'93 Fox - On3 Turbo Build Project- PICS

Franomania

Active Member
Apr 8, 2020
58
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Toronto, ON
Hi All:
Been a lurker on the forums for a long time, but recently picked up my second fox and wanted thoughts/opinions on the purchase. It was an impulse buy for about $8k canadian.

Car is a two-owner 180,000 KM (112,000 MILES) from British Columbia
Engine is bone stock down to the air box
A little tired ~120psi across all cyl. but runs with no misfires, stutters, hesitation nothing.
Eibach springs
O/R H pipe with flowmasters & BBK equal length headers
Have the factory radio but the factory amp under the pass seat was yanked so just dropped in an aftermarket unit
Interior is an 8.5/10 but could use a re-paint on some faded panels
Floors and trunk are solid no holes/rot
Not cut-up, spliced up or beat up in any way
Hood is from a different year/different color white that I'm thinking it was in a front end fender bender at some point but car drives straight with no real issues.
Some hail damage small dents on the roof but no where else on the car?

Overall the car is in great shape from a few feet away, but digging into it it has some flaws.
Wondering thoughts on whether it would be worth bringing in for a repaint, or more work than its really worth. Just sell as is and pick another one in worse off shape since the work to towers and seams, has to be done anyways.
I love driving the car as is (though it could use some more power) and don't plan on giving this one any substantial go-fast juice

Issues:
  1. Seam sealer is crumbling at pretty well all door seams, B-pillar, trunk etc. - If i pull all the old sealer off, would a simple new bead be sufficient or should it be painted first?
  2. Shock towers at first glance appeared to look better when i first bought than they really do -- the driver side seems solid, more surface rust than anything but the pass side appears to be worse. Is it worth fixing or should it hold up going forward considering its a second car never driven rain/winter anymore.
  3. Rusting around front & rear windshield trim
  4. Trunk lip has some good rust
  5. where roof and hatch meet, the paint has faded to bare metal? no rust, just bare metal
I have a ton of auto/mechanic knowledge but far from a body man.

So what do you guys think? Good purchase for $8k? Worth spending some money on freshening it up?

Thanks

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It looks pretty dang clean minus the rust spots. As far as price, they vary from area to area a bit. Id say its a fair deal. Not bad, not great.

Worth spending money on, investment wise? No. Never is, or very rarely. Lol. But it is good fun dumping money into. So, of course.
 
My experience with rust issues is to fix them first and ASAP. Rust is like cancer....you want it completely gone as quick as possible. You need to atleast get in there and find out how deep the rust goes in the strut towers and frame rails. With more and more people fixing these cars the info is at everyone's finger tips.
 
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That frame rail is concerning. I bet if you were to open that up it would be toast in there. It is a nice car though, reminds me of mine! Its doable, I agree with 90sickfox, clean it up asap! You also need to pull the fenders off and see what the upper aprons look like at the bottom area of the windshield as well. If the windshield frame is rusting, I would bet those areas are rusting too.
 
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Check over the passenger side well.The engine bay pic has the fender position over the apron looking strange,may have took a light hit sometime in it's past.
Looks like a good starting point though.
Good catch...I definitely agree considering the hood is also a different color. Gap is horrible on that side and rad cross member also is bent down a touch.

That frame rail is concerning. I bet if you were to open that up it would be toast in there. It is a nice car though, reminds me of mine! Its doable, I agree with 90sickfox, clean it up asap! You also need to pull the fenders off and see what the upper aprons look like at the bottom area of the windshield as well. If the windshield frame is rusting, I would bet those areas are rusting too.

That's where i am torn about it. I got a funny feeling i will start tearing it apart and it will be much much worse than what is showing on the surface.

I would venture to say i could easily get my money out of it now, so if it will need all kinds of rust repair work anyways, wouldn't it make sense to start out with something cheaper that will need the same work anyways.
 
Earlier the better as far as rust repair though. It can be quite the rabbit hole though.

