4.6 L Mustang people

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jason longboard

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2007
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Almost got my truck payed off and may keep it for work, but haven't decided on my after work car yet. Dont want to go nuts and always have been a Mustang fan. I dont really want a 5.0 mainly because the age of the car and I dont plan on racing people. However, I want it to be nice on trips and still be very vast if I want it. I always here of the weight issue with Mustangs or how imports beat them alot and I basically want to know, are they still pretty fast, I mean they gotta be quite fast still right? I know performance stuff I just never had a 4.6L Mustang, I had a 318 in my lifted heavy Dakota back in the day and it was still very quick, anyways, if we can please keep this mainly on the 4.6 5 speed mustangs in the 2000s then that would be cool. Any thoughts?

Thanks guys.

PS, I like the mustangs because the interior, the size of the car, and the overall look, rear wheel, possible convertibles, and yeah anyways lol..
 
(Prefaced by saying I've owned 9 Mustangs and currently have 3 in my collection.)

If you hear of imports beating them "alot", I assure you they aren't the Honda's with fart can mufflers, they are well built machines.

The 4.6L is a tried and true motor from Ford. They last forever if you take care of them, and if anything breaks the aftermarket / used parts market is HUGE. They are a fun street car right out of the box, and they make a great platform no matter what you want to modify it into (drag car, road course car, fun street car etc....).

I'd look at 2001-2004 personally. The interior changes were slight, but worth it if you are starting fresh. Look for one with minimal mods, or one that was put together well by someone you trust. I've seen a lot of hack jobs over the years. Color options are also a little better for those years. I'd suggest getting on some of the national Mustang forums and doing some poking around. (Mustangforums.com would be where I'd start.)

Edit: I will toss out that if your budget allows, look into the Cobra or Mach 1 with the 4V. The Cobra's IRS is nicer for the long rides, and the 4 cam motors pack much more punch than the 4.6L SOHC the GT had to offer. Both also offer bigger brakes and a finer tuned suspension.
 
Zoodiver said:
(Prefaced by saying I've owned 9 Mustangs and currently have 3 in my collection.)

If you hear of imports beating them "alot", I assure you they aren't the Honda's with fart can mufflers, they are well built machines.

The 4.6L is a tried and true motor from Ford. They last forever if you take care of them, and if anything breaks the aftermarket / used parts market is HUGE. They are a fun street car right out of the box, and they make a great platform no matter what you want to modify it into (drag car, road course car, fun street car etc....).

I'd look at 2001-2004 personally. The interior changes were slight, but worth it if you are starting fresh. Look for one with minimal mods, or one that was put together well by someone you trust. I've seen a lot of hack jobs over the years. Color options are also a little better for those years. I'd suggest getting on some of the national Mustang forums and doing some poking around. (Mustangforums.com would be where I'd start.)

Edit: I will toss out that if your budget allows, look into the Cobra or Mach 1 with the 4V. The Cobra's IRS is nicer for the long rides, and the 4 cam motors pack much more punch than the 4.6L SOHC the GT had to offer. Both also offer bigger brakes and a finer tuned suspension.
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Hey thanks bud, that's exactly the reply I was hoping for, kind of what I thought to but youve obviously got experience. Good luck and enjoy your cars. Thanks
 
Is it the 99-04 body style you like, or is it the 4.6L SOHC with the PI heads you're after?
The other thing I was going to throw out if you're on less of a budget. The 96-98 Cobras (if you like the earlier body style) can be had at about the same price as the 99-04 GTs right now. You'll get a lot more power with the 4V, better suspension and the big brakes.... along with the SVT name and the more aggressive look.
 
Zoodiver said:
Is it the 99-04 body style you like, or is it the 4.6L SOHC with the PI heads you're after?
The other thing I was going to throw out if you're on less of a budget. The 96-98 Cobras (if you like the earlier body style) can be had at about the same price as the 99-04 GTs right now. You'll get a lot more power with the 4V, better suspension and the big brakes.... along with the SVT name and the more aggressive look.
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Well thats what Im still looking into, what year looks like what and so on, if in fact I do end up going with a Mustang at least I know who to go to now lol. When I look on cars.com is that the average price these go for or is everything higher on that site. Scares me to buy from an individual being it could have been raced to hell and back. Right now Im trying to see what price range these things are found in, low enough miles and clean, preferred stock so I know some mommy drove it lmao jk.

