Restoration Project - Questions And Ideas

[blackstangt]

I've had my 1990 5.0 GT for 10 years now as my primary vehicle. She needs to be repaid for her years of service, so I'm going to restore her. First car, BTW.

I'm looking to do it right, stripped down, blasted with baking soda, rust removed and replaced, wiring re-done/replaced, structural reinforcement, as well as performance mods.

Wiring: Painless or Do It Myself (DIM) or ?
-Has been a major issue do to modifications (not using butt connectors/colors) by the last owner
Fuel Tank or Fuel Cell?
-Looking to reduce weight and increase capability
Air Conditioning Yes/No? Aftermarket/OEM style?
-The system has been removed. I have manned up for 10 years, moving around in FL and now LA.
Tubular K-Member? Manual Rack? Increase Steering Angle?
-Weight reduction and stiffening of the chassis. Ideas for increasing the steering angle if practical.
Roll Cage?
-I would like to maintain the street-ability of the car. Bars in the doors?
Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber?
-Hood Mach1 (ram air actually useful vs cold air?) and hatch since they're not structural. Other components?
Glass/Plastic?
-I've been considering switching all but the windshield to Plastic/Lexand and smoothing the seams by raising the windshield and hatch window to keep the flow from separating.
Drivetrain - Performance Mods?
-Mods listed. T-56? Supercharger? Aluminum Block? New 5.0? Other methods for making this a 11.999 sec 1/4mi car that handles and drives well.
Exhaust Mods?
-I'm tired of scraping the exhaust while having a car that isn't really low. Looking for custom solutions here, such as above the crossmember on passenger's side and post- axle mufflers (w/fuel cell, could work well).
Paint?
-Worked at a body shop for a while, any good home set-ups that worked and were worth it? Heat Lamps? Black with Silver stripes from nose to tail running up the scoops on the hood.
Brakes?
-17" wheels with larger front rotors and rear conversion.

I'm not saying that money isn't a factor, but I'd like to see some ideas to give her what she deserves, money-saving would be appreciated as well. I'm not rich (military), but I'm paying my student loans off fast enough to put aside some money for this. For those of you that love your car, what would you like to do if you had the time/money?

Happy Independence Day!
Loud noises and explosions, because screw the Redcoats!

 

[RacEoHolic330]

I've had my 1990 5.0 GT for 10 years now as my primary vehicle. She needs to be repaid for her years of service, so I'm going to restore her. First car, BTW.

I'm looking to do it right, stripped down, blasted with baking soda, rust removed and replaced, wiring re-done/replaced, structural reinforcement, as well as performance mods.

Wiring: Painless or Do It Myself (DIM) or ?
-Has been a major issue do to modifications (not using butt connectors/colors) by the last owner
Fuel Tank or Fuel Cell?
-Looking to reduce weight and increase capability
Air Conditioning Yes/No? Aftermarket/OEM style?
-The system has been removed. I have manned up for 10 years, moving around in FL and now LA.
Tubular K-Member? Manual Rack? Increase Steering Angle?
-Weight reduction and stiffening of the chassis. Ideas for increasing the steering angle if practical.
Roll Cage?
-I would like to maintain the street-ability of the car. Bars in the doors?
Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber?
-Hood Mach1 (ram air actually useful vs cold air?) and hatch since they're not structural. Other components?
Glass/Plastic?
-I've been considering switching all but the windshield to Plastic/Lexand and smoothing the seams by raising the windshield and hatch window to keep the flow from separating.
Drivetrain - Performance Mods?
-Mods listed. T-56? Supercharger? Aluminum Block? New 5.0? Other methods for making this a 11.999 sec 1/4mi car that handles and drives well.
Exhaust Mods?
-I'm tired of scraping the exhaust while having a car that isn't really low. Looking for custom solutions here, such as above the crossmember on passenger's side and post- axle mufflers (w/fuel cell, could work well).
Paint?
-Worked at a body shop for a while, any good home set-ups that worked and were worth it? Heat Lamps? Black with Silver stripes from nose to tail running up the scoops on the hood.
Brakes?
-17" wheels with larger front rotors and rear conversion.

I'm not saying that money isn't a factor, but I'd like to see some ideas to give her what she deserves, money-saving would be appreciated as well. I'm not rich (military), but I'm paying my student loans off fast enough to put aside some money for this. For those of you that love your car, what would you like to do if you had the time/money?

