My Fox Mustang project.

[donsrods]

I mentioned in the upholstery section that I am fixing up a 93 Mustang to be my daily (fun) driver. I was given the car in return for a 460 Ford engine and transmission that I had machined a bunch of years ago and gave to my Son Don for his Capri project.

I found a 94 roller cam 351 Ford motor on Craigslist and dropped it off at the machine shop to have it bored, line honed, cleaned up, cam bearings, crank done, etc. I called yesterday and it is done so I will probably pick it up Monday. For a transmission I will probably use an AOD for the gas milage thing, unless I find a good C4 somewhere.

The car is nothing special, just a fairly low milage 4 cylinder LX fastback, but I like those because they are simple and usually not abused like the 5.0 cars are. I got the interior scrubbed up and it came out pretty good, and I found some brand new take out front bucket seats on Craigslist that I am going to run.

I am going to stay mild on the motor, but will install some subframe connectors as they really make the car a whole lot stiffer. I don't like the lowered Mustangs as much as one sitting just a tad higher than stock, so I will probably install some heavier springs all around to get that look. I will have to run a 3 or 4 inch cowl induction hood to clear the 351 and Edelbrock intake setup, but otherwise I am going to leave the body stock. Maybe some wheels and fatter rear tires just to clean it up a little more.

Here are a couple of pictures, nothing that a zillion other Mustangs don't look like. I am going to paint it a different color and am between white, silver, and yellow. My Son Dan had one that he sprayed a nice yellow and it was a very sharp car, so I am leaning tht way.

Don

 

[440Clark]

Looks sweet, is that color Biminy Blue? My buddy had one that colo back in the day and it looked nice polished up. I have a Fox body I'm trying to finish up too Don check it out.

 

[440Clark]

Can't seem to post pictures, that's okay it's not much to look at anyway!

 

[hotrod preacher]

good lookiong place to start...

my lil brother just bought a 90 notch back (aka coupe) to tinker with...
he still hasnt decided what to put in it... but did NOT like my suggestion of an sbc[ddd [cl

 

[rex1927]

I like fox body mustangs

Nice car.
I always wanted a fox body,but never found one when I had cash to spend.One of my neighbors has a 1985 with a tough sounding 302 behind his house,but he wants way too much for it.
He will probably sell it for scrap one day instead of selling it to me at fair price.

 

[2.3Turbo_T]

Don, that's a very clean LX! With some power under the hood they're a blast to drive! Don't know if you've seen mine or not. It's an '89 'vert. With the price of gas here in California (special blends make us even more expensive than he rest of the country), I don't even consider a V8 anymore. I went with a built and turbo'd 2.3 liter four cylinder. Haven't dyno'd it yet but I figure 350 hp at the flywheel. Best part is 26-28mpg on the freeway. This thing scoots!

 

[jcdvw66]

Can't seem to post pictures, that's okay it's not much to look at anyway!

Hey I think we met at the Detroit Autorama this weekend. Im building an 89 LX. I brought it with me from Arizona and have owned it for several years. It's super clean and was my daily for a while but I only drove it 2 or 3 times here in Michigan then parked it and started the disassembly. It was set up for road course/autocross with Maximum Motorsports and Tokico suspension parts but I'm gonna go more street/strip with it. I'd like it to be a 10 second street car.

 

[Tim...Ok]

good lookiong place to start...

my lil brother just bought a 90 notch back (aka coupe) to tinker with...
he still hasnt decided what to put in it... but did NOT like my suggestion of an sbc[ddd [cl

I have always liked the fox body cars, though never owned one.. Buddy of mine has one with a 598 BBC in it..runs outlaw 10.5 with it, it's hell on back bumpers

 

[440Clark]

2.3 turbo t, wow, what an awesome street car. The white car with the hot suspension is slick too. BTW jcdvw66, if you want to unload some off those handling parts, I might be interested, oh yeah and we may have met behind the red, white and blue Ford pick-up?

 

[jcdvw66]

2.3 turbo t, wow, what an awesome street car. The white car with the hot suspension is slick too. BTW jcdvw66, if you want to unload some off those handling parts, I might be interested, oh yeah and we may have met behind the red, white and blue Ford pick-up?

