Start with a GT? Or will a V6 suffice?

Cochise

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Hey everyone. I’ll just start this off by saying BLUF; I plan a coyote/t56 swap into a 99-04. Should I buy a GT or will a V6 suffice?

I’ve been searching for a while for a 99-04 GT. The way these cars are holding their value is insane. Not to mention how hard it is to find one that isn’t a basket case. (Rust seems to be my biggest culprit so far)

I’m not jumping into this blindfolded, I’ve done copious amounts of research. That being said, please feel free to chime in with any input, there’s no such thing as a stupid question or stupid comment. After all, that is what we are here for, are comments and recommendations.

My initial plan was to buy a decent GT, mileage is not too much of importance as I’ll be swapping it out anyway. My goal for the car is to make it a serious HPDE car, while maintaining street drive ability. Part of the reason I wanted to get a GT is that I can track it for the next year or so while I finish saving up the remaining funds for the swap. I budgeted 20K for full swap, to include engine, transmission, suspension, and other odds and ends. I’m going into this knowing over time it will cost more than that, but this is my jumping off point. The 20K does NOT include the initial cost of the car.

I’ve been tracking VW/Audi’s for years, and just recently sold my last VW track car and decided I wanted something a little more classic and I just LOVE the lines of the New Edge, always have.

So this brings me to my burning question; is a GT absolutely necessary? Or will a V6 suffice? The way I see it right now, is the only benefit to the GT is it already has the 8.8 rear-end in it. I’m already gonna have to switch the fuel system.
Are the any other benefits to getting a GT?

Other than being able to enjoy a GT more at HPDE events than a V6 while I save up the remainder of the swap funds?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions, and please feel free to guide me to other resources already available.
 

joe65

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I feel the pain of finding an affordable GT to start with that isn't ruined or too expensive. But, i've learned the lesson a few times now, just keep looking. Are you willing to go pick one up or have it transported? I know it can be evil, but i watch FB market place often. I also still watch Craigslist. There's also all the various forums. what is your base car budget? I will keep an eye out.
 
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Cochise

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I was trying to stick to around $5-6K for the base care. I did find one for around $6,500 which I was willing to pay, but it had the rust issue.

I’m willing to have transported, but with the popularity of these cars I’d imagine it would just be less headache to wait for something that’s within 4-5 hours of driving distance.

I’m actually waiting on a PPI for one right now though. It’s not perfect but if the parts list is as advertised it would have a lot of stuff that I can reuse. I posted the link below.

He has it listed for 9K but I already negotiated with him to bring it to 7K. There is enough there on the car already for me to justify the extra cost. Especially the tubular K member. We shall see….

 

joe65

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I was trying to stick to around $5-6K for the base care. I did find one for around $6,500 which I was willing to pay, but it had the rust issue.

I’m willing to have transported, but with the popularity of these cars I’d imagine it would just be less headache to wait for something that’s within 4-5 hours of driving distance.

I’m actually waiting on a PPI for one right now though. It’s not perfect but if the parts list is as advertised it would have a lot of stuff that I can reuse. I posted the link below.

He has it listed for 9K but I already negotiated with him to bring it to 7K. There is enough there on the car already for me to justify the extra cost. Especially the tubular K member. We shall see….

I like that car. i was looking for a white mach 1 and ended up with the blue, which i'm good with but the white is my favorite. did he send you pics of the underside? back up above the gas tank is a bad spot if they are rusting and the shock towers. i'm sure you know that but i've been through that with the last gt i had. Sold it to get the mach 1 i have now.
 
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Cochise

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I’ll have the shop look out for that. The car is 3 hours away and the shop I called is going to perform the PPI on Wednesday. Thanks for the tip!

He hasn’t sent much pics, the seller is really nice but be actually doesn’t know much about the car. He went from a tuned Eunos roadster (Miata) to this. He has literally had this car for a month and he’s not crazy about it.

