darryldale

Good morning all from Ontario.

Have always wanted an older 5.0L mustang and one a couple blocks over from my house has been put on the market. Looking for feedback on whether or not it is a good deal. Here is a cut & paste from the ad:

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1987 Mustang GT 5.0L, Auto.

New items include Vogtland springs, KYB AGX adjustable gas shocks and struts, flowmaster exhaust, K&N filter, urethane bushings, power steering rack, head lights, fog lights, tail lights. Lowered 1-3/8". Sony X-Plode AM/FM/CD. Rubber like new. Sub frame connectors (not welding on yet)

Runs solid, no modifications done to drive train.

No holes inside or out (interior needs a shampoo), hasn't seen snow or rain since I bought it 4 years ago.
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I dropped over and looked at the car and can see no visible rust or what could be major bodywork. The car started right up and settled into a nice idle.

My concerns with the car are that it is an automatic (oh well, can live with that) and the fact that it has 188,000KM on it. Should that be cause for concern? It's only going to be a summer car putting on about 10,000KM a year so I won't be racking up huge mileage. Is there anything I should be looking for when I drop over to see it tonight?

Long range I would probably be looking to drop 3-5K into Engine work. Is that a reasonable figure to get it pushing over 300 horse?

I can get it at what I think is a half decent price.

Any thoughts or opinions before I pull the trigger?

Darryl

nitrous_bob

you DO NOT WANT an aod car.

it will run like it is lacking 100 hp due to the auto trans. now if the deal was good enough and you didnt mind doing either a t5, or other tremec 5 speed then fine. if you keep it aod, it'll cost you an ez $2500 to have it capable of even handling stock hp without breaking. lentech in canada is the shizz though. len builds the best auto around and will guarantee it too.

mileage is not that bad really... mine has 150k on it, you are around 155k-120k i would say ???

i have sprayed 3 5.0's with over 100,000 miles no probs

3-5k in motor work will get you a $h!tload more than 300 hp. hci will get you that... or just spend $500 and squirt it with a 75 shot.

anyways... the tranny is big drawback for me. i have owned 2 aod cars and would never attempt building one again. they are horribly geared and extremely weak.

darryldale

Thanks for the info.

I had pretty much decided to pass on the car and you've confirmed my gut feeling. I'm looking for a summer toy and since it is something I'll probably keep for a while don't want to "settle" with an automatic. I've always driven a manual (even my current 2007 civic - family mobile) and am now on the hunt for a late 80's 5L with a manual transmission and not a lot of miles.

I really like the looks of the late 80's mustangs and not so much a big fan of the newer models. There seem to be plenty of them for sale around 4-5K in really nice shape and there are even a couple in the 10K range that are already done up with supercharger and a lot of other goodies.

Darryl

9redfox3

Keep looking you'll find a nice one sooner or later be patient........good luck Darryl

phares_b@yahoo.com

Use craigslist. I looked for over 5 months before I found one I wanted. I must have looked at 10 cars. Most of them are wore out but there are some good ones out there.

alexyikes00

yea, just be patient... i looked on craigslist for about 6 months before i bought one, lol looked at abunch of junk, then i had to drive like 75 miles for the right one..just stay ready. g.l

Blown408

I would pass on the AOD. Eventually you would be putting a five speed in it anyways- Some bad spots to look for on these cars are the passenger pillar right where the front of the door and the fender meet- Open up the passenger door and basically look for at the door hinge area. This is one of the worst spots on Fox Bodys- Also dont be afraid to get the owners to jack the car up or put it on a hoist. Look at the battle boxes- this will tell you how bad the car has been beat on. Look really good on the whole underbody- It is really hard to find a clean Fox Body now a days- People that have clean ones want an arm and a leg, but they will sell at the right price if they sit on it long enough, or you get the people that hype up their cars and when you go look at them they are just beat to hell. Look at the front fraim rails also behind the front tires- Right behind the front struts- they are notorious to rot there also- Just be patient and you will find the right one- Everything is for sale now a days but you got to set a price on what you want- My advice if you are going to throw a lot of money at this is to find one that is built already- this will save you in the long run. You just have to be patient- With todays world, people getting divorces and losing their jobs, you can find cars out there that have had just tons of money dumped in to them going for dirt cheap- I just stress patience man!! Racingjunk.com is also a good place to look also!! Good Luck!!

Jfsram

I would NOT pass up on a rust free car in Ontario for the right price but since you didn't mention it. That would be hard to say.

A manual transmission swap is easy and there are LOTS of used parts our there since many fast Mustangs eventually swap to automatics anyways.

Where in Ontario and have you looked at GTAMC.com