Yes sir that was me. I've already sold all the suspension pieces from my Mustang.

 

[Rat'l Trap]

Another 5.0 LX formerly in the house. Saw this on Craigslist at 10AM one day at work. I went to see it at lunchtime and bought it before 3PM. 15 yrs old and under 60K miles. It had been babied. I hung a few goodies on it but it just never did anything for me, so I sold it to a 67 year old woman who wanted it for cruise nights!

 

[donsrods]

You guys posted up some really sharp Mustangs there, gives me some incentive to get going on mine. I am not doing much on mine until after Billetproof next Saturday, then I plan to start on the body.

We went to the Mustang Nationals at Bradenton Motorsports Park last weekend and they had a swap meet. I found a mint set of 16 inch Pony rims for $ 200 that don't even need painted, and my Son Don found some parts he needs for the 460 Capri he is building.

I hate body work, but I am going to at least prep it and then have some shop spray it for me.

Don

 

[railroad]

Don,
This may be of interest to you. The OP is very up front and helpful to any level of Ford small block builder.

good luck,

http://forums.corral.net/forums/5-0...-must-read-psa-windsor-roller-block-guys.html

 

[donsrods]

Wow, that is pretty interesting about that crack he mentioned. It is too late for me to check, my cam bearings are already in. I guess I will just have to cross my fingers. Since I am not planning to abuse this one as it will be my daily driver, I hope I am ok.

Today I scored an 8.8 with 3.73 gears to replace the 7.5 rear in the car now. My Son Don is redoing his Capri (will be running a 460 Ford in it) and he bought a new housing that he will be outfitting with 31 spine axles and all new internals , so he didn't need the rear that was in the Capri. It has welded tubes and c clip eliminators already, so I simply need to bolt it in and go. More rear end than I need, but it will never break on me because of how I intend on using the car.

Don

 

[CR55]

Wow, that is pretty interesting about that crack he mentioned. It is too late for me to check, my cam bearings are already in. I guess I will just have to cross my fingers. Since I am not planning to abuse this one as it will be my daily driver, I hope I am ok.

Today I scored an 8.8 with 3.73 gears to replace the 7.5 rear in the car now. My Son Don is redoing his Capri (will be running a 460 Ford in it) and he bought a new housing that he will be outfitting with 31 spine axles and all new internals , so he didn't need the rear that was in the Capri. It has welded tubes and c clip eliminators already, so I simply need to bolt it in and go. More rear end than I need, but it will never break on me because of how I intend on using the car.

Don

Toooo funny Don! You know you'll be running it.....you can't stop yourself...... I had an 85 GT a few years ago.....running little piece it was.....shoulda kept it.

 

[donsrods]

What, ME !!!!!!!!!! You know I never abuse my cars.


Don

 

[Rat'l Trap]

Mine came with 2.73's and I switched to 3.73's. It helped, but dont think you're gonna set the world on fire with them behind a 302. A 351 should be a little better . Also, shorty headers are a dud, and the AOD needs to be setup right, and with the proper torque converter. The good news is that the LX is lighter than the GT, and from my perspective nicer looking to boot. Free hint: Borla mufflers are too quiet for that setup. Quieter than stock even. Bad move on my part.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Fox Mustangs are supposed to be abused, no? [ddd

Being a Chevy guy, I didn't appreciate the Mustang until we got one. Now I get it. Here's our father/son project '79. It was a basket case when we got it. A virtual dog's breakfast, and a mixture of new and old as you can see by its exterior. To keep a long story short, it's come a long way from what it was. It's a driver now, but I consider it a work in progress.

Shown creating its own weather.

These cars remind me of the V8 Vegas we used to play with years ago. (More fun than a barrel of monkeys).

Thanks for posting this thread, Don. The boy and I will be watching!

 

[CR55]

Cool Doc.....that's what you're supposed to do with mustangs.....run em

 

[donsrods]

It's no wonder they run so well, there is nothing to them. My Son Don was removing stuff from his Monday night in preparation for putting in the 10 point roll bar, and it pushes around the shop like a feather.

You guys have some really cool ones posted up so far.

Don