I think he got a little more than he bargained for with this. Certainly with the gears and the weight of the car. Very different than a Miata.
 

joe65

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this is close to me. I'd pick it up and flip it but i'm not a huge fan of yellow. good price though.

another close to me. this one is clean. I would have bought this 2 years ago. My 1st mustang was this car.
 

07GtS197

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I feel your pain. I recently bought a 00 Gt after looking for months. It was one of only 4 in the area and it was still 2 hours away. One had 40k miles and the guy wasn’t moving from 12k bucks and was sketchy. The others weren’t worth it but the one I picked up was the least expensive one and even if it was a dud I knew I could get out of it easily. Now if I could figure out what the issue is…

Another thing I wanted to add is that gt’s already have hydroboost, which will need to be swapped in to clear the coyote.
 

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...Another thing I wanted to add is that gt’s already have hydroboost, which will need to be swapped in to clear the coyote.

I think you should rephrase that. The coyote will fit with hydroboost.
 

07GtS197

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I think you should rephrase that. The coyote will fit with hydroboost.
Ah I see what you’re saying, op I was referring to the v6 needed a hydroboost swap. The v6 uses a vacuum booster which will hit the valve cover on any mod motor.
 
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Cochise

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I agree. I’m hoping the white one works out with the PPI. I could see myself really enjoying it for a couple years before needing to start the coyote swap. Plus it puts less pressure on saving the rest of the money for the swap since it may not be needed immediately.

Minus tires and those gears, it looks just about track ready for HPDE use.
 

weendoggy

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Damn! They have held value (or what the seller thinks) a lot. I didn't pay near that for mine with 123k. Although I did do a LOT of work after to make it more "trackable". :) Now just need the coyote in it, which is happening soon. I'd definitely stick to a manual transmission if you plan to track it. Put some 3.73 gears in the rear to wake it up. You'll need a tuner to change the ratio for speedo correction.
 
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Cochise

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So quick update. The seller messaged me last night. This is what he said....

"Hey man just got back from a trip to Atlanta (3 hours) and now the car is bogging pretty bad at red lights and the mileage counter light turns on and off ,I have no idea what happened. at red lights the idle bogs from about 700 to like 200 RPM up and down trying not to stall"

That was the gist of the conversation, I asked a few questions and this is the extra info he gave me.

"It could be the plugs the coils the IAC or the throttle body, usually it just needs new plugs and the IAC cleaned whenever this has happened to me"

He hasn't had the car very long, so I think this is new for him as well.

Any idea what's going on? He's been very forthright and I thanked him for that. The mechanic checks it out on Wednesday, so they may be able to tell what it is.

Any thoughts?
 
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Cochise

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What do you mean by "vac leak", where would it be coming from?

Also, knowing this, what are your thought's on the prospect of this as a potential purchase? How likely is it that this is something serious?
 

weendoggy

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A small vacuum leak can be from a hose. Cut, split, tear, etc. I had one on my EGR amplifier that was hard to find, but I did and replaced both. If a mechanic (trusted) is checking it out for you, make sure they look for codes (if any) and a good once over on all functions of the car. Otherwise, it's a crap shoot.

If the intake is cracked (plastic) that can cause a vacuum leak too, but I wouldn't go there until it gets checked out.
 
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Cochise

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A small vacuum leak can be from a hose. Cut, split, tear, etc. I had one on my EGR amplifier that was hard to find, but I did and replaced both. If a mechanic (trusted) is checking it out for you, make sure they look for codes (if any) and a good once over on all functions of the car. Otherwise, it's a crap shoot.

If the intake is cracked (plastic) that can cause a vacuum leak too, but I wouldn't go there until it gets checked out.
Are you on Stang Net also? I noticed the name for a similar question.
 

07GtS197

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If it checks out otherwise I’d negotiate an even lower price. Since you don’t need the motor it’s not a deal breaker IMO.
 

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