wildswing

Hi fellas,

I'm a newbie here in the 5.0 forum. This a kinda long, but it takes some 'splainin and I've tried to include as many questions as I can think of right now...

THE SET UP:

I'm looking for a Fox body for a daily summer driver that may possibly become more of a ground pounder later on or maybe even become the donor for a Factory Five Racing cobra replica.

Lately, I have been eyeballing a 1988 GT for sale locally (I'm in the Soo). The current owner is just a casual seller. Doesn't really want to sell it but needs to make room for a new project. Real car nut. Garage currently has the GT, a late 60s Cougar, a wild supercharged Fiero and someting else under a tarp. Says he bought the GT about a year ago from out of town who babied it. Never winter driven and says it's been oil sprayed every fall.

- 5.0 HO 5 spd hatchback with 155k kms (93k miles).
- No significant rust anywhere. Even the rockers and sills are blister free. All original paint except for a poorly done touch up on the rear left quarter.
- I took it for a drive. No creaks or rattles. Engine feels healthy and gearbox is smooth. I can't feel any slip in the clutch.
- He's asking $5500 CAD ($4300 USD). Looking at online ads in Auto Trader for Ontario, that seems to be about right.
- underbody/undercarriage is free of the corn flakes type rusty leprosy common to cars around here that have not been taken care of and winter driven (like my truck). There's just the slightest hint of surface rust on parts underneath.
- I do see a bit of an oil leak from the driver's side valve cover, there's some build up on the steering rack and the rear end looks wet, but that might be oil spray, maybe.

I plan on taking a closer look by getting it up on the lift at a friends shop. From what I've seen so far, it's the best Fox body I've seen, having been looking since the spring. Keep in mind, I live in a rfelatively remote small city so "keep looking, another will come along" advice can mean for a real long wait some times. Most cars I see that are of interest are 6 hours away!

ON TO MY QUESTIONS:

1 - Where can I find an online VIN decoder for this model year?

2 - Are there any specific things I should be looking for or inspecting in an '88 GT? How about significant TSBs or recalls?

3 - HO vs Non-HO EFI? Differences please? HO is a roller and Non is not, right? What about the rest of the mill. Is the HO a better platform for a build up? Why or why not?

3 - I know the speed density system will have to be changed if I want to modify the engine. I've seen a number of MASS conversion kits offered by FRP and others. Is there a prefered kit? Any to stay away from?

4 - If this turns out to be a "buyer", can you recommend any literature or publications for modifying/rebuilding the 5.0 HO or driveline?

5 - Was there a standard rear end ratio for the '88 GT or were there options?

Pictures of the car in question can be seen HERE

NegadivOne

Well you can go to carfax to run the VIN number and also the Chiltons repair manual will spell it all out for you. The HO also has a different firing order and considerably more horsepower. There was more than one gear ratio around but there should be a tag on the differential and it should say the gear ratio on the lower left corner of it...

TrippleWhiteGirly

Not to sound like an *** or anything, but that car isnt worth 2500. Looks like your typical run of the mill junk box. Definately would need a whole lot of cleaning up to be anything worth looking at, or driving. Just my 2 cents... I say stay away.. you can do much better for your money.

vfast

well you sound like as ***..that's the fun cleaning it up !. the price is a tad high and seems to have no mods to increase value as a racer but as far as a org. car..might be it..
.first see if you can pull the rear plug and put your finger to see if the grease is really low...it being wet is no biggie..you'll want to change gears and fluid anyway..they should be a tag on the rear or a code on the door..most had 2.73 or 3.08 niether a performance gear

.as far as it being a non-mass see with the cost of a conversion you can't find a 89 up for that price....never hurts to check you could always go carb!

