Progress Thread Finally got my first Fox Body - 1988 GT

[Steel1]

If you're going to try to address it with the engine installed you would need to try to remove as much
surface rust as possible with a wire wheel / brush and then use something to encapsulate the rust like POR 15.

The wrap on the exhaust is a heat shield, I'm guessing someone was concerned with how close that pipe was to
the fuel tank and or line. If exhaust is properly installed you shouldn't need shielding there.

 

[Steel1]

Looks like you have a 4 lug rear disc set-up on that car , just did that same upgrade to my 93GT.

 

[General karthief]

Are those brake lines copper? They don't look right and one looks to be leaking at the fitting.
The rust looks to be at the base of the shock tower which concerns me. The leaking brake line may have helped this,

 

[Steel1]

Are those brake lines copper? They don't look right and one looks to be leaking at the fitting.
The rust looks to be at the base of the shock tower which concerns me. The leaking brake line may have helped this,

Given the rear disc brake conversion lines would have needed to be reconfigured but I agree something doesn't look right and
there looks to be a leak.
A picture of the whole distribution block would help.

 

[DudeStang]

Given the rear disc brake conversion lines would have needed to be reconfigured but I agree something doesn't look right and
there looks to be a leak.
A picture of the whole distribution block would help.

Didn’t have time to get any pics this morning but will share more this coming weekend. I’m going to try and get a wire wheel/brush to work on some of the rust on Saturday and also work on the horn mount and see if I can get that reattached at the same time.

 

[DudeStang]

Meant to include this when I made some posts on Monday but also figured out that the car has an SVE Radiator (looks like this one), which is apparently a slight upgrade from stock(?).


Also, these aren't as much of a priority as addressing the rust and the horn issue but figured I'd ask for not too distant future reference. My assumption is that this damage to the bumper means I need a new bumper, because it seems having this repaired would maybe be more expensive than getting a replacement bumper...though now that I'm thinking about it, the additional cost of painting it could make it closer to repair costs. Any thoughts?


And on the taillights, as much as I dig the Cobra and LX taillights, I want to stick with the graters on this car for now. There is some paint missing on the passenger side around the reverse light. I saw that LMR has these template kits that are supposed to help with repainting. Anyone with no paint experience try to repaint these themselves? I am want the car to look decent but I'm not really going for show car quality since I do plan to track the car.


On the rust repair hopes and dreams related note, I do have a Hercules drill/driver from Harbor Freight. As far as a wire wheel/brush goes, is there a specific material I should look for? I think my brush set saying that brass was for rust but I don't have them in front of me at the moment. Thanks again in advance.

 

[General karthief]

I painted my gt taillights a long time ago, they were a pain to tape up, nobody had the template kits back then.

 

[90sickfox]

That bumper looks like it would be best to replace. You want to find a decent yellow urethane original rear bumper. Try to find one that hasn't been repainted yet. They are out there. The aftermarket ones will work but don't fit as easy and can crack easier...paint also has a hard time adhering if it's not prepped correctly.

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

Yep, like 90sickfox said, a replacement bumper would be best. A used one would be better than a new A/M. Ive never used a template for the cheese graders. When I did mine I used masking tape and a exacto knife. I would polish the lenses first, then clean them, tape them up, prep them, and repaint. Better to polish them with the old paint rather than trying to polish them after paint.

 

[DudeStang]

Looks like you have a 4 lug rear disc set-up on that car , just did that same upgrade to my 93GT.

So...I was just looking a bit closer at the front brakes.

I’m assuming 1988 Mustangs didn’t come from the factory with drilled rotors..hard to see much with these wheels but any ideas what brake kit this might be?

 

[DudeStang]

Given the rear disc brake conversion lines would have needed to be reconfigured but I agree something doesn't look right and
there looks to be a leak.
A picture of the whole distribution block would help.

Took a few pics tonight. The distribution block:


A few more pics of the shock tower area:

 

[Steel1]

Hard to tell with the wheel on but my guess is the rotors have just been upgraded.
The brake lines look like a diy job which could be ok, still looks like the rear upper line on the
block is leaking. How do the brakes feel ?
I used pre-bent lines and fittings that are made for a rear disc upgrade, got them from LMR / MM.
here's some pics you can compare to yours.

 

[Steel1]

Looking at the pictures again the rear port configuration seems to be different.

 

[General karthief]

It definitely needs some work in that area.

 

[DudeStang]

Yep, like 90sickfox said, a replacement bumper would be best. A used one would be better than a new A/M. Ive never used a template for the cheese graders. When I did mine I used masking tape and a exacto knife. I would polish the lenses first, then clean them, tape them up, prep them, and repaint. Better to polish them with the old paint rather than trying to polish them after paint.

Thanks for the input. So by replacement bumper you mean getting another bumper off another fox body? Are there any “new” bumpers that are worthwhile at all?

Hard to tell with the wheel on but my guess is the rotors have just been upgraded.
The brake lines look like a diy job which could be ok, still looks like the rear upper line on the
block is leaking. How do the brakes feel ?
I used pre-bent lines and fittings that are made for a rear disc upgrade, got them from LMR / MM.
here's some pics you can compare to yours.

When I’ve driven the car the brakes have felt OK but definitely not great. I haven’t driven enough fox bodies (or 32 year old cars in general) to say much more useful beyond...I didn’t feel like I was going to crash and die while braking, the times I’ve driven it, lol.
Thanks for the pics. I definitely want to take a closer look and see if I can see anything else that stands out, though it is much more useful when I can share pics and videos and you guys can say things like “hey that thing is **** up”, lol.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Looks like someone did rear disks and a 3-2 conversion and MC swap.

That’s one rusty MC though. Should be a 93 cobra MC which should be Aluminun

 

[DudeStang]

I got the new horn pad in and had my wife press it while I held the horns against the frame, plugged in, and got nothing. There’s sort of a sound when we press the pad though, like a clicking, which wasn’t there before replacing the pad...hoping that’s a good sign. My next move is to order replacement horns from AM or LMR, unless anyone else has any suggestions.

Got a shot of the front driver side rotor with the wheel off btw

 

[Mustang5L5]

Stock style front brakes, aftermarket rotor.

Next time you do brakes, I would recommend plain face rotors.

Have you confirmed the horns are good? Sounds like you are activating the relay. Unplug the horn and use a multimeter to test the horn wire to ground and see if you have 12v when the horn is pressed

 

[General karthief]

Took the letters right off my pad.

 

[DudeStang]

Stock style front brakes, aftermarket rotor.

Next time you do brakes, I would recommend plain face rotors.

Have you confirmed the horns are good? Sounds like you are activating the relay. Unplug the horn and use a multimeter to test the horn wire to ground and see if you have 12v when the horn is pressed

Plain face rotors = non-drilled, non-slotted?

I don’t know for sure if the horns are good or not. You might need to explain that “test wire to ground” bit in the dumbest possible English, or I soon might ask a bunch of questions that make no sense...lol.