I like most all of them really, Im 36 and one of the first cars I test drove was a red 5.0 1993 5 speed. I think about that day all the time and still love those oldies. Now however I want something as new school as I can get, we will see, before I make my mind on the Mustangs I need to get out and maybe drive a few. THing is I also like BMWs and such, another thing is Ive wanted a nice sport suv for a while but hell IDK, I deserve a sports car dang it lol. WHats too many miles for the stangs?

By the way my first car was a 64 1/2 Mustang, auto with the 260. It was fun, cruiser but fun.
 
Haha, you sound like me. I think the next car we get will be an Audi A4/S4 for Julie. I also have had a pair of Explorer Sports - my current is an orange 2001 on 18" Roush wheels off one of my Mustangs.

My first Mustangs we foxes (81 T Top, 82 "Stripper" and several from the early 90s).

For price, watch Craigslist. A lot of the dedicated cars sites post some crazy high prices. Check some of the local forums as well. Often times the die hard Mustang guys will be able to tell you alot more about a sepific car they are selling than just the run of the mill owner. For miles, it really depends. There's a guy on one of the fourms who passed 600,000 with nothing major gone wrong. All of mine have gone well over 150,000 miles. I'd also seen them so abused that they don't make it to 50,000. I wouldn't be scared of a 100,000 mile car if it's well taken car of. It really depends on how it was treated.


As for the little changes:

94-95 are the last 5.0L. 96-98 got the 4.6L with non PI heads (PI stands for 'power improved). The main difference on the outside was that in 96 they went ot verticle tail lights instead of the horizontal the 94/95 had. Wheel options changed as well, but all are interchangable from 94-04.

99-04 got the new body style and newer "PI" heads for a small bump in hp/tq. 01-04 got more aggressive side scoops, the spoiler changed to have two posts instead of turn down at the edges and Ford went to a darker housing for the headlights (instead of the chrome housings from 99-00). 01-04 also went to a double DIN style radio instead of having tape/CD in two different slots in the dash (much cleaner look to me).

For me the 94-98 style didn't really jump at me until I owned one. I swore up and down I'd never get rid of my 2000, but now it doesn't hold a candle to the looks of the '98.

98and00.jpg
 
you certainly know your stuff lol. When I see a lot of them for around 10,000 with under 70,000 miles for 2000s is that high or low? You dont have to get too detailed here, just a round about. Thanks for your time, its given me things to at least look in to.

PS,,,,whomever Julie is, I dont think she will mind if you just buy me the car instead of her!
 
wow their are a ton of them on craigslist, so thats the new camera adds lol, geeez.
 
Haha Julie is my better half. She's been driving the Explorer after her 230,000 mile Corolla kicked the bucket. We've been looking for something new and sporty in the 4 dr category to get her.

$10,000 and 70,000 miles sounds about right. With that buget, you could look for a deal on a Roush or Saleen as well (if you want to dive into the world of modified Mustangs). Every now and then you can find an owner in a pinch trying to get rid of one quick and cheap. That budget would put you in a VERY nice 96-98 Cobra and have some left over as well. Would give you a nice 40+ hp bump over the 99-04 GT.

Black '97 for $7800
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/sn95-cobras-409/785371-fs-1997-cobra.html

Black '96 for $5800
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/sn95-cobras-409/792398-1996-cobra-black-black.html

'98 for $9500 Maybe more track car than you are looking for (full open track suspension - I know this car)
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/sn95-cobras-409/792706-98-cobra.html

White '01 for $10,500 on the West coast
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/new-edge-cobras-410/794378-2001-oxford-white-coupe-54k-mi.html
 
buy a new camaro!!!
 
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