Having had a bunch of foxbodies and an sn95, not new to Mustangs, but I am new to the S197.
As I currently drive a 2016 Fiesta ST, I'm a speculative S197 owner. With the exception of a few driver's schools and track days, I've effectively been out of the car thing for about 10 years now.
I purchased the FiST new as I was wanting 1) a car that was cheap to own and operate and preferably with a warranty so I didn't have to wrench, 2) I wanted a driver's car - this got Motor Trend's Top 10, and 3) it needed to be able to haul stuff around like my 211 pound Mastiff. The car has served it's purpose very well and I could easily make several posts doing nothing but giving the FiST praise. I'm typically pretty anti-FWD, but this thing rotates on track like a RWD car. I don't know what magic fairy dust Ford sprinkled on these things, but they really are amazing.
However, I now find myself at a crossroad, and I can either go down the rabbit hole with the FiST - hybrid turbo and supporting mods, coilovers, etc. - or I can switch back to a rwd platform with more ultimate potential. An S197 with bolt-ons would start roughly where the FiST would end as far as mods go.
In autocross, comparing one of my old ESP prepped foxes or my FS sn95 to a bone stock FS 3V S197 I drove once... There's really no comparison. The S197 is lightyears ahead of the earlier platforms. I also did the Ford Racing School in one of the track-prepped S550s, and while the car was great on the track, they're just too big and heavy for my tastes.
First and foremost, I'd want to build the car as a fun to drive daily driver. Second, I'd want the car to be competent for the occasional track day. I want to stay NA and not really interested in a radical track day car that would be occasionally driven on the street.
I'm still up in the air as to starting with a V6 or a 3V and swapping in a modded Coyote, or just starting off with a later Coyote car and going from there. I'm kind of leaning toward the swap as I think in the end I'd have a better car for less money.
Which forum would be the best place to start a "speculative build" post? I've a lot of learning to do...
As I currently drive a 2016 Fiesta ST, I'm a speculative S197 owner. With the exception of a few driver's schools and track days, I've effectively been out of the car thing for about 10 years now.
I purchased the FiST new as I was wanting 1) a car that was cheap to own and operate and preferably with a warranty so I didn't have to wrench, 2) I wanted a driver's car - this got Motor Trend's Top 10, and 3) it needed to be able to haul stuff around like my 211 pound Mastiff. The car has served it's purpose very well and I could easily make several posts doing nothing but giving the FiST praise. I'm typically pretty anti-FWD, but this thing rotates on track like a RWD car. I don't know what magic fairy dust Ford sprinkled on these things, but they really are amazing.
However, I now find myself at a crossroad, and I can either go down the rabbit hole with the FiST - hybrid turbo and supporting mods, coilovers, etc. - or I can switch back to a rwd platform with more ultimate potential. An S197 with bolt-ons would start roughly where the FiST would end as far as mods go.
In autocross, comparing one of my old ESP prepped foxes or my FS sn95 to a bone stock FS 3V S197 I drove once... There's really no comparison. The S197 is lightyears ahead of the earlier platforms. I also did the Ford Racing School in one of the track-prepped S550s, and while the car was great on the track, they're just too big and heavy for my tastes.
First and foremost, I'd want to build the car as a fun to drive daily driver. Second, I'd want the car to be competent for the occasional track day. I want to stay NA and not really interested in a radical track day car that would be occasionally driven on the street.
I'm still up in the air as to starting with a V6 or a 3V and swapping in a modded Coyote, or just starting off with a later Coyote car and going from there. I'm kind of leaning toward the swap as I think in the end I'd have a better car for less money.
Which forum would be the best place to start a "speculative build" post? I've a lot of learning to do...
