347 with Vortech V2 and Holley quick fuel, AFR Renegades a tremec tko 600 advice for newbie pls

[Schargedfox]

Hi all, I’m in Czech Republic, central Europe and I came across this 1989 GT Fox for sale. People dont get Foxes here, they all want a classic or as new asvpossible, but I’m being pulled to this by some inner thug personality and I have alway liked them. My question is how much of a stupid idea this is for non mechanical guy for hobby weekend use? It runs great even after sitting for longer periods, no rust, average paint and average but complete interior. Do they need super maintenance all the time? I have people around who have strokers in their cars and can help. General thougts on this type of build? Many thanks

 

[Schargedfox]

 

[Qtrhrse23]

I can see why you are "pulled" to the Fox body, nice car. As far as needing alot of maintenance, depends on how often/how you drive it. I grew up driving/working on Foxes. Seemed like the only time I worked on it was when I added go fast parts. Easy to work on IMO. Ive owned Fbodies, Grand Prixes, G8 GTs. Carbed blow thru is a little different, but not bad either. I guess maintaining it depends on how its set. If its set on kill, then yes maintaining will be harder.

 

[Noobz347]

Change all the fluids at a regular interval.
Keep an eye on the brakes.
Don't let gas get old in the tank.

I don't know what your weather is like but lots of humidity will show itself in the connectors.

 

[General karthief]

I'll say it.
That's not for a newbie, carb swapped and a hair dryer you prolly know nothin about, actual engine condition unknown, lots to think about.
Aw hell, you only live once....go for it....
Does it come with jack stands?

 

[Noobz347]

It's all looks to be proven hardware to me though.

I totally get what General is referring to but if you get a mechanic to do a sniff check and look over the tune, you should be golden.

That engine bay does not look like it's been cobbled together. Somebody cared.

 

[Schargedfox]

Many thanks to everyone for the input. Here is a video of the car running, the guy who is selling it is building wide-body 65/66 Mustangs for living and uses 347 strokers all the time so part of the deal would be his help.

View: https://youtu.be/NOLq52Vw8Ps

 

[AeroCoupe]

Ask him what the fuel mileage is like...I know I just could not help myself. Looks like it's pretty well sorted out and it what I would consider a 8/10 condition body and interior wise. I would ask questions about the clutch, transmission, rear end, suspension and if any parts come with it. As long as he will be around for questions or possibly working on it after the sale that is always a plus.

 

[Schargedfox]

Ask him what the fuel mileage is like...I know I just could not help myself. Looks like it's pretty well sorted out and it what I would consider a 8/10 condition body and interior wise. I would ask questions about the clutch, transmission, rear end, suspension and if any parts come with it. As long as he will be around for questions or possibly working on it after the sale that is always a plus.

Thanks. The mpg is anything between 13 l/100km at 2000 revs cruise to a bottomless bucket ‍ when you step on it. 1000 km ago is a new clutch and a lowering suspension, previous aftermarket suspension comes with it as well as front strut brace which can’t be currently fitted because of the location of the alternator I think. Transmission is Tko 600 with short shifter, works good. Gears are 3.73 I believe. Remote boot lid opening in glowbox does not work. I have sean a rear brace fitted there as well. I’m trying to find out about any stiffening, like torque box and the condition underneath, but over all it seems pretty solid. The guy is a wide body Stang builder who lived 20 years in States. This is what he does. Maiers Racing

View: https://youtu.be/r4vy5DuYpXI?is=SCglSJ_S1NZ6Le5X

 

[2000xp8]

Looks like a nice car in a place that i'm sure they are hard to come by.
With that said, it could last forever or make a hard pull and need 10 grand to fix it.
Not a fan of Carb swaps.
That also looks like it may be the vortech that uses oil from the engine.

I think you need a lot more details about the engine.

 

[Schargedfox]

Yes it is Vortex V2, but they are fairly reliable I was told? I have found the original state side advert for thei car before it was purchased, it was sold in Georgia. Engine info is limited, I’m going to check the block, but we do not know the internals. But it seems to be running soo nice and it just wants to go..

For Sale: 1989 Ford Mustang GT in Conyers , Georgia

Find classic cars, collector cars and vintage muscle cars on ClassicCars.com. Search, sell or buy and Drive Your Dream today!

classiccars.com

 

[2000xp8]

Well, it has AFR heads, which probably means the person who built it or had it built was open to spending money.
That's a good start.
It has a supercharger, so yes it just wants to go.
That's pretty common, lol.

Do you have dyno shops over there to check the hp and the Air/Fuel?
If not, i'd probably want to buy a wideband and something to log with to see where it all stands as far as safety goes.

