As I wrote in the review of the new Ford Edge, “If all you care about is a fast ride and nothing more, go hunt the classifieds.” Unless there is another reason for purchasing a new vehicle, such as it’s other uses, the warranty or the desire to have the vehicle be “your own” from the moment it leaves the lot onward, why would you spend a ton of money on a car that, let’s face facts, you are buying simply to have fun with? While it must be nice to drop $60K on one of Ma Mopar’s burnout machines, there’s plenty of stuff out there that will offer up the same amount of fun for a lot less. So off into Craigslist I went, and I was not disappointed.
This 1998 Ford Mustang GT is currently up for sale for $2500 in Phoenix. It’s well used at 170,000 miles, but at first glance the only deviations from stock are the old-school 5.0 badges and an aftermarket sound system. Reading through the ad offers up some promising items, such as a newer clutch and a set of aftermarket pipes. Performance chip normally doesn’t mean much, but AMP Performance is in Phoenix and they’re known for doing fun things to Mustangs…I’m a former customer and I approve their methods. There’s also some clues as to why this Mustang is so cheap: the seller is up-front that the convertible top has a couple of rips in it, though there’s no picture showing how bad it could actually be. The hood is showing the usual late-1990’s Ford paint quality (nonexistent) and when every picture shows the driver’s door window in the up position, it’s a good bet something has to get fixed there, too.
But, all in all, you’re looking at a seventeen-year-old Mustang that has, for the most part, been left alone and just enjoyed. At 225hp and 290tq, the stock Mustang GT was considered underpowered when it was new, and while this droptop is probably close to those numbers, the fact is that you can still have a lot of stupid fun with those numbers. Or, you could get serious and go for a power adder of some sort. Whatever your choice, the investment in the rolling stock is minimal and the fun quotient is high.
Craigslist Link: 1998 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Tired paint, lots of miles, 5.0 badges on a weak suck 4.6… odds are good the torque boxes are as shot as the synchros.
I had a ’91 5.0 GT vert. Paint was shot and several things didn’t work (like the speedometer), but it’d lay rubber all through first and second gear. Sweet motor. No mods except a Flowmaster exhaust and a Hurst shifter. That wasn’t a car you’d want to restore, it was car to be enjoyed the way it was. Could have gotten into a lot of trouble with it.
I’ve always like the 94-95 Mustang Convert. Nice lines and the engine is the last 5.0 pushrod motor. look at how valuable the Pace Car Editions are these days. This is a car that has big bang for a small buck!
Fast ? I’m a die hard Mustang fan & if I want fast I’m generally skipping ’94-’98 models especially the 4.6 ’96-’98’s.