS. Early SN95 cars are cheap as the styling hasn't aged well and they weren't the most powerful with the 302. That's probably your cheapest buy-in. The 'New Edge' models aren't much more money and look far better but won't have the 302 you want.

Considering the cash layout for what you get I'd just buy a S197. I've seen GT's for $5000. Granted, they have a ton of miles on them but the 3v doesn't seem to wear out. Vastly better chassis, classic good looks.

I don't know anything about Mustangs but my gut reaction for "value" is a car 15-20 yrs old.  That would mean '00-'05-ish.  At this age, cars are just old and have not yet gotten to "collectable" status which starts to drive the prices back up

SN-95 = '94-98

SN-95 New Edge = '99-'04

S-197 = '05-'14 and notably the Coyote V8 and Cyclone V6 came in '11

My gut says to expand the budget to an '11.  Even if your budget can not go to an '11 V8, I might consider an '11 V6 given that a '10 4.6L V8 makes 315 hp and the '11 3.7L V6 makes 305 hp.  

If V8 required then I would go with '04 or '05 buying whichever body appeals to you the most.  Also notable is that '03-'04 offered The Cobra. 

Thanks for the comments.

I did find an ex-race MII that was a rust-free shell, but it was $3000. A bit more of a long-term project than I was looking for, but might be an example of what I will have to get in order to keep the project rust-free. 

Or I might have to travel to some less rusty states than Ohio for the car. 

But the hunt is as much fun as finding that treasure sometimes and I'm happy GRM exists to help! 

About five years ago, there was a 99 in the insurance salvage with the four cam 4.6 spread around the trunk and interior.  I stared at that car, thinking how nice a SVT Mustang would be with a built 351 or 347 under the hood, and the 4.6 melted down into pop cans, but managed to leave it there.  Luckily, it was a water damaged engine, so they deemed the car non repairable, and I didn't need another race only car.

I still think it would have been a really nice car.

My first car was a ‘74 Mustang II and I’ve owned a number of Fox bodies (SVO’s, GT and LX 5.0 convertibles, ASC McLaren convertible) and now a ‘69 Cougar  (close enough to a Mustang, right?).   The MII was pretty small inside though the hatchback was very useful.  Rear seat room was very tight.   These things rust out while you are looking at them so watch for that.  They are light and tossable so somewhat fun to drive    Mine had the 2.8 Cologne V6 and 4 speed.  Of the Fox bodies I liked my LX 5.0 convertible and SVO the beat.  The GT I had was an automatic and was pretty anemic.  The McLaren looked great but mine was pretty beat and the two seat configuration and minimal trunk was a challenge at road trip time.  The look was spot on in my opinion however.   My Cougar is my favorite of the lot closely follows by the LX convertible then the SVO then Mustang II.  

I would rather have a mk1 Capri over a Mustang II by a factor of 10 to 1.  I think I'd rather have a two-door Maverick over a Mustang II quite a bit as well (my heart of course belongs to the Capri on this one).  Capri's all disolved though so good luck there. 

I had a '95 Mustang GT convertible.  Not a bad car but they're going to be tired if they haven't been either garage queens or recently restored.  You know that going into it as they're 25 years old now but I think it's worth repeating.  In the end i think I'd rather have an E46 BMW over everything I've mentioned save for the Capri.

I've seen a handful of Capri's and had the same urge, though one the seller openly stated had a fist-sized hole in the frame from rust.

I have NOT owned a My-Little-Boomer car before but I've lived around them for years and I've soaked up info like a seabed sponge filter feeding ocean detritus. As dj and others have said, a "New Edge" SN95 is probably your best bet; they're essentially tuned Fox-chassis with better brakes and axels that only now are beginning to increase in price after hitting rock-bottom. They also can take a slew of engines stock with OEM parts, and because of their Fox underpinnings they still use lots of their stuff making additions cheap and super-common. You also get the added affect of cheap camouflage for a project; who'll steal an SN95?

Fox chassis are stupid expensive now, even the outliers like Fairmonts and such thanks to Matt Happel. Not sure on the SN197s, but there's tons of them for a reason. Old Mustang's (Gen 1s) are like Lego kits now and can be made to do nearly anything you want if you're willing to cut and slice them apart.

I found a 94 white gt convertible 5.0 with 100k on the clock for $3,200 just a few months ago. Clean as a whistle not a spec of rust with only a few mods like cold air intake and cobra style rims, also the tops new! It was treated very well for 26 years. Theyre out there. Thanks to covid 19 it now has many more mods. I also own and have owned for 4 years now a 2008 Impala SS with a 5.3 liter. Had a few hiccups in the beginning and found that a built transmission and new exhaust made this thing a monster and i can drive it in the winter.... Ive noticed the price on the SS is similar to that of the mustang here recently...Also noteworthy the Impala is faster rides nicer seats 5 and does about the same fuel mileage wise, but who drives around a 4 door front wheel drive v8 lol...

I have owned several fox bodies, a new edge and an s197.  By far, the s197 is the best.  I still love the fox bodies and currently have a four-cylinder notch.  If you look (you said you liked the hunt) you can pick up an s197 for decent money.  I think the  older s197 will be the fox body of the future.  Whoops, I had a mustang ii and wish I had never sold it.  With that said, they are great cars, but no aftermarket support and no parts either.

If you want cheap and rust free, you can cross Fox Bodies off your list. As others have said, clean Fox Bodies are now getting expensive.

