vipergtrdj

Now I just picked up a 1990 Mustang LX hatchback for very cheap. Its been sitting for 6-7years, but the body is in excellent condition. I have never seen a car look as good as this one for sitting 7years. There are a few questions i have right now - because of it sitting I am afraid to try and crank the engine over with the old gas thats in there - is there anything that would help cure the old gas so it would turn over?
and could I bring the bill of sale over to a dealership to get a key made for the door and hatch locks ?

thanks -- anything else i should be aware of with a car thats been sitting this long? The frame is solid and there is little to no rust on the body itself.

traumadog511

Hey,

Well first I would pull the plugs and squirt something like Marvel Mystery Oil in the holes and let it sit for a few days to loosen the rings so they dont start up on dry cylinder walls. Put in new oil and filter. Drain and refill the radiator. Replace the plugs. Disconnect the fuel line from the tank. Use a long peice of fuel line and run it from the carb to a gas can so you have fresh gas when you start it. Then get a good battery and give it a try.

vipergtrdj

alrighty ..... thanks, Ill do all that the next few days and see how it works out. I will post pictures later of the car as well.

hotrod7687

Congrats on the new mustang. The fox body LX cars have always been one of my favorites. What engine/trans do you have?

I would do everything traumadog said, plus change the plug wires, cap/rotor, and mabey the coil. The way he said to run the fuel line to a gas tank wont work though. Your car is fuel injected and must have a certain amount of pressure in the line. That can only be done with a fuel pump. It will take some work, but the best way for you to get all the gas out of the tank would be to remove the tank. That would also let you inspect the fuel pump (its in the gas tank) and change the filter on the pump if needed.

Blckstng93

You may as well buy a new tank. Cant be in too great a shape sitting 6-7 years.

vipergtrdj

alrighty ... thanks for all the responses --- i got the car home tonight and crawled under neath of it to get a quick look ..... the gas tank looks new, nice and shiny, not one spot of rust on it --- so i dont know how thats possible but it looks really good for supposably sitting 6-7years.

the engine is the 2.3l, and 5speed manual transmission. I do have one problem -- the guy could not find the keys to the car, and i tried calling a ford dealership but they told me that i have to buy a whole new lock kit for everything because the key code records were not recorded until 1998. Any idea how to go about getting the car turned over for the mean time? I am just looking for a quick way of moving it - i had to trailer it home, and now its in the middle of my driveway until I can find a way to move it without a key.
so any suggestions are welcomed -- thanks. ford dealership wanted $200 for a new kit -- i dont have that right now as this is a project car for now.

5LitersOfFury

Well I mean I guess you could always break the steering lock? Is the car unlocked?

vipergtrdj

yes, the car is unlocked;. the steering is locked, and all the windows are up -- so it makes it a little hard to be working on cleaning up the inside because of the hot weather and all.

I may try to get an ignition setup from the junkyard or ebay.

vipergtrdj

Well I have gotten a new ignition cylinder lock --- the car turned right over and no problems. i even drained the gas and put new gas in with gas treatment, and fuel injector cleaner in it.

runs great - idles good too.
my question is -- i have a friend who is gonna give me a ford car (not sure what it is) it has a 302 and tranny and everything, runs and all ... can i drop this into my mustang with no problems or could there potentially be problems ? I am wondering because he is giving it to me for free .... so i would love to use it if i could. the car is whole and is running -- he just needs it out of his yard. I do not know what it is, but it does have a 302 in it.

Blckstng93

The 2.3 in 90 was distributorless ignition so goin to a 302 youll need the 302 harness (dash has to come out) and computer. Probably need it anyway regardless of what year 2.3 it is. If its a carb 302 youll have less wires to mess with but still a lot of work to get the wires swapped if you ask me.

Correction. The 90 still had a distributor, the 91 or 92 did not. I was a year off. My bad but still need to swap the harness.