Progress Thread Fixing Up A '93 Gt - Project Done

stpete

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2015
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I bought myself a Christmas present this year in the form of a red '93 GT. The paint is faded, but the black interior is real nice and it seems to be rust free. It's got a small dent in the front of the hood and another on the passenger door. It's got some modifications, but I am having to discover them as I go. PO didn't really know what he had.
Here's the car as it sits now.

IMG_20151225_102733242_zpshy9xh7po.jpg

And, the engine compartment

IMG_20151230_125529194_zpsvghtp42s.jpg

There is a black intake manifold on there, an aftermarket throttle body of some sort (PO thought it was 70mm), a CAI. There's a nice electric fan with a very hacky switch under the dash that turns it on. It's also got a monster exhaust system, I think it's 3". I am not impressed with the quality of the mods by the PO. The exhaust was held on by wire and didn't fit right. I took it to an exhaust shop thinking it just needed some hangers welded on. Instead I got hosed and could've bought a new catback for what they charged to fix the poor fitting exhaust. I think I'd rather have a 2.5" system, but was just trying to get by for a while before spending the cash.

My plan is to get some things fixed and daily drive it a while to see where I am. Punch list right now:

1. Definitely needs tie rods. We'll see if that fixes things or if there is more suspension work needed.
2. Brakes. Brakes work OK, but e-brake doesn't engage until the very top.
3. I will put a fan controller in and fix up the hacky electric fan wiring.
4. Saggy doors need fixing. Ordered hinge pin/bushing kit from LMR.
5. Clutch feel sucks. It's supposedly a new King cobra. I ordered a Steeda adjustable quadrant.
6. Radio doesn't work. Ordered a Kenwood HU. I have an amp/speakers/sub that were planned for another car that will eventually go in.

Once that is done and I make sure everything else is as solid as it seems, I plan to make a few mods and see where it goes from there. I bought some 5-lug 17" cobra wheels. A couple need some refurb, but I plan to go 5-lug with some larger brakes. I may autocross or do some track days with this thing, so some suspension mods will follow the brakes. I'd also like to paint it and maybe a cobra body kit.

Looking forward to hanging around here and learning.
 
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I have two questions to get me started ... of course :cool:

First, the throttle body has two nipples on it that aren't hooked up. I'm not sure what they are supposed to be hooked to and how important is it that they aren't connected?

Second, my cruise isn't working. Is there a common problem there or can you tell from the pic if the PO took it off?
 
The nipples are egr coolant lines. The egr is still on there. If it's hooked up and functioning then you need those lines attached for it to operate properly.

Sounds like you are on the right track. 3" if that's what it truly is is too big. Foxes came with 2.5 and he may have run 3" tails. That intake is the stock unit painted black.
 
welcome and good luck with the build. The lines coming off the EGR are for coolant- it is supposed to cool the EGR gases and help in cold start up; If you live in a warm climate area, you can cap them off. If not, I'm sure the PO plugged off the two lines that go into the EGR plate. One is on the passenger rear lower intake pad and one is coming off the hard coolant line..Simply by some new rubber hose and hose clamps and hook them back up.
 
Sounds like you are on the right track. 3" if that's what it truly is is too big. Foxes came with 2.5 and he may have run 3" tails. That intake is the stock unit painted black.

I've been looking at the exhaust a little more. Not sure, but looks like aftermarket headers and big pipes all the way back. Sounds awesome, but might not be the best. Looks like the PO welded an h-pipe into the header tubes. Not looking forward to messing with that.

One is on the passenger rear lower intake pad and one is coming off the hard coolant line..Simply by some new rubber hose and hose clamps and hook them back up.

Kind of looks like he bypassed it. There's a line you can see in the pic running under the throttle body that may be a bypass based on your description. Sounds like I should be hooked up, so I'll add that to the list.
 
First of all, nice looking GT! Red paint tends to fade. Maybe you can detail that and make an improvement. The detail work I did on my 92 LX after I bought it made a huge difference in appearance.

I see the the aftermarket TB. I also see what appears to be the stock HO intake manifold. The intake openings on the stock manifolds are smaller than 70mm. If there's a 70mm TB on there now, you want to check and make sure the stock intake was ported to a larger size to match the aftermarket TB. It's very common for someone to slap a bigger TB on and have mis-matched spacer, gasket or intake opening. If all components are not sized to match, it's pointless and the mod can even hurt you compared to the stock setup.
 
Based on other stuff I've seen on this thing, I doubt the TB and intake manifold are port matched.

I looked a bit closer and the cruise control is gone. I'll have to decide what to do about that, prefer to have it.
 
