95 GT or 96 GT

deathb4dismount

Crap, didn’t realize my crotch was in that picture
15 Year Member
Oct 6, 2011
1,031
530
164
THE BUCKET
Ok so the wife said she is cool with me getting a stang if it doesn't mean a new payment. I am trading my 05 Sentra SE-R Spec V (don't ask why i have this) and it will be a straight trade plus $500 give or take. I have narrowed it down to two cars I like and fit my price range. Didn't know where to post this but I need a little help making my decision. My goal is make a 300 HP daily driver.

The two stangs in question are;

95 GT-S 92k miles Green with chrome Cobra R 18's
3.73s, exhaust, CAI, Cobra brakes up front
The body is good with no rust, paint is fading but not terrible

96 GT 101k miles White with stock wheels and only mod is flow master exhaust

I previously had an 89 5.0 so I am very familiar with what mods I need to make 300hp. I would probably go the N/A road with 5.0 and it already has some good supporting mods. Having gears out of the way is a big plus.

With the 96 I like the fact that it has leather and the paint is much nicer. I am just not that familiar with the 2v modular engine. I am pretty sure it still has the NPI heads and intake. I know it can be hard to make 300 n/a hp on these motors so supercharging I think would be the best way to go. Can I make 300 hp by just adding a blower and tuning without a PI conversion?

The cars with be modded from the ground up suspension, brakes, and gears will be done before any power adders are done.

What would you guys do? Any advice would be much appreciated. I can't wait to get back in the mustang game after a 6 year hiatus.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Even though the 95it has a 5.0 its going to be totally different from the fox set ups your used to so keep that in mind....they are the bastard year cars so nothing ever works with them....

The npi cars can be fast as long as you do the pi swap on them....either way youre in for a good amount of work building them

Good thing with the 5.0 motor is that the parts are much cheaper....none of that probably helped you but that's just my. 02
 
The 96 with PI heads and intake swap will trump what you can get out of the 95 for the money - it will be much faster than the 5.0 with a couple hundred dollars and some labor.

On the other hand, I don't know what other supporting mods you will need to make that work on a 96.

There's nothing wrong with the 5.0 but especially with the PI heads/intake, the 4.6 is a different animal to drive.
 
I agree with mustang562, for the value of your Nissan you should get an 03 or 04. Maybe even a convertible. To give my opinion on the 95 vs 96...I have to say I'd probably get the 95 but it would be a hard choice. If I got the 96 I'd just throw a supercharger on it and call it a day. If I got the 95 I'd probably do HCI and some more mods. Tough choice...
 
Barf green paint with the obligatory tan interior is an automatic deal breaker for me, and that's before you even mentioned it was faded.

I'd go for the '96 in an instant. I'll take the better condition car 99% of the time. I'd rather have a clean car that's slow than a fast beater. Paint and body ain't cheap to do it right.

I've driven a '94, a '96, and own a '98. Also driven an '87. The '87/'94/'96 cars were autos, the '98 is a 5 speed with 3.27s.

The '87 was fun since it was light, the '94 drove nice but was really nothing special IMO, but the '96/'98 cars are more rev happy and much smoother and more refined--you definitely realize it's not a traditional small block, even though you can barely get through the intersection even with 3.27s. Don't fool yourself, the '96-'98 cars are dogs, even with 5-speeds and gears. First gear is agonizingly painful and you'll hear that motor spin past 4k easily while the VW Passat next to you pulls away without trying, yet second hits before you get through the intersection, but the car won't seem to move til you hit second, then it starts pulling pretty good.

Personally I'd take the OHC car. Much more refined and nice to drive, even if they are slow.
 
If your ever throwing a KB supercharger or root style blower then get a 96+ v8.

The root style blower for the 5.0 looks like ass under the engine. I mean its functional but the looks of it :notnice:

Its 2011 now so for the 96-98 GT's you can make pretty fast because of the aftermarket selection.

Of course for the old 5.0 there is a big market for them also.

I guess its what you are more comfortable with. Both cars have potential. Both cars are DOG slow stock. Dont let the stock NONPI vs stock 5.0 fool you. Both are piss slow and will get dominated by the cars on the street today when your stock.
 
How much are you looking to spend? If you can manage about 8k, I would recommend a 99 or 01 Cobra! I have had a few 5.0's in the past and a PI 4.6 currently. In todays standards both cars are quick at best! 5.0 or non/pi are still very very fun cars and can be modded to oblivion!
 
When I was looking for my new mustang I test drove over 20 different stangs ranging from 1994-2000. None of these were modded, but the 94 and 95 gt felt the slowest of them all. Every year after they seemed faster than the previous year. I was going to buy a 98 gt, but before I did I wanted to drive a new edge mustang. And after driving the 2000 gt I bought it.

Out of the two cars you said, I'd take the 96, but I would really wait for something better.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
 
Another vote to keep the Sentra. Making an unknown 16 year old car into a daily driver, with the intention of having fun is going to leave you in a bad position. Even though the miles are relaively low, I guarantee you will have issues of some kind. Just sitting for long periods of time causes seals to get old and brittle. And it sounds like you are getting screwed on the trade in if you can only get a 95 or 96 mustang. Might be better to sell outright and pocket the difference or get a nicer stang.