gm, ford, gm, ford, can't make up my mind

evrythingsux151

Founding Member
Sep 14, 2002
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I have 2 82 camaro's, and an 84 mustang, I want to sel them all, but I can't decide if I want to get a nicer camaro or a nicer 5.0. I realize that this is a 5.0 forum, so ....I am looking at this 85 302 carbed hatch t-top, in decent condition for $500, The guy needs $$ bad so he's selling it dirt cheap, but all I have had is trouble with my 2.3L stang. It's been hastle of hastle. but at the same time, I got this 82 z28 and within a month of driving it, the tranny pretty much just blew up. I know I will neverbe happy driving anything but a V8...but I also know I would rather dump my money into upgrades, not maintence repair. so, what kind of trouble have you all had with your 5.0's?
 
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Sounds like a pretty decent find. 85's are harder to come by cause they are the last year of the carb'd 5.0's. As far as problems, I have had NONE with my car and i've owned it almost 2 years. I maintain it well but still drive it hard. I used to have an 83 T/A T-top car that I thought was fast til I got the stang. On this board you will have everyone telling you to get a stang. I say go with whichever one you like most, just keep it a V-8!. Good luck. :nice:
 
evrythingsux151 said:
so, what kind of trouble have you all had with your 5.0's?

Close to 170,000 miles or relatively trouble free driving. Maybe a water pump here, or an alternator there. Okay, a clutch but I consider that a maintenance item. The aftermarket is great now for 5.0 Fords, buy a few new toys to stick on it every now and then to play with performance gains. It's not a perfect car, but it's got to be the best car I've ever owned which includes a long list of all Fords (exception being a hand-me-down Dodge) in over 30 years of driving. All of them were good cars but this one takes the cake. It very much depends on what 5.0 you start with and how well it's been treated. All I can say is let your conscience be your guide, drive what you like, and like what you drive. BTW, I wouldn't even count the 2.3 Stang, completely different animal.
 
evrythingsux151 said:
I have 2 82 camaro's, and an 84 mustang, I want to sel them all, but I can't decide if I want to get a nicer camaro or a nicer 5.0. I realize that this is a 5.0 forum, so ....I am looking at this 85 302 carbed hatch t-top, in decent condition for $500, The guy needs $$ bad so he's selling it dirt cheap, but all I have had is trouble with my 2.3L stang. It's been hastle of hastle. but at the same time, I got this 82 z28 and within a month of driving it, the tranny pretty much just blew up. I know I will neverbe happy driving anything but a V8...but I also know I would rather dump my money into upgrades, not maintence repair. so, what kind of trouble have you all had with your 5.0's?

Where is it located because if you don't want it I'm all oer it. My 86 has about 170-180 and is still going with an engine rebuild. Tranny was rebuilt but thats only because AAA dragged it for 50mi w/o removing the driveshaft. They payed for it...and paid to have it beefed up even though they didnt know. Just so happen they did the same thing to the shop owners brother's car so he was more than happy to stick it to them.
 
Stay with a stang, mine is an 86 with 204K miles on it and it is still very strong and i drive the hell out of it, it does leak a quart of oil between oil changes though, i'm probaly the only one here with valve cover gaskets leaking :rolleyes:
 
4eyed5.0 said:
Stay with a stang, mine is an 86 with 204K miles on it and it is still very strong and i drive the hell out of it, it does leak a quart of oil between oil changes though, i'm probaly the only one here with valve cover gaskets leaking :rolleyes:

Its ok...One time I let mine leak for almost a year before I replaced them. But that was because a head busted off one of the bolts and I didnt feel like playing with it to get it out. That was when she was still my DD
 
I say sell ‘em both and buy something A LOT newer....(preferably a Stang). Not intending to flame you at all, but you're knowledge of either vehicle seems limited and I’m guessing your overall automotive technical knowledge is in the same boat....Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with that, but an '85 GT is only one year newer than your '84 and the last think you're going to want to do is buy another 15-20 year old, high mileage car to give you headaches. Yeah, the 5.0L roller motors last forever, but it’s the little nickel and dime things with the rest of the car that are going to kill you. If I were you, I'd keep my eye out for a really low mileage '93 (if you absolutely have to have a fox), or a later model SN-95. It may cost you more up front, but over the long run you’ll keep your sanity and your visa in check when all is said and done.
 
If you have a long commute to work and want something extremely reliable I wouldn't buy a car that is nearly 20 years old. But when I bought my '87 I didn't know anything about cars nothing at all. I am no expert now , but have lerned alot. I will say if it wasn't for this web-site I would have probably sold my GT along time ago. It has only stranded me once (bad TFI module) but as someone else mentioned it is the nickle and dime stuff that wears out and it is almost never ending. I don't care if it is a chevy , a ford or a VW at the age these fox body cars or getting to be some things are just bound to wear out. The flip side of that is even if I had to replace a 100 dollar part every month on my car (which I don't) it would still be cheaper than making car payments. And like I said even with my limited mechanical knowledge I have yet to have a problem that the guys on this board didn't help me fix myslef in the driveway. No trying to convince you to buy the car or not to buy it. I am just saying condsider if you are willing to do the extra maintenace work that an older car is gonna require.