Buying a modified GT

Obi-Wan-YJ

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I'm shopping for a new-to-us Mustang. We're currently looking at a 2007 GT that has a few engine mods, and I'm wondering whether the mods are more trouble than they're worth, or whether we should go ahead with the purchase.

This car will be my 19-yr-old son's daily driver. I trust him not to be stupid with it, although he may get some speeding tickets. He's upgrading from a 2002 Subaru Forester that his grandmother handed down 4 years ago. He's just now learning to drive a stick, but I think he'll be OK.

The ad for the car in question is https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1673646717218165

"Not in a rush to sell it at all just don't drive it as much as I thought I would. It is a 5 speed manual. Parts List: 2018 mustang wheels, Lowering Coilers, Comp Cams Mutha Thumpa, Cold Air intake, H pipe and mbrp axle backs no cats. Duckbill spoiler, Carbon Decklid, Fiberglass Hood, and its professionally tune by Lito."

The car is currently owned by a college kid who's had it just 8 months and has too many other vehicles to keep it. The mods were reportedly all done by the previous owner just in the last couple years. That owner had it for about 7 years. We're trying to get detailed records on the mods. The cam, phasers, coils, and plugs are all newer. I has a new throwout bearing, and the mechanic said the current aftermarket clutch had about 60K left on it. The clutch felt good when driving. No audible noise indicating worn timing guides. The car has 180K miles on it. With these mods, it needs 91 octane gas. The suspension sits too low and scrapes speed bumps, but it's adjustable and can be returned near stock height.

We drove it tonight, and it was surprisingly streetable. No real torque below 3000 rpm, as expected from the big cam. The exhaust is really loud needs to be replaced with some real mufflers. The Lito tune is specific to the removed cats, so we probably won't change that. The body's in decent shape, although the unpainted fiberglass hood looks tacky.

You're probably asking, "if you don't like the torque curve and noise, why are you considering this car?" I ask myself that same question. The answer is that sports cars in our price range with manual transmissions that haven't been beat to hell are hard to come by around Lincoln, Nebraska. A Mustang is already his second choice. I'd like to test drive a 2011+ V6, but we can't find one within reasonable driving distance.

We can probably get this car for $7500 or maybe $7000, and it needs new tires right away and new mufflers soon, so that's $8500-9000.

Should I be worried about a car with this mileage and these mods, or should I be happy that all the common pain points have been addressed recently?

mustang.jpg
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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The mileage itself wouldn't worry me 'cause these engines will run reliably for over 300k miles with proper maintenance.
Your test drive doesn't seem.to have raised any red flags but I strongly recommend you take the car to a professional shop and have it inspected underneath. You may find other items (suspension, steering, brakes, oil leaks) that require attention, and you can use those as bargaining tools to knock the asking price down.
 

Obi-Wan-YJ

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You may find other items (suspension, steering, brakes, oil leaks) that require attention, and you can use those as bargaining tools to knock the asking price down.
If no new problems are discovered, do you think $7500 is fair? What's your opinion on using a big cam with 91 octane for a kid's daily driver?
 

whitmanink

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If no new problems are discovered, do you think $7500 is fair? What's your opinion on using a big cam with 91 octane for a kid's daily driver?
hope he got gas money :)
i have the setup kinda like this ,, only more done to my engine ,,
mpg is long gone out the window,, now its smiles per mile
 

Squirrely

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Obi-Wan-YJ, Dino Dino gives sound advice. How he fits all this information in his head is beyond me. I bought a 2007 GT automatic w/75,000 miles on it for $11,500. Cai, 3:73 Detroit Locker, BBK long tube headers, catless, X pipe, resonators and last but not least American Thunder mufflers.The work and tune done by Lidio.
I am extremely happy and impressed with the performance and best part it’s turn key!
Oh, and stock cam W/93 oct tune.
Hope this helps.

IMG_3774.jpeg
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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If no new problems are discovered, do you think $7500 is fair? What's your opinion on using a big cam with 91 octane for a kid's daily driver?
The car needs new tires and mufflers so knock the seller down to $7000.
Check other consumables like brake pads/rotors, shocks/struts, ball joints, tie rod ends, and suspension bushings 'cause these will further eat into your budget if any need replacing.
The Mutha Thumpr cams will make the engine feel soft below 3000rpm even with Lito's tuning magic, and the car will feel VERY sluggish in 5th gear since the stock 3.31 axle gears are ridiculously tall. Plan on doing a 3.73 ratio axle gear swap (maybe even a 4.10) if you want this car to perform the way it should. You might even see an improvement in highway fuel mileage since you'll need less throttle opening to gain any meaningful acceleration in 5th, and you won't need to drop down to 4th every time you want to overtake or scale an incline.
 

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