Engine Buying A Foxbody, Need Help On Whether Or Not Engine Build Is Good, Help Please

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The guy got the engine rebuilt at a local shop in San Antonio and they put their own custom heads in.
Still sounds shady, like they are avoiding saying what they really are.
No small shops or company have their own heads.
They take someone else's, send them to a machine shop to be worked on and rename them.
See if they are aluminum for starters. Should be clean bare aluminum and most places wouldn't be dumb enough to paint aluminum heads, so if they are painted or rusted they are iron, and if they are iron the chances are they aren't that great.
All the power and potential in a NA fox is in the heads.
 
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The guy got the engine rebuilt at a local shop in San Antonio and they put their own custom heads in.

I second that... no shop makes "custom heads" for a street build.. They are SOMEONE's heads- either a brand name, a chinese knockoff, or Ford. If they are painted- a magnet will stick to iron heads not aluminum

Good luck on the purchase and post some pics
 
The guy said there boss heads. I checked the car for rust in all the places that foxes are notorious for, and saw a lot of YouTube videos on foxes, and safe to say, this fox is clean. The mod list however, I'm not sure about. Again I'm trying to learn cars, so forgive me for speaking out my ass sometimes, I just say what the guy told me, but I can't tell what heads are on it or what mods it had, and I have no clue in how to find out. So please help guys
 
I second that... no shop makes "custom heads" for a street build.. They are SOMEONE's heads- either a brand name, a chinese knockoff, or Ford. If they are painted- a magnet will stick to iron heads not aluminum

Good luck on the purchase and post some pics
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You really must be doing a lot of research if it kept you up to 3:55 am, lol.

Nice looking car, find some real lx taillights and it will look even better.

As for boss heads, I'm not sure that explains the heads yet either. I doubt they used 1970 boss cylinder heads and i'm unaware of any other boss pushrod head.
 
It's a nice looking starter car! But I call BS about being Boss heads! There are so many dumbasses in the world that think everything about a high performance 302 means it's a Boss part. My guess is that the shop rebuilt some general run of the mill E7 heads, maybe ported and installed larger valves, and sold them. And what specific Comp Cam is in the car? Did the previous owner give you that info? That's something that is nice to know. But if you're happy with the car, that's all that matters! Hell, I'd probably be happy with it! But if you're looking to get your feet wet working on/building cars, this one will fit the bill nicely! Welcome!!! :cheers:
 
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Wow soooo much neglect under that hood and those heads look like they are cast iron IMO. That wiring needs addressed. A little TLC under that hood and a rattle can and the engine bay will look as good as the outside.
What do you mean by the wiring? And what can I do to the engine? I'm a newbie at this btw. I know it needs to be cleaned, there's so much dirt in the engine that it makes it look like rust
 
What do you mean by the wiring? And what can I do to the engine? I'm a newbie at this btw. I know it needs to be cleaned, there's so much dirt in the engine that it makes it look like rust
The wires going over the driver side strut tower going toward the battery. A few look like they were added and either are butt connected or taped. Peel back the tape and see what's under there and where the wires go too. All connections should be soldered, heat shrinked and then loomed.

Other engine stuff like the intake can easily be removed, sanded, and painted. Valve covers and BBK throttle body polished. It's all fun weekend work while enjoying a beer.
 
The wires going over the driver side strut tower going toward the battery. A few look like they were added and either are butt connected or taped. Peel back the tape and see what's under there and where the wires go too. All connections should be soldered, heat shrinked and then loomed.

Other engine stuff like the intake can easily be removed, sanded, and painted. Valve covers and BBK throttle body polished. It's all fun weekend work while enjoying a beer.
I still gotta buy all the tools to do any of those things :(. The wires I can probably do, but the parts I doubt it. I was just gonna save to buy tools and then replace a lot of parts towards the end of this year, and then dyno tune it next spring.
 
Also, can anyone guide me to where I can buy tools to work on a foxbody engine? I know the engine goes by two different scales, American and metric, and I don't want to go to a car store and buy the wrong items. I want to buy a Ford Mustang service manual and tools to fix the ac compressor as my first task
 
Helm inc makes the real ford books. Little bit of a learning curve to read them, but in the long run they are priceless.

For tools, buy yourself one of those rolling ratchet and tool sets. The kind that looks like a little suitcase you pull behind you at the airport.
Then buy the specialty stuff as you need it. This will give you many of the tools needed and you can buy the oddball stuff as you need it.

Jricker has a how to fix the ac system post around here somewhere.
 
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