Well, being in a similar boat to you until 2 days ago when my first GT got here, let me say as far as speed goes: do NOT expect a stock GT to drive/accelerate like a modern sports car or a similar vintage vette. It certainly will not lay down like a similar vintage american heavy metal car (camero, charger, etc etc). They have pretty low hp (from what I've been told expect most to run around 65-70 ish). They *are* light so that helps, but you are not gonna win any street races without serious modification. Thats just my two cents worth. 
