Opinions on a possible project car w/ pics

[Teen'93stang5.0]

I can’t believe I’m posting back in this forum for the first time in 25 years, but here we are

Anyway, I’m looking at picking up a 93 LX that has some apparent damage from what I assume was a passenger side impact. I had this exact car as my first ride and I know they’re a little “sloppy” from the factory, so I don’t think this is a deal breaker, but I’m also not as familiar in this department as I’m sure some of the people here are, so let me know what you think.

The goal for the car is to be a long-term project that will eventually be swapped to something else (the idea of doing a 2.3L EB swap for a modern SVO / “Pro Touring” build is kinda on top right now), and somewhat resto-modded to modernize the suspension, SM95 rear, etc.

 

[Noobz347]

modern SVO / “Pro Touring” build

I know just what you need:


View: https://youtu.be/LxXlrUwSEpc?si=b3X8RVJ6Q9JSGJvd&t=1002

 

[Teen'93stang5.0]

I actually was looking at trying to shove a barra into it but they’re a little long unless I want to chop the front end up.

That 300 is a beast though

 

[General karthief]

Look at the frame section behind the strut tower, you will notice where it attaches to the tower and back by the toe board, kinda hard to describe, looks like tabs that are welded from frame section to tower, is it crushed?
Same for the frame section in front of the tower. On a side impact (depending on point/angle of impact) check the bottom of those same areas and also the area between the subframe and pinch weld on the outboard portion of the floor pan around point of impact.
Not knowing impact data, I ask you:
Are the doors aligned with the roof, windshield post and rear quarter, fender/door/hood alignment good?
Investigate carefully.
I'll give you a hint, look at the bolts that hold the nose to the radiator support in the pic.

 

[Noobz347]

I actually was looking at trying to shove a barra into it but they’re a little long unless I want to chop the front end up.

That 300 is a beast though

Ah good. I see that your old account has found you.

 

[Noobz347]

I know just what you need:


View: https://youtu.be/LxXlrUwSEpc?si=b3X8RVJ6Q9JSGJvd&t=1002

Yeah, you would only need 400 of that HP for it to be a complete beast.

 

[Teen'93stang5.0]

Look at the frame section behind the strut tower, you will notice where it attaches to the tower and back by the toe board, kinda hard to describe, looks like tabs that are welded from frame section to tower, is it crushed?
Same for the frame section in front of the tower. On a side impact (depending on point/angle of impact) check the bottom of those same areas and also the area between the subframe and pinch weld on the outboard portion of the floor pan around point of impact.
Not knowing impact data, I ask you:
Are the doors aligned with the roof, windshield post and rear quarter, fender/door/hood alignment good?
Investigate carefully.
I'll give you a hint, look at the bolts that hold the nose to the radiator support in the pic.

I haven’t been able to see it in person yet, but u planned on taking some simple measurements from each strut to the opposite side front corner of the engine bay, checking the distance between the strut top hats, and then from the center of the strut back to the firewall. I also am going to try to look underneath to see if any of the bolts on the k member are wallowed out, but I’ll check the radiator mounting tabs as well. I figured with those three checks I should be able to figure out if something got whacked hard enough to be a real problem, or if someone just wrinkled it a bit and it can be repaired.

IF it’s not a walk-away, could I get away with just cutting out and rewelding some sheetmetal? Might even get lucky enough to find a front clip donor somewhere (doubtful, as it’s been hard enough just to find a good project car to begin with)

 

[General karthief]

Man I don't know, I think I'm experienced enough (some say just old) to know where to look for accident damage but I've not seen it all and have missed things, I mostly look for rust issues mostly in the door hinge area, cowel and around glass. Oh, and base of the strut tower below the proportion valve.

 

[Teen'93stang5.0]

Well unfortunately I had to pass on that one. Whatever damage it had taken caused the passenger side to sit about a half inch closer to the windshield, panel gaps were all over the place, and the radiator support was pretty well noodled.

Back to the classifieds I go

 

[Noobz347]

You need this:

Thread 'Free Beta Access: Tool I Built to Hunt Fox Bodies Faster'

Mar 6, 2026

Hey StangNet crew,


You guys know I'm always on the lookout for a decent project — clean 5.0, notchback, hatch, whatever doesn't scream "dealer flip" or have a salvage story. Scrolling Marketplace and Autotrader for hours is still a pain, especially when the good ones disappear fast.


I built something to fix that for myself... and figured it might help some of you too. It's called CarHunter PRO. It checks Facebook Marketplace, Autotrader, and Cars.com every hour, filters out the dealer crap/salvage titles/clones, and only flags real private seller stuff that matches what you're...

• MRaburn
• auto sales mustang car shopper mustang mustang for sale mustang search tool used mustang
• Replies: 16
• Forum: 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-

• 
• 

Tell @MRaburn that Noobz sent ya.

 

[Teen'93stang5.0]

I sent a message. That seems perfect!