1998 GT convertible

The non-PI headed cars (96-98) are down 45HP from the 99 & later cars if that matters to you. Still, I like the body style - have both. Would be nice if the intake manifold had been replaced at some point w/the improved one - the all-plastic manifolds had nasty habit of cracking by thermostat housing; the improved manifold is easy to spot because of the cast aluminum crossover containing the thermostat. Other than those two things, they can be nice cars. If having really fast car important to you, I'd wait and buy a PI-headed (Performance Improved = 99 & newer GT's recieved new heads/cams/intake) car or Cobra.

trash said:

Yea oxfords alright, I actually live a few miles north out in the country I guess youd say. Heres a few more pics, Ill have to get better ones tommarow, I didnt get to the dealer until about quarter till 5. The engine compartment is a little nasty and needs some cleaning, but thats the only dirty thing Ive found so far. Pipes have a little rust but its chrome, its gonna happen.

Click to expand...

-- really like your car! You should be happy w/your purchase.

http://www.autostyles.com/prod01care.htm
http://www.worlduph.com/topcare.htm
http://www.premiumautocare.com/convertible-top-care.html
http://www.karonline.com/cleaninginstructions.html
http://www.properautocare.com/besprodforco.html
http://www.autogeek.net/motcontopcle.html

No ArmorAll on the top!

Are you familiar with clay bars? - there's some good car finish tips at:
http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
and the photos of customer cars are hot.

Light bar: http://www.classicdesignconcepts.com/catalog/Ford_Mustang/Light_Bars/

Time to check all those important things:
tire pressure !!
fluid levels !!
condition of belts & hoses
condition of pads/rotors/shocks
condition of air filter
condition of jack, spare, tools
whereabouts of the key/lug to the wheel locks
the leather probably needs some conditioner & maybe shampoo carpets & trunk
if the dealer did not do this, it would be a good time to change oil/filter - lets you know for sure where to start from - good time to switch to synthetics.

It's easy to get big eyes when you come in here w/us crazy folks and start thinking about changing this & that -- if you never changed anything on that car, it would still be sweet. Great color combo on great body style. One of the best looking convertibles around for sure. I feel the light bar actually detracts from the lines of the car (in additon to being heavy & pricey) when the top is down and I won't be putting one on my 2001. If the boot for the convertible top, visible in one of my pics, wasn't included with yours they can be found on EBay for $75-100. Really helps to clean up the look when top is down. Might want to remove the lower cushion to the rear seat (easy) and check under there for moisture, leaves etc. Mine needed some cleaning up.

Don't know if you're interested in Shelby cars (Cobras, GT-350's, etc.) but the 2006 SAAC get-together is in Danville, VA at VIR - a great chance to see how the legend got started:

SAAC-31
Virginia International Raceway
Danville, VA
June 30-July 1-2, 2006
www.saac.com

Have fun/drive safely -- Jeff

trash said:

Thanks Jeff. When I first got the car it kinda stunk a little inside and today I was in the backseat and was looking around, and where the top lays when its down, there was a moldy wet jacket, a shirt, pair of pants and a old shoe. They all had mold on them, and stunk horribly. It was a little damp back there so I dried it out, then sprayed febreeze and wiped it up and then threw a air freshener back there. Ive got armorall on all the dash and doors, and have the inside clean. Its full of brake fluid, power steering fluid, oil (of course). Tire pressures are all the same. Then when I opened the trunk (I had seen it before I bought it. But but of the covers that go over the spare tire were wet so I set them out to dry, along with the top cover. spare tire is there with the jack, and the sockets, and all of that. I crawled around to see what kind of exhaust I had, and it's a Y pipe with dual somethings, they are just gray mufflers with no names written on them, so I guess Ill never know. I went to check the air filter , but I couldnt figure out how to get the cover off, I know it sounds stupid but I couldnt. I took the clamp off and jiggled the housing around, and never could seem to get it aloose. So everything looks good, Ive just gotta get the stink out, its not bad but it doesent smell good.

Click to expand...

1) the moisture in the car - we may have a bad weatherstrip someplace or some plain neglect by previous owner but it's still serious. Do pull the bottom rear seat cushion out; you just push the whole thing towards the rear and pull up - may have to push the seat belts through it when removing. Mine had moldy leaves and junk that got in there when the top was down. The Fabreeze & air freshener hide the smell, not fix it. You want something stronger: Lysol? Mild bleach & water solution? - be really careful if use bleach not to get it on anything. Your parents may have some good suggestions. Look at the weatherstrip around the trunk lid for cracks or dry rot. Mine was okay but am sure previous owner left top down in rain and top also has small hole on one side. It's important to your long term enjoyment of the car to try and solve this soon. I eventually replaced the carpeting in my car as a final step. Might be a detailing shop in your area that has professional shampoo equipment? Good place to work a few hours a week to learn some tricks and get some stuff done to your car for cheap or free? You did the right thing by taking the pieces out of the trunk to dry; did you check under spare to see if it was wet there as well and check under the interior carpet someplace? If carpet is also damp, I truly suggest taking it out so you can really clean underneath. Finding source of water leak, if any, is important.

2) Air filter: using the search "air filter replacement" AND mustang AND 4.6, I came up with the following:
http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/knln1.htm
http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/intke.htm
should help

3) tools - did you find the lug for the wheel locks? Easier to find it now than at 2:00am in the rain. Do you know how to remove the center cap from the alum wheels and where to put jack? Does spare have correct air pressure? Way easier to check in garage than on side of road.

4) Lowering springs - these cars are lowered by using shorter springs; ideally, a spring/shock combo. - I'd be real surprised if one of the Forum members didn't have a stock set laying around. May be that someone simply cut some off of your car's stock springs. Problem is that stock height is really high; maybe there's a compromise, for example, the springs from the Bullitt special edition which are known to be a bit stiff but only lower car around 3/4". Yours is down 1 1/2" I'd say. Look at classifieds here, at corral.net, and on Bullitt forums: www.imboc.com. I did not save stockers from mine or could help you out. The car DOES look better slightly lowered but understand your driveway issues. If you can live w/that for a bit, I think some other things are more important but your call.
http://www.mustangtuning.com/springs.html

5) Tire pressure - you said they're all the same - what was the pressure? shouldn't be more than around 32 cold.

Let me know if I can help more.

BlueStreak03 said:

Speaking of cleaning the top, is there a convertible top dressing or conditioner I should be using on mine?

Click to expand...

Believe our tops are vinyl, not cloth; helpful tips below:

http://www.properautocare.com/vinyl---convertible.html
http://www.autogeek.net/contopcleanp.html
http://www.worlduph.com/topcare.htm
http://www.renovointernational.com/
http://www.automotivedetailing.com/assets/articles_htm/convert_top_care.htm
http://www.premierupholstery.com/services/CTopCare/ctopcare.html
http://c5.techbottle.com/top-care.htm
http://www.raggtopp.ca/raggtopp.html