Like 3-4 months ago I made a thread talking about how I bought an 88 Mustang LX for $100 from a family friend to learn how to fix cars on. Well the weathers warm and I just clicked submit on my final assignment for school so I have 4 months of weekend free time. I was going going to pick up a tool kit after work tomorrow to start Saturday. Is this a good one?
m.homedepot.com
I have a go pro to take some good video and make a YouTube channel. I promised I would.
I looked at this one as well. It doesn't look as good as the first though.
m.sears.com
Also another picture after a recent spray down. It was covered in pollen
I remember you op. What kind of condition is the car in now? When was the last time it drove?
Ditch the rims.
My tablet is slow and not loading your links.
You need standard and metric wrenches and sockets, couple extensions, good ratchet and a breaker bar.And a 12 point 12mm shallow socket (if the set is 6 point).
There's very few sizes used over the entire car, so don't stress.
I'm sure the links have Allen's and crap you'll rarely, if ever, use.
Depending on what you really get into, on occasion you'll need "tamper resistant torx" bits or standard ford (seatbelt is size 50 torx, tfi module on distributor is either a tiny tamper resistant torx or like a 5.5 mm that you'll need a thin wall socket to get to, total pita).
Get a nice all-aluminum radiator. Not some garbage ford racing pos- you can get at least a fluidyne for $250 if you shop around.
Stay away from "upgrades" for awhile, they'll just cause issues.
Shit like injector/maf combos that are "tuned" for the stock ECU DO NOT function correctly.
Look into a moate's quarter horse or a twEECer RT (don't waste money on a stock twEECer that doesn't do data logging). These are piggy-back computers that override the stock ecu and you can program with a laptop to correctly tune for mods without having someone burn a chip that has to be replaced next time you change some minor component.
I had it towed when I bought it back in early Feb. the previous owner said it was sitting for like 7 years. I figured 4 months wouldn't make or break it at that point.
At bare minimum, I want to get the car running in a respectable condition before I consider "modding" it. That term is a little loose in this case because who knows what may be replaced.
Get ready to drop the gas tank and replace it or clean it and also replace the fuel pump.
Do the normal tuneup stuff. Oil, coolant, trans and diff fluid, along with plugs, wires, air filter, etc.
ausfag here i am jelly but that engine needs alot of work to make power.
What are your plans?
My suggestion would be this small list
>Engine tune
>big brakes
>wide wheels
>coilovers
>engine intake restriction removal + headers + tune
>???
how does it run anyway? Or it doesnt.
Drain oil, fuel and change tranny fluid (auto right)
End game for any build is some sort of cam + big forced induction
I can tell you right now that very little, if anything, has been replaced.
The wheels are not correct, I'm sure someone came across them with decent tires and just swapped them over.
Differential, transmission (if manual) and fuel pump will be your main concerns.
Aforementioned tfi module and coil if you have intermittent spark/stalling issues. Ecu is somewhat common but usually mis-diagnosed.
Don't buy an auto parts store clutch cable if it needs replacing. Don't buy one from the ford dealer either.
Get one from steeda or saleen.
Clutch quadrant sometimes strips out the self adjusting mechanism. Replace with aluminum quadrant from steeda if that happens.
Who knows if it runs or not right now, honestly. That's part of the fun. My brother and I plan on making a project out of it. We both know "about" cars but don't know really how to do things ourselves, so this is going to be our hand on learner without having to risk fucking up either of our DDs. Back when I originally posted two anons gave really helpful advice so I screen capped it. Here's one.
And here's the other. What do you guys think?
Isn't it a good thing if not much has been replaced when going into a project?
I'll go ahead and give backstory again to help anyone who wants to give advice. A friend of my uncles sold me and my brother this manual transmission '88 Mustang LX for $100 that has been sitting since 2010. It has 140k original miles one owner and the guy was having knee issues and could no longer drive a manual, which Is why he parked it. completely understandable.
So I'm going in this blind, I know how to do oil and I've done front brakes before but besides that I have basically no automotive experience that's the purpose of me and my brother taking this on.
Take us some more pics then.
Sounds easy tbqhfams
sounds good, make sure the gear oil in the manual isnt full of shit may be give it a flush
No, it doesn't need a lot of work. The stock heads are the biggest bottleneck. And subframe connectors for rigidity.
I'd consider having to get the block reinforced "a lot of work".
A big cam+boost will SPLIT YOUR BLOCK IN TWO LIKE A GODDAMN LOG.
That being said, you can do a lot worse than a 5.0 mustang to learn to tinker and be a "car guy". Personally I've never had to deal with such things as distributors though.
