When it comes to American-made tuner-friendly cars that won’t break the bank, you aren’t going to get much better than the Ford Mustang. It’s the most iconic and famous pony car of all time, and the car responsible for creating that market segment. Everyone in the world has heard of the Ford Mustang, and most people have good things to say about the car.
The ‘Stang has been in production for 56 continuous years, making it one of the longest-running American-made cars on the planet. The ’65 Mustang was the most successful vehicle launch since the 1927 Model A, with 400,000 units sold in its first year. Its millionth was sold just two years after launch.
So what makes the Mustang such a great low budget project car? Well, it’s one of the easiest cars to find parts for, which is a huge plus. There’s a huge network of Mustang enthusiasts both online and in person to go to for help. And finally, the Mustang has always been available at a great price point.
Easy To Find Parts
Because the Mustang has been around since 1964, through six generations and 56 continuous years, it’s very easy to find parts for any generation of the car. Almost any tuner you go to will have worked on a Mustang before, and it’s a relief when one rolls in, because they won’t have to search to the ends of the earth to find parts for your project car.
Many tuners learn to modify and wrench on Mustangs before they move onto more complicated cars. The Fox Body Mustang is a particularly popular go-to project car for people on a low budget. The S197 Mustang (fifth generation), built from 2005-2014, is also coming into its own as a popular budget project car. The SN95 (fourth generation) from 1994-2004 is also incredibly popular with Ford’s Fox chassis.
Both the SN95 and S197 Mustangs mentioned above have more safety features than older ‘Stangs, too.
Huge Network Of Mustang Enthusiasts
There are networks of Mustang Enthusiasts basically all over the world, with many chapters in particular countries. No matter where you look, you’ll find a Mustang enthusiast group, or forum, or website that will help you out. When you need to ask questions, people will be there to answer, which is a huge relief for a DIY project.
The newer Mustangs mentioned above, the SN95 and S197, are more modern than their older counterparts, and enthusiasts can provide a wealth of knowledge on how best to tune these cars and engines. Modern setups make them excellent choices for engine swaps, too.
Great Price Point
As mentioned above, many Mustangs are very cheap to find. The parts are cheap, too, giving you a great entry price into the DIY tuning world. At the time of this writing, there are three Mustangs short of 9,000 available on CarGurus!
There are some fourth-gen SN95 Mustangs for just over a thousand bucks on CarGurus, and there are a few S197s for around $2,000. That’s dirt cheap when you’re looking for a car with strong bones with which to build your project.
Of course, some excellently restored and modded classic ‘Stangs, like a few ’67 and ’69 Fastbacks, can go for around $250,000, but those aren’t the cars you’re looking for!
Of all the muscle cars out there, the Ford Mustang is the most well-known, most respected, and therefore the best low budget project car in America.