I’m Curious —-Why a Fox?
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You just brought out what I would call good times.. I had multiple friends in the early 70's with 70 Z28 camaro's,, The fastest scariest car I rode in back in the day.. I was in a 70 LT1 corvette, on a Corvette Club cruise ( yeah most of them were a holes) and when we hit I-5, everyone nailed it... The 70 I was in blew past the 427 tri power cars ( this was early-mid 70's)... It was a very impressive engine in its day.....
I also grew up Chevy ( except for my foray with my 69 Super Bee A12 car) Middle 70's I had a 73 Z28 and I had friends with some 70's, 71, 72, 73, and one with the 'disliked" slope nosed 74..... They were great cars even though when they came out we called em " big vega's" as the body style changed so drastically in 70... forgive the " remembrance here...
manicmechanic007
5 Year Member
OMG limp what a dad! My dad was cool too. We had a 68 Toronado and a 69 Cougar XR7 and a 72 CST Blazer et al.
manicmechanic007
5 Year Member
Damn straight bout those Lt-1's and the Z-28s
Fastest car I ever rode in was a 69 charger with a 440
Fastest car I ever rode in was a 69 charger with a 440
Two ads in the car magazines of the time really got my attention. The 87 GT was featured in a two page side shot in royal blue over titanium. And there were black GT tail end shots later I stole ideas for my black 79. I could not afford a new car or the insurance as a young driver, but that blue GT and a 93 teal Cobra ended up on my wish list. A friend’s 79 Ghia was fun, but finally more power and the lack of 70’s styling items did it.
I remember some people didn't like them because they didn't look like a Mustang. I love the rear tails on that 79.
I kept the 79 taillights, but the GT spoiler on the hatch really did it for the overall shape of the car and helped with higher speed handling.
Which came first with that look 79 Celica, or Mustang. They are very similar, and I always loved the Celica-all years
I bought mine in 86 ...LX 5 Liter, 5 speed convertible, when I was 34...stayed in school until I was 30. It is the first brand new car I had. Fast forward to 1992, when I had about 100K miles on it and had just bought an Isuzu Trooper, so now the Mustang was a play car. Found a good mechanic, Jim Zawistowski, and started on the still continuing rebuild. We dropped in a 69 351 Windsor, bored it out 30 thousandths, rebuilt the heads with oversized valves, etc, converted it to a roller engine, with EEC IV mass air (Jim did this in 93-94) put in a Tremec 5 speed and Auburn 3.55 rear, shorty pipes, upgraded brakes...5 lug front/back and disk brakes. Never could get rid of clatter/predetonation, so went to Trickflow heads and induction. Installed Griggs K member and front lower control arms, as well as p-hard bar and Torque arm and front/rear coilovers. Put in a 4 point bar and converted it to a 7 point, bolted/welded as well as a rear shock tower brace. All seams in the car were welded/reinforced. Griggs subframe connectors were welded in. I started doing HPDE in 1994, in Charlotte...I think it was a Mustang Club of America meet and the first time they had a track event. I broke in the engine in on the way from Lafayette to Charlotte. Mileage went from 8 to 19 MPG. Put in a G 303 cam. Back in 2014 at a HPDE, an exhaust valve broke, so we rebuilt the upper end and replaced the Ford distributor with a billet aftermarket one (BIG mistake). I was on track at the Mustang 50th anniversary, and on the third day, just as I passed a car I chased for two days, the engine killed...no spark. The aftermarket billet distributor shaft sheared after the pin backed out and made its way into the oil pump, binding it and shearing the distributor shaft...so the engine and oil pump simultaneously went belly up and spared the engine. I found a 351 Lightening distributor at the swap meet there. Once back in Lafayette, the distributor was installed as well as a blueprinted Melling oil pump. A Moroso pan was also installed....and started leaking after a year. Checked with Bruce Griggs, and found that to be a common problem, so we replaced it with a Canton pan...which then required a new K member. It will be out of the shop in a couple of weeks and I'll have it back on track again. The engine since rebuilt
"Y a Fox"
could it be the emotional (viseral)? -I think so-.