Based on other stuff I've seen on this thing, I doubt the TB and intake manifold are port matched.

I looked a bit closer and the cruise control is gone. I'll have to decide what to do about that, prefer to have it.
Any welding supply store will have the bits you need. Alternatively you can get wood routing bits (the kind that look like a long corkscrew) for a dremel, they will get the job done.
 
Honestly on a stock motor doing that won't produce more than minimal results. Unless it's just really bothering you I would leave as is until stepping up to a larger intake.
 
Did a bunch of work on it today. My opinion of the previous owner hasn't improved.

First off, I thrashed on the loose steering. Right side had a bad ball joint and tie rod. I replaced all that. Driver side looks OK. I have the parts in case it's still wonky. I'll probably install the tie rods before I get it aligned. Still need to replace the end links and I think the front end will be good.

I put new adjusters on the rear brakes and adjusted them. Parking brake is good now.

Finally, I "installed" my Steeda clutch quadrant. I was surprised by what I found. It already had a ford racing quadrant and adjustable cable in it. PO didn't use the nuts properly on the adjustable clutch, so it had come loose. PO also left the clutch cover off (probably because he had to adjust his cable every day). So, I need to find a clutch cover. Bottom line, the ford racing clutch cable was less than smooth from weather at the trans end. So I put the new clutch cable and firewall adjuster in. Left the ford racing quadrant. Feels like a clutch should feel now.

While I was under there, I found this. Hopefully you can see. It's a round connector with two female sockets in it. Tied to the trans cross member. Anyone know what it is supposed to be hooked to?

IMG_20160101_225535522_zpsfuyqah6n.jpg
 
My apologies for not reading the entire thread but here is my opinion.

Stock exhaust was a 2.25. Most will upgrade to a full 2.5 but others just upgraded the tails to 2.5


That plug looks like the reverse light switch. Was the car always a manual? Could be a hacked up wiring from a tranny swap.

3" exhaust is way too much for what you have unless it is just the tips then you are fine.

Your clutch feel is more than likely a bad or crappy cable. King cobra clutches are great for what you have there. Look at MM for a better clutch cable. They are second to none and a cheap adjustable one is a waste of money (been through a few before I took this same advice). If you don't have the quadrant then just order the kit from MM.

EBRAKE should be able to be adjusted from underneath. They have plenty of adjustability unless the rear brakes are gone.


As far as suspension pieces I always use moog. Never had an issue. Don't replace inner tie rods. If they are gone then more than likely the r&p needs to be replaced. I always put in a "sport" rack which requires
less steering clock to clock. People have different opinions on this but this is what I have done on my foxes over the last few.

Sub-frame connectors are great as are torque box reinforcements.

L&R hinge kit is probably a good idea. Never used it so let us know how that goes.

Look to Craigslist for a full exhaust system or even a scrap yard. Used systems can save you a ton of money as peeps often part wrecked cars from there cars/garage.
 
Oh and welcome to stangnet. Looks like a solid start there. Just remember, its a marathon, not a sprint when working on these cars. Unless you are rich, then sprint away ha-ha.
 
A lot of interesting stuff going on. I am even less impressed by the previous owner. Driving around the car would die at idle with too much electrical load. The electric fan required some throttle. Combinations of headlights, hvac fan, and other stuff could kill it. Bright lights were a no go. I installed a 130 amp alternator and it is better. I can at least run that stuff at idle. But the voltage doesn't stay very steady. The fan start surge is killer. Brights still drop the voltage. I ordered some new battery cables. I suspect grounds are my problem now.

IMG_20160115_161351740_zpsobtjkfn4.jpg
 
Next issue caused by the moron ... Err ... Previous owner involves the reverse light switch wire that is hanging under the car. The neutral safety switch is installed where the reverse switch should be and vice versa. I was told a new clutch was installed, but this points to more than that. A rock grinder sound has also started when the trans is cold. Could be throw out bearing or could be internal. It's pretty bad when the clutch is released in neutral. But also makes the sound when first driven. Seems to stop after a mile or so. I hope this idiot didn't open the trans. I also hope I have found all the stuff this guy has screwed up. He didn't own it for long, so hopefully didn't have time to hose up anything else. So far, for everything I fix (or attempt to fix), I find a couple more things.
Don't think I mentioned the cat5 stereo system wiring, did I?
 
Rear of the transmission is leaking, less than a quart of fluid came out when I drained it. Probably explains the new rock crusher sound. I put a new rear outer seal on, but may have to dig deeper at some point. Sounds like it's usually the rear bushing, not necessarily the seal. That'll be fun, hoping the new seal does the job but not necessarily expecting it to.