Trying To avoid a Mustang II Saga circa 1974.. (V6 vs V8 2006+)

To see just how carried away you can get with a V6 you can check out another posters ride at:

If you want the ragtop so bad go for it! Now your decision between the newer design with a v6 or older with a v8. IMO there will be allot of aftermarket for the 6 cylinder. If you take a look at the what Shelby is doing with his CS6 you will be in awe. I hear allot of nice things that this 6 with the dual exhaust sounds pretty awesome like an 8's rumble. Check out this link and just remember if you dont mind doing these upgrades over time you will be fine otherwise you might as well get a newer Stang vert with an 8 as the cost of modding your 6 will add up. Best of luck!

You and I are in a similar quandary... But here, it was ME that owned a '74 Mustang II with the German six, not a friend. That was my first Mustang, a dark brown metallic coupe with tan vinyl roof, and that little six was quick! It helped that I also had the stick, since my next was a 1978 hatchback with the six/automatic combo, and the coupe was just much faster. That '74 was a great little car, for a POS...

You saw John S.' website... Yeah, I'd say that a six can be worked up.

Huh? Why would you want to turn an LX into a GT? All that extra plastic just slows it down. Unless you're assuming that all LX models were non-V8...?

I still think you'd be disappointed if you went six while wanting eight... Have you looked into a longer financing term?

dwight

Performance add-ons for the V8 are relatively plentiful and relatively cheap. Add-ons for the V6 are not as plentiful and probably not as cheap (I haven't really checked).

The only way you'll get any real power out of that V6 and have it continue to be a well behaved daily driver is to supercharge it. I'm not a fan of nitrous...

So the V6 would initially be cheaper to buy and probably cheaper to insure, but would cost you more to get equivalent amounts of power. If it was me, I'd go for the V8.

Cheers,

Have you driven a V8 from 05/06 yet? Everything about the V8 is addictive, from the engine power to the exhaust note. When I went looking for a Mustang back in 1999 I too thought I'd be happy with a V6. Then I drove one and immediately knew I had to get a V8. Two weeks later I bought my '97 GT. Spent 5 years tweaking, tuning, chipping, and modding the heck out of it and I was happy as a clam until I spotted a 2004 Mach 1. The '97 went to a son and I have the Mach 1. If you even have an inkling you might want a V8, go take one for a test drive. Then make your decision on what you have to do to get the car *you* want. :)

Best of luck and keep us informed.

Yes!!!! That is a wonderful site. Thanks "Tammyandjohn" for all the good info! Tomas

Hey thanks for the great links Nick!

I had no idea the Shelby was based on the V6 nor did I realize that the V8 was the same design that has been in these cars and the Crown Vics (I think?) for years.

Looks promising.

FWIW I just had a ragtop rental (see my other rambling thread) and the V6 makes a surprisingly nice exhaust tone. To my ears it's mellow, let's you know it's there and when called upon let's others on the street know you are there as well :)

Oooops.............. Open mouth and insert foot :(

My friends is a dark brown with tan interior/vinyl roof and is a stick as well.

Yea, I would say so :)

Tell me about it :(

The basic gist was to order the LX, with the V8 and whatever options you wanted and you basically had a GT, but since the VIN showed it as being an LX, you got the speed/power/suspension but didn't pay the GT premium on insurance.

Yea, I'm looking into all that now. The dealers near me have an awful lot of these things on their lots so they can't be selling all that well, at least not where I live.

If you want performance get the V-8 PERIOD. If you really can't afford the V-8, then there is no point in discussing it which to get, because you are stuck getting the V-6. Besides, if you can't afford the V-8 what makes you think it would be cheaper to buy a V-6 and buy all the parts and labor to try and get V-8 performance out of it, all while screwing yourself out of your warranty???

"Tomas" wrote

That's because it's not. The Ford Shelby GT500 uses the 5.4L V8. The Shelby CS6 is HIS own deal, using a company seperate from FORD, using a V6 as the platform.

Been around since, what, '92-'93?? The V6 is a new animal however apart from the old 3.8.

Hey, I was young and stupid (jeez...30 years ago - now I'm old and stupid), but that little II could get up and go. I remember hanging with a couple of other cars at 110mph one night, when the Firebird to my left exploded. Hood came flying off. That was a sobering sight.

Also used to give my younger brother fits. He drove a '69 Boss, and I would "take him off the line". Always took him much too long to reel me in.

But perhaps my memories of that car are out of perspective. I came to the '74 Mustang II by way of a 1972 Pinto hatchback...

I never cared for the GT styling. That extra plastic serves no purpose and eventually causes more problems than it's worth. No, I like the clean lines of the LX.

Now I own both ('93 models). For the hatchback, the LX looks great. For the convertible, I now prefer the GT's look. Go figure.

dwight

The V6 is a new animal however apart from

New... only in that it is a return to the Mustang(last used in 1978). This is one is the final incarnation of the Mustang II V-6, to be phased out in 2007-2008.

Rob

"Tomas" wrote

No, but similar. the famous "toilet seat" front suspension had nothing to do with the Pinto. It was based on the pinto a little more loosely than the Mustang was based on the Falcon.

"Blue Mesteno" wrote

Sorry, the front subframe was nicknamed the "toilet seat", not the suspension. It moved buzzy harmonics away from the passenger area and isolated road noise too.

Are you saying the current V6 is based on the old 1970's German V6?

They are going to phase this V6 out in 2007/8 ?

If so what is the replacement going to be?

TIA

Ouch!!!! Gives new meaning to the name FIREbird hahahah!

Wasn't the Mustang actually built on the Pinto frame? I remember seeing Pinto's racing at Engishtown N.J way back then

I never did either, but you didn't have to order the ground effects stuff. Just order the V8, suspension package and a couple of other minor things and like magic you had the power of the GT, without the extra garbage (at the time) and a lower insurance rate.

Ever see a Pontiac Grand AM GT (the balls out model in fusion orange) circa 2003?

It looks like they glued these bulbous panels on the sides etc.

Hideous IMHO.

the hatchback, the LX looks great. For

I like them both :) That's my problem!!!

Gotcha! Thanks for the history lesson!

Actually the only things I remember from helping my friend rebuild his 74 stang V6 was the "coffee can" emissions thingie and I think the original carb used water and a lot of plumbing to set the choke. I think the oil pan was a real horror to remove as well if I remember correctly.... We drank a lot of Buds back then :)

One funny, well not so funny, story was when he first fired it up and we were all standing around it in his garage (doors open) covering our ears (it was loud!) and looking around the engine compartment. Well there was something spraying out at us, ever so slightly. One guy was smoking a cigar....

It turned out to be gasoline.

I don't think I ever ran so fast, even after a couple of Bud's !

Fortunately nothing major happened and it was just a loose fitting.

Like I said, the guy still has the car and it is mint...

YES... the Mustang/Explorer/Ranger 4.0 is a bored/stroked/high-deck Cologne V-6, in a SOHC variant. Basic architecture - bore spacing, centerlines, etc. are the same as the old 2.6/2.8 although barely recognizable looking under the bonnet.

YES. Production starts in late 2006 for some 2007 applications.

The "Duratech 35". It will be a wild ride, too, with about 235-240 hp in base trim from 3.5 liters, it is based on the current Duratech 3.0. It will be the 500/Freestyle platform upcharge engine option.

Rob

Gotcha!! You are right about not being recognizable!

Sounds like 2 things are going to happen:

That's going to be a mother of a ride! The price on the current V6's will drop a lot....