Welcome to the stable! I'd preach my usual spiel about an aftermarket tune being an immediate necessity for fun drivability, but if you are boosting it that soon it will be retuned anyway.
Add swaybars and good shocks to your immediate must-do-now mods. The cars are way under damped from the factory, even on the stock springs. Sways and shocks make a HUGE difference on an otherwise stock car.
bmw88rider wrote: They are down that cheap now? Shoot....I didn't need to see that.
I bought mine (2006 GT, manual, leather, mycolor dash, 18" shelby wheels, etc) for $8500. The catch was mileage - 170 on the clock. That said, I've driven it for the past 13 months with very little attention given. Fixed a front end clunk shortly after I got it with new swaybar links and greasing the swaybar bushings. Rear end needs a pinion seal as does the trans output. Door panel leather recently separated (like a falling headliner) so I need to glue it back the next warm day. But even with those few annoyances, it's a superb grin factory and the bang for buck is impressive.
Seems like the going rate around here (SE Michigan) for 06-07 GT coupes with 60-90k on them is between 11 and 13 grand. Not that I've been looking.... 
I'd call that car very well bought for $14.5k with those low miles, plus being a convertible.
ultraclyde wrote: Welcome to the stable! I'd preach my usual spiel about an aftermarket tune being an immediate necessity for fun drivability, but if you are boosting it that soon it will be retuned anyway. Add swaybars and good shocks to your immediate must-do-now mods. The cars are way under damped from the factory, even on the stock springs. Sways and shocks make a HUGE difference on an otherwise stock car.
Is the ground control stuff any good. As this seems like quite the value with the pan-hard bar included.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ground-Control-Suspension-Coilovers-for-S197-Mustang-/151213500054?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item233506e696&vxp=mtr
I've got no experience with ground control on these. Mine is still on factory springs with Tokico D-Spec adjustable shocks/struts and BMR front and rear sways. If you are lowering the adjustable pan-hard is a necessity, of course.
I'm getting the bug to throw more money at my S197... knock it off already. 
You can enable if you want to, you can leave your friends behind, because your friends don't enable and if they don't enable then they're no friends of mine.
Knurled wrote: You can enable if you want to, you can leave your friends behind, because your friends don't enable and if they don't enable then they're no friends of mine.
We can enable! We can enable! Everyone look at your hands. We can enable! We can enable! Everybody takin' the chaa a ance.
wearymicrobe wrote:ultraclyde wrote: Welcome to the stable! I'd preach my usual spiel about an aftermarket tune being an immediate necessity for fun drivability, but if you are boosting it that soon it will be retuned anyway. Add swaybars and good shocks to your immediate must-do-now mods. The cars are way under damped from the factory, even on the stock springs. Sways and shocks make a HUGE difference on an otherwise stock car.Is the ground control stuff any good. As this seems like quite the value with the pan-hard bar included. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ground-Control-Suspension-Coilovers-for-S197-Mustang-/151213500054?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item233506e696&vxp=mtr
Yes it is. I had tow different GC setups on two different E30s. They make quality stuff.
wearymicrobe wrote:ultraclyde wrote: Welcome to the stable! I'd preach my usual spiel about an aftermarket tune being an immediate necessity for fun drivability, but if you are boosting it that soon it will be retuned anyway. Add swaybars and good shocks to your immediate must-do-now mods. The cars are way under damped from the factory, even on the stock springs. Sways and shocks make a HUGE difference on an otherwise stock car.Is the ground control stuff any good. As this seems like quite the value with the pan-hard bar included. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ground-Control-Suspension-Coilovers-for-S197-Mustang-/151213500054?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item233506e696&vxp=mtr
I wouldn't touch anything suspension-wise on a Mustang without talking to Sam Strano at Strano Performance Parts. No affiliation, but ran in the same autocross clubs for a few years. Frequent winner at Solo Nationals, ProSolo, in the S197 and other cars. You probably don't want an autocross setup, but he can help you spec out a setup probably better than anyone else out there.
Not to dissuade anyone from talking to Sam, he's a legend, but an alternative would be to go with Maximum Motorsports. In my Fox Mustang days, they were The Guys who made the best-engineered quality chassis parts for those cars. Well, them and Griggs. And Maximum has a bunch of kits for the S197 cars: http://www.maximummotorsports.com/2005-Packages-C336.aspx
Fact is, there are a lot of quality options for handling upgrades for the Mustang.
But it's a convertible, I'd likely do Steeda springs, D-Specs, maybe sways and a adj panhard bar and call it good.
If it was a coupe destined for HPDE, I'd basically exactly copy Terry Fair's setup from his 2011 TT3 car. But probably ASTs instead of Moton's
You know, that's the one thing that's hard about these cars. There are so many good options you can quickly and easily modify it right out of being street friendly. Of course, everyone's definition of street friendly differs.