Most I see - it's abt the one thay could not have asa teen. I grabbed all the rebuildable alfas, lancias, fiats from the 50s/60s I could (a local junk yr, Goldie's, wuz da best) in the 60s/70s. The prices climb when @ the age U can afford one of them (other guys R the same & the supply/demand rule). Car auctions and net sales (esp together) killed my ol hobby (I aint rich).
could it be the emotional (viseral)? -I think so-.
Most I see - it's abt the one thay could not have asa teen. I grabbed all the rebuildable alfas, lancias, fiats from the 50s/60s I could (a local junk yr, Goldie's, wuz da best) in the 60s/70s. The prices climb when @ the age U can afford one of them (other guys R the same & the supply/demand rule). Car auctions and net sales (esp together) killed my ol hobby (I aint rich).
I started when I was 15 with a straight 6, ‘66 Mustang. That was about 1988. I learned brakes, tune ups, all the basics on that with my dad (and a few curse words with those drum brake springs).
Then I decided that we needed a v8. I found a ‘65 with some front end damage, and had been swapped from a 6 cyl. to a 302 out of a ‘70 something car.
As luck would have it, the ‘66 had all 5 lug front drums and the bigger rear (I guess somebody felt the need to go from an 8 to a 6). The ‘65 was a stick, so we swapped rears and front end to that gear. Also took out the 3 speed and put a 4 spd top loader in. Got all the parts for the FE (bumper, valence, grill, and headlight bucket). Loved that car, had a blast with it, and learned a ton.
Fast forward to college, where I was commuting with my ‘65. A friend had an ‘86 GT for sale and as luck would have it, I got dad on board, as it would be more reliable to commute with. This was about ‘91 and the rest is history. Lots of blood sweat and tears went into my ‘86. Drove it to 150k miles, and did as many of the bolt on mods as I could during that time. I was then debating between a motor refresh, or a new car. I went with a ‘95 Trans Am. Shed a tear when I sold that ‘86. Couldn’t stand the look of the new Mustangs at the time. Somewhere along that path we kept working on the 6 cyl ‘66, painted it in the garage, and sold it.
Trans Am was cool, but always wanted another Foxbody. Nothing felt or sounded like those cars. So in 2017 finally got one, and here I am.
(Gotta find a pic of the ‘66 somewhere)
Then I decided that we needed a v8. I found a ‘65 with some front end damage, and had been swapped from a 6 cyl. to a 302 out of a ‘70 something car.
As luck would have it, the ‘66 had all 5 lug front drums and the bigger rear (I guess somebody felt the need to go from an 8 to a 6). The ‘65 was a stick, so we swapped rears and front end to that gear. Also took out the 3 speed and put a 4 spd top loader in. Got all the parts for the FE (bumper, valence, grill, and headlight bucket). Loved that car, had a blast with it, and learned a ton.
Fast forward to college, where I was commuting with my ‘65. A friend had an ‘86 GT for sale and as luck would have it, I got dad on board, as it would be more reliable to commute with. This was about ‘91 and the rest is history. Lots of blood sweat and tears went into my ‘86. Drove it to 150k miles, and did as many of the bolt on mods as I could during that time. I was then debating between a motor refresh, or a new car. I went with a ‘95 Trans Am. Shed a tear when I sold that ‘86. Couldn’t stand the look of the new Mustangs at the time. Somewhere along that path we kept working on the 6 cyl ‘66, painted it in the garage, and sold it.
Trans Am was cool, but always wanted another Foxbody. Nothing felt or sounded like those cars. So in 2017 finally got one, and here I am.
