Probe GT = Good Times

"Spoon II" (Spoon_II) 11/09/2015 at 17:32 • Filed to: None

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So, I bought a 1997 Probe GT off of my friend at the beginning of the summer. Only 88,000 KM, and after the replacement of all the bushings, motor mounts, and tires, the thing runs perfectly. Would highly recommend anyone who finds one of these to give it a try. Extremely fun and extremely reliable thanks to the Mazda internals. Thinking about setting it up to run in the Targa Newfoundland.

Here’s the info for people unfamiliar with this model:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Prob…

Lighthouse for kicks.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 17:36

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I forgot how nice looking those later models ended up being.

Twism > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 17:37

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Ok waitwaitwait...

I always thought you could only get into the targa with a lot of money and/or some kind of a high-performance vehicle...

Could you enter with a stock probe?

bob and john > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 17:37

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my dad used to have one exactly like that, but blue.

man, 6 year old me thought 2 door and pop up headlights where the SHIT.

I always liked them

f86sabre > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 17:39

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Probes caught a lot of crap because they were originally intended to be the early 90s gen Mustang. You can’t have a front drive, Mazda sourced Mustang! I’ve always liked them. I hope you enjoy yours. How is the interior holding up?

I was particularly fond of Bob Gliden’s NHRA pro-stock Probe.

StoneCold > Twism 11/09/2015 at 17:42

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It’s a weird kind of rally where GMC trucks beat 911 Porsches:

http://targanl.com/wp-content/upl…

Spoon II > Twism 11/09/2015 at 17:43

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It depends what you’re going for, but there’s a variety of events for whatever you happen to be driving http://targanl.com/about/ . Entry fee is pretty costly though, but it sounds fun enough to be worth it.

Spoon II > bob and john 11/09/2015 at 17:43

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Haha, I find it hard to stop playing with the headlights. Apparently they’re the RX7 units, and they pop up like a boss!

StoneCold > Twism 11/09/2015 at 17:44

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http://targanl.com/wp-content/upl…

Also, the GT field is rather...pedestrian.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 17:47

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Back in my high school days (2000-2004) I actually lusted for one of these.

A Girl in my highschool that had the biggest tatas I’ve ever seen had one in mint green. Everytime I saw one I thought of her.

Spoon II > f86sabre 11/09/2015 at 17:47

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Haha, yeah. It’s too bad for the early hate, it’s a legitimately great car. A little ahead of its time though. Nowadays, fwd sporty cars are all over the place. The interior is almost perfect, I actually can’t believe how well it was cared for.

I think you just blew my mind with that Pro-stock Probe. The thing looks ridiculous.

Justin Hughes > bob and john 11/09/2015 at 17:48

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*mumblemumble* year old me STILL thinks 2 door and pop up headlights are the shit!

Tohru > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 17:59

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I used to have a ‘94 Probe SE, in 2005.

Don’t do what I did to it. Well, except the gated shifter. That was kinda cool.

Also, you’ve got a left-side wheel mounted on the right side of the car. They’re directional -2 for the left, 2 for the right.

finn's arm > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 18:01

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I have a gasket from a Ford Probe on my E39 DISA valve...

lone_liberal > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 18:05

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I had a ‘96. It was a lot of fun running that little V6 up to the redline, and it handled pretty well for a FWD car too. In 100,000 miles I had to replace the water pump and the ignition module as well as the normal timing belt maintenance but that’s it. Even even did pretty well in the snow with proper shoes on.

Spoon II > lone_liberal 11/09/2015 at 18:41

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Sweet, that bodes well for me! Yeah, the little V6 is awesome to push on.

Spoon II > Justin Hughes 11/09/2015 at 18:43

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Respect *fist bump!*

Spoon II > Tohru 11/09/2015 at 18:44

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I like the blue on grey interior a surprisingly large amount. Sweet car!

XJDano > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 18:54

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A coworker bought one for $800 plus a few repairs like distributer cap. Manual to boot.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Spoon II 11/09/2015 at 19:05

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Cool car, and rare to find one so well preserved... or even one at all anymore.