Happy Independence Day!
Loud noises and explosions, because screw the Redcoats!

As someone who is doing a nut and bolt foxbody restoration, I'll answer your questions based on my own personal opinion and experience.

For wiring, I went with a Ron Francis kit. It's essentially DIY, but with a high quality fuse box and Ford steering column connectors. I also got one of his EFI harnesses. Comes with all new wiring and connectors also eliminates the stock relays. It's a standalone wiring system that is actually meant for street rods with 5.0 engines in them.

If this is mainly a street car, I would put in a full sized tank. Refueling every 5 gallons will get old. Check out BBRC. They have awesome aluminum tanks.

A/C is all personal preference. I eliminated it for simplicity sake, but some people cannot live without it. I'm sure that I will want it back more and more as I get older.

I would definitely get an aftermarket k-member. I'm an MM nuthugger and love their stuff. There are a lot of geometry options with their setups.

I have 8 point roll bar that I had installed a few years ago. I am toying with the Idea of making the bars removable for the sake of easy entry and exit. Mine goes through the floor and attaches to the sub frame connectors.

For the body, carbon fiber is not worth it unless you are building a race car, IMO. Use urethane for all bumpers and ground effects. I am of the belief that stock is beautiful when it comes to exterior, so I don't love the ram air hood and stripes idea, but it's your car so do what you like!

As far as power plant goes, a new aluminator 5.0 would be awesome. There is just more work involved to make that new 5.0 work.

Just keep in mind that when this build is all said and done, you will have a $30k (or more) or foxbody that will only be worth that much to you. If you are okay with that, then knock yourself out and have fun with the resto! Don't forget to start a build thread.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

A couple of things here...

First, you need to absolutely decide if this is a street car or a race car. Your street car should at minimum have working A/C and heat, a radio, and should not have a roll cage or roll bar. Roll cages are not safe on the street (unless you and your passengers have full harnesses and helmets when you drive around) and they reduce the interior space for you and your passengers.

I would say yes to Fiberglass on the Hood and Hatch. Search on this site, I have mentioned my experience with Fiberglass hatches several times. You need to be careful with Carbon Fiber, because some of these hoods are just fiberglass with a carbon fiber skin. I don't know the weight savings with carbon fiber, so you have to decide, but you can figure to lose between 10-20 lbs. going from stock to fiberglass, depending on what hood and manufacturer you choose.

The Maximum Motorsports K-member would be a good idea. Depending on what you can afford, re-doing the whole suspension would be good from both a ride quality and performance standpoint. Of course, you can spend as much here as you spend on an engine, so it is up to you how far you want to go.

With the Lexan, I believe it is not safety inspection legal in most states, so be sure to think about that. Also, I have HEARD that Lexan will yellow/fog in the sun over a period of time. It will certainly be lighter than glass, though.

Someone else can chime in, but does a Coyote swap allow you to have A/C? If not, then skip that idea. I also think the T56 swap is overrated. Unless you can get a gear set that is set up differently, the 6th gear in a T-56 is hardly different from your T-5 overdrive gear, and you get a significant weight penalty. These swaps sound good, but I think they are generally lacking, especially for the extra expense.

You can paint your car at home, but it takes a fair amount of tools and setup. I replied recently to a post about painting your car to another member here, find it and read up!

 

[2000xp8]

That's about a 50 thousand dollar list of potential work.
Narrow down what is really important.

IMO, keep it simple to start with, paint the car, refresh the suspension (i'm with holic, simple solution may just be to buy a complete MM kit), do 5 lug brakes and discs all the way around, then drive it and as you go choose things you want to do to the engine.

Honestly, i wouldn't do almost anything on your entire list.
11.99 is not hard to achieve these days, no need to ruin an entire car by turning it into a race car.
Do not delete anything from the engine other than smog, removing PS, AC, gas tank is just plain old silly for a street car. No real benefit and one day, you will be sorry.

And if you do embark on this project, make sure you have all the parts necessary to at least put the car back together, BEFORE you take it apart, you don't want to just be the next guy from stangnet to have a pile of useless redneck junk in your driveway that you can't afford to finish.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

And if you do embark on this project, make sure you have all the parts necessary to at least put the car back together, BEFORE you take it apart, you don't want to just be the next guy from stangnet to have a pile of useless redneck junk in your driveway that you can't afford to finish.

This is so true. Life happens and it's easy to put a resto on hold for... ever.

