427bigblock

i am stuck between these two cars on which to buy because i have no clue which is faster people keep telling me different things so give me an opinion thanks


1989 iroc-z or 1990 5.0 mustang gt
automatic

and which is faster between these two

1990 iroc-z or a 1990 5.0 mustang gt
manual

25thmustang

I personally would go either 1990 Mustang or Fbody with the manual, but I hate autos with a passion...

avro206

You failed to mention what engine/trans is the IROC

Saying that----5.0 (really a 4.9L) Mustang with an automatic--is really slow

Plus a Mustang can't handle or brake (stock at least)--and they look very dated.

25thmustang

5.0 Auto Mustang will be as fast as a 305 auto Fbody. 5-speeds of the two will also be pretty evenly matched.

handeling and braking go to the Fbody, until you start to really mod the cars then the differences get closer and closer.

Looks are 150% opinion, and I prefer the fox looks (same as you think the fox is dated, I feel the Fbody is dated), but to each his own when it comes down to that, only the OP can say for sure.

Vash Vega

there both fast but the stang looks like a ford escort somewhat,fbodys always looked way better and are more aerodynamic and sit low to the ground also like a racecar

Darkshot

iTrader: (4)

What engine is in the IROCs? If its a 5.7 TPI then jump on it.

Keep in mind you are looking at two cars that are from the exact same era, that were designed to be competing with nobody but each other, so naturally they are going to be performing very similarly. Regardless of which is faster the other one could be just as easily modded to take the lead.

Let your choice come down to which one you think feels better, looks better, and was taken most care of.

87IROCZCamro

Mustangs look like pieces of crap. IROCS will always have people lookin

online170

Even with all the mods to my bird, that 87 5.0/5spd mustang with a race clutch felt much more nimble and similarly fast.

The biggest reason is the weight. The thirdgens are heavier. (this is stock cars were talking).

If you want to know which one can be MADE faster? Thats an argument no one will ever win. Both are similar in defects/strengths, and both are similar in terms of aftermarket parts availability.

I would look at three things, and pick the car with the best of the three.

1) Best condition
2) Price
3) Current mods.

25thmustang

My car gets more looks than the Fbodies in my area, even when we cruise with half a dozen or more of them. A LOT more looks actually...

But is was called and Escort by a foreign guy one time, I laughed but didn't correct him.

Vash Vega

probably because of your paint on the car,there not that special and don't make a quick lane change in one of them at high speeds you might lose control i see it happen a lot out here,the only mustang i would own would be a 60's model but i will still drive my chevy more

ljnowell

IMO, the chevy will be cheaper to mod. I know there is some argument to this, but the 350 chevy is the cheapest power money can buy. Really though, its a matter of what you like. I cant see you belonging to this website and liking mustangs that much, not unless you are a sick individual like 25thmustang.

Demon355

iTrader: (1)

Are you kidding? You can find cheaper parts for a 5.0 GT any day of the week. Well at least I can. I almost bought a '90 GT and had a set of GT40 heads lined up, add a simple F303 to the mix with an exhaust setup and some decent tires etc. Bye Bye F-body

As 25th stated, it's all about opinions. Coming on here and saying the Mustang looks dated or bad is irrelevant.

rx7speed

4.94L I think that is close enough to call it 5 liters.

online170

I think back to back prices for a ford and chevy engine are almost identical. Like cyl heads, ign, etc... Everything is available, and everything is relatively cheap. (if you dont think so, own an olds, amc, or a buick, and come back and let me know).

As for initial price, i find people tend to be a little more outrageous in asking price for a 5.0L mustang, than ANY comparitive F-body.

At the moment (where i live anyway), the cars are "barret jackson-ning". Meaning, people all of a sudden think, everything is a classic, and worth a million dollars, and decide to price it accordingly even though it may not be finished. (finished is a relative term, but im talking, like rusted rolling shell).

Its gotten so bad, that my freind told me, a 34 Ford hot rod, sold for LESS on barret jackson last night, than a 34 hot rod (with less mods), near where i live on FREE web advertising sites........

But before people went insane, i noticed F-bodies (built to go fairly quick) ranged from $1500-$3500 max. Anything higher than that, was usually made for a specialty "quick", like drag racing.

However, mustangs were ALWAYS $3000+++. Most of them were usually stock, with nothing special done to them. And still somehow sold easier than the F-bodies.

Again, this is where i live. I thought it would be worth it to say, from what ive seen, the initial cost of a mustang is more expensive. Up to you to decide if its cheaper to make an f-body go tha quick, or a 5.0L stang.

guitargod2138

depends on what you like, the irocs look more like sports cars to me, and to most people, but speed wise, the mustangs arent to be overlooked, they are definately fast and strong competition with the camaros....go with whatever is in better condition, which has lower miles, and what youre looking for

looks + performance = camaro

performance and cruddy looks = mustang

myTreadZz

Looks are an opinion based category but I personally think its cheaper to make a fox fast than it is to make a third gen fast.

