Might get a 86 GT...Difference in engine?

[narib2008]

Hello,
I was just wondering what the 86 gt would take to stay up with the 87 gt.I heard the engines are similar...heads are different and the plenum and tb?But im not sure?The reason im looking at the 86 gt is because its all original and has 54k miles on it.The price seams reasonable as well at 3500.

 

[Darkwriter77]

You've pretty much nailed the essential points, already. Heads, cam, and intake plenum, basically.

That is an AWESOME price on an '86 GT with mileage that low. GET IT!

 

[venom97]

i know the 86s have flat top pistons and "turbo swirl heads" which is why their rated lower than the 87 up. my 86 must have been built on a good day,it ran with the 87 ups. it dynoed at 202hp and 283ft/lbs of torque at the wheels. it had equel length headers,x pipe, pullies and a k&n other wise stock.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Ah. I forgot about the pistons.

 

[narib2008]

Ah. I forgot about the pistons.

So essentially if i were to do H/C/I on a 5.0 as long as its efi it does not need to be a 87 up? Are the pistons on the 86 ok for H/C/I?

 

[venom97]

you have to check piston to valve clearance to be sure but i dont think you run much bigger of a cam with out getting into the pistons. heads and intake will work but you might want to convert to mass air.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

This might burn some people up but IMO it's the worst of the roller 302s.

 

[narib2008]

This might burn some people up but IMO it's the worst of the roller 302s.

I understand however 3500 for a near mint all orignal 5.0 with 54k miles?Heres pics

 

[narib2008]

Two more pics

 

[ryan218]

our 230k 86 gt is cleaner then that under the hood...and the fan cover looks to have markings from a junkyard...id check and make sure it wasn't in an accident recently.( car fax craw under it ) exterior looks very nice as well as the interior...imo its worth that even if it was in an accident

 

[Dennis86GT]

Are you sure that the mileage isn't 154k? Look at how crumy the motor is. There is a leak everywhere as well! That could be a 154k car with a new paint job bud. I just don't want you to buy it thinking its 54k original miles. Are they documented miles? I would def check car fax. It does look nice though. If your buying a Fox for the motor buy a '89-92 5.0. '86 is not the best 5.0 motor, actually worst in my book.

 

[RsStanG1987]

our 230k 86 gt is cleaner then that under the hood...and the fan cover looks to have markings from a junkyard...id check and make sure it wasn't in an accident recently.( car fax craw under it ) exterior looks very nice as well as the interior...imo its worth that even if it was in an accident

Dont flatter yourself
To swap the heads to anything other than e7s you need to get the pistons fly cut or run a weak ass cam.

 

[RsStanG1987]

Honestly that motor looks exactly how it should for a 22 yr old car that has propbabbly never had the engine cleaned. We have cars come into the dealership where i work w/ 400 miles on them and they look like ass. We have an 05 mustang Gt w/530 miles on it and the engine is filthy. Hell my engine bay is dirty and i never even drove my car yet. Hell you can tell just from the interior alone the car has lower miles. The seats arent twisted, The door panel isnt wavy around the edges, the consel isnt ripped on the pad, The seat belt still stands straight, the carpet is really clean as are the seats.

 

[NIKwoaC]

I'd say jump on it. While the motor does kind of suck, it actually has a broad torque curve and was magazine tested to be the fastest 0-60 car of the speed-density Foxes. the TB is smaller, the intake is smaller, the heads flow poorly, but the compression ratio is higher than the other cars because of the flattop pistons, so thats why it feels good on the street. But everything else aside, its a clean 4-eye with most of the stuff you need to go EFI already in place, so just pull a junk 87+ motor, do what you want to it and plug it in.

 

[narib2008]

Yes the owner has documents proving 54k miles.He even has copy's of all the previous titles.He is the 3rd owner.The car has been painted so an accident is probable.It was done at the ford dealership and he said its a perfect job.The car overall sounds pretty clean.He said theres some surface rust on the drivers bottom door.I would take care of the immediatly if i was going to buy it.Honestly i would probably rather have an 87+.However they seem very hard to find for a reasonable price.

 

[Flavadave4]

Give me his phone number so i can buy it...
Dont listen to Ryan about the junkyard fan shroud either, if he could read he would realize that they marked what temp the water was mixed to, and what date they did it.

 

[Nova]

dont forget you would have to do a maf conversion bease speed density doesnt do well with upgrades, granted you can find someone to tune your car as a speed density...

 

[Rdrcr]

I too would buy it for $3.5K, nice find and very clean (with the exception of the engine compartment). My completely stock '86 5-spd. with 100K miles ran 15.4 @ 90 in the 1/4 mile. I'm not sure how that compares with the '87, but if memory serves me correctly, it's pretty close in performance.

Mike

 

[Darkwriter77]

Dont flatter yourself
To swap the heads to anything other than e7s you need to get the pistons fly cut or run a weak ass cam.

Not true. You can throw E7's and an 87-93 HO cam on a low-po shortblock with flattop pistons and still be safe. Guys with Crown Vics, Grand Marquis, and Town Cars have been doing it for years without any problem. Although, yes, the clearances are tight and the compression ratio is a bit different, it's still easily do-able and doesn't require any modification, as long as you're running a stock '86 to '93 cam. If you go poking an E303 or something else like that in there, though, all bets are off...

dont forget you would have to do a maf conversion bease speed density doesnt do well with upgrades, granted you can find someone to tune your car as a speed density...

If he's just upgrading to stock '87-'88 stuff, he won't NEED to convert to mass air. You can go as far as adding a full exhaust and CAI to the setup and still not cause any problems with the speed density system. It's when you go throwing on things that allow for a much higher demand for fuel than the air/fuel mix table in the ECM can account for that you need to upgrade to MAF (such as aftermarket heads/cam/intake, injectors, and so on).

 

[Dennis86GT]

Honestly i would probably rather have an 87+.However they seem very hard to find for a reasonable price.

You said it yourself... Sure that '86 isn't a bad car but its not the car you want. I would not buy it in your case. You'll have to do a MAF conversion which is well over $500.00 i believe. You won't be able to run a good heads/cam setup becasue of the pistons. And i don't think you like the look of the '86s more then the '87+. Just wait for the one you want man. TRUST ME. Don't just buy a car because its a deal or nice. I made that mistake the first time. Everytime i saw the Mustang i wanted originally i just didn't want the Mustang i got a deal on. Sure i saved some money and got a nice car but it wasn't the one i wanted. I regreted buying that car for about 2 years. Then i bought the car i've always wanted. So now i dont' care much. But before i just bitched about it ha. Just tryin to help yah out man.