I started hoarding parts a year before my car went up on jackstands. You need a solid gameplan before jumping in head first. Not only a gameplan for how you want to build the car, but a financial gameplan too. If the car will cost you $40k in the end and you figure it will take you 4 years to build it, that's still $10k a year that you will be spending if you spread everything out equally. Not chump change.

Too many builds die a slow death strictly because of the sticker shock people get once they get in knee deep.

 

[blackstangt]

Wiring
-Looking at a few options, what about an EEC tuner setup? I remember a tuner that allowed a few options on a single chip...
Fuel Tank or Fuel Cell?
-I found some 12-22 gallon fuel cells on Jegs for about $200. Anyone have experience with fuel cells?
Air Conditioning Yes/No? Aftermarket/OEM style?
-Has anyone seen a decent aftermarket kit? One that may be better than OEM parts?
Tubular K-Member? Manual Rack? Increase Steering Angle?
-I like the idea of a tubular K-member, with the bonus of creating space for other components. Ideas for increasing the steering angle if practical?
Roll Cage?
-I would like to maintain the street-ability of the car. What other methods are there for reinforcement? I have FRPP Sub-frame connectors.
Fiberglass
-Hood and hatch since they're not structural. Has anyone seen a test showing any improvement with a ram air kit (other than the manufacturers').
Glass/Plastic?
-I have an aviation background, and the plastic windows they use don't yellow, but scratch much easier than glass. I'm going to look into this.
Drivetrain - Performance Mods?
-Mods listed. Supercharger or Aluminum Block NA or Iron Block NA? Has anyone found strong aluminum direct replacement 302s?
Exhaust Mods?
-I'm tired of scraping the exhaust while having a car that isn't really low. Looking for custom solutions here, post- axle mufflers (w/fuel cell, could work well).
Paint?
-Suppliers?
Brakes?
5-lug rear disk conversion

 

[blackstangt]

If this is mainly a street car, I would put in a full sized tank. Refueling every 5 gallons will get old. Check out BBRC. They have awesome aluminum tanks.
For the body, carbon fiber is not worth it unless you are building a race car, IMO. Use urethane for all bumpers and ground effects. I am of the belief that stock is beautiful when it comes to exterior, so I don't love the ram air hood and stripes idea, but it's your car so do what you like!
Just keep in mind that when this build is all said and done, you will have a $30k (or more) or foxbody that will only be worth that much to you. If you are okay with that, then knock yourself out and have fun with the resto! Don't forget to start a build thread.

The BBRC tanks look like a good option as well.
I still have stock GT tail light covers so I'm with you there, that scheme has stuck with me since I was 17, but we'll see when the time comes.
My other mods were probably 10k, and the car wouldn't sell for that, so nothing new to me. Will do.

 

[blackstangt]

A couple of things here...
First, you need to absolutely decide if this is a street car or a race car. Your street car should at minimum have working A/C and heat, a radio, and should not have a roll cage or roll bar.
Someone else can chime in, but does a Coyote swap allow you to have A/C? If not, then skip that idea. I also think the T56 swap is overrated. Unless you can get a gear set that is set up differently, the 6th gear in a T-56 is hardly different from your T-5 overdrive gear, and you get a significant weight penalty. These swaps sound good, but I think they are generally lacking, especially for the extra expense.
You can paint your car at home, but it takes a fair amount of tools and setup. I replied recently to a post about painting your car to another member here, find it and read up!

What other reinforcements can I add?
The T-56 is more of a cool-factor mod, but I suppose it can wait until (years) after the resto since I have a TKO-600.
Will do.

 

[blackstangt]

IMO, keep it simple to start with, paint the car, refresh the suspension (i'm with holic, simple solution may just be to buy a complete MM kit), do 5 lug brakes and discs all the way around, then drive it and as you go choose things you want to do to the engine.

11.99 is not hard to achieve these days, no need to ruin an entire car by turning it into a race car.

Do not delete anything from the engine other than smog, removing PS, AC, gas tank is just plain old silly for a street car. No real benefit and one day, you will be sorry.

And if you do embark on this project, make sure you have all the parts necessary to at least put the car back together, BEFORE you take it apart, you don't want to just be the next guy from stangnet to have a pile of useless redneck junk in your driveway that you can't afford to finish.

I'd like to do everything at once rather than pull the engine twice.

I'm trying to maintain street-ability while making it faster. Ground clearance/AC/electrical/brakes/weight reduction should help.