Rva

obviously if you come to a camaro/firebird forum we are gonna say go with the camaro but its up to you just like everyone else said go with the one with better miles condition price. if you love mustangs why are you on this forum...?

Rva

rx7speed

just because you like a car other then a thirdgen doesn't mean you can't like a thridgen as well.

25thmustang

Heads/cams/intakes are more or less all within a similar price range. But the difference is a fox body weighs a good bit less, has a strong rear to start, and a decent 5-speed that with just a clutch and shifter can last behind 300+ rwhp cars. To get into the mid 12s and have a good street car I think the fox body has a slight advantage (with mine I didn't even have to change the cam, or port the stock heads, just some good valves and valve job) but once you are looking for 11s, 10s and better it's a toss up. Not sure about emissions in your area, but that changes things around too. Most of the fast Fbodies I see are carbed, and not sure if that will fly in your area. I have heard it's tough to find a good EFI set up to run hard in a thirdgen?

guitargod2138

yeah, thats pretty much true

camshaftxe

Why so defensive of the stang in a camaro forum?

25thmustang

Not defensive, giving an opinion from a different perspective. Without people who drive different cars your going to get one sided opinions!

guitargod2138

hey hey, some of us respect the stangs enough to offer SOME bonuses to them

DBLTKE

iTrader: (1)

sbm713

personally i would go with th iroc 5 speed around here mustangs are over rated everybody has got one i mean my cousin has a 96 mystic cobra a 90 fox GT and his dad has an 06 gt hell outside my house right now there is the GF's 03 gt convertible and my 92 rs since i bought mine 2 months ago it was the only one i had seen in town there is a teal 92 z28 and a red 89 iroc plus it dont help one of the car lots is stocking up on them there are 7 3rd gens on 1 lot here now lol you should see the owner of the car lots yard lol 3 irocs all 5 speeds

JohnC

iTrader: (1)

Drive both of them and see what you like best.You will close to equal performance out of both, so it all comes down to personal preferance.

8T9 BANDIT

if he does that, he will be buying the iroc for sure. there alot more fun to drive, (stock vs stock). they feel like a sports car, and handle like a sports car too. and if its a nice day, take out the t-tops, and hit a corner hard. you will be in love.. and if its a tuned port car, the bottom end tq will have you thinking it has 300+hp.

8T9 BANDIT

although, you really cant beat the sound you can get out of a 5 liter stang. shorty's to a power chamber to a set of spin techs...sounds sweet!
but, then again, when i drive freinds and family's fox bodys i feel like im sitting at the kithchen table only with a shorty shifter.. and the dash = eewwwwww!!! the interior in those cars are herendous (excuse my spelling) compared to my thirdgen.

camshaftxe

I wouldnt own a mustang if it had 500hp and costed nothing. Customized 3rdgens are rare, there is only a handfull of us out there that have the patience, time, money, or love to put into an fbody. Id be willing to bet there isnt one person on this board that DIDNT see a stang of some kind this morning on the way to school or work, chances are it was more than one. If you saw a 3rdgen chances are it was a p.o.s., but if it was bada$$, then I must have past you. (;

8T9 BANDIT

its true, stangs are a dime a dozen. usually some fat chick behind the wheel. most thirdgens are pos's but when you see a really nice one.. dahm, it looks good, and is a real head turner.

25thmustang

I agree with not seeing thirdgens and when you do they are either stock looking or ratty junk. Very Very few nice ones. I see one fox and 2 thirdgens every day. The fox is a clean black hatch with ponys rims, a little rash on the bumper, but otherwise not bad.

Once thirdgen is a red Ttop car, not clean but stock and not too ratty. Right down the street from me. The other thirdgen is a trashed ratty old one that is beat to the ground. The fox and the second thirdgen are in the same neigborhood not a block apart, weird how two cars of the same vintage are treated different.

Trust me, you can still make a fox something nice to look at .

camshaftxe

On my way home from school today I counted 5 stangs, a red 97ish v6 vert with a cute girl driveng, a navy blue v6 late 90s with dark windows and a rediculous exhaust, a red late 90s gt with some old fart driving, a very silly looking green late 90s with what appeared to be 22inch rims, and an even more rediculous exhaust,v6 btw, and finaly a black 05 v6 vert with a older woman driving. On the way to school I saw a few, but wasnt counting, no 3rd gens, and on the way home I saw an early 80s bird, black, all stock, and very clean. This is just a regular day, on a saterday I know I could count a minimum of 15 stangs.

camshaftxe

Late 90s stangs were designed for a more broad genre of people, more comfy then a maro, a bit less handling capabilities, and a little less power then a 4th gen. 3rd and 4th gens are for a specific kind of person, I dont mean the kid that gets one as his first car, rags on it, then diches it, I mean the guys that get one for their first car, fall in love with it, and wouldnt trade it for anything in the world. 25th mustang have you ever owned a camaro?

25thmustang

Never owned an Fbody, almost had two in recent years, but never ended up getting one. Spent a lot of time working on them though. My cousins turned me off buying one for the most part. I like being able to do anything to my car easily, the fbodys made that tough, with the engine being so damn far back under the windshield.

