ok,

here's the deal:

next year, once things are under control, i'm going to get my hands on a 2nd car. this is going to be more of a toy than anything else.

i have a couple options:

1) my folks have my old 92 mustang LX5.0 that we've had since it was new. i left it with them 5 years ago when i moved b.c it's impractical and the insurance was murder.
-92 limited edition red convertible (the red ones with the white wheels/top/seats - 75 in canada - 2193 total)
-mint. absolutely mint
-37000km
-auto but it's a cruiser, not a racer
-i could wrench it out of their hands for not much money (relatively to the price on the open market)
-i would leave it stock due to it's rarity
http://www.v8mustangs.com/files/RRFSSP6.jpg

2) track down a mid-90's miata. for about the same cost.
-i'd end up with a higher mileage car but i'm as long as it's physically and mechanically A+ it's ok.
-i'd end up modding up quite heavily over time since there's nothing particularly unique about a stock model.


this is going to be my toy. looks like settling down is going to happen within a couple years so i need to get my kicks now before i'm getting kicked by kids at the supper table or something. i've got a really strong emotional connection with that mustang (it's been in my family for 10 years) but i love the miata's too.

flame away on the mustangs if you will but it's a beautiful car. i don't know what to do.

 

From the sounds of that Mustang... Wow!!
*Note: My dream car is a '92 Mustang Cobra so this one is very biased!

I'd love to have that car!!! Instead, I drive a practical '02 P5!!!
Can't complain!

 

oh yes. i love my P5 and i'm going to hang onto it as long as it:

-doesn't develop problems
-is large enough to meet future family needs

the P5 is more fun to drive than the mustang too. but like i said, it's a cruiser.

 

For me, it will be the Mustang. No contest. I'll bet the 5.0 is faast as hell too, especially if you give the engine a tune-up.

 

fast yes. but scary as **** at high speed.

 

I would take the Miata, mostly because the fact that the Mustang is a convertible. The 79-93 Fox3 Mustang chassis is not known for its structural stiffness- it's one of the most flexible sporty cars sold in this country during the last 20 years- and the convertibles are the worst of the lot because they have no roof to brace the top of the chassis. Ford added a bunch of reinforcements to keep these cars from breaking in half (literally), but the braces add a bunch of weight, and the car is still much more flexible than a coupe- and the coupes are already really flexible.

Fox3 'Stang convertibles are known for ugly structural problems. This includes body panel misalignment and wheel alignment trouble. Higher-mileage examples often have door alignment problems if parked on an irregular surface- if you park with one wheel in a pothole, one (or both) of the doors may not open, or it may refuse to close. These cars are known to disintegrate in wrecks, and don't get me started on the handling consequences. The stock Fox3 suspension is already awful (it really is) and the convertibles' lack of structural stiffness compounds the problem.

Second problem is that the car is an automatic. The auto trannies used in these cars are known for their remarkable ability to suck power. Installing a 5-speed in an automatic 'Stang will often drop 1/4 mile times by a second or more, which is highly unusual for a torquey V-8 car. This is the reason why almost all the 'Stang drag racers have 5-speeds. They also all drive hatchbacks or coupes- the demand for the less common but lighter and stiffer coupe has actually jacked their price well above the hatchback. You will almost NEVER see convertibles at the track due to their high weight.

IMHO you should get a Miata (which is DESIGNED to be a convertible, and is quite solid and reliable) or find a hardtop 5-speed 'Stang.

 

I'd probably go for the Mustang if you're not really worried about being super-fast. If you just want to cruise around in something, i'd definately stick with the mustang. It'll be quick, sound great, and it would be a great summer cruiser. You'd end up dumping a lot of money into the miata to make it fast, etc. which you said you'd want to do. Mustang all the way!

 

carguycw:

thanks for the input. it definitely isn't a solid car relative to lots of things out there. i know it's never going to be a high performance machine. i wouldn't even try if i choose that route.

my dad's got a 96 GT and it's worlds better than the 92. and even it's not that great a performance.

but he doesn't want to sell his..

 

First of all he said he won't be modding it, it'll just be a cruiser car.... Secondly 5-speeds are not always quicker. Yea, you heard me. In the newer camaro Z28s (99-02), people with autos have gotten the same if not better times with comparable mods. I have no idea why, but GM put a sweet-*** auto tranny in there. As for 1 second quicker in the 1/4, that's a given in 90% of the cars out there, definately not that unusual.

All in all, you can't go wrong, but I'd save some cash and get the mustang. Both cars are great, but there's just something about a throaty V8 that makes a much better 'cruiser' in my opinion than a turbocharged miata or something similar. But then again, the choice isn't up to me!

 

Stang... All the way!

 

See that? Can't argue with the ladies!

 

I would have to say mustang as well. Not that i really like mustangs but to have a limited edition with only 37000k on it is amazing. Plus in the miata if you wreck just once in it, it could be totaled plus you could put ur life in danger. Just my opinion on what to do!

brian

 

This is true... but the key phrase is "newer camaro Z28." The 4th-gen F-body has a GOOD automatic tranny. The Fox3 Mustang does NOT. Even if you mod these trannies heavily (new torque converter, new valve body, manual shifter, blah blah) they will rarely match a T-5. BTW I used to hang out at the strip with a lot of 5.0 junkies, and most of them thought that the best use for the Fox3 AOD automatic is a doorstop for the garage.

BTW the generalization that automatic cars are significantly slower than manual cars does not really apply to powerful V-8 musclecars. Auto tranny power loss decreases as more torque is applied, and having fewer gears (i.e. 4-speed auto vs. 5-speed manual) does not affect big V-8's very much because of their broad powerbands. *Many* V-8 musclecars will run equal times with automatics and manuals, and many V-8 racers actually prefer automatics because they're easier to shift, reducing the risk of broken rear ends or axles due to a botched shift.

To address the original question, yeah, I agree that a convertible Mustang can make a good cruiser, and the limited edition red/white convertibles are nice looking cars. However, IMHO convertible automatics were the worst Fox3 Mustangs built. Despite the "5.0" badges, they really aren't very fast, and they have serious structural integrity problems. Miatas are *much* more solid cars and IMHO are MUCH more fun to drive, even if it may be more work. Plus, girls dig Miatas. I've owned 2, and it worked for me.

 

Yeah.. Don't argue with the ladies...

As for the LS1 Camero I don't like them, well the way the llok anyway. And yes some of the guys with autos have had better luck than the M6 LS1. I use to race a MB trans am... I know a fair bit about the LS1's...

 

sorry about that I love all sorts of cars. Camaro's are pretty ugly, yes, but up until the '99 mustangs they would hand the mustang's their *** on the platter constantly. Mustangs were pretty gutless(compared with transam/camaros of similar years) before '99.

I used to hang out on maxima.org, and a 4th gen maxima ('96-'99) 5-spd can take a 5.0 stock for stock. Mustangs are H E A V Y.

It's amazing what you can do with more displacement though. For intance, a $3500 supercharger kit will add 145WHP (Yes, WHEEL horsepower) to the camaro LS1s. That's unbelievable! Not to mention intake, exhaust, cams, gears, p&p, and every freaking thing else you can do to them. I wish I had a ton of money so I could get a 'play' car like a firebird or camaro... Ahhhh damn

Oh yea, and I think you'd get more chicks in a mustang than a miata. Mustang promotes more of a 'bad ***' image than a miata. Most, but not all, girls dig that.