I’m guessing you paid $8000 cad for the car? That’s roughly $6000 usd. A little more steep IMO considering the rust, but not out of the ballpark or anything. I guess I’m just kind of spoiled Here down south lol.
 
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Why wait?
Need to make sure i get another month or so out of it before it may be out of commission for a loooong time haha
Earlier the better as far as rust repair though. It can be quite the rabbit hole though.

I’m guessing you paid $8000 cad for the car? That’s roughly $6000 usd. A little more steep IMO considering the rust, but not out of the ballpark or anything. I guess I’m just kind of spoiled Here down south lol.

Yeah 8K. I'd agree but not by much. Up in the Toronto area its been very difficult to find anything in remotely decent shape for less than 8k that hasn't been modded or cut up in one way or another. The rails look worse upon closer inspection but overall the rest of the car is very good. This is literally 100% stock less the exhaust which was what i was going for and hard to find.
 
Congrats on the car. It looks great. The interior in particular is impressive. I have some similar rust/paint issues on my white fox around the windshield. I hope the frame isn’t as bad as some folks are predicting. Good luck with that.
 
Need to make sure i get another month or so out of it before it may be out of commission for a loooong time haha


Yeah 8K. I'd agree but not by much. Up in the Toronto area its been very difficult to find anything in remotely decent shape for less than 8k that hasn't been modded or cut up in one way or another. The rails look worse upon closer inspection but overall the rest of the car is very good. This is literally 100% stock less the exhaust which was what i was going for and hard to find.

Need to make sure i get another month or so out of it before it may be out of commission for a loooong time haha


Yeah 8K. I'd agree but not by much. Up in the Toronto area its been very difficult to find anything in remotely decent shape for less than 8k that hasn't been modded or cut up in one way or another. The rails look worse upon closer inspection but overall the rest of the car is very good. This is literally 100% stock less the exhaust which was what i was going for and hard to find.
Congrats on the purchase. She looks like a clean, solid car, with the exception of the shock towers. I feel she is worth saving. The foxbody are getting harder to find, especially unmolested ones. You are from the Toronto area? I am from Milton. Where do you hang out?
 
Well i started pulling some stuff apart and the rail is very rusty :(

Thankfully at least on the surface, it is all solid metal and just surface rust. From what i heard, the inside is usually much worse, but i decided i am not going to go down that road. Going to start taking some grinding and paddle wheels to anywhere i can get to, treat with some rust encapsulator and re-spray. Maybe a battery leak caused much more rust on the driver vs pass side? Strange it is not the same on passenger side to me.

This will not be a show car but it will improve the overall appearance drastically.

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On another note. For more power, i have decided to go the turbo route and naturally an on3 kit. From what i am gathering, i have a quick parts list off the top of my head below for what would be required (sure i'm missing something). Maybe a brand name wastegate in the future, but recent thread info all points that on3 has become much better in terms of quality from when they first launched. Not sure how you could possible get into the 400-450hp range for this kind of money going NA. Top end kits are about 4k and produce about 350 advertised HP.

Anyone know a place to buy on3 in Canada?

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The battery and brake fluid reservoir being on that side contributes to a rustier left frame rail.
 
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Not sure how you could possible get into the 400-450hp range for this kind of money going NA. Top end kits are about 4k and produce about 350 advertised HP.
$4k NA for 350 hp if all parts are new. Look around for used stuff and can get to same power level for a fraction of the cost.
 
If it were me I'd dig deeper now and make sure it structurally sound Before going crazy for h.p.That seems safer to me,and remember that 4 k for The turbo 450 h.p. Will need better trans mission,frame reinforcing,upper an lower rear control arms,and much more money to say the least.This is my gift of two cents to you.
 
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Just read through the thread. Nice car that’s worth saving for sure.
Like what’s already been said, I’d fix the rust and make sure it’s structurally sound before I dump another 4K into it.
At that point, you’ll have a 12,000 car with the same rust issues, that will only continue to get worse. Just my $.02 (US$)
 
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Look ! With my 2 cents and Rdubs 2 cents your already saving money on this build, so do it right.
 

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