Fox Thinking About Getting A Restored 1986 5.0

zakarha

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Jun 1, 2014
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So I have a guy wanting to trade me a beautiful specimen of a foxbody mustang for my 2001 F150 even. Its been completely restored inside and out he told me so many things hes done to it I cant even begin to remember. He's had it since 2006 and is the second owner. It has 77k miles but its a 5 digit odometer so who knows the true miles. He still has the original window sticker and paperwork and uses this car as a show car. It's a fast car but not as quick as I would expect compared to my 99 V6, it is an automatic though so that probably has something to do with it. Now for my concerns... it does have nitrous installed, which is a bit of a concern because Ive heard many horror stories about it destroying motors. He said he used it for show and only filled it up once and put it on a 1/8 mile one time. It's also a T-Top which means it does leak or will leak. And I've also never had a classic car like this and am not sure what Im getting into as far as repairs and things that will go wrong. It drives just like a new car has great handling but it does ride a little rough that's probably due to the age or the fact he put stiffer springs and lowered it. But this will be my only vehicle and am not sure what to expect. So here are my questions

1. Whats the value of a fully restored car like this or can you even put a value on it? (My trucks value is 6,800 and I can easily get 6,500)
2. Are these cars prone to problems?
3. Should I even bother making this a daily driver?

Here are pics of the car but they really dont do it justice, I have a week to decide whether or not I want it I told him I would let him know within a week.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fallen...7644538122029/
 
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I am all for people getting into mustangs and wrenching on cars. But, just going from what you described above, I am not sure you need an older mustang as a DD. I would also need more information on what was rebuilt on that car. I.E. engine work, transmission, rearend ETC. Restored means different things to different people. I see restored then I think more back to original equipment. Just a few things I noticed briefly looking at the photos on that car that are not stock: rims, center console cup holder, radio. You didn't post any engine photos either. Does it have A/C? power steering? creature comforts?


Aside from that it 'looks' like a nicely done 4-eyed mustang. And a T- top to boot. What is the condition of your truck? Is it reliable? Do you need a truck on a weekly or monthly basis for hauling or towing stuff? The mustang will not be a nice ride for the most part, meaning, they get to be uncomfortable and won't have nearly the room your truck has inside.

If you are up for the task they can be very nice cars and fun. Do you have mechanical skills or basic car knowledge? Not trying to offend you but I would hate for you to into it and lose money, get pissed off, sell off the mustang for a loss etc. As a DD it is tough for a 20+ yr old car. Inexperience on theses can be a handful. Don't get me wrong, as I originally stated, wrenching on cars is a blast and many of us have learned to work on cars through trial and error and several hundred dollars in wasted or unneeded parts. If you have never stabbed a dizzy or installed a tranny or other basic mechanically upkeep on a older car then it can be challenging.

I guess we just need more information on your mechanical ability, what the car has done to it and more information on your truck to help you out more with a decision.

Good luck either way though.
 
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I don't know how I forgot to take a picture under the hood, it was spotless and looked like a show car under the hood (as much as that means) And yes my truck is in very good condition, its reliable and I love it but I get around 9 mpg and I rarely ever use it to haul which is what this specific truck is designed for. And I guess a better word would have been resto-mod(I think thats what it is called) it has a terrific A/C, much better than my truck lol, it also has power steering power windows and not much else that I can tell. I've done a few things on my truck but it was more body work than anything, I am pretty handy though if I can look up how to do it and study on it I can generally do it. The only major(ish) thing I've done is replace all the COPs and spark plugs on my truck which was more of a pain than a skilled endeavor. I dont drive often and I was honestly looking more for a 99+ GT (I had one offer but it was junk) but this car really caught my eye, I've never been a fan of foxbodies until I saw this one up in person its really a beauty. But Im really just struggling with if I could deal with this as a DD or not. And as far as what the guy put in the car, I could try and list a few of the things I remember but I know Im going to sound ignorant if I do lol. But if I were to get this and decide I didnt want to keep it do you think I could get over 6,000 for it?
 
Its hard to say what you could get for it. The old saying "it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it" comes to mind.

Sn95s 99+ are very comfortable cars, especially when compared to the fox. I' ve had a 02GT wish I still did. Very comfortable and faster than a stock fox. I think you should look for one of those. In my opinion, if you have to be convinced to trade for a fox then you probably dont want one. I would hate for you to get a beauty and then hate it later because it wasnt what you were expecting.
 
I would value that car at 5k just based on the pics. I wouldn't recommend getting a Fox mustang as your sole method of transport. My only question is why would he want to trade a newly restored mustang for a 13 year old f150?
 
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That car is too nice to be DDed.

