is it worth it to mod or improve a 1998 mustang gt 4.6L automatic ? if so what ?

i just received this mustang as my first car it was Christmas gift.

i was wondering if it is worth modding or upgrading it because its an automatic or would everything be purely cosmetic if i were to upgrade it?

what i was trying to get out of it was better handling(most important) and just make the engine look generally cleaner because the car on the outside looks cherry but on the inside the engine seems to be pretty dirty.

i was also looking to change the head lights and i need to change the rotors and brake pads also as well as the seats (i want the interior to look nice)

im pretty new to the car world and would just like some suggestions i guess, the car has 130k miles but supposedly has a new transmission (that is what i was told) and i have "drove" and ridden in the car and haven't had any problems with it. grandpas a master mechanic his sons a mechanic and his two brothers are ford mechanics so i dont think i will have trouble with instating anything :laugh: thanks for your time.

CAR: http://imgur.com/a/v2em8

 

Thanks!! and whats a handheld? and i would like to do what i want but i read here its better to have a goal than to just buy a bunch of parts and have some parts cancel out other parts and waste money ;/
and yea haha i barely got the car and im already looking into a bunch of stuff that i could upgrade and change haha

and i hope so i always have bad experiences with fourms.. usually everyone picks on the noob or bashes the shit out of them for posting something in wrong are on accident

 

whats a build thread? is it like you post what you start with and then just keep adding as you change it?

 

ohhh.... well shit, should i just copy and paste over there ?

 

ah ok then ill sit and wait and its because i don't know where to start to be perfectly honest, im looking through the builds and most of these guys are taking there whole car apart this is my only car so i dont think i could do that XD and i think theres are manual i think :

 

so so far i got this on my to do list
-Springs
-shocks
-struts
-PI swap
-sub frame connectors
-jmod (shift kit)
-brakes

few questions though
1. will the jmod worth with an automatic ? and is that the name ? jmod
2.most of these are handling fixes right ?
3.would any tuner work or does it have to be a brand name tuner specifically for 1998 mustang gts?
4.would you change anything else with the motor ? to maybe make it last longer or a little faster ? im not a real speed demon but i love it when an engine is looking clean !

THANKS

 

THANKS ! and could you recommend and interior parts like seats and or dashes or door frames pretty much anything that would match the exterior ? i like getting reviews from people rather than buying random parts and not liking them in the end

 

that looks amazing i wanna do black carpet now