Hello everyone, long time reader, first time poster here. As with many of you, I've always loved working on cars, and loved the look of the Foxbody Mustang.
I recently picked up this "semi" clean '89 LX. There is rust in the quarter panels, but the shock towers and floor plan and other usual places are clean. No, its a 2.3. Yes, its a 5 speed. As you probably already know, 5.0 foxbody are getting very high in price, and they are either heavily modded, or beat up like a racecar. 2.3 'stangs are cleaner andmore affordable.
My plans for this are:
-complete revival of the body - welding/ body work/ paint, whatever is needed - looks like it was side swipped at some point in its life.
-Complete interior teardown and restoration
- V8 Swap -I've done engine swaps before, but this would be my first Ford. Leaning towards a EFI 302, but I could be convinced otherwise.
-Rear End Swap - have to do 8.8 rear end anyways for the 5.0, might as well upgrade to SN-95 rear end and brakes.
Right now I'm planning on running the 2.3 T5, I read stories about how they handle the 5.0 no problem, and read stories where they don't. I'll use a low gear in the rear to compensate for the short first gear in the tranny. This is a 3rd car for me, and I'm in no rush to get it finished in any sort of hurried manner, so I apologize if my updates are few and far between. This is a budget build, but that being said, I have no problem waiting and saving for the right parts if they help me reach my goals.
Thanks for reading! Oh and some buddies and I are trying the whole youtube thing out, so whenever I have anything worthy of posting i'll show you guys some video.
I recently picked up this "semi" clean '89 LX. There is rust in the quarter panels, but the shock towers and floor plan and other usual places are clean. No, its a 2.3. Yes, its a 5 speed. As you probably already know, 5.0 foxbody are getting very high in price, and they are either heavily modded, or beat up like a racecar. 2.3 'stangs are cleaner andmore affordable.
My plans for this are:
-complete revival of the body - welding/ body work/ paint, whatever is needed - looks like it was side swipped at some point in its life.
-Complete interior teardown and restoration
- V8 Swap -I've done engine swaps before, but this would be my first Ford. Leaning towards a EFI 302, but I could be convinced otherwise.
-Rear End Swap - have to do 8.8 rear end anyways for the 5.0, might as well upgrade to SN-95 rear end and brakes.
Right now I'm planning on running the 2.3 T5, I read stories about how they handle the 5.0 no problem, and read stories where they don't. I'll use a low gear in the rear to compensate for the short first gear in the tranny. This is a 3rd car for me, and I'm in no rush to get it finished in any sort of hurried manner, so I apologize if my updates are few and far between. This is a budget build, but that being said, I have no problem waiting and saving for the right parts if they help me reach my goals.
Thanks for reading! Oh and some buddies and I are trying the whole youtube thing out, so whenever I have anything worthy of posting i'll show you guys some video.
Last edited: