Just picked up a black/black '98 GT

[puma1552]

Hey there, I just dropped my dimes on a '98 GT. The car is black with a black leather interior, 5 speed, Mach 460, 78k miles, 2-owners, and it has the 17" split-spoke wheels. I paid for it yesterday, but have yet to have it delivered--hopefully sometime next week.

I found it on Autotrader in Iowa (it's also listed as a classified on ebay which I realized later). The dealer was asking $10k which I thought was a bit high even in the rust belt, so I eventually bargained them down to $8,147 including delivery to St. Paul, which they originally quoted $350 for, so I effectively got the car for $7,800. Aside from a K&N filter, and inserts on the back bumper, it's bone stock. I think I did pretty decent price-wise. It's my first Mustang, and my first manual.

Pictures:

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The steering wheel cover, the dealership plate frames, the dealership trunk lid sticker, and if it won't damage the paint to remove them, the bumper inserts are all going in the trash immediately upon delivery. I also need to track down a cigarette lighter.

The car will remain stock (except maybe exhaust/tint/lowering...), as it is to be my daily driver (I have a Camaro for my summer toy). I have a couple questions:

1) I'm looking to possibly recover the front seats with NOS genuine FoMoCo leather--is it still available, or what are the authoritative sources for NOS parts for these cars?

2) What are the common problems on these cars? I already know about the plastic intake which mine appears to still have, but what else? I thought I remembered years ago reading about torque boxes, or at least being able to tell if the car had been driven hard by looking at them.

 

[nancygrl]

Looks like it's been kept up. IMHO, it's a tad high but not bad for getting it delivered, but what matters is you like it. However; I have noticed the prices creeping up from 2 yrs ago when I got my 99GT add the fact that spring is around the corner and the economy is slowly improving. Good Luck with it, and welcome to the Mustang world...:SNSign:

 

[pilks]

looks nice,

it appears as if the brake calipers are red, thats not stock, at least to my knowledge. Could just be paint, looks great.

 

[mustang4300]

Nice GT man looks good i jus got mine bak in august wen i got out of bootcamp

 

[Rejekt]

Nice ride dude. Congrats on it. You'll enjoy it I'm sure.

 

[bhuff30]

2) What are the common problems on these cars? I already know about the plastic intake which mine appears to still have, but what else? I thought I remembered years ago reading about torque boxes, or at least being able to tell if the car had been driven hard by looking at them.

You bought a good looking car there. It looks to me like it also has some aftermarket mufflers.

We have owned the 97 GT in my signature for about 10 years and have it over 181k miles now, so I can comment on the issues.

The intake manifold, you obviously know about already. My suggestion is to install a PI intake. It will add about 15hp and you can either buy used or buy the ford racing part for a very reasonable price.

The transmission is a T45. It is pretty stout unless you try to power shift it or shift quickly/aggressively. The shift forks are just cast aluminum and eventually give up under the abuse. If one breaks, it requires the entire transmission to be torn down, so just don't shift aggressively/power shift.

The AC system has been a pain in my ass for a long time.

All the other issues I've had with the car have been normal wear parts. You know... struts, brake pads, bearings, tires, belts, hoses, ect. The timing chain/guides tend to wear eventually, but not until you are at or above 200k miles.

Overall, the car is still reliable and fun to drive, even with it's age and mileage. But I keep up on mainance pretty carefully. As for modifications I recommend: an offroad H pipe can give you a nice sound and a noticible power gain, install a PI intake with aluminum crossover for power and to get rid of the time bomb and keep good tires on her.

 

[puma1552]

looks nice,

it appears as if the brake calipers are red, thats not stock, at least to my knowledge. Could just be paint, looks great.

Ah yes, that too--I forgot to mention it. I think they are just painted.

You bought a good looking car there. It looks to me like it also has some aftermarket mufflers.

We have owned the 97 GT in my signature for about 10 years and have it over 181k miles now, so I can comment on the issues.

The intake manifold, you obviously know about already. My suggestion is to install a PI intake. It will add about 15hp and you can either buy used or buy the ford racing part for a very reasonable price.

The transmission is a T45. It is pretty stout unless you try to power shift it or shift quickly/aggressively. The shift forks are just cast aluminum and eventually give up under the abuse. If one breaks, it requires the entire transmission to be torn down, so just don't shift aggressively/power shift.

The AC system has been a pain in my ass for a long time.

All the other issues I've had with the car have been normal wear parts. You know... struts, brake pads, bearings, tires, belts, hoses, ect. The timing chain/guides tend to wear eventually, but not until you are at or above 200k miles.

Overall, the car is still reliable and fun to drive, even with it's age and mileage. But I keep up on mainance pretty carefully. As for modifications I recommend: an offroad H pipe can give you a nice sound and a noticible power gain, install a PI intake with aluminum crossover for power and to get rid of the time bomb and keep good tires on her.

Alright, good to know on the mufflers, I'll have to see if I can figure out what kind they are when I get it.

As for the intake, can I install the Romeo PI intake without having to swap to PI heads too?

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

Are stangs around you really expensive? Because around here that'd be much cheaper. No offense intended.

 

[bhuff30]

Yup, you an install a PI intake on your NPI heads. There are about 100 different swap instructions, and you can either use PI or NPI gaskets. You just put a few dabs of silicon on in key places.

