Thread: budget build for the fox body

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well ever since picking up an 85 mustang coupe 4 banger 4 speed. ive already set out to ruin it i am doing this on a major budget. and am so far only $390 into the entire car whichr uns and drives fine it just needs a v8 and ive always wanted to do up a ford motor

a buddy of mine owed me 70 bucks so he brought me a 5.0 roller motor from an exploder its the "xxx" gt 40 shortblock.

i bought an early set of 302 heads 1969 castings for 40 bucks and a pair of old sbc core castings. couldnt find gt40p heads.

the parts for the motor are as follows.

will be using the trick flow stage one cam, ,Lift .499/ .510 283/291 adv, @050 221 int./225 exh. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFS-51402000/ along with new lifters $179.00 + $119.95

summit intake, a 600 holley dbl pumper core bought for $100 bucks kit was $40. manifold is http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-226031/?rtype=10 weiand makes the summit intakes anyway i am told. $199.95

i traded a set of explorer exhaust manifolds for a brand new set of ford racing headers. manifolds were free. $0

i am going to be trading my 4 speed for a t5 , straight across , complete set up for complete setup. $0

the 4 banger and 7.5 rearend are spoken for once i do the swap. i will get an 8.8 with posi and 100 bucks out of this. + $100



of course new rings and bearings, motor is good enough to be rehoned and oversize rings put in, this is going to be the under 900 dollar budget 302 sbf that will run a low 13 and still get 15-18 mpg hwy.

These Fox Mustangs are the 32 Fords of this generation............you can build them so reasonably and they run like gangbusters. Nice that you found a 4 cylinder car, they are not beat on as badly as their V8 Brothers, and the torque boxes are always in good conditon.

Depending on how hard you are going to run the car, I agree changing the 7.5 rear to an 8.8 is smart, I would also box the torque boxes with one of the kits made to do that, and put in subframe connectors. Those changes alone will make the car hold up and take the twist out of the body. Also put in one of those aftermarket clutch quadrants to replace the plastic factory one to handle the stiffer clutch.

Nice thing is, these have been around so long and have been so popular that all of the parts you need are now available used at swap meets and on Craigslist. Post some pictures and update us on how it is going, sounds like you have a good plan already.

Don

well right now its in decent shape. needs a front fender and a paint job. i am gonna clean up the interior as i find the pieces. would like to switch it to black interior.

gonna paint the door panels, cheesy but it works well if done right.

already have the steeda adjustable clutch cable/quadrant kit on the list. and a set of subframe connectors are coming via trade deal.

also got plans to switch the nose over to the newer style one headlight setup

Paint it black and white and tell people you scored an ex CHP freeway flyer....

They are a fun car with the 5.0 and 5 speed, run strong and still do great on the highway.... Besides, when it's time for the killer stroker all the hard work is already done!!!!!!

Then there are days that I wish I could get my '86 GT back. Unfortunately, it's now tied up in a messy estate after the guy I sold it to passed away - and it was still in very low mileage pristine condition the last time I saw it about 5-6 months before he died. Oh well another shoulda coulda. Then there was the '79 TRX Turbo - and that is also still 'alive'

PLEASE as you do your mods, keep the pictures coming. One of my favorite cars

Short version of my Fox Mustang daliance.
In '84 I was intrigued by the SVO Mustang. Zooty body mods, intercooled turbo, race car like seats, yada yada....
Figured the biggest Ford dealer in the area would be the first to get one, so I drove down there. This dealership was one of those high pressure, T.O. kind of places that moved a lot of hardware. The salesmen were on an "Up system" where they each had a turn at the next suc.., uh, prospect that rolled on the lot. They stood in a group about 20 feet in from the driveway ramp. Oh lucky me, I got a guy I call "Big Tex". About 6' 2", gee haw boots, shiny belt buckle as big as a billboard, and a 12 (10 must not have been good enough for him) gallon hat.........for his 2 quart head.

After all the back slappin' intro was done I tell him I want to test drive the SVO Mustang. He seemed confused by that nomenclature, so I pointed to the one I'd spotted. He gets the key and off we go. I knew we were in for some fun when he started his pitch with....."ya know, this here is a SPECIAL EDITION just for the Northwest"...........

So I gave him a SPECIAL experience...........

I know. In 85 I went to a local Ford/ Mercury dealer and test drove a 5.0 stang. Wow, it felt and sounded like all the cars I remembered from the mid 60''s. I ended up buying a Cougar instead because it made more sense for my business traveling, but I sure loved what Ford had done with the 5.0 Fox cars.

Don

one thing i have noticed with these fox bodies is the seats, they are posistioned in a way that makes it feel like your going fast, in wich case you arent,