What the fuck are you talking about you stupid cunt you can't "reinforce" a block. You're stuck with what you have.
Mustang 302s are good for about 400hp if you want them to last after the upgrades.
I'd replace the fuel tank asap honestly, good chance to inspect for rust in the rear. I recently did mine in my fox. Just a warning, when you get it driveable and you start noticing that when you take right hand turns at decent speed that the car suddenly starts bogging down, then the baffling in the fuel tank broke loose. Shit happened to me and took forever for me to figure out what the issue was.
Yes you can reinforce the block you stupid faggot. They make girdling for 302s. It literally straps the block together to handle more power.
Your dumb as fuck too. You don't need to fucking reinforce the god damn block unless you're going with big boost. Literally zero reason to do it with the standard turbo kits and H/C/I swap.
I hope you did the wheel bearings with the front rotors and didn't reuse the existing ones. Rebuild the drums next. It's a pain in the ass but doable with zero knowledge of drum brakes. Watch youtube videos to understand what you're doing, and take pictures of the springs after you take the drum off.
Other things to consider:
Transmission fluid
Diff fluid
Flush coolant system
Fresh spark plugs
Replace gas tank, fuel pump, and fuel sending unit
Run channel weather strips are probably rock hard plastic so good idea to change those out unless you like leaks
Replace broken vacuum lines as you find them, and you will find them, or at the very least cap them off to stop vacuum leaks
Run some seafoam through the oil, gas tank, and brake booster line
If any doors rattle then replace the door latch bushings, same thing with the hatch
Easy fun things to do that might make a noticeable difference in driveability:
New throttle body
New intake
New shifter
Subframe connectors
+1 for short shifter, literally completely changed how my gearbox felt at least with a t56 and chinese short shifter
You should see how much it would cost to just buy what you need separately instead of getting one of those overpriced kits stuffed with useless stuff.
I think Mustangs had a T5. Could be wrong. I'd just like to point out that getting the car in good working order should take priority over haphazardly slapping on mods that don't actually make the car drivable, because who knows what shape this car is in now.
Sorry yeah but same thing.
Also this
Start by syphoning whatever old gas is in the tank out, putting a couple gallons of premium in there with an appropriate amount of pic related from Lowe's and a fresh battery and see if you can't get it to start. If you get that far roll it back and forth a little bit to see how the brakes are doing. If they aren't dragging and grab okay try driving it around the block to see how the suspension sounds and how the power steering pump is doing. I may be optimistic but I doubt it's all THAT fucked up from 7 years of sitting.
Buy some craftsman tools, miles better than harbor garbage and has a lifetime warranty on all tools.
>paying 10x more for chink tools
yea before they go bought out sure.
this was solid advise back when craftsman was made in America, all their new shit is made in chiwan.
Horror freight also has lifetime warranty and cost way less, craftsman quality has gone way the fuck down since being bought out by Stanley Black & Decker.
You're basically paying for a meme name at this point. You could easily see this by taking a Craftsman wrench from the 1990s and comparing it with one made today.
At least recommend some good American brands like Cornwell
What do you think about the husky set I linked in my op?
This Pittsburgh set looks pretty good too for the same price as the husky set.
m.harborfreight.com
>boost
You don't need boost to make power in these things. You just need to make them breathe better. Gt40 heads and intake, even a mild cam, headers, and a decent exhaust will push you over 300 crank. That's plenty fast in a ~3200lb car.
>girdling for 302s
I'm not sure that I could sleep well at night with money invested into a girdled block.
Kobalt has a lifetime warranty on all their shit. Beat that.
dont do the throttle body the intake opening is larger than the stock one and just take off the intake silencer if it still has it dont get a cold air intake
ayy lmao the 302 is good anywhere from 450-500rwhp the girdles literally dont do shit everyone agrees that they just keep the block together after it splits
>dont do the throttle body
Why not, it's a cheap and easy to do thing. It's literally just getting ready for other work down the road. Not to mention his throttle body is probably garbage for being 25 years old an sitting for a while.
>dont get a cold air intake
Stock air box is ugly as fuck and I wouldn't be surprised if it was falling apart for him. Again, cheap, easy, and looks good. Also I was referring to the manifold.
And yes, you will get small gains from both of those even with a stock engine.
Oh it reinforces the block and allows a higher tolerance, but yes it doesn't address the inherent flaw in the block hence the eventual split and the girdle keeping it together. It's a bandaid.
So does the Pittsburgh brand sold at harbor freight.