What problems do people have with fuel cells or aftermarket tanks?

There's a high probability that I'll be stationed in North Dakota... I'm expecting to have some free time and going to have a garage out of necessity. Noted though.

 

[blackstangt]

This is so true. Life happens and it's easy to put a resto on hold for... ever.

I started hoarding parts a year before my car went up on jackstands. You need a solid gameplan before jumping in head first. Not only a gameplan for how you want to build the car, but a financial gameplan too. If the car will cost you $40k in the end and you figure it will take you 4 years to build it, that's still $10k a year that you will be spending if you spread everything out equally. Not chump change.

Too many builds die a slow death strictly because of the sticker shock people get once they get in knee deep.

Noted, I'm planning on having everything set up prior to the tear down.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

What other reinforcements can I add?
The T-56 is more of a cool-factor mod, but I suppose it can wait until (years) after the resto since I have a TKO-600.
Will do.

Realistically, for a street car you can do a quality set of subframe connectors and a strut tower brace. I've seen the debate on whether Strut tower braces are worthwhile, but Ford did put them on at the factory for some cars, so they must have felt it was worthwhile. Outside of that and welding up your seams, there just isn't going to be a whole lot without doing a cage, and that kills your streetability.

 

[2000xp8]

I'd like to do everything at once rather than pull the engine twice.

I'm trying to maintain street-ability while making it faster. Ground clearance/AC/electrical/brakes/weight reduction should help.

What problems do people have with fuel cells or aftermarket tanks?

There's a high probability that I'll be stationed in North Dakota... I'm expecting to have some free time and going to have a garage out of necessity. Noted though.

There really isn't problems with aftermarket tanks, but in most cases they are expensive to set up, and pointless. Simply put a gss340 in your stock tank, and be done with it, that's like $150 rather than $1000.

There are street cars, then there are race cars.
Street cars have A/C, PS, real doors, fenders, back seats, glass for windows.
Race cars have none of that but do have a roll bar.
You can delete some of the creature comforts and still have a street car, but there really isn't a reason to, a couple of tenths means nothing on the street, just devalues the car, that's about it.

Your ground clearance issue may very well be how the catback and the h pipe are bolted together, long tubes, or crappy springs. Most guys here have lowered cars and it isn't that big of a deal.

Making the car faster is pretty simple, buy the right h/c/i combo, and/or get a vortech S trim.

In all seriousness, i hope you are sitting on 30-50 grand so you can actually meet your goal of doing it in one clean swoop.
I've seen my share of ground up rebuilds, awesome cars, but wayyyyyyyy too expensive and time consuming, most took years and upwards of 50g's. A good complete paint job on a stripped car is going to cost you 10k alone.

Stages is the way to go, with the car running as much as possible.
Of course it's your car, do as you feel fit.
I just hate seeing foxbodies as i drive around town, weather worn, dry rotted tires with the front sitting 5 inches higher because it has no engine because an over ambitious owner didn't know what they were getting into.

 

[blackstangt]

Realistically, for a street car you can do a quality set of subframe connectors and a strut tower brace. I've seen the debate on whether Strut tower braces are worthwhile, but Ford did put them on at the factory for some cars, so they must have felt it was worthwhile. Outside of that and welding up your seams, there just isn't going to be a whole lot without doing a cage, and that kills your streetability.

I'm assuming the tubular K-member helps a bit, torque box reinforcement and sway bars as well. What about strengthening the apron area, to give fron to back (longitudinal) strength? I suppose I'll have to do some research on the weak areas... Don't want to Frankenstein it.

 

[blackstangt]

There really isn't problems with aftermarket tanks, but in most cases they are expensive to set up, and pointless. Simply put a gss340 in your stock tank, and be done with it, that's like $150 rather than $1000.

There are street cars, then there are race cars.
Street cars have A/C, PS, real doors, fenders, back seats, glass for windows.
Race cars have none of that but do have a roll bar.
You can delete some of the creature comforts and still have a street car, but there really isn't a reason to, a couple of tenths means nothing on the street, just devalues the car, that's about it.

Your ground clearance issue may very well be how the catback and the h pipe are bolted together, long tubes, or crappy springs. Most guys here have lowered cars and it isn't that big of a deal.

Making the car faster is pretty simple, buy the right h/c/i combo, and/or get a vortech S trim.

