I have been wanting a stang bad this past year. But I am fanatical about SC's. So if I bought a stang would the SC's even get driven much? Probably not, and then my parent's would bitch at me about using their driveways as storage for my cars. My girlfriend on the other hand has a Cavalier Z24, she likes it, but likes going fast in the SC. She has been wanting her own SC or a GT. I have enough SC's to go around, so maybe I can talk her into getting a GT, then I can drive it as much as I want, and I still have the SC for driving to work and taking on trips since it is a much nicer riding car.
The good thing about the GT's is the parts are dirt cheap. You can get some headers for under $200, cams are cheap, throttle bodies and intakes are cheap, MAF's are the same cost as SC, You can find used parts cheaper like upper and lower intake manifolds, the rear gears are cheaper to have installed, but the 5-speeds are weak and if you power shift it a lot you'll damage it. I would get a good clutch, and just Micah shift it so you don't blow out the trans. Although if you get enough hp and torque out of the motor it will kill the trans even when its engaged in the gear.
But bang for the buck they are cheap, and you can find them cheap just like SC's now.
So if I can talk Jen into getting a GT (5-speed hard top, no t-tops) I'll probably do some basic bolt ons to it (intake, headers and exhaust, throttle body, maf, maybe used cobra upper and lower intake manifold, e303 cam, 3.73 gears, subframe connectors, aluminum upper and lower control arms, and advance the timing) should run pretty good, but then I will be playing catch up in my SC. I guess I'll tell her if SHE buys the parts I'll install them, that way my SC will be faster for at least a while
I wonder if Jen would like some Weld Pro-Star big and littles w/ ET Streets out back???? The rims are pretty cheap too for the stangs.
I am going to wait till I buy a house to get a GN (unless the deal of century knocks on my door) since I know if I got another car I'd park the SC's and they'd lose priority. But once I get some property and a workshop I can store the cars and tinker with them whenever. Drive them whenever I want.
I wish you luck w/ the stang, and they are so simple to get running quick.
Do a search on the 10 minute tune up to get a stock gt 5-speed into the 13's. MM&FF did an article on it years ago. Basically it tells you how to set up your car for the track. I think the LX was what they used since it was lighter, but I bet you could do high 13's or low 14's with a GT.