Mustang IIs are also a no-go because they are terrible cars, grotesque styling and wheezing powertrains. Also, most of those abominations have mercifully been removed from public roads - so unless you find a disheveled  exampe in some old lady's garage, you are going to have a hard time even finding a running, driving Mustang II in one piece.

So that leaves SN-95s. Your best bet would be to look for a clean, straight body 94 or 95 Mustang GT. Some of the Cobra models of that year are floating around and hasd 5.0s but they are getting hard to find and expensive when you do locate them. 

$3-$4K should get you a nice 5.0 SN95 coupe with a 5 spd (T45). That is what I would concentrate on given the conditions you specified.

The S197 is  a better, more capable, more powerful car but it is also larger and heavier and feels bulkier than the SN-95s / New Edges. The Coyote powered S197 (11-14) is a rocket ship and probably one of the best dollar to power ratios out there in the used car market. The Coyote is a superb motor and makes the pushrod 5.0 feel like dogE36 M3.

I bought a rust free 1980, running and driving, for 1500. Granted, it's an all manual 2.3, but it is straight and no rust. They are out there. I see v6 sn95 cars frequently for under 1000, and I'd imagine a 5.0/t5 swap to be as cheap and easy as it gets. Everything you'd need is going to be in every junkyard in North America. 

 Thanks all. 

Great comments and I might do the find-a-rust-free car and do an engine swap like has been suggested a couple of times. 

I'm really not in a hurry (and should really work on building a new shed) so I will be patient (!!) and just keep looking. That's half the fun for me anyway. 

But if anyone happens to run across anything interesting, and I'm sure we all look most days anyway, I would appreciate a heads-up!

Stan

In reply to stan :

When I was looking earlier on your behalf, I found this one interesting... 

Arizona car in Cleveland, '05 Roush GT w/ 92k asking $6k.  His profile jives with "graduated Mech Engineer from AZ and took job in Cleveland."   Seems the car has been in Cleveland less than 2 months so no winter yet!

Some thoughts... Lets say it would cost $1.5k to get a car shipping from AZ to Ohio.  This $6k price is then more like $4.5k for the car and $1.5k for shipping.  Knock $500 off the asking price and this could seem like a $4k Mustang.  

 Wow, that is almost what I'm looking for and if I had a job and wasn't on a fixed-income (i.e. retired), I would think about driving to Cleveland. I would think that should sell quickly too. 

....although....I might run this by the CFO and see what she says...

Thanks man!

In reply to stan :

Its been listed for 3 days so far.  The car is not perfect.  There is some damage to the front fascia.  From his profile, I see that some of the pictures in the ad are as old as 2017.  Notice in his graduation picture that a fog light is missing.  Also, in the pics there seems to be a lot of dessert dust on the exterior of the car.  This makes me wonder if any of the pictures are current, as in "taken in Cleveland."  I also think I see some fading of the black stripe on the hood.  That AZ sun is harsh.  But, I'd take sun fade deterioration over rust deterioration any day!

If it were me, I would contact and ask to have some current pics sent over via text.  

I see the dash plaque says Roush Stage 1.  According to here that is then just spoilers and stickers (not the stage 3 Supercharger) but it does seem to have Roush wheels too.  The rest of Roush stage 2 was suspension.  Even if it does have the suspension, most is likely worn at 92k.  

From the ad..

No black stripe at trunk gas-cap in this pic: 

Then...

 I did see the desert dust and the front end damage (curb-caused I'm guessing), but missed the stripe addition pictures. I would definitely ask for newer pictures especially of the interior as I've been in Arizona and that sun killed interiors dead. 

Stan

In reply to stan :

But, it is so easy to get fresher interior parts here in the North where cars rust out and are off the road before the seats fade.

I've not driven a 3-valve car, only later 3.7 and 5.0 S197s, but the S197 seems to be a great spot for handling, power and cheap. And the TR3650 is truly a lovely transmission. One of my favorite manuals I've ever driven.

John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:

In reply to stan :

But, it is so easy to get fresher interior parts here in the North where cars rust out and are off the road before the seats fade.

My thoughts exactly.

Have you thought about how you are goig this mustang in feeding it people? they seem to very hungery for them?

Sorry, just had to make a weird comment. What about the early to mid 70s makes? you can find good verisons floating around for good prices like a 73 or so. Good luck in finding one anyway.

ckosacranoid said:

Have you thought about how you are goig this mustang in feeding it people? they seem to very hungery for them?

Sorry, just had to make a weird comment. What about the early to mid 70s makes? you can find good verisons floating around for good prices like a 73 or so. Good luck in finding one anyway.

Like I said in my original post, mom bought a new Mustang in '72 (actually was a mistaken order and ended  up with the fastest Mustang available that year -an HO. Still wish I had that car!) and I always thought they were a big car. Heavy and hard to see out the back. I liked her ' 65 much more (except for the power although it did have a 289/4v).

I'm not sure I understand your first comment...

I have an S197, it's great for what it is and stupidly fast for a completely stock car.   It is not small or light.  While it handles and stops very well for something with a stick axle in the back it would never be described as "tossable".  There's a whole lot of hood in front of you for example so narrow windy roads can be a little intimidating.   Sweet spot for me are 50-60 mph 2 lane rural roads with good sight lines for high speed cruising.  The torque with the 5.0 is intoxicating plus sounds...