Alright, good to know on the mufflers, I'll have to see if I can figure out what kind they are when I get it.

As for the intake, can I install the Romeo PI intake without having to swap to PI heads too?

 

[puma1552]

Are stangs around you really expensive? Because around here that'd be much cheaper. No offense intended.

Yeah, cars are always way more expensive up here in Minnesota and the surrounding area. I usually see people (for any car, Mustang, F-body, etc.) talking about how cheap they got their cars for and I'm just left thinking, "Wow, cars don't go for anywhere near that cheap around me." I still think I did pretty good given the beat cars around going for $6k-$7k. Also this one may have had a small premium being a black on black leather GT with a 5 speed, Mach, and the better wheels--I'd say it's a pretty desirable Mustang that should be easy to sell down the road.

Yup, you an install a PI intake on your NPI heads. There are about 100 different swap instructions, and you can either use PI or NPI gaskets. You just put a few dabs of silicon on in key places.

Cool, I've been searching around here and found some good stuff. Thanks.

 

[Twista]

Looks like glasspack muffler (cherry bombs)

replace them if you want some tone in your growl

Add an o/r midpipe to get rid of that 6 cat stock hpipe =]

Very nice car, but very expensive even @ 8k estimated. I went to a ford dealer to buy a car like yours. 1998 Vert though with 70k miles.. they were a bitch to deal with because of the low miles for a old car.

But its done now. Mod her alittle and you'll find a new money pit like us lol. Welcome to the stang world!!!!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 38176]

Wow you paid way too much IMO. I bought my 50K mile 2002 premium GT for about that much.

Nice stang though

 

[puma1552]

Truthfully, I really don't care if I paid too much. It has what I wanted, and it's been adult driven and has been cared for with service records and only two owners, and flawless paint with no evidence of any repaint. It's in line with the market around here, if not a bit cheaper; keep in mind, the dealer wanted $10,000 for it to begin with, if that gives you an idea of what they go for. There's another local '98 with an auto and 30k miles going for $12,000 and the dealer won't budge. I don't think I could've done much better than getting them to drop 20% on this one, which took fighting--and walking away--to get. Sure there were others I found that may have been better deals, but I didn't want a 'vert, nor a dark green car, nor a car with tan interior, nor an automatic, nor the base wheels--I wanted a loaded black/black 5 speed GT with the 17s, and I found one that was pretty much mint just 200 miles away so regardless of whether or not I paid too much, I got the car that I wanted, not the car that was the best deal just for the sake of getting the best deal.

I realize I could've had my pick of any New Edge car with the same mileage for the same price I paid, or could've had a very, very low mileage New Edge car for for around $11k-$12k; but I didn't want that body style. Around the time I was 16, 17 years old and these cars were barely off the assembly line, I remember lusting after them at dealers after hours under the fluorescent lights. I always looked at the black and red ones, with the 17s and black interiors. I bought the car that I wanted in the condition I wanted, so the price is fairly irrelevant to me personally.

It's still a plenty cheap car to me. I'm quite happy with it. Thanks for the compliments though, I hope it works out as a solid daily driver for me with minimal issues.

 

[tob36535]

Best valentines gift ever. I came home tonight from work and my wife has bought me #418 s281 saleen 2000 yr model with 52000.00 miles. Problem now how do I top that for valentines for her.

 

[tob36535]

Oh by the way i love your car dude and as long as you are happy with what you paid it was a awesome deal good luck on it and im going to post some picks of mine tomorrow i love my wife.

 

[fiveoho]

very nice looking car

doesnt matter what you paid for it as long as you are happy. i dont really see the point of someone telling you how much you over spent. not their money or decision, its yours.

and welcome to the forums :SNSign:

 

[puma1552]

Thanks, I agree. I'm pretty excited about it, and can't wait to get it. I see I've got the six cat exhaust as well, I'm thinking of sticking a Bassani/Mac off road X pipe on it (no emissions testing in Minnesota thankfully) with some type of catback; need to search around here a bit and see if pulling those cats is going to throw error codes with the ECM, etc. Also need to check out some suspension bits for it; I want to lower it, but I also know at least with my F-body that to do it right you also need a new torque arm and LCA relocation brackets...I'll have to search around a bit for the safe/right way to lower it.

Really my plans are to just tint it a little, lower it a little, and throw on a decent X/catback along with some lloyd's pony floor mats, then just drive and enjoy.

Getting back to the OP, anyone know anything on getting the original FoMoCo leather?

 

[pilks]

maybe this...?

Mustang Leather Seat Upholstery at LRS - Same Day Shipping!

 

[90SILVERNOTCH]

Price wise I think it was a bit much, but hey as long you are happy that's all that matters. Around here that would be 4.5 5K car tops since its a non PI GT. This is why when I'm looking for a new car I look all around the country for the best car at the best price. You can have a car shipped from coast to coast for 750.00 Just as an example I'm looking at a 01 GT vert with 93K miles for 6,800 perfect paint top and interior. Like I said though as long as you are happy that's all that matters. I'm sure you will love your new stang. It looks clean and in great condition

 

[GDawg]

Nice car!

That's what I was looking for when I bought my car new but I bought it so late that I couldn't find a blk/blk GT coup so I decided on my red vert.

Have fun!!