(Gotta find a pic of the ‘66 somewhere)
Do you still have your Trooper? Is it a V6? I know where your oil leak is coming from.....I bought mine in 86 ...LX 5 Liter, 5 speed convertible, when I was 34...stayed in school until I was 30. It is the first brand new car I had. Fast forward to 1992, when I had about 100K miles on it and had just bought an Isuzu Trooper, so now the Mustang was a play car. Found a good mechanic, Jim Zawistowski, and started on the still continuing rebuild. We dropped in a 69 351 Windsor, bored it out 30 thousandths, rebuilt the heads with oversized valves, etc, converted it to a roller engine, with EEC IV mass air (Jim did this in 93-94) put in a Tremec 5 speed and Auburn 3.55 rear, shorty pipes, upgraded brakes...5 lug front/back and disk brakes. Never could get rid of clatter/predetonation, so went to Trickflow heads and induction. Installed Griggs K member and front lower control arms, as well as p-hard bar and Torque arm and front/rear coilovers. Put in a 4 point bar and converted it to a 7 point, bolted/welded as well as a rear shock tower brace. All seams in the car were welded/reinforced. Griggs subframe connectors were welded in. I started doing HPDE in 1994, in Charlotte...I think it was a Mustang Club of America meet and the first time they had a track event. I broke in the engine in on the way from Lafayette to Charlotte. Mileage went from 8 to 19 MPG. Put in a G 303 cam. Back in 2014 at a HPDE, an exhaust valve broke, so we rebuilt the upper end and replaced the Ford distributor with a billet aftermarket one (BIG mistake). I was on track at the Mustang 50th anniversary, and on the third day, just as I passed a car I chased for two days, the engine killed...no spark. The aftermarket billet distributor shaft sheared after the pin backed out and made its way into the oil pump, binding it and shearing the distributor shaft...so the engine and oil pump simultaneously went belly up and spared the engine. I found a 351 Lightening distributor at the swap meet there. Once back in Lafayette, the distributor was installed as well as a blueprinted Melling oil pump. A Moroso pan was also installed....and started leaking after a year. Checked with Bruce Griggs, and found that to be a common problem, so we replaced it with a Canton pan...which then required a new K member. It will be out of the shop in a couple of weeks and I'll have it back on track again. The engine since rebuilthas a little over 48K miles on it, with probably half of those miles on track, being hammered. The rev limiter is set to 6K. Years ago, we upgraded the fuel pump and installed a Kenne Belle pump booster, so fuel starvation isn't an issue. The engine probably had at least 70K miles when I got it....before rebuilding it....and has the original crank and connecting rods. On the rear I'm running 275 x 17 and on the front 255 x 17. The rims are Cobra knockoffs. I had to flare the front fenders...cut them and pushed them out with hi tech rebar which I welded in. The engine runs really rich and hunts sometimes...so I'll pull the ECU and check the capacitors and probably replace them. The Pro M mass air sensor is calibrated to 30 lb injectors. I also have a 2007 Honda S 2000 and plenty of those have eaten my lunch on the track in the Mustang, but that old Stang fits me like a comfortable pair of old jeans. My apologies for this overly long introduction.
manicmechanic007
5 Year Member
As a young kid, I drove one, it was a stick shift and it launched so nicely and I loved the Gt kits on them. As an adult in my early 20's I first had a BMW e30 and they were so badly under powered (171hp and only like 168 torque), it felt fun to cruise in but boring performance. I knew I had loved the Fox and they got good gas mileage for a v8...(225hp and 300 torque) felt so much faster than the BMW. They are much easier to work on. I love the sound, the looks and I basically have a cool little hot rod. I'm glad I bought mine 3.5 years ago when the prices weren't very high. They get lots of attention now, I barely see any others on the road, especially not as daily drivers, even though I drive mine all the time. Even with the high prices, they are still rather affordable American Muscle classic sports cars with so many performance options. You don't have to shell out over $10k-$12k for a well taken care of one, unlike newer mustangs which were and are way out of my price range.
