Progress Thread 1985 GT 5.0 Mustang Restoration/Bringing my dad's old car back to life

  • Sponsors (?)


Hey guys it is coming along slowly, I got an exhaust leak and some other minor stuff to take care of but it's running well. I am getting another tranny rebuilt and planning to replace the clutch as well as supporting parts while I have the tranny out. I checked my roller rockers and I found that an old needle bearing broke, so I replaced them with solid rollers. When I was going to install the replaced rockers I noticed that the valve was hammered down in the retainer. And now for my final act, I replaced the keepers and retainers, to my avail the valve stem was pulled back up and is hopefully helping them seat a little better!:coff:

I will post pictures later on tonight.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Wow….. had to go back to page 1 on this thread myself! Memory has been rebooted! Lol. Glad to see you’re still making progress.
@Willybill32 hows your ride coming along? Loved that “silver patina” you had going on that car. Looked pretty cool!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I had to go back through the thread for a refresh, got a good bit done on Grandpa's (?) old hot rod :nice:
Did you ever look for the build date on this car? There was a discussion about it being an 85 model not 86 right?
Yes, in fact the car is an 85, I do have a carburetor, I think its the Holley Street Warrior 600CFM. I wanted something as close to the factory one as possible. I am going to swap the jets with smaller ones and test/replace the power valve, my grandpa has some stuff for going to EFI, do you guys think that would be a good path to go down in the future??

I had the header out yesterday to attempt a fix and reading some other posts, plus what I was recommended by my Grandpa was to use the Copper RTV. I could visibly see where the gasket was blown out, which was a relief. I applied some RTV evenly around each port, and got it bolted to the H pipe, but tragedy struck and I made a mistake. Putting the plugs back in my swivel and deep socket were not being friendly to me while I was snuggin ‘em up. On the third plug I snapped it, but its all part of learning! :crazy:
 
Here’s a few. . .
 

Attachments

  • 50A4B12B-ABF4-4B83-969E-7E33CE4CEDC4.jpeg
    50A4B12B-ABF4-4B83-969E-7E33CE4CEDC4.jpeg
    594 KB · Views: 54
  • 3DD94969-5160-427F-81ED-FDF4A2C73A7A.jpeg
    3DD94969-5160-427F-81ED-FDF4A2C73A7A.jpeg
    609.2 KB · Views: 50
  • 13706F7E-B89F-473F-81F5-1823D74A1E44.jpeg
    13706F7E-B89F-473F-81F5-1823D74A1E44.jpeg
    860.7 KB · Views: 48
  • 2673FC63-898C-4D62-80E0-206F2C3894B9.jpeg
    2673FC63-898C-4D62-80E0-206F2C3894B9.jpeg
    774.3 KB · Views: 52
  • 89070DD3-333A-4A95-AB2C-58A8A49242BE.jpeg
    89070DD3-333A-4A95-AB2C-58A8A49242BE.jpeg
    550.9 KB · Views: 50
Yes my valve cover studs are bent, but look at how much those valves were pulled back up! Interesting . .
9B174CFA-783D-4FD2-AC34-4FB14106BB5C.jpeg
CFD3FD54-4787-4E82-99BA-6C265755A6F7.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • 796D90FF-2EA3-4A9C-9515-F004CF316AFE.png
    796D90FF-2EA3-4A9C-9515-F004CF316AFE.png
    5.6 MB · Views: 41
  • A321AB5B-B7B8-4D75-93A7-793B0A1B7761.jpeg
    A321AB5B-B7B8-4D75-93A7-793B0A1B7761.jpeg
    545.3 KB · Views: 47
  • BB157AEB-9582-4E22-81D1-144AE4ABE83A.jpeg
    BB157AEB-9582-4E22-81D1-144AE4ABE83A.jpeg
    642.6 KB · Views: 44
Last edited:
Not many kids my age that are able to define a carburetor, let alone replace keepers and retainers.

If any of you guys have any advice please inform me, I would like to be as professional as possible while doing things like this.
 
Last edited:
Wow….. had to go back to page 1 on this thread myself! Memory has been rebooted! Lol. Glad to see you’re still making progress.
@Willybill32 hows your ride coming along? Loved that “silver patina” you had going on that car. Looked pretty cool!
@Rdub6, thanks for asking. The “silver patina” is all gone, replaced by multiple coats of primer, which was then all sanded off. New rust-free doors and hatch added, and the body is close to being ready for paint. But then the decision was made to pull the engin and clean up the engine bay…

Bill
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Just an FYI, Astro Performance (Tavares, FL) is still in business. I just bought new 1/2 and 3/4 sliders, 2nd gear, and some odds and ends from them last year to freshen up my T5. They do not have a website but I believe have FB. If I remember right they did say that Tremec is no longer making parts for the T5 so when the OEM stuff dries up it will be all aftermarket.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Would anyone know why the Tach fuse instantly blows when I turn the key/ when it gets power? It worked for a while then croaked, I figured it was a bad fuse, swapped it, it croaked again and now instantly blows when the key is turned. Has anyone run into this before?
 
Would anyone know why the Tach fuse instantly blows when I turn the key/ when it gets power? It worked for a while then croaked, I figured it was a bad fuse, swapped it, it croaked again and now instantly blows when the key is turned. Has anyone run into this before?
On my 83 this fuse does more than just the tach.. Mine blew when I had grounded another wire....
 
1696214522986.png


The "tach" fuse has a ton of other circuits on it depending on engine type, etc. On my '85 GT, I seem to recall a blown fuse issue once that was related to the wiring in the "warning center" display in the center console. Another spot that often causes issues can be wiring related to the "Wide Open Throttle/A.C. Cutout Switch" switch that was attached to the factory carb. Try looking for a red wire with yellow hash marks on it that may be grounding out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user