1998 Mustang: The Oppositelock Review

"Hey Julie" (hey-julie) 02/04/2014 at 09:34 • Filed to: Mustang, Review, Love

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1998 Mustang: The Oppositelock review

In 1994, ford released the sn-95 mustang as an attempt to improve the older fox body platform. The base Mustang featured a 3.8 L V6 and 5-speed manual, or a 4 speed automatic. The V6 produced a dismal 145 horsepower and 215 foot pounds of torque. Then there was the GT with the more desirable 4.9 liter v8 putting out a still dismal 218 horsepower.

Full disclaimer: Ford wanted me to drive the 1998 mustang so bad that they sold a base model v6 with the dealer option "bangin stereo" to a woman in Westminster who put 174 thousand miles on it and then sold it to me.

Note: The model I drove/bought had lowering springs that dropped it 2.5 inches, a cold air intake, underdrive pulley, earth shakingly loud headers, ECU tune and an H pipe, most of which I installed.

Exterior: 7/10

The curvy bubbly body style of the sn95 mustangs originally repulsed me but after several months of ownership, I love it. Look at the subtle sideways hood scoops, the sweeping grooves down the side that lead to totally fake vents, see how the aggressive nose widens to a voluptuous bootay and how those frankly huge rear lights compliment the back end. Honestly, its gorgeous. I like the original rims but they aren't too exciting. (Note: the exhaust tips are not stock)

Interior: 2/10

What is there to say besides cheap? Everything is falling apart, pleather on every surface, the fascia around the radio and HVAC controls came off entirely and had to glued back on, it just feels cheap. The steering wheel is very ergonomic and the seats are comfortable but I can't get over how 90's and cheap every surface is. Rear leg room is non existent, I am 6 foot 3 and 160 lbs and even with the front seats fully forward, the rear bench is unusable. As for cargo space, it is surprisingly average and the rear seats fold down, but don't expect to make any home depot runs or help a friend move.

Acceleration: 5/10 (based on the Kia soul score)

The 3.8 liter v6 made 150hp 178 thousand miles ago and with the parts installed on the car I would like to think it makes about that now (let me know if that's a bad estimate) 0-60 comes in around 7.5-8 seconds mostly due to the cars relatively low weight. The factory auto is surprisingly aggressive and even though the shift points are slushbox-tastic they change very quickly.

Braking: 2/10

When I purchased the car, the disc brakes were rusted to shit and shook the whole car, after a lot of hooning and heavy braking, the rust has been scraped off and this has improved, but they still do a poor job of stopping the car. pedal travel is interesting in that your train of thought when stopping goes something like this "braking…….braking harder…...oh shit…..I'm gonna die……(head hits the windshield)" Oh and the ABS works 40% of the time.

Ride: 0/10

The lowering springs (not my purchase) DESTROYED the already poor factory ride, I scrape on speed bumps, slight inclines, and poptarts. this poorly thought out ground clearance prevents me from accessing several parts of my town.

Handling: 5/10

The live rear axle has both upsides and downsides but it handles okay, A stiff chassis, a strong front sway bar, and the ride height combine to make it pretty damn fun through the corners, but watch out for ridiculous oversteer.

Toys: 4/10

My car has the dealer option cd player (broken) and a perfectly functioning cassette deck and radio, with the dealer option mach 460 230 watt stereo which sounds not too bad. I use a handy Cassette to aux adapter for music and the air conditioning and heater both work well, so does the rear defrost and intermittent wipers. I had to fix the central locking and power windows but those function now too.

Value: 10/10

For a measly $2,800 I got a functioning car that isn't totally lame, and has the toys listed above. There's no telling how long it will last but I think what I got was worth the price. But the material value of the car isn't what matters, when it comes down to it, I purchased a fun, good looking car that provides me with freedom, experience, knowledge, fun and a lifetime of memories, isn't that what first cars are about?

Total 43 (35/80)

So if I am honest about the car, it doesn't score well...at all. However, I love it, it has that first car magic that only the worst of beaters can have. It's my favorite car in the world and that's the end of all of it.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > Hey Julie 02/04/2014 at 11:50

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Sounds like a brake job and some suspension work is in order. I love it when people drop these to the ground with over 100K on them and leave the stock bushings in place everywhere.

Flavien Vidal > Hey Julie 02/11/2014 at 15:39

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I owned a 1996 V6 Mustang... You're unfortunatly a bit off in the 0 to 60 calculations, especially since you own an automatic...

Let's say that if it EVER were to touch the 8s it would be fantastic... Your car probably does about 9 to 9.5s to the 60mph... Sucks, I know :)

Here are the exact infos on the car

The V6 3.8 Liter Engine Size
150@4000 HP
215@2750 Torque
0-60 average 9.9seconds
1/4 Mile average 16.8 seconds.
Weight 3192-3318lbs difference in weight is due to stick/auto and options.
top speed goverened 115-118mph

As you see, according to Ford: 9.9s... Scary for a mustang heh? :)

Algebra Frenzy > Hey Julie 02/11/2014 at 20:55

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After watching way too much (read: all of) top gear in conjunction with having a job led me to lust for something with stick shift and RWD. I picked up a '99 v6 mustang for the drivetrain characteristics. I also was repulsed by the looks of mustangs but they grow on you. Now, 90's-early 00 mustangs look like fine european sports cars to me. Living in Michigan with this thing is hilarious: every snow fall puts oversteer less than a quarter inch away on my right foot.

Watching so much top gear gave me a desire for non-american sports cars but those things are expensive. Buying a mustang turned me back to american sports cars. I dont think ill ever buy a BMW, Miata, ect after this. A mustang gives you 90% of the experience of "those other guys" for less expense AND you get the "Mustang Experience" that puts it over the edge.

Hey Julie > Flavien Vidal 02/12/2014 at 10:52

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Fair enough, my measuring technique was not very accurate, flooring it down an empty buisness lot while I watched the speedo, the stopwatch and the road definitely could have caused some error.