Prime'z 87 Mustang T-Top GT

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
So. Small update.

Had the front end in the air for a few months now. Complete rebuild. New bushings, tie rod ends, springs, rotors, and struts.

The 3rd corner is now complete. Waiting on one more strut to come in and new sway bar end links. Then it's time to bleed the brakes and go for a drive.

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Edit: Ha! I just said a few months. More like almost a year.

/slow project is slow
 
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caseycamby

Suspension Lift
Location
Marion, NC
Mmm.. IRS. Pretty awesome that it's all fairly bolt on. I'm not a big Mustang guy myself but you did do some good work to that thing!
 

gamecock257

Skid Plates
Location
Clinton, SC
I can't believe I've never read through this even though I knew you had a Mustang.

You can definitely tell that this was pretty well planned, even if you have ripped the interior out several times lol. You have a goal and have stuck to that. The modern suspension with that Cobra IRS is sweet, especially since you want more of an autocross setup. It's nice to see someone go a different direction with a fox instead of a full blown drag car.

Keep up the good work man!
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Thanks man. At this point, it's just an ongoing thing. I know I'm never going to sell it so I'm just going to do things as funds are available. The IRS is something I've always wanted to do. I still think I want to do a Terminator or Coyote swap. Eventually.
 

gamecock257

Skid Plates
Location
Clinton, SC
The terminators have always been almost like a mythical thing to me, I guess since I was just getting into the car thing when they were new. I still like them, and its so easy to just put on a pulley and put 500 or more to the wheels.

But being a fan of high revving, high compression n/a motors, I really dig the coyote.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Yeah. I like the coyote motor. But my mythical magazine article headline has always been "Project T-Top Terminator."

Especially since I can get the Cervinis hood that is a mock up of the 03-04 Terminator Cobra hood.
 

CaptainMorgan_SOS

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Alamogordo, NM
Thanks man. At this point, it's just an ongoing thing. I know I'm never going to sell it so I'm just going to do things as funds are available. The IRS is something I've always wanted to do. I still think I want to do a Terminator or Coyote swap. Eventually.

Hey, I've got a buddy up in Norfolk who has been thinking of selling his Coyote pullout motor... He bought it to swap into his '74 Bronco, but decided he wanted to just throw a supercharged 351 in it and go; he didn't want to have to deal all the modifications it would have taken to do the Coyote swap. If you are interested, let me know and I will see if he is really interested in selling.

He has contemplated throwing his middle finger up to the world and drop it in his Toyota Tacoma Xrunner ;) I voted for him to do that, but it would be even more work than swapping it in the Bronco; people have at least done that before.
 

CaptainMorgan_SOS

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Alamogordo, NM
Will do. I'll try to hit him up this week to see if he is still thinking of parting with it or if he has other plans for it. So far as I know off the top of my head, its a Coyote pulled from a 2013 Mustang GT (or 2012, can't quite remember) mated to a 6 speed (not a 6 speed from the Mustang, this he bought separate, but he also has a 4L80E sitting in the garage that mates up to it). He's got headers for it, the ECU, the pedals, and a few other goodies.
 

kirk

Butterfly King
Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Allen, Texas
I absolutely love Fox Body mustangs. My dad and I worked on his '93 Teal Cobra for years till some drunk driver hit him one night and totalled it out. I was crushed. Lately, ive been watching craigslist for one as a project. I love everything about yours.
 

Tex Terra

Bought an X
I Love the Fox Body mustangs. I've had three myself and sure do miss driving them around. I'm not a fan of the new mustangs aesthetics but for some reason the fox body just stuck. Damn toys too much $$$. I can't do the fast car thing anymore lol too much money and too many troubles with the law. Nowadays you don't just get a ticket. More like tickets, car impounded and a trip to a cell argh!
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Here we are again. Been thinking a lot about @kirk and his updates. So I'll try and do a more prose-like thing. See if I can compete.

Car hasn't been started in 18 months. Thankfully in that time it's been safe inside a garage again. Something needs to happen with it. Get a wild hair up my ass. Had to buy a new battery. Changed the oil. Guess what. She fired right up. Like she didn't miss a beat. Cold starts are still hard. I have a vacuum leak somewhere.

I rolled both of the rear fenders. The 275s out back still rub. Though at least I'm not taking chucks out of the tires anymore. I think I just need to go to 245s on all 4 corners. Either that or change the wheels, which I don't want to do.

