Is it overlanding? Road trip? Does it matter? The answer to that last question is no.
When the weather's fine and the destination is paved our preferred road tripper is my wife's 2002 Mustang. Comfortable, reliable, eats miles all day long without complaint or signs of distress.
There's ample opportunity here to exercise ones' pedanticle and declare a Mustang not a "Grand Tourer" and declare touring not overlanding... well I can't stop you 🤣
Still I thought this would be an adequate place for anyone inclined to discuss sport-oriented coupes for road trips and pleasure travel.
Is it overlanding? Road trip? Does it matter? The answer to that last question is no.
When the weather's fine and the destination is paved our preferred road tripper is my wife's 2002 Mustang. Comfortable, reliable, eats miles all day long without complaint or signs of distress.
There's ample opportunity here to exercise ones' pedanticle and declare a Mustang not a "Grand Tourer" and declare touring not overlanding... well I can't stop you 🤣
Still I thought this would be an adequate place for anyone inclined to discuss sport-oriented coupes for road trips and pleasure travel.
For my own part I think that road trips done for the purpose of exploration and experience are as constructive as any dirt track exploration. I love getting to know new cities and learning from the people who live there!
As an example I was completely prepared to hate NYC because I had never been there and I grew up about as diametrically opposite from that scene as a person can inside the USA. But I had the opportunity to work in the City for a short time and explore it not as a "Gift Shop Tourist" but instead as a participant in some of the machinery that makes the city run. I don't know if that means I just dude-ranch'd the big apple but it did completely update everything I thought I knew about NYC - it's a special place and it just might actually be as important to American culture as its loudmouth residents like to pretend it is 🤣 .
So for every remote campsite on a mountain top, or week long wilderness study or other outdoors experience I've had that helped me find my place in the universe those are matched by all the anthropological experiences I've had in living cities. And what better way to get to them and get around them than in something a little sporty that likes taking the scenic route?
For my own part I think that road trips done for the purpose of exploration and experience are as constructive as any dirt track exploration. I love getting to know new cities and learning from the people who live there!
As an example I was completely prepared to hate NYC because I had never been there and I grew up about as diametrically opposite from that scene as a person can inside the USA. But I had the opportunity to work in the City for a short time and explore it not as a "Gift Shop Tourist" but instead as a participant in some of the machinery that makes the city run. I don't know if that means I just dude-ranch'd the big apple but it did completely update everything I thought I knew about NYC - it's a special place and it just might actually be as important to American culture as its loudmouth residents like to pretend it is 🤣 .
So for every remote campsite on a mountain top, or week long wilderness study or other outdoors experience I've had that helped me find my place in the universe those are matched by all the anthropological experiences I've had in living cities. And what better way to get to them and get around them than in something a little sporty that likes taking the scenic route?
Well said! Your reasoning in the last paragraph is exactly why I have owned nothing but Subarus for the past 20 years. They’re fun to drive and don’t mind getting off the road now and then.
The 4.6l 2v in that era mustang is a workhorse. Same engine in the infamous police interceptor. Those things run FOR EV ER! I had an 01 gt that had 320k miles before I sold it. Great rig and very comfortable all things considering. A hitch and a small or light camper on the back (ie teardrop) is totally possible!
@blacklabelgarageyt in the case of my wife's New Edge Mustang up there it's the 3.8 thus making it not a "Mustang GT", - that engine catches a lot of grief mostly for not having enough spark plugs to satisfy the pony car image but we've made a few subtle improvements and it's quick enough to depart stop lights & tour mountain roads with grace. It will never be a tremendously smooth engine thanks to geometry, but the power's there if you know where to look for it 💣
We have only been doing small weekend trips lately, most recently two weekenders to the Kennewick area but I want to get a couple good road tours in before the summer ends. We're considering a trip down to Crater Lake if the timing works out with our jobs.
Even though I really do not need another car (we had 3, for 2 people...) I found a deal I could not pass up for a '94 GT that "needs new engine"... it was a little rough and didn't show well but the price was right I figured I could part it out for a small profit if it didn't work out.. but I kinda fell in love and I guess now we have four cars for 2 people 🤣
so here's the "Stop Asking When We're Going To Have Kids, Dang It!" garage... road trip coming soon!
