1996 Gt - Race Able With Prior Frame Rail Damage.

[DustinF]

Good evening folks.

I have recently acquired an abandoned project of a co-worker. 1996 GT that has been well driven (154K miles) but not necessarily well taken care of. The person I acquired the car from parked it in his garage for three years untouched. Prior to him was a kid who poorly modded it with stereo equipment, a hodgepodge of cobra parts (seats, poorly fitting interior panels, etc.) After acquiring the vehicle for free my intent is to create a father/son autocross car and gut everything unnecessary.
As I'm getting into doing a thorough assessment of the car I noticed that the airbags had been deployed and the fact pretty well disguised. Given that I crawled under the front and started assessing there. It would appear that the front passenger took a hit at some point and the frame rail and bottom radiator rail are pretty gnarly looking. They look like they have been straightened bit still some unpleasant looking sections.

Anyone see any issues why this would impact drivability or safety on a track? Mechanically the car seems ok. The 4.6L cracked up and idled perfectly on the first try.

This was a free project for my son and I so at this point I'm not out anything

Thanks everyone!
Dustin

 

[General karthief]

Post some picks of the damage, maybe I need to move this to the 96-2004 sn95 forums for better exposure.

 

[MustangIIMatt]

For what it's worth, I raced a Mustang II with frame damage. Got tired of certain parts not lining up and a persistent pull to the right, and found my current II all at the same time, which spelled the end of that car.

That said, depending on where the damage is and what else it affects, it could be a non-issue.