When the ’96 Mustang GT was released, I remember feeling excited about its new modular 4.6-liter engine, but distinctly underwhelmed that it was no more potent than the outgoing and long-venerated “five-point-oh.” With single overhead cams and the same 16 valves as the old Windsor, it seemed like you lost engine compartment space and gained nothing. Still, technology waits for no one, and the aftermarket stepped once more unto the breach and quickly adapted speed parts to the mod motor. Arguably the fastest way to wake up the SOHC was a supercharger, which is exactly what’s been added to this New Jersey-based ’96 GT that’s currently on eBay.
Vortech superchargers have been a popular choice among Mustang enthusiasts for a long time, and the seller claims that this one packs a V1 under the hood. It’s a bit of a surprise that the more potent 4.6 is backed by a four-speed automatic, but the slushbox wasn’t quite as much a penalty as it was in the old AOD days. With a 2.84:1 first gear in the 4R70W and a 3.27-geared 8.8″ out back, initial gear multiplication was a little better than 5.0s with the automatic. Notice how clean the engine compartment is; with only 72,268 miles, this almost-thirty-year-old Mustang has clearly been well maintained.
The interior looks spotless, too. When the SN95 Mustang was introduced for 1994, its retro themes set a pattern for the next 30 years of Ford pony cars. The dual-cowl dashboard vaguely emulated the ’65 Mustang, but probably owed more to the C2 Corvette than anything. I thought it was a huge upgrade over the Fox Body dashboard, and having spent some time behind the wheel of ’90s Mustangs, they’re fun cars to drive.
A common complaint, however, was the ride height; it looked as if the Mustang towered over its Camaro counterpart, with acres of space between the tires and wheel lips. This one has clearly been lowered, and I think it looks a little better as a result. What do you think?
I can also clearly remember the collective sigh of relief when Ford finally fixed the taillights for ’96, after two model years of *gasp* horizontal lenses. Ford got it almost right returning to the classic three-bar theme in ’94, but a Mustang should have vertical taillights, clearly. Come on, Ford.
The SN95 Mustang is now roughly the same age as a ’65 Mustang was back in late ’93 when it was released, so enjoy it as a bargain collector car! This ’96 is for sale with an asking price of $10,900 obo, which seems like an excellent buy for such a clean car with such low miles, and it’s supercharged for a little extra fun. I don’t think this one will be up for sale for long.
The lowering and (especially) the supercharger give this SN95 a different flavor. But still gives off a clean, unmolested vibe with the white paint and stock wheels. Seats and engine compartment look great. Could be a fun car for not much money.
Cool car if it’s all set up correctly. If it’s not, budget for a few thousand more to sort it all out. Without adding more fuel the supercharger won’t be adding much HP to that 4.6. It would need bigger injectors, MAF sensor and fuel pump at least. Newer heads are even better. Then you need an expert tune. They also made a bolt on intercooler for these which was pretty cool option.
Good comments from Bob and JCA.
Automatics pair well w turbos, im not educated if they do the same w supercharged equipment.
As Bob said, love the sleeper stock look here, in refrigerator white.
Yes, good point from JCA. When shopping for a used car, my normal approach is to look for one that hasn’t been “messed with” simply because you don’t know who did the work or how well it was done, but it’s a dilemma because obviously if the upgrades have been done well it’s good value to buy a car already improved.
Aaron, I think your observation on how the modular 4.6 was first received by Mustang enthusiasts is pretty perceptive. The bhp rating of the first 4.6 Mustang GTs was 215 just same as the outgoing 5.0. and typically there’s a tendency to be a little conservative about favoring a long established, familiar and well-loved package like the 5.0 – and all it’s iconic SBF iterations, 260, 289, 302 etc – over some new-fangled unproven engine? but the 2-valve 4.6 was bumped up to 225 in 1997 and then a significant jump to 260 bhp in 1999 with the introduction of the “PI” performance improved heads (the newer heads I believe JCA refers to… I love Ford’s very literal naming for these…”performance improved” heads. We built a 1998 Mustang GT as a budget track car, and the first thing I did with the engine build was swap out the heads for newer “PI” heads.. the scrap yards are full of them on everything from Crown Vics, Explorers, etc. If you see the non-PI heads and PI heads side by side you can see just how much bigger and better the ports are on the improved ones…)
That 260 bhp was a lot more than the stock 5.0 in the earlier Mustangs, and the 3-valve and 4-valve versions of the 4.6 went on to make considerably more in subsequent editions.
Also – love the comment about the reduced engine bay space. The 4.6 is physically a monster size engine. That’s why the SN95 mustangs have that annoying power steering pump powered hydraulic brake boost, no room for a vacuum booster !!! it is also a pain to fit after-market headers to those 4.6 Mustangs as there is so little room down the side of the motor…
Agreed on the ’99 upgrades: My dad bought a ’99 GT brand new and it felt as if it were stronger than its 260 horsepower rating would suggest.
Were manual brakes available?
Am I missing something? Why is this car still available?