1996 Ford Mustang GT

I bought this car around two and a half years ago after falling through some hard times financially. Work wasn't hitting the same so I had to let some stuff go. The one thing I wanted to make sure of is that I wouldn't get something that would be completely boring to drive. Yes, I needed a cheap car, but I was not willing to settle for boring. Had to have a manual, had to be something I'd had before so I would know exactly how to work on it if something failed. I found this thing and frankly, paid entirely too much for it. $3000 dollars got me a 1996 Mustang with a dealer optioned sunroof, broken shifter, busted suspension, 7 cylinders, and no brakes, and three DIFFERENT SIZED TIRES along with a shopping list of other problems. Over time and getting back on my feet, everything that's been replaced has either been replaced with something better than it had from factory or I had learned to make it myself. I had put a new set of wheels and tires on it. Y2K Cobra Rs on a 275 square stance, soon were replaced by a fairly rare set of 18 inch 10th anniversary Terminator wheels on a 265 square stance. I replaced the control arms, front and rear with tubular pieces with poly bushings, all bushings under the car are poly now. A brake line developed a leak after being moved for the first time since the car was built probably, so I learned how to make new brake lines and replaced it from the front to the back. Replaced the worn stock shifter for an MGW unit, replaced a bunch of sensors in the car (probably all of them at this point), put a set of non slip pedals in the car, replaced the steering wheel with a DND leather wrapped unit, replaced the single din JVC radio from probably 2003 with a newer single din CarPlay unit. All of the speakers have been replaced, the ugly stained gray carpet was cleaned and dyed black. I replaced the stock drivers seat with a gray matching prisma seat. The mustang seat is now used for my home Sim rig built using a Porsche 944 turbo seat bracket slider and some thick guage steel. The lighting on the outside of the car has been all converted to LED set off with switchback front turn signals, sequential rear turn signals and amber fog lights. The car is running cobra 13 inch front brakes on power stop pads, the brakes suck but theyre better than stock. The engine blew up in February of 2025 and was replaced with a fully dressed 4.6 I got off a buddy for 400 bucks. Replaced it in the driveway at home. Driveshaft is out of a foxbody with an sn95 input shaft, new u joints. Had a villains rear lockout kit that I never had the chance to use on track for a drift event because it sheered the kit, so its back on the stock LSD innards for the rear end. Saleen rear wing, cobra front wing, custom sn95 hood with a new edge V6/cobra center reverse scoop (cut open said vent and the side vents on the hood to be made functional). The car was tuned by Caleb at Fastlane Motorsports in NC to take care of a richness issue the car had after an autocross event it ran (came second to a tesla model 3 out of 20 cars in novice class). After the tune, it runs solely off the MAF sensor and its running new edge fuel injectors. The whole cooling system has been replaced, though I still want to do a beefier radiator. The entire ignition system is new. The engine has about 168k on it, runs like new. Running 5w40 euro oil in it. The car has a set of no name long tube headers, routed through to an x pipe into sort of a J pipe deal and out the side via a nascar boomtube. Covered by a piece of thin aluminum sheeting I had a heatshield out of. The car has maxpeedingrods coilovers on it, the cheap ones. No like, the really cheap ones... they suck, but they get the job done. They'll be replaced before long with something else. Hood prop replaced with hood struts, fuel tank is out of a 1998 mustang modified to work with my pump system. Runs a walbro255 pump currently, I have a fuel cell and a full new fuel system thatll go in it when the time comes. I spent the thousand dollars, im gonna use it eventually. Some miscellaneous stuff on the interior has been replaced in the name of restoration, and im sure theres a check book full of stuff I am missing here. Literally everything on this car has been touched. All done by me and the help of some really good friends. About a month ago, the car was painted this custom turquoise metallic just in time for its second trip to the tail of the dragon about two weeks ago. The color is sick. Formula Prints made me some factory badge looking stickers in a retro pink to purple faded hue. Not shown in the current picture unless I can use multiple photos, but they look sick. The car has no heat, no AC. Runs like scalded dog and does everything ive ever asked of it. As much as its done me dirty, its been great therapy for the one thing thats done me a little dirtier. Life and work. And I think thats just why ive kept on putting so much money and time into it. Its the one thing that keeps going when I tell it to. Though it may throw me some shade almost everything I work on it, it always manages to work out. The car has been to the tail of the dragon twice, its done autocross, two drift events, its been a regular at a local cars and coffee and can now be that pretty 10 footer after the paint work. My fiance has grown to like the car and my kid loves it just as much as I do. It isnt by any means perfect, but its damn good. I think what I wish I would have known is exactly how deep id be into it at this point, but thats always part of the game. And if I dont plan on selling it, the money isnt a thing to me.