Seriously....a fox like that deserved to be garage kept and kept in that pristine condition. I wouldn't even drive it in the rain, but sounds like you need to.
 
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For something to take to car shows, this a a nice conversation piece. For a daily driver or performance application....PASS.

If this car is truley restored, then it's running the least powerful and least mod friendly EFI V8 engine ever put into a Mustang. The '86 auto cars were all CFI (central fuel injection), not the more popular and mod friendly SEFI that was used in the 5-speed and later model year Mustangs.

No wonder your V6 trounces it so badly.
 
The '86 auto cars were all CFI (central fuel injection), not the more popular and mod friendly SEFI that was used in the 5-speed and later model year Mustangs.

CFI was on 85 AOD equipped GT's. All 86 GT were SEFI car's, albeit with a one year only restrictive small runner/small TB upper intake. They also had one year only shrouded valve heads that are not conductive to performance, as well as flat top pistons that make head/cam swaps more difficult due to valve clearance issues.

That said, the car looks clean and nice. But as it has been pointed out, if you need us to convince you to get it then you really don't want to do it. If you were originally looking for a 99+ GT then that's what I would go with. You're selling yourself short if you settle for something different. I love foxes, 86's in particular, but the newer mustang will be better in nearly every way as far as daily drivers go.
 
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I got the guy to send me a pic of the engine bay,
00F0F_2TURqLN23hj_600x450.jpg
I'm torn, its not that I need to be convinced but more that I need to be convinced not to lol. I'm more of the kind of guy that trades cars often and usually makes money on them, my honest plans would be to get it, drive it a little while have some fun with it and then sell it for hopefully more then I could sell my truck for. Im just trying to decide the risk on the decision. also for as to why he would sell it, he has 3 Mustang GTs and has to get rid of one.
 
Foxes are funny. Sometimes I see a clean example sell for ridiculous money and then other times they just lay there. If your end goal is a flip pass. With that trade there won't be any profit in it for you at the end.
That would be a great cruiser/show car. I would love to hold onto it and collect trophies with it. My only turn off is the red interior and the auto transmission. This will hurt your resale. Everyone wants black on black with a 5 speed.
 
If you are buying the car for a show car/weekend cruiser, you'll probably be OK. If you want it for a daily driver, you might want to consider something else.

Welcome to Stangnet... :spot:

Not all of us know how to fix everything, but some of us know how to fix some things
with excellence!

Places to check out here on Stangnet:
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/technical-thread-how-to-index.808661/ How to do it tips for some of the most common problems and upgrades for 5.0 Fox body Mustangs.
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/the-official-progress-threads-thread.761371/ the collection of build/progress threads from Stangnet members. You get to find ideas and clues to what works well and what doesn’t.
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/resources/ Has tech tips for common problems on Mustangs.

If you are in California or some other state with strict emissions laws, part of the deal should be that the owner takes the car and has it emissions tested. If it passes, you buy the car and pay for the emissions test cost, if any. If it does not pass, walk away from the deal. For a mechanically inexperienced owner, emissions related problems can be difficult and expensive to fix. Avoid any car that was originally EFI and has been converted to carb like the plague. That's often a clue to the fact the previous owner had problems and the resulting hack job has MORE problems.

Keep in mind that states with strict emissions laws may make the go faster goals more difficult to reach. Some parts are OK to replace with aftermarket parts and others aren't. Check carefully before you get out your wallet and buy something you can't use in the area where you live.


If you want to do the fix up & power up thing, make sure that you have some other form of reliable daily driver. That way the stang can sit while your wallet and hands take a rest from the last project that didn't quite get finished on that 3 day weekend. Things always cost more and take longer the first time you do them. Having some other working vehicle makes life easier since it isn't the big crush to get it running for the Monday morning drive to work or class.

Plan on spending some money on tools it you don't already have them. The stang has both metric and American fasteners, so you really need two sets of wrenches. A timing light, digital voltmeter, vacuum gauge, compression tester, fuel pressure test gauge and fuel line coupler tools are some of the test & tuning tools you'll need. Visit the pawn shops and sometimes you can find a deal on tools & test equipment if you stick to well known name brands.

A sheltered work area is almost a must, someplace that you can leave the car in pieces without upsetting anyone. Some guys here have changed a transmission in the parking lot of their apartment in a rainstorm, but they will tell you it wasn't fun. Depending on where you live, a warm, dry garage is a nice place to do the winter projects that stangs tend to become.

EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) Computer - every stang after 85 has or had one: don't let it intimidate you. The computer based EFI systems are not hard to fix and most of the time they tell you what's wrong with the engine. Here's a book that will get you started with how the Ford electronic engine control or "computer" works.

Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control 1988-1993 by James Probst: ISBN 0-8376-0301-3.

It's about $35-$45 from Borders.com see http://www.amazon.com/ . Select books and then select search. Use the ISBN number (without dashes or spaces) to do a search

Use the ISBN number and your local library can get you a loaner copy for free. Only thing is you are limited to keeping the book for two weeks. It is very good, and I found it to be very helpful.

For lots of great ideas and tech notes on upgrades and repairs, be sure to check
out http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=643651 “Useful Technical Thread Index” sticky at the top of the 5.0 Tech forum.

Things that break often:
T5 5 speed manual transmission (syncros go bad, mostly 3rd gear)
TFI Module (Thin Film Ignition module - mounts on the distributor)
Electric door locks (see the link in my sig for a cheap & easy fix)
O2 sensors(oxygen sensors) They are good for about 60,000 miles and start to go downhill after that.
TPS Sensor (Throttle Position Sensor) causes flaky problems with idle & acceleration.
Fog lights They overheat the wiring and cause the headlights to flicker. The fix is cheap and simple if you can do electrical stuff.
Harmonic Balancer – they separate between the hub and outer ring. A harmonic balancer puller is a must have to change it. You can rent or borrow a puller from most of the larger auto parts stores.

Things that are very durable: Engine - as long as it hasn't been abused, it will run good for 150,000-200,000 miles without an overhaul
Rear axle - other than an occasional case of worn clutches in the traction lock, they almost never have problems.
Computer - believe it or not, the computers seldom have problems of their own. Most of the problems are with the sensors and the wiring.
Suspension – the front and rear suspension has very few problems if the car hasn’t been wrecked or seen a lot of drag strip runs. The drag strip runs tend to distort and tear the mount points for the rear axle control arms. Revving the engine up to 4000 RPM and dumping the clutch with slicks or drag radials tends to break things.

Things that don’t break often but are hard to fix:
Water pump mount bolts – they corrode and shear off when you try to change the water pump.
Rear oil seal on the engine – lots of parts to remove to get to a $20 seal.
Power steering pump – the pumps are noisy and the pulley requires some special tools to remove and install. If you have the tools, they are easy to do. Again, the larger auto parts stores will rent or loan the tools for the pulley.
Power Steering rack - it is hard to get the toe in set so that you can drive the car to the shop to get it properly aligned.
Starter – the top bolt is hard to get a socket on if you don’t have the right combination of socket, universal joint and extensions.

Everything considered, 5.0 Mustangs are not hard to work on. They just require some patience and though before you get started.
 
I had a guy offer me 5,800 for my truck today I told him if he'd bring me 6,000 cash tomorrow I'd do it, I guess that will be the deciding factor on the foxbody. Theres a really nice competition red 2000 GT with tan leather interior for 6,900 on craigslist but maybe I could get him down to 6, anyone know a value on that? Its not really a lot of options other than the leather and it has 77k miles on it. Its almost show room quality though
 
I had a guy offer me 5,800 for my truck today I told him if he'd bring me 6,000 cash tomorrow I'd do it, I guess that will be the deciding factor on the foxbody. Theres a really nice competition red 2000 GT with tan leather interior for 6,900 on craigslist but maybe I could get him down to 6, anyone know a value on that? Its not really a lot of options other than the leather and it has 77k miles on it. Its almost show room quality though


If you want to daily drive a mustang, a 99-04 would be your best bet.
 
If you want to daily drive a mustang, a 99-04 would be your best bet.
Tama, seriously what is with...?? But yeah man stuff will prob start to fail on you in not such a long time if you were you were driving it everyday and in my experience foxes (and I guess any "classic" vehicle for that matter) are worth whatever someone's willing to pay.
 
Theres a really nice competition red 2000 GT with tan leather interior for 6,900 on craigslist but maybe I could get him down to 6, anyone know a value on that? Its not really a lot of options other than the leather and it has 77k miles on it. Its almost show room quality though


I hope you mean "performance red", as any colour starting with the word "Competition" was a GM hue.

As for the 2000....a better car for certain, but just be wary.....even a 2000 GT is 15-years-old at this point. It'll nickel and dime you to death as fast as any Fox body. The only difference would be that the 2000 is a nicer driver. If I were you and you're set on getting a 10+ year old Mustang, you should most certainly budget some additional money for incidentals.....cause they creep up on you.
 
I got confused with competition orange my apologies! And I've already owned an sn95 and only had a few problems with it but nothing major but Ill keep everyones advice in mind!
 
my fox was the only car that didnt give me any issues?....engine had 270000k on it?....and i sold it running perfectly still...plus i drove it hard also,but as a daily driver a 99 plus would get my vote.