I saw a LOT of Mustangs today, with it being 70 here in New England. Didn't see, or notice any nice thirdgens or even Fbodies, sadly.

avro206

on a thirdgen?? They aren't uinder the windshield at all---thats a 4th gen.

25thmustang

well all I know was getting the motor out of my cousins car was a pain, my car its a couple hours...

lilbowilson

iTrader: (2)

I can get my camaro engine out within a hour my friend can get his stang out within a hour he's done it on my car too. He thinks the stang can be done quicker also and I see why. Less bolts on the trans cross member, only two nuts for the motor mounts(No sliding the bolts out like chevys) and if I'm not mistaken I thing the trans bolts are a little easier to get to Oh yeah the radiator is very easy to take out. Other than that pullies wires and such are about the same. But I can get the engine out my nova in less than 30 minutes so HA!

I also just bought a 88 GT mustang for only $1800
fiber glass cowl hood
lunati cam dur 277 lift .444 just 10 dregrees over stock
1.72 rockers
harden pushrods
ported stock H.O.heads (just a simple clean up on intake and exhaust ports)
BBK headers shorty
custom exhaust 2 1/2
custom air filter
tach
short shifter
Weld rims
performance shocks
aftermarket tail lights everything else is stock
pretty sky blue paint with a dent on fender.
It out ran my automatic 95 lt1 firebird with new engine (with cam) and new trany stock 3.23 gear it was no contest!

The day I bought the stang and got it home the engine spun a bearing broke the starter broke some front spline cover on the tranny. The block has to be honed and bored. My friend swapped out his lincon short block in it which only had about 20,000 miles on it and 3 weeks later the crank stapped in half! Block totally trashed!

So I just gave it to my Friend true story.

chaoz28

honestly i love them both... my two favorate american cars... stock like everyoe has said they are about even in "fast" but it will be alot cheaper to mod an sbc than an sbf...on the othger hand take fords 302 get rid of thier **** efi system they put on the "5.0" carb it stroke to a 347 and nothing could stop you.. fords 347 stroker at the price is the most powerful small block mod that can be done as for inter engine because they have power all across the board where our 383 stroker lacks in high end... but if you want to keep stock motor size and just go for "faster" get the iroc you can make it faster... faster.. lol. but honestly ive seen 302 cid cars hold 1000+ horse... i dont think ive ever heard of a 305 hold that much power

z28z34man

As far as out of the box which is faster I would say it is a drivers race. As far as bolt ons go the mustang has the edge with it's lighter weight, better internals depending on the year, and stronger drive train. Wild builds I think the 3ed gen has the advantage with its cheaper parts, availability of parts, and enough room to put what ever engine you want under the hood. All of this is imho.

lilbowilson

iTrader: (2)

UMMM I think you might want to do a little more home work on that one.

billybird

well coming from someone who owns both car a 89 auto formy 305 tpi and a 88 mustang gt auto with CAI o/r x pipe and a dynomax cat back...my formy has been sitting since 02..and i still havent done an oil change,spark plug change(i just got the car) etc. also the timing is bumbed down...and the formy has ***** the way it is...i think once i fix the timing plugs oil change etc. i think the formy is faster than the stang.....plus in the late 80's the formy got a stock 15.3 305 auto..when the stang got 15.6 both auto's

Burnout91

If being able to remove your engine conveniently is a plus, you need to think about putting something under the hood that won't have to come out so often. As far as being "so damn far under the windshield", are you confusing the transmission with the engine? -Bill

camshaftxe

My engine isnt hard to get to, and in a shop I could probably have it out in 2 hours, but working on things under the hood can severly **** me off, theres not much room around the distributor and a few minor things like that, nothing that would make me lose faith and buy a ford lol.

camshaftxe

You know Im just fu(k1n with you 25thmustang, if us camaro guys dont then who can

rx7speed

that's nothing from what I have heard from my great uncle who once worked at a porsche/vw shop. those old style vs cars they used to have races to see who could drop the engine the quickest and I think they started getting it done in around 10 min or so.

LMSkyliner

iTrader: (1)

parts prices are about the same


mustangs are lighter so the same parts will make it feel faster

that said, the SBCs can have alot more ci behind them and can have alot more power without going super/turbocharger or spray because of it (just from experience. you get into racing parts and its a new game).


Also, i have owned both and prefere driving the camaro. In the mustangs i feel like im sitting ON the car not IN the car.



but really it comes down to preferance. They are too close to call off statistics.


~LMSkyliner

25thmustang

No, but doing clutches, motor mounts, etc it is nice. My motor also came out to weld up my engine bay and paint it. Just easy when it's about an hour to yank it out and not much longer to toss it in.

LMSkyliner

iTrader: (1)

Oh yeah, i forgot mustangs are alot easier to work on in almost all aspects

lilbowilson

iTrader: (2)

NAHH you can't compare that to V8 engines those engine are small and very easy to take out. My cousin and I was always taking apart his VW and having it back together before we went out to the friday night games way back in the 80's