I had a 93 GT way-back-when... and I still miss the fastback smooth seamless glass canopy and sleek body lines.

I lament where this form factor went... as in very nearly extinct, because there is NOTHING wrong with this body style configuration.

I would be in line waiting now, if Ford would sell this combo in one new car.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/i-know-everyon…

Probe GT is such a better looking, sleeker car than a fish-faced, hump-backed 5-door Focus, no matter how tarted up it is, and that performance deserves a cool coupe body style.

I don’t even care if they have to kick it up to Lincoln as a coupe variant of MKZ... maybe it could look half as good, and not have the electric range issues of the Caddy ELR. Just turn the tail lights 90 degrees, give it the lincoln face on the outside, with a Turbo V6 drivetrain, dual clutch automated gearbox, and that torque-vectoring AWD...

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > XJDano 11/09/2015 at 19:08

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I replaced the ignition coil on my old 93 Probe GT... inside the distributor cap, at the end of the front bank camshaft... after three attempts to get the right coil... they kept trying to sell me a standard V6 Ford Truck canister-type external ignition coil... which is completely wrong. The auto parts counter guy couldn’t wrap his head around a “ford” part actually being a MAZDA part.

Spoon II > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 11/09/2015 at 19:10

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Oh man, a car with those looks and awd would be amaaaaazing! I like where your head’s at. Maybe someone with more free time and know-how than me will swap a Focus RS drivetrain into a Probe somehow.

SantaRita > Spoon II 11/10/2015 at 09:30

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Cool Mazstang :)

My best friend in college had a GTS variant. Pretty sure the “S” stood for “Stripes” since mostly it had an extra late 90’s appearance package.

Twism > StoneCold 11/10/2015 at 09:32

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Dem Micras...

Definitely sounds fun, ripping through Newfoundland at full speed.

Do you need racing licenses for the race classes (maybe not the tour) ?

Spoon II > SantaRita 11/10/2015 at 15:45

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Haha, I’m hoping that’s what the S actually did stand for. That thing looks pretty sweet with them though

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Spoon II 01/02/2016 at 21:16

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Sweet little ride. I’ve always liked the Probe, although I did find the first generation to be a little plain, but the 2nd was much more attractive. I did test a previous generation model with the V6 and manual and found it to be a very nice drive, and I imagine that they made it better in the second generation.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Spoon II 01/03/2016 at 02:04

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Damn, I’m late to the party here, but:

Nice car! Loved the Probe when I was young. It seemed so American to me - which was a very good thing back then.

Obviously you need to watch “Dearth of a Salesman” with Steve Coogan playing Gareth Cheeseman.

To quote Wikipedia:

“It has been said that the relative lack of success of the Ford Probe in the UK was in part due to the Gareth Cheeseman character.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gareth_Ch…

Also his dream sequence in the beginning of this clip:

Spoon II > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 01/03/2016 at 03:01

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Haha, wow. It always blows my mind when I see the odd things contributing to a vehicle’s success. There could be an article on that along. Thanks!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Spoon II 10/27/2016 at 23:24

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I always liked the Probe, first and second generations. The Mazda MX-6 was also quite attractive, but the proportions of the second generation Probe were just that little bit better.

I did test drive a new 1st generation Probe way back when. The V-6 combined with the manual transmission was a surprisingly good combination, considerably better than any American car I had driven up to that point. It wasn’t enough to pry me out of my old 320i, however. I was almost seduced by a Corrado VR6 (same great combo - 6 cylinders and manual transmission), but upon returning to the dealer the motorized seatbelt grabbed me by the neck and stuffed my head into the dash, and at that moment I swore never to buy a car with those stupid things. Had I known what a collector’s item the Corrado VR6 would become I might have learned to live with them.

Some day, some day...

Spoon II > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 10/28/2016 at 03:09

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I wasn’t aware of the HAL-controlled seat belts, but I always loved the look of the Corrado! Hopefully a decent one will pop up on Craigslist around you or something

bob and john > Spoon II 11/15/2016 at 14:32

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my dad used to one identical to that, but in that really nice deep blue they had.