Buying a mustang need some help

I'm 18 and buying my first mustang.  Looking to get my hands dirty and start learning about the mechanics. Would need to spend under 5k and then about 5k to fix up.  I just have your basic tools, nothing special, just trying to learn and love going fast. What year, miles, condition, price and upgrades should i be looking into?

All help is greatly appreciated  

Hey Nro, welcome to the mustangs guys. For your dollar I would suggest an early coupe(65-68). You can come by these fairly cheap and the engines are easy to work on. You can slide in almost any 289/302/5 liter engine and it will bolt up and run like a champ. From there the engine /drivetrain mods can be done slowly depending on your budget. Small block chevy parts are a little cheaper but there are a lot of wrecked mustangs that have parts and whole engines you can use at a really cheap price. You can later add EFI to your ride for next to nothing(I saw a complete setup for $200). There are a lot of ways to go fast with the 5.0. Good luck  

NRO mechanicguy is right... but the yr you want depends on what you like. us older stang freaks like the classics for the looks and the memorys. haha the 65 to 70 mustangs are so simple to work on when complete you can break down the engine and put it back together in a day with the right tools and knowledge. when looking for an older car though bring someone along with you to check them out that knows something about cars. check the whole car out. for your first car you dont wanna find something with to much rust or rot. good luck there. also when looking bring a magnet with you and go along the quarter panels and all if it doesnt hold theres bondo everywheres probably. look under the car at the floorboards and lift the carpet doing the same. if they're rotted out...run away dont walk...you dont wanna have to do to much metal work on a first car...good luck in your search  

Thanks for the advice i wasnt sure if an 60's or 70's was right for me i was looking at 90's but I will definitely change my search.  

There is nothing wrong with the 90's mustangs Nro, like Tom said there I guess us old guys tend to think of the old cars first. The simplicity of the older cars makes it easier to learn and keep running. The 90's cars are computerized for the most part and require emissions testing so the changes you make are somewhat limited. They are not bad looking though and some of them run pretty good too. I just think bang for your buck is better if you can score an early mustang, I am sure there are later model fans out there too.  

Where would i be able to find an older model mustang....cars.com and autotrader are very limited, and i dont see many for sale  

Craigs list(www.craigslist.org) always has a plentiful supply in the area you love. If not try the surrounding cities. I live near Seattle and Craigs list for Portland and Spokane combined with the seattle list will total about 200 early mustangs for sale. The other good spot is to look at the web site for a local mustang club because most of them have "for sale" areas and club people will generally be more knowledgeable and have better cars for sale.  

Greasy suggestion i found a ton on craigslist, i guess my biggest concern is rust, i live in Florida so the humidity causes problems. Is some rust ok, and how hard is it to do body work for rust my tools are limited  

Well in florida I guess your gonna see some rust. It all depends on your expertise Nro. If your the average guy then you dont have a Mig welder or even a gas torch, so rust repair is difficult to do right. Slopping some bondo on a repair doesnt fix it. You can expect some rust in the floor pans and that can be repaired easily if its not too close to the interior rocker panels or frame. Doors can be replaced as well as front fenders. When its in the rear quarter panels it starts to get expensive. When you see a lot of work in the sub frame extensions pass by that mustang. The best thing to do in your case is find a good mustang with minor work and then find a good shop that will repair it reasonably. Some other posts on here have talked about repair shops in Florida.Its a big mustang area so I know you have lots of them.  

nrogt3 where in fla. do ya live. i'm in the st pete area.if your anywheres close give me a call i'll be glad to help you search if you want. send me a private msg and i'll send you my number if you want me to go looking with you. i can also show you the one in my driveway and thats what you want to stay away from. i have it cuase i can do the metal work and i have firends that like to help and work on hotrods also. even if your not in my area let me know where your at i dont mind helping out the younger crowd when it comes to classic cars.
mechanic is right again...as for the shops there is plenty around but when it comes to them working the metal i hope you hit the lottery cause they aint cheap.  

To save yourself a ton of money on rust repair, I would look in the west Texas, New Mexico, southern California and Arizona area for a basically rust free car.  You can fly to the car, then drive it back to Florida for a whole lot less money than buying a rust bucket and having to fight the rust.  If you don't weld, and have no desire to learn, the guys who do this for a living make about $100 bux an hour.  Do a reality check before you plunge into a classic Mustang, or go with a 90's Mustang SN95 that has relatively little rust.  

soaring...not everyone has the money or time to go flying around to find a project car...read the whole post not just what you wanna read. thats why we offer our help when we can.
again read the whole orignal post then read all the replys first  

I might give you the same advice about reading the entire post. Once again, I suggest that the one who wants to buy a classic Mustang, search the west Texas,New Mexico, southern California and Arizona Craig lists to find a rust free Mustang. Flying to get the car and returning to Florida with a rust free car will be a hellava' lot cheaper than repairing a rust bucket.  Any problem with that statement?  However, it seems this young 18 year old one wants a 1990 series Mustang, so why are we old classic guys wasting our time with this poster?  

NroGt3
New User | Posts: 4 | Joined: 10/08 Posted: 10/14/08
09:40 PM
I'm 18 and buying my first mustang.  Looking to get my hands dirty and start learning about the mechanics. Would need to spend under 5k and then about 5k to fix up.  I just have your basic tools, nothing special, just trying to learn and love going fast. What year, miles, condition, price and upgrades should i be looking into?

All help is greatly appreciated  


this is why we waste the time to help out the younger generation....  

The 90's LX 5.0's are great looking cars and plenty of them are out there.  If electronic are a concern, (fuel injection, etc.) consider an 85 GT.  These were the last of the carbureted mustangs and one of the last square light fox bodies which are becoming more collectible.  Don't jump into anything unless you find a great deal.  Check out all your options.  Good luck with your search.