Finally Bought 2003 Mustang GT (Build Thread Begins)

[32icon321]

After 2 long years of searching I have finally purchased another new edge car. I own two other mustangs (a daily driven 1991 hatch lx and a 1988 Coupe) but have always wanted to get back into a 99-04 style. I never expected the search would be do difficult to find one unmolested and lower mileage. Two years and searching craigslist and autotrader finally paid off.
How it looked when I first purchased it:

Link to SSP coupe build here:
https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/foxbody-coupe-build.1135540/

So I had the option of purchasing a GT or a 03/04 cobra. I went with the GT for numerous reasons which I will explain here:

First and foremost this is the car I plan to be the "lifetime" build. I have loved this body style since I was a kid. That being said, I wanted the body of the vehicle to be perfect. The undercarriage needed to be spotless, seam welds straight as an arrow, etc. I have dealt with a molested car (the coupe) and didnt want to do that again. I wanted something stock or as close to stock as possible.

To find an 03/04 of this quality I know I would spend $25k at a MINIMUM. Then I wouldnt have the heart to completely tear it apart and rebuild it. With that in mind even if I could score a super clean 03/04 in the $18k range what did I plan to keep on the car really?

IMO everything that made the 03/04 cobra great, I would be removing/replacing eventually. T56 would be ditched for the magnum, the 4.6 would be ditched for either a new coyote or a fully build motor with oliver rods etc. Which leaves the seats and IRS which I plan to purchase at least the seats for this build.

So after some deliberation I settled on a GT to avoid wasting the $15-20k.

Back to the car:
90k original miles
original 5 speed car
3.55 gears
CAI
MGW shifter
Brand new tokico shocks and struts
New headlights (old ones were fogged)
Paid $7300

Car came with a binder of paperwork.

Interesting Notes:
I am the 8th, yes the EIGHTH owner of the car
Front bumper had been resprayed
"Fresh Clutch" but it felt rough during the test drive (more on this later)

The sellers stated the car had never had ANY paintwork but I could spot the respray of the bumper which did bother me slightly. As did the large number of owners. But after getting underneath the car it was an original Ford OEM front bumper as was all the front end parts. All of the original bolts were there and appeared untouched so It was safe to assume it was just a purely cosmetic respray. The undercarriage and overall cleanliness of the car sold it.

The first "emergency" mods were to remove the stripes and ditch the wheels. I found some OEM 03/04 chrome wheels for the front and order the 10.5 for the rear so I could run 315s. I was stunned to see how much room I still have, could have possibly bought 335s. I kind of wish I had stuck with 18s though after seeing them in person.

The rears came mounted and balanced but I needed the new front tires mounted. Tire discounters did it for free even though I didnt even buy the tires from them. Because of this, I decided to not go to my trusted alignment guy. Huge mistake. Long story short it was a complete waste of money and I could see how lazy of a job they did. They shoved pry bars down in the shock towers rather than lift the car up. Scratched/dented the hole in the towers and alignment was out after two days. Nothing that cant be sanded and fixed though. I just hate other people working on my shit.

I mainly blame myself for not sticking with my main guy and the cheapo SVE plates on the car now. Ordered MMs kit and will install shortly.

Also was time to address the really stiff clutch. The owner stated the previous owner had installed a high performance clutch but I noticed there was no firewall adjuster nor was there an aftermarket quadrant. So I ordered and installed MMs clutch cable and quadrant to with no success...

 

[32icon321]

During the install of the clutch cable I got to peek in the bellhousing and it was clear the clutch looked aged. So I started tearing it all apart and the more we worked on the car the more it became clear we were the first ones to remove the transmission. Lo and behold there sat the original OEM factory clutch.

This was such a pleasant surprise, not sure if anyone can relate. After only working on old molested foxbodies for so many years and then to take apart a virgin car. Not only did all the bolts match but they were actually OEM FORD!! Then to see the factory Ford clutch sitting there was better than Christmas. To me this is a testament to how the car was driven to have nearly 100k and still have the Ford factory clutch.

BTW this was a PITA compared to my foxes. I could usually pull thier trannys in about a hour. By the time it was said and done with the new edge it took about 4 to get her completely tore down. Ended up making a tool for that top starter bolt which took us bout an hour.

 

[72MachOne99GT]

Sounds like an awesome project. You have some balls to straight up reject the 03/04 Cobra. I find the reasoning totally sound though.

I’d say maybe you over paid a bit on a New Edge GT unless I missed something.

All that aside, kick ass man!

 

[Weather Man]

Very nice! Good luck with the modding!

 

[32icon321]

I wanted to get a build thread going although it will be quite boring for maybe the next year or two. I am having a hard time not diving straight into this car because it is so slow. But the old geasers around the garage are pushing me to stay focused on my coupe car that currently has a 351W (hopefully dart aluminum 427)/MM suspension/haltech system in the near future.

I originally bought this as a DD commuter to school and back but it is just to nice to drive to campus. There isnt a single door ding on it anywhere so it has so of become a "date" car. The short term goals are to just get basic maintenance and some smaller mods such as the MM caster plates, 03/04 seats, etc that I know will be great for the long term goals.

The long term goals as of right now will be a gen 2 coyote swap/whipple/haltech standalone/t56. I plan to keep the GT body style and stock hood if possible.

 

[32icon321]

Sounds like an awesome project. You have some balls to straight up reject the 03/04 Cobra. I find the reasoning totally sound though.

I’d say maybe you over paid a bit on a New Edge GT unless I missed something.

All that aside, kick ass man!

Yes I was pretty torn on the 03/04 cobra vs a GT. But for the long term goals it would have been a poor financial decision to opt for the cobra as much as I want the instant gratification.

I dont disagree that I may have overpaid. I have found the market on these New Edge GTs are pretty interesting and vary quite a bit. Low mileage, pristine examples (30k-60k) have fetched anywhere from $8-10k.

I found and looked at several in the $4,000-$6,500 range but not a single one met the standard I was looking for. Most had been wrecked, poor repaints, to many mods, automatic, hacked stereos, and the list goes on. There were a few nice auto cars I passed on because I didnt want to go through the swap.

 

[RSbeast]

I think if I was going to go that crazy, I'd have just bought a roller. If you're going ground-up, it makes the most sense to start at the ground floor.

 

[Dirks9901]

Cool build. If it were me, I would have jumped to the 99/01 cobra.


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[32icon321]

Cool build. If it were me, I would have jumped to the 99/01 cobra.

Thanks. Would have loved a 99/01. I actually looked at 3, all 99s. I really wanted a 01 but couldn’t find one within 400 miles in the shape I wanted for <9k.

The 99s all had been wrecked and complete repaints and 2/3 owners claimed they had no knowledge of paint or accident history.


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[mld54]

You're still a kid ! "Old geasers" ? that earned you a few wrong answers !

 

[jaxbusa]

Thanks for posting. I don’t think you overpaid. I have an ‘01 Bullitt. I went the route of getting a cheaper priced car and spent more than that to get it up to my standards, and I still need to get the seats reupholstered. A friend of mine bought a ‘03 Cobra with a ported blower for $18,000-20,000 ( I cannot remember exactly as it was two years ago) and I was wanting to try and make mine just as fast for less. I’ve had a T-trim, intercooler, and all other related parts in the garage for almost two years now. I need motivation and inspiration. Life keeps getting in the way. I’ll be watching this build.


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