We just returned from a 3 day weekend to Seattle, about a 4-5 hour drive from home; since there was not any camping or snowy or muddy travel we took my wife's Mustang and traded off driving duties. I think she gets a little more stressed than I do in dense urban traffic.
True to the touring image her car was a pleasure to drive the whole time never short on power to cruise over the mountain passes and always plenty of reserve grip and handling to stop or make new plans whenever one of Seattle's hurried drivers or confused visitors produced a chaotic scene for us.
This I think is the real strength of a sporty car for travel when such a thing is practical; never any stress at all behind the wheel. It's never struggling to keep up, never in anyone's way, never scary when a sudden lane change becomes necessary, never a tight squeeze on narrow streets or scarce parking opportunities.
@shovel sounds like you chose (and had) the right tool for the job and that made all the difference between a relaxing trip or one with some stress built in due to traffic situations. Having passing power, being maneuverable and fitting into tight parking spots really helps eliminate many of the stressors that come with road travel. Glad you both had a good time.
I love everything about this!!! I once swapped a 5.4 4v dohc v8 out of a lincoln navigator into a 98gt. Talk about a monster. The 3.8 will always get greif but its a ridiculously reliable engine. I hope you have a blast with those! Ive had a 98 gt (with the 5.4) an 01 v6 vert, 01 gt, 01 cobra , and then the dream beast , the 03 cobra (wish i didnt sell 😭)
😀 I don't think I would be able to sell a cobra either!
The "new" one is a bit of a project with just under 250k miles but I put a new timing chain in the engine and it's running pretty strong now. There's a cheap but newer distributor on it, I think a previous owner may have been trying to fix the timing that way but with a chain set and harmonic balancer sloppy like that the distributor was never going to help.
It's been fun grinding away at it! Refreshing an old machine is time well spent.
Just got rid of the scary tires that were on it.. hopefully now it actually can stop on wet pavement. Might have accidentally stuffed some Cobra front brakes and master cylinder in there too 🤠
We are hoping to get back over to Seattle one more time before the end of the year but there is a mountain pass in the way.. 🏔️❄️❄️☃️ maybe the jeep will have to do this time
I know this isn't really adventuresome but it's quiet over here so I figured I would share what I'm working on. We really haven't been able to get out and explore for various reasons, some health related and some financial.
But I've been working on the Mustang because that's why I bought it - have something to tinker on when we're at home so I don't go crazy.
New intake manifold, it's gonna look pretty under the hood I suppose.
I freshened up the emissions system with new catalytic converters, all new hoses (fuel, coolant, heater, soft brake hoses, power steering... every hose other than A/C), new oxygen sensors, repaired leaky EGR system, new vacuum tubes.. and it's getting new lifters and pushrods and valve springs.
This thing's gonna be reliable and as efficient as a 5 liter V8 gets... so spring time road trips better be awesome! 🙂
We got a minute of false spring over the weekend before the snow came back, and it just so happens I finished up my winter project of upgrading this engine so we took a little drive out to Tekoa, WA to enjoy dinner at a little bar & grill out there.
Small towns can be more inviting or less inviting, Tekoa feels like the more inviting kind. Really nice little drive out there about an hour SouthEast of us through rolling hills. This car is now officially a lot faster than I have skill to exploit, which means it's going to be plenty for any driving I plan to actually do. Nice and confident on the winding roads and I kept the suspension not overly sporty so it doesn't mind rough, rural highways or potholes.
Unrelated to that we (my wife and I ) have started visiting a local bouldering/climbing gym to get our strength back where it should be - that's going to come in really handy this summer with our travel plans. As soon as this little cold snap goes away I'm hopping back on the bicycle to get my aerobic exercise back on track too.
@shovel that sound like a fun day. I love taking a joy ride somewhere new or off the path for eats. Agreed on small towns. They can be good or bad depending the scenario. Sounds like the car is working pretty awesome.
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