87mustang347

yah dude that guys rippin u off. i bought my car bone stock with 98k miles on it for 3700. i woodnt pay more then for grand for that. but if u do get a non mass air car and want to get a conversion kit, i got mine from brothersperformance.com and it was at a good price with the size maf that i wanted

roundman

Being a conoisseur of the '88 Mustang, let me see what I can say here.
1-I have the factory manual and can decode the VIN number for you, just post it
2-mine was recalled for an ignition switch problem which was the only time I can recall that this happened and I'm the original owner and they did replace the mid pipe with cats under another emissions related warrantly recall around 45,000 miles
3-the HO is the best 5.0 option, it has the roller cam and the SEFI system
3-yes you have speed density, but you can still do a fair amount of mods to the car and engine without going to mass air just yet, things like a chip on the ECU, headers, larger throttle body, etc. I've all done and stayed speed density with no problems
4-there are too many books out there for this, but Ford Racing Performance Parts has one "The Official Ford Mustang 5.0L 1979-1993 Technical Reference and Performance Handbook" which is 440 pages with 272 photos which includes VIN decoding and TSB's. Retail price is $29.95.
5-most 5 speeds in '88 came with a 3.08 rear gear while the automatics had a 2.73 rear
Based on the photos, the car doesn't look bad at all and the mufflers are not stock either. I would say buy it and go for the cleanup and then plan some mods. My '88 GT AOD hatch which I bought new cost about $17,000 and it has over 108,000 miles on it now and I've been racing it since '94 and have over 400 passes on the stock engine with no problems at all.

wildswing

Thanks for all the replies fellas. Here's a picture of the door plate. The online decoders I've found say it's an 88 GT with a 5.0L...Duh! Stll looking for a better online numbers source, but in the mean time, what else can you tell me about it?



UPDATE:

I found a decoder at http://www.mustanggt.org/forms/88decode.htm

VIN 1FABP42E4JF291661

1FABP - USA, Ford Passenger Car, Active Seatbelts
42 - 3-door Hatchback (GT Series)
4 - V8, 5.0 Liter, 302 (EFI) Engine
J - 1988 model year
F - Dearborn Assembly Plant
291661 - Consecutive build number

DOOR TAG NUMBERS

DATE - 06/88 - Build month June 1988
EXT PAINT COLORS - 1C 73 - Black Titanium lower
DSO - B8 - Great Lakes (Ford of Canada) (District Sales Office)
Body - 61B - Hatchback
VR - blank - No convertible
MLDG - NNN - Titanium/Red (tutone only)
INT TRIM - PG - Smoke Cloth (Articulated Sport)
R - 9 - AM/FM Electronic Stereo Cassette
S - C - Sunroof
AX - Z - 3.08 rear end gears (Traction Lok)
TR
2 - 5-speed T-5 manual transmission
BB - front spring codes ????
BB - rear spring codes ????

It couldn't decode the spring codes; both BB. Any idea what those mean?

roundman

the 1FA in the VIN means Ford Motor Company, USA; the B means active seat belts; the P means passenger car; the 42 means Mustang line, LX series with additional optional exterior nameplates of GT; the E in the VIN means 5.0L EFI HO engine; the J means it was built in 88; F means built in Dearborn; the 291661 is the production sequence number
the 61B means it is a hatchback body style
the lack on any numbers to the left of the 88 just above the DSO means it was not a special order vehicle
the 1C means exterior paint is black, the NNN bodyside moulding is not in my book so I can't tell you what that is
the PG int. trim means P= b/cloth articulated seats and the G means smoke in color
the Z under AX means you have a traction lock with 3.08 gears
the 88 above DSO means which district sales office that ordered the car but 88 doesn't show up in my book
the 9 under the r for radio doesn't show up in my book
the C under the S means clear sunroof (I think)
the 2 under the TR refers to the transmission but doesn't show up in my book either. the BBBB are the spring codes

wildswing

Thanks roundman. I ended up finding a pretty good online decoder and update my previous post with the info it gave me. The only mystery is the meaning of the BB spring codes. Thanks again!

roundman

the first two are the front springs, left and right, and the second two are the rear springs, left and right.
the B on the front springs means part no. E5SC-TA, catch word MOV, 8G4 LH and 9G4 RH ( all fronts are '5310'- left (267), right (268))
on the rear it means part no. E5SC-CA, catch word MID. 8PV LH AND 0PV RH (all rears are '5560')
I'm sure someone at Ford know what all this means, it has to do with spring rates and heights I'm sure.