TIGGER
Founding Member
My story starts with my 67 coupe. My mom got it new. It brought my home when I was born. Mom gave it to me for my 14th birthday (1985). It was in sad shape by then so I started working on it with the help of one of my friends. His dad owned a transmission shop so he knew about cars. The following year one an older brother of a kid that I went to school with got the grey 86 Mustang with the word Saleen on the windshield. They lived a couple blocks up the street from me. I would see it all the time when I was out working on my car. I didn’t know what a Saleen Mustang was but the more I saw it, the more I fell in love with it. It was not till I read about the saleen’s in one of my magazines that I knew what it was. In 91 the brother traded it in on a new SHO Taurus. I never knew the bumper number unfortunately. In 99 I bought my 96 Tigger car from one of my friends. Shortly after I saw a grey 86 saleen for sale in the local autotrader. Unfortunately I couldn’t swing it because I had just bought the 96. I saw another grey 86 saleen for sale again in 02. Again I couldn’t swing it. It was not till March of 09 till I would see the car for sale again. This time on Craigslist. At the time, one of my evening rituals was to scan Craigslist for cars. The car was on there for 2-3 weeks and I would look at the add all the time. One night my wife asked me why I keep looking at that same car. I told her the story about the one that lived up the street when I was a kid and how much I wanted one. She said why don’t I go look at it? I told her if I went to go look at it, I would want to buy it. She said so buy it? So the year before her mom passed. She sold her 00GT to pay some of her moms medical bills. I still had my 67 and 96. I was sweating a layoff at work and she was 7 months pregnant with our youngest son Ian. I told her it was not a good time. She said go look at it. If it what you want, buy it and we will make it work. So I made arrangements to go look at it on a Friday after work and the rest is history. I bought the car. Unfortunately I do not think this is the car that lived up the street when I was a kid. Saleen only built 26 dark grey cars in 86. The local Saleen dealer sold 6 of the 26. My car is 1 of the 6. I am the 4th owner of my car. I traced the car down to the second owner. But I have not been able to find out who the original owner was. I wanted this car since is was 15. I absolutely love it. I love my 67 and my 96 too but there is something about driving a foxbody to me. I owe it all to my wife. Anyway, I daily drove the saleen till the end of 2012 and then parked it for maintenance. There were lots of things that needed attention. Life got in the way and it took me 5 years to get it back out on the road. I would love to drive it daily again but I am paranoid about the impatient idiots out on the roads these days. While my car is far from pristine I still do not want anything to happen to it. We still drive though. I want to get another foxbody to daily drive. Someday…..
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Sold the Trooper when we had our first daughter....I wanted something new and reliable....and bought a Nissan Frontier Crew Cab. With a second daughter, bought an F 150 crew cab. The Trooper consumed/leaked oil, beginning when I switched from Dino oil to synthetic. Was the leak from the head gasket?
Its a GM v6 and the oil leak looks like it comes from Valve covers or an intake manifold
It is coming from where the Distributor used to be, and is now a vacuum pump or just a plug.... The O Ring gets hard and brittle.... Hard to find, simple to fix..
manicmechanic007
5 Year Member
Anyth
Anything can be fixed (well almost anything) Tigger Drive it like you stole it. If some idiot hits you punch him in the nose
I have had many mustangs over the years. I had a 90 Notchback back in the 90s that I modified pretty much everything on it. Drag raced it with my son but kept it with ac and cruise so it was still street able. Sold it in 2008 and went a few years without. In 2012, I bought a new coyote and supercharged it with E85. I hated the MT82 and 6r80 swapped it. I still have the 13. 2 years ago I decided I wanted a Notchback again and found a nice strawberry 91 with lots of the 90s period type mods. It had good paint and interior and needed a few mechanical things fixed. I really enjoy the fox more than the coyote even with the 13 running low 10s at 138 mph. There is something raw about a fox that makes me grin when I drive it. Offroad H and flowmasters and and T5 does make me happy.
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