[FenderStrat]

Hey all. . . I'm new to the forums. . . been reading the forums for a few days though, pretty nice site ya got here. ANYWAY...

I've been wanting to start a stang project and finally have somewhat of a budget to do it. My budget is 4,000 dollars and I think I found the perfect car. . but wanted some opinions on it.

It's a 97 GT, 5spd, 120,000 miles. . . clean title, but has been wrecked. . when wrecked the front bumper was crushed and right side fender, exploding the airbags. . . the front bumper and right fender have been replaced. . no frame damage. . i've test drove it. . . drives fine. The asking price is 2,500 . . . here are the problems with it. . .

Needs new windshield
Needs back rear tires, front tires are about due too
Front replacement bumper came from donor gt and does not match color of car, needs repainted
The interior door panels are really loose and look pretty worn out, and cracked in a few spots
The front leather seats are absolutely THRASHED. . . cracked and worn to the extreme
The airbags have not been replaced but rather they just decided to gorilla glue the steering wheel back together and the passenger side dash piece back in

the good:
has flowmaster dual cat back with h pipe
4" cowl hood, which does match body (lol)
rebuilt transmission with documentation
meh, 120K on motor. . . no leaks, no knocks, starts and idles smooth
still has clean title


Therefore. . my dilemma is. . . to eventually get this thing looking the way I want it to . . . within my budget. . . can I do it?

Remember...budget = 4K, car = 2.5K . . . 1.5K to work with

I KNOW IT'S BEEN LONG BUT I NEED SOME HELP HERE. . . .

any advice and suggestions is highly appreciated

thanks
-Will

[jersey98gt]

i personally would try and look for a 94/95 if you like our body style or for $2000 you could get yourself a early model 5.0, that would be a better project car because it responds alot better to mods then our cars do

[MustangMatt96GT]

I would personally wait for another. I have been watching the market here in Denver for the last week or two, and have found maybe 4 GTs with higher mileage (140,000 ish) for 3000 and the rest looks to be in great shape. Also if you want to get a car that you can hotrod cheaply and easily, go with the 5.0. The modular 4.6 cars take some serious money to get any power out of them. The reason being our heads just do not flow air well at all.

[Arhilion]

I paid 2,000 for my 97GT with 140,000 miles it has no airbags and some odd and end things need to be worked on but i think i got a good deal on it

[G.T. Rags]

In my opinion, once a cars been hit, it's been hit. Unless it was a 5mph or less. Sometimes panels don't line up right, stupid minor things don't add up. I made the mistake of buying a car in a minor accident once, car was spun out and smacked up. Everything about the car just felt wrong. Im also anal retentive, and the slightest thing wrong makes me throw a fit. If your buying a car with that many miles youyr most likely going to need suspension work also, most likely a full tune up as well. That right there should put you way past the 4000 mark. The market's always fluctuating though, so keep an eye out if you pass on this one.

[jagstang96]

wait 4 another car i got my 96 gt for 3000 never wrecked 130.000 miles good condition

[FenderStrat]

thanks for the replies =) i'm still at a toss up over it though

[NMR-2vGT]

Dont buy it. Wait, like everyone else said, and buy a better one. I bought my 96 GT in a lot better shape than that and really wish i waited.