In all seriousness, i hope you are sitting on 30-50 grand so you can actually meet your goal of doing it in one clean swoop.
I've seen my share of ground up rebuilds, awesome cars, but wayyyyyyyy too expensive and time consuming, most took years and upwards of 50g's. A good complete paint job on a stripped car is going to cost you 10k alone.

Stages is the way to go, with the car running as much as possible.
Of course it's your car, do as you feel fit.
I just hate seeing foxbodies as i drive around town, weather worn, dry rotted tires with the front sitting 5 inches higher because it has no engine because an over ambitious owner didn't know what they were getting into.

My street car hasn't had A/C since before I bought it, no doubt it's nice to have though.

I expect the actual resto to cost around 15-25k, but that all depends on what I do. I'm still narrowing my focus. If it gets too pricey, things like a supercharger or T-56 (already scrapped) will wait until later. I've been pretty good at reducing costs to essentials in other projects, so I should be ok. I enjoy the moments when I find something at half the cost that's better than the planned item. I have stripped half the car once and replaced the A-Pillar and floor pan on the DS and swapped every mechanical piece of the car that allows it to move. I know what I'm getting into, it's not going to sit on blocks for a year.

 

[2000xp8]

My street car hasn't had A/C since before I bought it, no doubt it's nice to have though.

I expect the actual resto to cost around 15-25k, but that all depends on what I do. I'm still narrowing my focus. If it gets too pricey, things like a supercharger or T-56 (already scrapped) will wait until later. I've been pretty good at reducing costs to essentials in other projects, so I should be ok. I enjoy the moments when I find something at half the cost that's better than the planned item. I have stripped half the car once and replaced the A-Pillar and floor pan on the DS and swapped every mechanical piece of the car that allows it to move. I know what I'm getting into, it's not going to sit on blocks for a year.

Try not to be offended by this, but if you "knew what you were getting into", you wouldn't have asked about most of those mods, and you would have already known, 15 grand is no where near enough for a ground up rebuild.
You'll surpass your budget on the body and suspension alone, and you will still need wheels, tires, brakes, engine, trans, rear, etc..

 

[91TwighlightGT]

I think 25K gets it done if he does the work himself. 15K is unlikely if you do a quality build. I figure you will have 3-4K in suspension, 8-10 in engine and supporting parts, another 2-3 in transmission and clutch, and 3-4K in body, as the brand new fiberglass hood and hatch will be about 1K with shipping. Primer, base and clear will run 1-2K. You will have consumables and extras (oil, sandpapers, shop supplies, extra tools) for another 1K. Brakes, wheels, and tires... 2-3K I guess, maybe more depending on what you go with.

So,

on the low end...
3+8+2+3+1+2 = 19K minimum, assuming you do all the work yourself. This won't get done in a year unless you are a hermit who lives alone. Figure in at least 2 years of your weekends. Probably more.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Try not to be offended by this, but if you "knew what you were getting into", you wouldn't have asked about most of those mods, and you would have already known, 15 grand is no where near enough for a ground up rebuild.
You'll surpass your budget on the body and suspension alone, and you will still need wheels, tires, brakes, engine, trans, rear, etc..

My engine from oil pan to air filter (inculding turbo hot and cold side bits) has about that much into it.

A solid, show-quality 'restoration' with good parts is $30k at a minimum, plus upwards of 1,000 man-hours of labor. I'd like to see someone that has done it for less with zero corners cut.

 

[LX302]

I found with estimates on home projects, they usually end up being twice the price after your said and done, I figure car resto's are the same. You always run into problems. So heed the warning from the other posts on this thread. Do you really want to be driving around in a $25K-$40K foxbody that is worth a fraction of that?

 

[88LX5.Oh]

Try not to be offended by this, but if you "knew what you were getting into", you wouldn't have asked about most of those mods, and you would have already known, 15 grand is no where near enough for a ground up rebuild.
You'll surpass your budget on the body and suspension alone, and you will still need wheels, tires, brakes, engine, trans, rear, etc..

I completely agree with this. I've spent probably about $7,000 on my car (doing all work myself) and I still have a lot left to do. Haven't touched wheels/tires, suspension, or paint and body yet.

 

[blackstangt]

Try not to be offended by this, but if you "knew what you were getting into", you wouldn't have asked about most of those mods, and you would have already known, 15 grand is no where near enough for a ground up rebuild.
You'll surpass your budget on the body and suspension alone, and you will still need wheels, tires, brakes, engine, trans, rear, etc..

Asking was to get ideas, you're not following me on the essentials bit.