Mach 1 or 2005 GT engine: Which is best??

While I have no proof of it, but my bet any Bullit/MACh1 type stangs won't come out till after the '06 Cobra. Ford will ride the new body style wave for 05 then in 06 the Cobra will be the story. So my bet is 07 before any chance of a new MACh1. If I'm right you could get the MACh1 now and sell it after a few years if they come out with something you like. I'd probaly be in the market by then so if you want to get a yellow w/black MACh1 5 speed we can talk in a few years. lol

MadDAWG

I went through the same thing... wait for the '05 or buy now. I was just looking for something to drive around town, and take some pressure off my truck...also be able to get into the newer, smaller parking spaces easily.

Anyway, this is the way I see it. The new Mustangs will be a bit more $$$ than current models. I seriously doubt we'll see rebates on the 05's and I'm not a fan of buying a first model year of ANY car.

The '03 & '4 Machs are virtually identical, and are awsome cars. The $4k rebates on the '03 just made it a great deal. Even the $3k rebates on '04s is good.

I decided to get the '03 Mach and start having fun with it now. I don't see a Ford produced "special" Mustang with the new body style, for at least 3-4 years, except the Cobra in '06. Saleen might jump in, but that's a whole different market.

My vote is get the '03 or '04 Mach 1. Its as good a value as you'll find for a new car. The next time you're ready for a new car, the novelty of the new Mustangs will have worn off, and there will probably be some deals to be made.

Just my opinion... I'm sure you'll hear others.

I'd be VERY interested in seeing the TORQUE graphs between those (2) engines.

"Supposedly" the (3) valver will have MORE torque down low.

Anyone know of any such GRAPHS out on the Net yet ??

-ERIC

The Mach 1's seem to have a pretty "hot" tune from the factory. I recommended to an acquaintance of mine(who just bought an 04 Mach) to see my buddy Ed for a chip to correct the speedo from having 4.10's in it. I told him that Ed could lean the mixture out to give him a hotter tune and a few more horses. Well, Ed called me and said that he had never seen a stang or Cobra come from the factory with that lean of a mixture. He figured that it might have a 12.0:1 a/f, and he would lean it to 13:1 and get him maybe 12 or 15 more hp at the wheels. Well, the Mach 1 was at 13.0 from the factory already. So, he just added 5 degrees of timing down low, and managed to pick up about 7rwhp and about 11 lbs. of torque for him. While that may not seem like much, the car went from chirping the tires in 3 gears to laying rubber in the gear changes. It's alot more responsive and the guy was happy. I think he ended up with 271 at the wheels. Other than the chip, I think his only mod was the catback. Just thought I'd throw in some trivia, since you mentioned the Mach 1's factory performance.

Ronnie in Chesapeake

Richard wrote:

I think he is talking about the current Mach-1 The Mach-1 is just milking the old model until the end. But with the current discounts you can't beat the deal. I got prices for 25K by fleetsales for an 04 mach-1 in december. Then I ran into that 03 cobra....ahhhhh :-)

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that lean and increasing timing on top of that... risky business if you ask me. Does the Mach-1 have forged pistons ?

If not you might in for a surprise. Warranty is gone for sure. Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying

The Mach engine also seems to have greater ability to rev higher, I'm not sure why.

-Rich

That's what I was referring to in my post...the current model Mach 1.

I haven't seen any "great" deals on Cobras, at least nothing to make them a better value than the Mach.

If the Mach 1 is just "milking" the old model, then call me a bottle baby! This car rocks!

BTW... What Cobra did you buy?

An '03 Cobra... What's not to like!