This car has been around for a while; it’s been in the mix since 2003, which makes it a 14 year (and counting) project. But what is it, where did we get it, and why do we still have it?

I was a young soldier undergoing training in the Eastern part of Alberta, and while “on course” there is little to do but amass some spending money. It had been nearly 6 months since I had bid farewell to my 1984 Mustang LX (CLICK HERE TO READ) and I resolved to get a better Mustang than a tired 4 cylinder banger.

1995 marked the last year of the pushrod 5.0L Windsor V8 in the Mustang, 1996 would see the introduction of the 4.6L SOHC “Modular” V8 and to many the sun was setting on the Mustang GT. The ’95 represents the second year of the new for ’94 body restyle of the Mustang which can be called the SN95 or Fox-4 platform with equal validity.

The Fox-4 name comes from the reality that this new Mustang was heavily drawn from the 1993 Fox(body) Mustang platform, it looked very different with “Coke-bottle” styling and the complete interior overhaul, but the chassis was a close cousin. How close was it you might wonder?

Aside from small (but good) changes to the details, the basic formula was the same, a McPherson front strut, a stick axle in the rear, V8 engines, 5 speed manual, similar floor pan and unibody stampings. This was both a curse and a blessing, it would be another 4 years before the first Independent-Rear-Suspension Mustang (The 1999 SVT Cobra) and two decades before IRS became standard on all Mustangs. The good side of using all of this established “low” tech was that nearly all Fox Mustang performance parts were a direct bolt-in, which allowed fitment of the vast range of pieces developed in the 16 years since the 1979 Mustang had made its debut.

How did I find this one?

The internet not being terribly accessible to me at the time I spent my off-duty time reading Mustang magazines for inspiration and pouring over each issue of the “Autotrader” and  the “For Sale” adverts in the back of any newspaper I could find.

What was I looking for?

At the time, the big noise in the Ford performance world was the release of Supercharged “Terminator” SVT Cobra, it had 390 horsepower from an Eaton M112 equipped 4.6L DOHC V8, but at $42,000 CDN it was nearly double my annual salary. The obvious plan of living in a car not passing the first draft, it was plain I had to aim a little lower.

The 1999-2003 Mustang GT looked really good, it had 260 horsepower from a normally aspirated 4.6L SOHC V8. I had test driven a Burgundy one the previous summer, and while they were cheaper than a Terminator, they were not what would be considered affordable either, still well over $25,000 CDN for a used one.

That brought things down to the 1994-98 SN95 Chassis we covered above, this generation offered the relatively anemic 215 horsepower 4.6L SOHC (Non- Performance Improved) V8 often dubbed “the torqueless wonder” after 1995, so I fixated on 5.0L only, ‘94 or ‘95 cars.

Why not a Fox?

There was no turning down a good Fox, but by 2003 finding one ii good condition was getting to be tough. Sure, they were out there, but they were not dropping to 20+ year old car prices, and the threshold between a decent Fox and rolling scrap metal was still several thousand dollars.

Found it!

This search took months, and after a few dead ends, one lead finally panned out, in July 2003. In a newspaper half page advert for West Side Mitsubishi, listed a 1995 Mustang GTS. I found it on a Sunday afternoon, and figured the dealer would be closed, but stuffed a handful of change into the barrack’s payphone anyway, just to see. After plugging the contact number, I was surprised when a receptionist answered and quickly put me in touch with an enthusiastic sales guy.

I asked a few details, condition, mileage, confirmed the price etc. Satisfied, I explained my rather unique employment situation and location, and said I would plan to make the 2 hour trip in to Edmonton for a viewing in two weeks, when I could get a pass to leave the base.  Sensing a sale was in jeopardy the sales guy quickly offered a compromise… “How about I drive the car out you, you can view it and test drive, if you like it we sign the paperwork, if you don’t I drive it back, no strings attached.” To this, I quickly agreed.

The next week could not pass quickly enough and finally on Saturday, the salesman arrived just as agreed.  The Deep Forest Green 1995 Mustang GTS pulled into the parking, and aside from the addition of the 2004 Mustang V6 “fading pony” door decals, it was completely stock.

We exchanged pleasantries and quickly set off on a test drive. It had been months since I had driven anything and it felt great to be at the wheel again. From the time I got outside the town limits, I knew I was going to buy this car.

It wasn’t fast, especially by 2017 standards, with only 215 brake horsepower and 285 ft-lbs of torque, but at the time is was the 2^nd fastest thing I had ever driven. The fastest, and this will cause some to laugh, was the 2002 Mustang GT tested the summer previous. Satisfied and quite happy, we returned to the parking lot, I signed the papers literally on the hood, and gave the sale guy a ride to the Greyhound Bus depot, where he would wait some hours to get a ticket back to Edmonton.

I had my first V8 Mustang, and couldn’t be happier.

In PART 2 we’ll cover what exactly I bought, and what I planned to do with it.