Where do I start???

[svtballa33]

Ok well I used to own an 04 lightning. I traded it in around 2009 which was a big regret!! Well I am currently looking for a fox and honestly don't really know what to look for?? How do these links look?

Mustang 5.0

1990 Mustang GT FoxBody


any price range i should shoot for? any tips i should know about??

 

[FISHTAIL]

Depends on what you want. Do you want a vert for a cruiser? A notch? An LX or a GT? T-tops? Modded? Stock?

The first one might be ok, hard to tell. No information about mileage, transmission etc.

The second car (the GT) looks like someone slammed the hell out of the front of it, so you can be sure it'll wear through the inside edge of those front tires. The rear bumper has been cutout for the tail-pipes and the paint looks shiner in the front than in the rear. That could be due to the hood, or because the front got painted when it was wrecked and the owner replaced the hood at the same time.

Prices vary, clean ones can fetch good money, cars in nice shape are usually between 4500-6500 in my area.

 

[svtballa33]

Thank you sir. I just want something to play with I have always wanted one so I just started looking. I dont mind buying one that has mods but are there things I should stay away from?? Example when shopping around for lightnings intake/pipes are fine but you dont want to buy one with a pulley..and tips like that?

 

[FISHTAIL]

No problem. Well, in that case steer clear of 4cyl->5.0 conversions. If someone didn't do it right, or skipped out on some details, it'll come back to bite you later. And if you aren't familiar with the platform you might miss something important.

Aside from that, there aren't really any particular mods that are big red flags, most are fine if they are done properly, but there are things to check when fox shopping. Look for rust at the bottom of the hatch and doors, check the torque boxes for signs of abuse, check for accident damage up front, etc.

The body style you want will depend largely on personal taste, and your intended use. Fox verts are fun (they are more "open" than the later cars) but they don't make the best performance platform due to lack of chassis rigidity. The coupe is the lightest and stiffest of the bunch. The LX and GT hatches are basically the same car, one with ground effects, the other without.

89 was the first year for Mass Air (unless your in cali, then it was 88) and the last year for the tilt wheel, courtesy lighting and power fuel door release. 90 was the first year for airbags, and the first half of cars produced that year lack a center armrest. 91 and 92 GT's are the same, minus some color changes, and 93's swapped out forged pistons for hyper's.

If you want to do any major mods, try to find something 89 or newer so you don't have to worry about a MAF conversion.

Find one in decent running shape, put on a top end kit (holley, trick flow or the like), add a few supporting mods and enjoy.

 

[glasslaws]

I can only speak for original. Bone stock original!! It's what I was looking for, but man, lots of stuff was rusted and worn out!! Sensors, vac lines, brakes, old fluids, shocks, bushings, ball joints, steering, etc.. it adds up quick! Then upon replacing some of that, car being an X Utah Highway Patrol, I found rusted bolts! I went through a lot of heat, wd40, and patience. In the end I went way over my predicted budget, but got my hands dirty, and feel more in touch with my car!! On the other hand, I'll see cars selling for way less than I've put into mine, with similar mods, but you never know who has done the work?

 

[FISHTAIL]

Yeah I can attest to that as well. I've owned my fox for 13 years now, and at this point I don't think there is anything on the car that I haven't taken off at least once. But I can vouch for busted vacuum lines, frozen bolts and the like.

Thankfully, I haven't found any rust on my car yet, save for a small speck of surface rust I found over the weekend that ticked me off. I think the next step for me will be to strip the car back down to the shell again and have it painted from top-bottom. Likely in a few years.

 

[svtballa33]

1989 Mustang GT 47xxx miles 3000obo

hows she look?

 

[svtballa33]

1993 ford mustang lx 5.0

 

[svtballa33]

1991 Mustang lx

 

[Boomer182]

1989 Mustang GT 47xxx miles 3000obo

hows she look?

More like 147k miles, Id need to see a car fax to believe that.

1993 ford mustang lx 5.0

That is a very clean hatch

1991 Mustang lx

Id say go look at this one if it were me.

 

[FISHTAIL]

Hard to tell from the picture, but that GT looks like it might be kind of rough. It's possible it's a legit low mileage car and the paint is just faded from sitting outside, but I kind of doubt it. If it's not far, I'd at least swing by and look at it, it should be evident pretty quickly if it's actually low mileage or not.

The second car looks fairly clean. Mileage is about right for the age, and wouldn't worry me so long as the car ran well and passes a compression test. Since she even admitted she's having financial issues! You can probably talk her down some.

The last car looks like it's worth a look too, but the bummer on that car is the A/C has been deleted. If you wanted to use it to cruise around in the summer, it could get a little warm inside. I'd give it a look anyway.

 

[Mellis]

Just keep an eye on those strut towers, they rust like a bitch!

 

[mach14604]

Torque boxes are an issue. If they are cracked or rewelded you know the car has been beat hard. Collisions are major deals for these cars also. If you are looking for a car to find one under 100k miles. Rust is a major issue with these cars also.