02stangdude

Iv been searchin for a real cheap fox body for a while now and finally care across 3 but i dont know whats the better deal. My plan is to shed as much weight as possible, gears, slicks skinnies and a 150 shot and some other bolt ons and see what i can get.

1st car- 1991 lx. Full exhaust, 373 gears, 98k on the car but im told it has a 5.0 out of a lincoln? Not sure if its the same engine or not so im a little iffy about it. Cai, new clutch and some msd stuff. I can pick it up for $1000 but at 3000rpm the car starts to jerk around..the kid says it didnt do this untill he put in the msd stuff. Could be a eSy fix but might b a nightmare.

2nd car- 1992 gt. 373 gears full exhaust. Kid says he did a cobra swap but he dosnt seem to know what hes talking about. It does have a vobra manifold on it tho. New clutch and trans. Pretty clean interior. $1200. Not sure how many miles. Says it runs and drives fine.

3rd car-1989 lx. Full exhaust. Kid dosnt know about the gears. Drag lites front and back. And thats all he knows about it. Says it runs and drives good. $1500.

bluebeastsrt

Just do einy meni mini moe! Most likely they are all hunks of **** for $1500 or less.

9redfox3

Keep looking !

02stangdude

What are some things i should keep an eye out for when im lookin for a car? I dont care what shape the body or interior is in. Just want it to run good and drive good.

mjr46

a 16-18 year old selling it....lol

DeathRattle

02stangdude, of the 3 you mentioned I would pick between #2 and #3...that's assuming they have no driveability issues. Finding out what gears a car has is easy. Look up what RPMs each different gear would have at 50 or 60 MPH and take the car for a drive. Or lift the back, mark the shaft and then rotate the tire ( I haven't done this in about 15 years so I'm trying to remember how to do it as I'm typing). See how many times the shaft rotates for 1 tire revolution and that will tell you the gears. But you should take the cars for a drive. If the body and interior is clean and the car idles, shifts, runs fine and the heat, A/C, radio and other accessories operate properly then you basically found what you're looking for. Even if it has some quirks you still have to remember those cars are 20 years old and you're only paying $1,000 to $1,500 for it...and you might be able to talk them down.

02stangdude

DeathRattle thanks alot for the response. I went to look at #3 yesterday and im considering buying it. The guy said make a offer so i said 1000 and he said 1300 then later he agreed to 1100. He said he bought the car just for the motor and was gona scrap the rest. It starts right up and sounds good but wouldnt idle. Could have been because it was real cold and hadnt been started in quite a while plus it has a cam. One front tire is flat so i couldnt take it out but he said it holds air. Should i see if i can take it for a ride? The interior is in horrible shape but i planed on taking it all out anyway to shed weight. Should i be worried that it wont idle? And should i deffinatly take it for a ride?

DeathRattle

Yes def take it for a ride...it's not just the engine you wanna check, you also wanna see how it shifts, brakes, steers, and how the suspension is. NEVER buy a car without taking it for a ride. If you're planning on taking the interior out then it's condition is of no concern as you mentioned. The idle issue could be something small but try to figure it out before you decide to buy it. Find out if there are any codes first because that will direct you to the problem. If no codes (unlikely) then unplug the IAC while it's running to see if there is any change in idle quality. If the idle does not change then that is the problem or at least one of the problems. Do the same thing with the TPS, spark plug wires, and fuel injectors. When you disconnect them the engine should stumble, hesitate, stall out, or drop the idle a bit. And try to find out what kind of cam it has.

And don't rule out car #2 just yet. At least the guy says it runs fine. Go check it out and try to talk him down a bit. Even if he holds firm then for an extra $100 you can avoid spending the money you're prolly gonna eventually spend replacing the IAC or whatever else is causing the idle problems with car #3.

02WhiteGTVert

Sounds like your options are "The one with the bill or sale" , "The one with the salvage title", or "The one with the vin plate JB welded on"


I'd be really iffy about all of them. And i've come to notice on Craigslist people think a "Cobra swap" just means a Cobra upper & lower intake.

If you're looking for a project, find one that's solid. You can build a stockish 302 for cheap. concern on the things like sheet metal, body damage, rust, etc etc.

If you're looking for something to drive daily, buy a nice Ford Taurus and save up your money for a toy.

DeathRattle

02WhiteGTVert...just because they're cheap doesn't mean they're garbage. I've found very good deals over the past few years. High mileage cars, people desperate to sell, people moving, people who have new cars, kids who are in college, people getting married, baby on the way, etc...besides the OP said he was looking for a cheap car anyway. And from the looks of it I don't think he's looking for a DD. He's looking for a cheap toy to take apart and make into a racer. Either of the three is fine for those purposes but #2 is the best IMO.