Knowing the power helps to know how hard you can drive it.
It's already a 347 with an unknown block.
The stock block will put up with 450-500rwhp (aftermarket significantly more).
The issue is that a vortech can get to that number with good heads without the stroker kit...

I wouldn't shy away from buying the car, but i also wouldn't drive it like a stole it without knowing what exactly you are working with.

 

[Schargedfox]

So second visit yesterday. They basicaly put all the money into the engine, the rest is a bit of ugly duck. Interior plastic is cracked in places and well used, paint ok from 10m but closer shows age and zero care. Elektricals in engine bay are not very tidy but the engine has everything it should have I believe. The frame bracing is well quite basic. But I could not find any rust apart of few surface flakes around the old batery location. Cosmetics I can slowly deal with and somehow the “hold together with duck tape and prayers” suits the nature of the car. The block is 99% stock even though we could not locate the stamping as it was only on jacks.

 

[nicholase]

Not trying to pic apart the car or the mechanic, but this is what I see:

I don't know what this connection is for. But crimping on a spade connector and shoving it in an open half of a factory connector is shody work. Could be for something non critical, or critical. Don't know. Doesn't matter. That's the type of wiring "style" I'd expect to find everywhere.

MSD timing retard control isn't waterproof and is supposed to be mounted inside the vehicle.

Left to right:
More random wiring not in a loom. Non factory. Will be difficult to figure out what's what when you have issues. All wiring looks haphazard in general IMO.

Ground is in empty sway bar bracket mounting hole. There is no front sway bar from what I can tell.

Heater core bypassed . It's got no heat. Those only get bypassed if the core is bad. It's a labor intensive job to replace. Not a fan of just bypassing things instead of fixing them. I'd expect that "style" throughout the car.

Homemade subframe connectors. Not a problem in and of itself if they were made well, which they aren't. Those aren't doing much at all. The rear portion should extend as far back as possible and be stitch welded the length of the sibframe contact points. Those don't even go to the thicker portion fo the factory subframe.

Front of subframe connectors is the same. Not enough contact. They need to extend all the way to the front of the factory subframe. Those are only a few inches long. Very little weld area. I'd expect they will just crack off after a while.

When you buy an old car you're also buying the mechanics work. Personally I think it looks amateur. It's not a run away from situation. But the price needs to match the work. You'll have a decent amount of money to get it straightened out. Personally I'd re do all the wiring especially the ignition and MSD boxes.

The subframe connectors should be removed and replaced. Those aren't helping anything IMO. If anything they are going to rip out at the tiny weld areas and tear the factory sub frame.

This is just my opinion but when I see work like this it just makes me wonder if they did the engine work in a similar fashion. Generally people are consistent in their work. If most of it looks amateur, chances are all of it is.

Looks oily under neath. I'd look at where the Vortec oil return line gets tapped into the oil pan and snap a few pics. If that's leaking you"ll probably need a new pan.

 

[nicholase]

Anyone know what's going on with the belhousing and engine plate? Looks odd.

 

[revhead347]

Anyone know what's going on with the belhousing and engine plate? Looks odd.

Never seen anything like that in my life. The starter isn't centered in the hole or even close.

Kurt

 

[revhead347]

My opinion is that everything on that car is so outdated, if you lived in suburban Detroit, you wouldn't be able to find suitable replacement parts if anything goes wrong; much less in the Czech Republic.

Kurt

 

[Schargedfox]

Many thanks for imput to all! I dont like the wiring and the subframe either, you can tell he was excited about driving it so was in a hurry to get it on the road
I have a guy not far from me who does full restos on american cars, so I´m gonna try to get a price for tidying this up to at least safe level of hobby drivebility and will look around what else is out there. But in terms of power vs price vs character there is nothing else like this, as Czech people dont really get Foxes (yet) so this keeps the price low.
Once more thanks for input!

 

[AeroCoupe]

There appears to be a “SFI” sticker on the bottom of the bell housing. Clean that off and snap a pic as they may tell who the manufacturer is/was.

 

[2000xp8]

My opinion is that everything on that car is so outdated, if you lived in suburban Detroit, you wouldn't be able to find suitable replacement parts if anything goes wrong; much less in the Czech Republic.

Kurt

I tend to agree, but in this case beggars probably can't be choosers.
Though I do think this car is going to nickel and dime him.

Scharged, can you get American shipments there somehow?
I know in my pinball and arcade hobby people in foreign countries sometimes can have things shipped to certain places, then shipped again to them. Surely it's a costly hassle, but it's better than nothing at all, especially if you accept that idea in the beginning of the process.