The rear windows on the '89 vert I bought wouldn't go down. When I pulled the panels I found the passenger side motor not plugged in, and the drivers side missing. Do I have to get a motor specific to a vert or will any other motor from the same period Ford work?
I do believe the rear motors are the same from about 83-93. I'm not aware of other motors that happen to work (which certainly doesnt mean there isnt something out there. I just don't know about it). You can often get used motors for 30-40 shipped or 80ish new.
Correct. I put a rear quarter motor from a 92 in my 84. Usually you have to replace the three nylon bushings in the gear box if you buy a used one. I got 6 of them from a store on ebay for a modest amount plus shipping.
^^ or if you're lucky like me, your bushings are fine but the races split open. In such a case, the motor will often spin fine on a bench but under load (pushing a window), the race splits. The motor makes noise but nothing happens.
Correct. I put a rear quarter motor from a 92 in my 84. Usually you have to replace the three nylon bushings in the gear box if you buy a used one. I got 6 of them from a store on ebay for a modest amount plus shipping.