The short story is, I sold my 92 Mustang because it was awesome and now collectible. I did this just before my next round of modifications, which would have made it more modified and less collectible.
Round 2
I was offered a 27k mile, 2008 GT Premium in Sangria red with comfort and appearance package for a nice price. It has full exhaust including long tube headers, Ford Racing intake, lumpy cams, etc, dyno'd at 320 RWHP before the intake and related tune. My butt dyno could feel the difference on the last change. The current owner is a keeps it very clean and drives like the old man that he is.
It currently sits too low, and has stock brakes and suspension, this will change before it hits the track.
At $8500, other options appear to be old 350z cars and Corvettes with a lot of miles on them. Oh and BMWs but I need a reliable cheap to run track car so they are out.
This is going to happen in the next week or so. Basically the Fox craze appreciation curve crossed the S197 depreciation curve here.
I'm really wanting an S197 right now. So I say do it. A lot of people recommended I buy one when I mentioned them a few weeks back.
I would do it in less than one heartbeat. Then I’d bench race the E36 M3 out of it. Because Stampie.
I’d be shopping ‘11-‘14 GTs if I were in your shoes. Coyote >> 4.6.
You know you really should have just posted this in the build thread section instead. 
as an S197 owner from new, it hurts my feelings that you can get that much car for that little money now. Buy it already.
I fully support the idea of a S197 track car. Would totally gratuitously follow along.
I sold my 06 GT convertible last year, and part of me wants another.
This is the friends and family price, so I expect this to be more of a $10-12k car in the real market.
The 11-14 coyotes is what keeps the 4.6 cars at such a good deal. Plus I don't want the 10 on up electronic updates and I like the looks of the 05-09. The 10-14 are aerodynamically better, less lift in the front.
Build thread will start as soon as I get it home, with actual work beginning after some parts are sold.
Part of the draw to this car is the low mileage, if I looked at a coyote powered one it would either have a ton of miles or beat and still cost more than this car.
This is really a lateral move monetarily, I have no money to spend, but some to shuffle around.
Yeah, it’s impressive how reasonable s197s are getting. I’m contemplating one as a DD right now
AngryCorvair said:
I would do it in less than one heartbeat. Then I’d bench race the E36 M3 out of it. Because Stampie.
The build thread will be sweet, so many pics of $20 bills from sold parts while you flash the horns to the camera
Such a nice car, way too nice to track IMO but maybe your track doesn't pelt it with sand and rocks like some that I go to.
I'd wager my 3 series BMWs cost less to operate than the tire/brake pads/fuel hungry GT you bought. Having tracked my DD S197 though I can attest that they are much better out of the box than any Fox Mustang.
Oh...which reminds me...I have a set of Si97 Hawk pads I'll never use now that I have the M3. Message me if you'd like a decent deal on them.
Do it. Especially if it's as nice as you say.
As someone who recently bought a well prepped man purse, I can say it feels good to take on something so well taken care of. It's almost like cheating.
In reply to ddavidv :
Hang on to those pads for me, I'll need them if a few weeks once I have the car and recovered from the purchase of it.
I spoke with the PO today and yes it will be mine soon.
The BMW argument is a good one, I had good luck with my M3 and 525. I fear that it was mostly that, Luck. Cost of operating a BMW is not the issue. My E30 M3 was getting tired and I wanted more power, that was going to cost more than just buying another car.
Mustangs appeal to me due to the bang for the buck they offer but mostly the cost difference of future upgrades and repairs. They are cheap with plenty of used parts on the market.
In reply to captainawesome :
It is very nice, he also has a 5.0 powered 2001 explorer, the interior looks as good as new. His 2013 GT500 has 2500 miles on it.
We did some stuff now it's 900 horsepower and stupid.
Very rare combo of options, SVT and Track pack, 3:55 gears, no frills.
That does not have stock suspension. It looks like it at least has lowering springs?
On another note, my 05 GT made 360whp with the FRPP heads and some small cams with a C&L intake manifold. I was devastated. The car ran like a raped ape though and could easily keep up with a Boss 302 from a 40 roll. I think it was due to the weight difference. I had just about every bolt on suspension part along with k member to remove as much weight as possible. No back seat, no trunk items, lightest exhaust possible, aluminum driveshaft....all the weight savings.
I ran custom valved Tokicos(terrible shock) with Ford K springs and FRPP sways. Setup worked but wasnt ideal. I would have gone with Koni Sports and some Steeda Sport springs. A friend ran them and his car was much more compliant and easier to drive at the limit.
Get a set of take off GT500 calipers and rotors. Best brake upgrade and they are cheap as can be. Think i spent a little under $300 for mine. Add some 3" speaker port tubes to the front lower grille and run tubing to the a-arm/rotor hat. Worked great for a budget brake cooling setup.
I ran 275/40R18's on a set of OE GT500 wheels. It was a square setup that seemed to work quite well. They were also tall enough for the car as the 05-09 cars have an odd 27" tall tire size stock.
And whatever you do, dont screw with the rear end. Just wait and grab a take out from a Torsen equipped car that was setup from the factory. I rebuilt my rear end 4 times trying to get it to stop whining. Had a shop do it twice. For some odd reason the early 3 valve cars had a very hard time setting pinion depth correctly.
I loved my 05 GT but it was a total rattle trap.....so its perfect as a track rat. Go for it! Here is my ole beast.
Oh, you had a E30 M3? Different story, and far too valuable now for track duty. My E36 M3 is way more disposable. 
Those pads have been sitting on my book shelf for nearly two years. They will still be here for you. I only used the fronts for maybe two sessions. They look brand new. The thermo housing decided to explode partway through the day so I called it quits. Though it is only a 4.0 I was still very impressed by how well it did. My expectations were quite low but wanted to see what it was like.
The worst part honestly was the leather seat not holding me in place after using race seats in my other cars for the last half dozen years or more. That and the V6 shifter sucks donkey balls. Handling was quite good, brakes were more than up to the task and 210hp wasn't the big detriment I thought it would be. I'm surprised more S197s don't make it to the track. I usually only see maybe a half dozen at an event.
From the day I gave it away. Poom Poom Poom 
In reply to ddavidv :
My fox and SBF parts are flying off the shelves so it won't be long, before I fill them up with S197 parts.
In reply to kevinatfms :
Thanks for the input, my plan is to just buy the MM road and track box, install and enjoy. I'll look for some GT500 take offs.
I vote yes of course :)
I will have mine up at Gingerman for the next Track Night in America (May 16th).
In reply to fusion66 :
That's funny, last year we both had different cars, now both in S197 Mustangs. They must be the track car of the future.
That's a nice looking car, should make a fun track car. Speed Academy did a build on one of these so you might find it interesting to look through some of the videos - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp8FsoRYWYK4pTloHwQbmUqG9MEsm_JQH
Adam
adam525i said:
That's a nice looking car, should make a fun track car. Speed Academy did a build on one of these so you might find it interesting to look through some of the videos - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp8FsoRYWYK4pTloHwQbmUqG9MEsm_JQH
Adam
Great. Now I know what I'm doing for the next 10 hours. The sound alone makes me miss my GT.
Check out the suspension system from Cortex. It’s used in the Spec Mustang class in SCCA and seems quite good from the feedback from the guys running it.
Actually... Might be too stiff since it was designed for racing. Can’t hurt to check it out
