Originally Posted by AVodka14 (Post 1772144)

Great read. I was contemplating the exact swap. I love the 5.0 Mustang. I just had this feeling that I would miss the FRS. Therefore I am keeping her as long as I can. Let us know what you end up with. Welcome back, I guess...

Originally Posted by Reason (Post 1785329)

Updated the original with some photos for flavour

Originally Posted by jcblown13 (Post 1785617)

Thanks for the pics. You don't look squished in there like a friend of mine did in a Mini.


Also, That live axle Mustang thing that has bugged me for years. In 1991 I bought a Cougar instead of the Mustang. I still have that 1991 Mercury Cougar XR7 with the 5.0 HO V8 and it actually has independent rear suspension. The MN12 was great in its day. I guess Ford wanted to hold down the cost of the Mustang so they never ported this over. Shame. Perhaps in 2015 it shall be corrected.

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR (Post 1773238)

haha no.. thinking MGB/MGBGT, S800, 2002, Spitfire, etc. Good american cars from those days cost too much money.

Originally Posted by strat61caster (Post 1789178)

Check out some Alfa's, a little pricey but from what I can tell the engine is stout and full of Italian character (from the 60's that is), the electronics and mechanicals are too simple to be a huge headach, only issue seems to be rust, but I could be way off base. An early GTV would be my replacement if I wanted something more interesting than a Toyobaru but had intentions of using it the same. If you'd be willing to suffer through an 80's Italian GTV6's are very reasonable right now.

Originally Posted by FRSpappa (Post 1793201)

I would suggest NOT to pay it off if your saying your gonna get rid of it. Just puts you farther in the hole with depreciation, especially with the new Mustang coming out! Dump it now and take your lumps and get what you want while your trade in is still high. I was in a similar situation and don't regret the trade one bit as it paid for half my FRS, and I'm smiling every day since purchase! Also, sounds like you'd be doing the same thing with the Miata; IE trying to make a BRZ/FRS like the Stang. Remember you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear...


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Originally Posted by Reason (Post 1793150)

So an update as far as my personal mentality towards the Mustang vs 86 dilemma .

So it seems the roller coaster has come to a stop. I have been back and forth with some dealers over the last few weeks trying to get into a BRZ as a straight trade for the Mustang. I decided on one dealer and last night went back to them to hear their 'final offer' as it were. They had come down on the price a little (mostly due to a cash-back incentive Subaru is running on the 2014's that are still on the lot) and were also offering me a bit more on trade in for my car after I provided some receipts for the air suspension.

I took the numbers and went for a long drive in the GT and, almost to my own surprise...I've decided to not go through with this. Yes, I want a BRZ. Yes, I think the Mustang isn't really the car for me and if I had to do it over I would have kept the fr-s. I think I'm just going to live with my fuck up, pay off mustang as fast as possible and when the dust settles in a couple years, I'll get my BRZ. The mustang isn't a bad car. It's even admirable how well it can step outside of its usual areas of expertise and actually throw itself around a corner.

I think for the past year since I bought the Mustang, right from day 1 I had a mentality of "I just need to adjust this... change out that part and then POOF sports car!". First it was the shifter, then it was the suspension. Then it was winter and I was on snow tires so it got a stay of execution for 6 months. Then it was wheels and tires and then after it warmed up and I started really driving the car around some of the regional driving roads, and I had changed the suspension and improved the shift feel... then the car had no excuses and I was disappointed that it didn't feel like I had hoped. It doesn't feel bad by any means but it's getting things done with less delicacy. It has good balance and brute force grip but it isn't gentle or gradual. You throw it into a corner, pick a throttle position and you hold on while it undulates and squirms over every crack and pothole and lump but it keeps its line. You don't respond to what it does so much as you tell it what to do. It's the difference between a well trained German Shepard which will do as its told with no emotion, and a silly, excited and slightly dumb Labrador retriever eagerly waiting for you to throw a stick for it. The former gets your respect, but the later gets your adoration.

There are outside factors too. I'm about to move within walking distance to work so fuel economy isn't as big of a deal for the future. It also affords me the ability to compromise the Mustang so that it is a bit more of a dynamic 'sports muscle car' and not quite as commuter oriented. Practically that just means I can probably ditch some things for weight savings and not have to worry about noise and vibration as much.

It still won't be as rewarding as an 86 is, but I can at least take some of what I love about the 86 and try to give it some of that spirit.

So, i'm going to stick with the Mustang. I'll continue to modify it, but i'm also going to stop trying to make it something it is not and play to its strengths of that amazing engine and quite capable, if chaotic, cornering limits. I'd like to remove some of the vagueness. I'm going to keep it to a budget, because of the other factor I decided on; to buy a cheap old lightweight sports car. Miata (I'll modify it to fit around me...) or maybe the right e30. Maybe an old Fiat 2000 or MG.