DILYSI Dave wrote:bmw88rider wrote: They are down that cheap now? Shoot....I didn't need to see that.I bought mine (2006 GT, manual, leather, mycolor dash, 18" shelby wheels, etc) for $8500. The catch was mileage - 170 on the clock. That said, I've driven it for the past 13 months with very little attention given. Fixed a front end clunk shortly after I got it with new swaybar links and greasing the swaybar bushings. Rear end needs a pinion seal as does the trans output. Door panel leather recently separated (like a falling headliner) so I need to glue it back the next warm day. But even with those few annoyances, it's a superb grin factory and the bang for buck is impressive.
Yeah, but for some reason all the sub-$9000 coupes are all black! I swear I could have bought half a dozen of them by now. And that's one of two colors I just don't want.
I'm shopping 125,000+ mile cars too because I'm a cheap bastard, and the 3V engines don't much seem to care about miles.
The consensus seems to be Strano's sway bars are the best out there. Maximum Motorsports and Steeda seem to be the other trusted brands, or anything that Vorshlag sells (but quality comes at a cost). I'm putting together on paper my modification program now; all I need is the damn car. Come on, sonic blue-cloth interior-spoiler delete-manual trans coupe with 150,000 miles, I know you're out there.
ddavidv wrote: Yeah, but for some reason all the sub-$9000 coupes are all black! I swear I could have bought half a dozen of them by now. And that's one of two colors I just don't want. I'm shopping 125,000+ mile cars too because I'm a cheap bastard, and the 3V engines don't much seem to care about miles. The consensus seems to be Strano's sway bars are the best out there. Maximum Motorsports and Steeda seem to be the other trusted brands, or anything that Vorshlag sells (but quality comes at a cost). I'm putting together on paper my modification program now; all I need is the damn car. Come on, sonic blue-cloth interior-spoiler delete-manual trans coupe with 150,000 miles, I know you're out there.
Black is actually my preferred color, but I'm still not seeing a ton of them for under 10 grand.
I'm curious about what you say about the 3V motors not minding a lot of miles. I assume they have the same spark plug issues as 5.4s of that vintage, is that the only real weak spot for them?
Sonic Blue on Black was my first choice, but I dig the black as well. I especially dig the black marks it leaves in it's wake. :)
ultraclyde wrote: You know, that's the one thing that's hard about these cars. There are so many good options you can quickly and easily modify it right out of being street friendly. Of course, everyone's definition of street friendly differs.
That is a serious issue in my house. We are just going to put some miles on it before we go nuts.
Though swaybars / lowering are a absolute must. It wallows in a really weird sort of way that both of us do not like.
My 2013 had the same wallowing sensation, probably because the V-6 Performance Pack uses standard GT dampers and rear springs (the fronts are bespoke to the Perf. Pack).
I have Koni Sport dampers, Steeda Ultralite springs, and a Fays2 Watt's link and the wallowing and ass-high stance are gone. It still rides nicely, too. I'm probably going to get Strano sway bars next.
Tom_Spangler wrote: I'm curious about what you say about the 3V motors not minding a lot of miles. I assume they have the same spark plug issues as 5.4s of that vintage, is that the only real weak spot for them?
They don't seem to suffer from plug issues as much as the truck engines, but the plugs can still break apart when you remove them. Once the first set is replaced, the problem sounds like it goes away. They don't blow them out of the head like the early Triton engines.
Sub-$10k cars aren't plentiful, but I've been finding a few. V6 cars for half that are everywhere, if all you want it to look good.
Ok so I have the catback exhaust on it now. Not as loud as I was hoping but no drone so I can live with it. I found a V2 blower for sale with the EO stamp on it so I am negotiating with the seller to see if I can get the price down.
I also bought a pair or used Roush lowering springs with maybe 500 miles on them which should be here in about a week.
Need to order a tuner and a few other small things and I will have to find a fuel pump that works with the blower before I do the install but everything looks goos.
What kind of catback did you get?
This weekend's adventure - The tires were corded on the stock 18" chrome wheels, so I finally got around to swapping on the wheels and tires I bought at Nats - picked up a set of 19x9 / 19x10 Ford Racing GT500 wheels with tires for a deal. And well, if the car is in the air with the wheels off, I might as well put on the suspension (Ford Racing shocks and Struts and K-Springs, along with some low mile top hats) I've had sitting on the shelf for it. And well, if the struts are off and it's in the air I might as well reinstall the sway bar that has been off for the last 6 months since we stole the brackets at a race to fix another car...
Net result, the car that on Friday had corded tires and a wallowing clunking worn out suspension is now sporting a bunch of goodies that made a HUGE difference in the drive, and it looks cooler as a bonus.
That looks sexy
Thanks!
Lovelovelove those wheels, especially on a black car.
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