Moving to CO has presented a problem for this car. Emissions testing. This thing has an off road H-Pipe (no cats), no smog pump (OE setup required for OBD I cars here), and currently no catback since I didn't ever get it done when I put the IRS in. So it's not street legal here. shiat, it sill has the VA antique tags on it.

I've thought about selling it a few times. Because its still sitting. But at the same time, I need a daily. Driving the X to work every day is putting lots of miles/wear on it that I don't need. I feel like out here the X needs to be more of a toy and less of a daily.

I think about just dumping it sometimes. The title says "water damage" on it. So I won't be able to get worthwhile money for it.

It's going to cost me $2k just to get the exhaust/smog situation sorted so I can register it. And I have to pull the dash because the mix door on the HVAC is seized and I accidentally stripped the plastic gear in the HVAC controls trying to break it loose. The cooling system needs a good refresh. And it currently has no air conditioning, which we desperately need in the summer here. It still doesn't have any interior in it, but I have everything I need to put it back together.

But I keep thinking. This car has been through hell and back. But a fresh battery and she's ready to go again. I need a reliable daily? Why not this? Sure, it doesn't work when it snows. Which it does here. A lot. But I have the X for that. Is there any reason I can't drive this wonderful car 20 mintues to work every day I can? Get 30MPG highway (because at 60MPH, a fox can do that). Everything but the body has been replaced. Engine, Transmission, rear end, front end, everything.

This shiat keeps me up at night.

As I sit on the workbench in my garage, staring at this thing. I still don't know what do to.

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Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
ufck. I haven't updated this thread in damn near 4 years. Not that there is much to update about.
 
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kirk

Butterfly King
Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Allen, Texas
Man I got all excited when i saw the bump. I have to say, I have wondered why you dont get it together good enough to daily. What a cool car!

Also, Camerons signature (first page) sucks, and photobucket ate yo pics.


Just glad you still have it. :)
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
1st post pictures fixed.

Cat'd H-Pipe & new O2s Ordered. $350. Not terrible. Lets give this a shot.

I need to get the entire car off the ground so I can do the exhaust. Maybe I'll buy some of those really tall truck jackstands and see how high I can get it.

Also going to pull the drivers side fender liner. There's some wires in there that need to be rerouted.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
This is back on the table again.

As soon as the Titan swap is done, the Mustang will be next. I haven't done anything with it since last year. Well. I welded the parking brake handle for the disc brakes. Finally.

But I'm determined. I want to drive it. I miss driving it.

Still no smog pump. Plus I have to play some catalytic games now. But I've got a fix for that. @kirk, we've already talked about this.

The real question.

Do I do what I have always wanted to and put longtubes and a catted h pipe on it? $2k. Or do I not bother with the headers, replace the H-pipe with one that looks stock so there's less questions and do the cat back. $1k.

The 04 Cobra cat back I want is $800 either way. But I can leave the shorties on it with a full 4-cat H pipe for cheap. It'll look stock and will be less likely to bring questions.

The alternate is BBK longtubes and catted H for a grand. But will it pass a sniffer? Will that make the inspector do a more through look? I don't know.

If I make it look stock will the inspector just smog it and be done?

Dilema. But I want to drive this thing as often as possible.
 

kirk

Butterfly King
Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Allen, Texas
I am happy to see an update posted.

I sorta lean the most stock looking way, but I dont know how Colorado works. Also, (forgive my ignorance) do they look close at antique vehicles at all? Do they have to smog where you are? That would be a deciding factor for sure.

Man I want a Fox Body (no you dont, you want to finish the Valiant) bad!

And I am 100% in on anything that helps.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
We do have smog. Every 2 years. Antique is 35 years. Which is next year. The only thing that does for me is a special plate and smog every 4 years.

If I can get it through smog with the crazy aftermarket stuff, I'll be able to do it for the life of the vehicle since everything will be new.

But part of me thinks that I'll need to make it look as stock as possible to avoid a bunch of scrutiny that will inevitably lead to someone complaining about the lack of a smog pump.

But man I want long tubes. Haha. shiat.
 

Xterrorista

Charcoal Briquette
Supporting Member
Location
Denton, TX
This "story" was a memory stirer.. I had an '87 GT done up as a spitting image of the Saleen. 9lb Paxton, 3.55s. 419rwhp, too much for an 18yo. I learned my respect for the pedal at an early age. Uni-frames are unforgiving.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
So I have a build thread on StangNet. Which I've been a member of since 99.

This feels really passive aggressive and I don't know why I'm being talked to like this.

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