Fox Fox Body Frame Rust-- Scrap or Save?

Alldegree · Oct 3, 2019

I’m not totally sure what I’m looking at for some of these, but it all just looks like surface rust or dirt.

General karthief · Oct 3, 2019

And it has the 'infamous ' dog bone!
actually looks pretty good.

Noobz347 · Oct 3, 2019

Grey oil pan. OEM = Hyper pistons

Edit:

...and I dunno man. Those cross-member mounts look awful close to the torque box.

Mustang5L5 · Oct 3, 2019

Actually doesn't look too bad to me. Lots of surface rust yes..but I don't see rot.

Being from the northeast, I've looked under early 2000's cars on a lift that looked way worse than that.

General karthief · Oct 3, 2019

Noobz347 said:
Grey oil pan. OEM = Hyper pistons

They have pills for that now.

90sickfox · Oct 3, 2019

That's a decent looking car. No real rust in the pictures...just stuff that can be easily cleaned up.

Alldegree · Oct 3, 2019

Unfortunately, green mustang guy says there's a somebody coming to look at it tomorrow morning. I probably won't be able to comfortably afford this thing for another week or two at least, so it's looking like this one's probably going to get away. I might be able to scrounge up enough to get the car, especially if I can talk him down, but not enough to fly out there and drive it back. The local car with the smoked headlights and flames has sold.

Just going to have to keep looking, I guess. One benefit of missing these cars is it forces me to save more money while I look for another one, so that's good.

Rdub6 · Oct 3, 2019

Alldegree said:
Unfortunately, green mustang guy says there's a somebody coming to look at it tomorrow morning. I probably won't be able to comfortably afford this thing for another week or two at least, so it's looking like this one's probably going to get away. I might be able to scrounge up enough to get the car, especially if I can talk him down, but not enough to fly out there and drive it back. The local car with the smoked headlights and flames has sold.

Just going to have to keep looking, I guess. One benefit of missing these cars is it forces me to save more money while I look for another one, so that's good.

You never know..... it’s not sold yet!!

Alldegree · Oct 4, 2019

Rdub6 said:
You never know..... it’s not sold yet!!

Yeah, but by the time I’m able to afford it, it probably will be. It’s already been up for over 21 days. I’m not totally convinced it’s rot-free either, something about that passenger’s side strut mount really bothers me.

Gs1987GT · Oct 4, 2019

You'll find the right one for you in time.... and when you do, things will fall into place. Hang in there. Just keep looking.

I looked for at least 2 months before I bought my 87 this year. Kissed a lot of frogs before I found my princess... so to speak! Lol !

Potomus Pete · Oct 4, 2019

I like your attitude . Your learning as you go , and understanding your cars issues for a first timer . These cars are older , of coarse and you dont want to get too burned . I say that because your going to have to fix your older car . Maybe you can get a manual transmission and impress your friends as you tear things up .Try to find half decent paint. Good luck to you .

Alldegree · Oct 5, 2019

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I know it’s important to be patient with this, but at the same time I feel like pretty soon all the good cars will be put in storage and probably won’t come on sale again until next year.

I am still looking to see if I can find any local deals, and I found this one in Kenosha. If by some miracle it doesn’t have frame rail or strut tower rot, it might be worth a look.

1989 Ford Mustang

Up for sale is a 1989 Ford Mustang GT! Tidbits of information: GT Hatchback (P42E) Factory original color was 7H Bright Regatta Blue Opal Gray interior Manufactured in Dearborn, MI 25th Anniversary...

racine.craigslist.org

I contacted the owner for more info, and I’m waiting to hear from them. It looks a little on the rough side.

Looking back, I think I can actually see some rot from the picture in the ad.

Alldegree · Oct 13, 2019

Found something nearby that might be interesting. It’s on Facebook marketplace, so let me know if you can’t see it. It’s pretty ugly, but it looks somewhat clean and a lot of the performance parts are things I would have done anyway, so that saves me time assuming the previous owner did them right. It looks like somebody really went to town trying to pull a dent out of the back fender with a slide hammer and did a lot more harm than good, so that will have to be repaired or replaced. I also asked him for pictures of the frame rails and shock towers, but he said they’re not on his phone and assured me they’re perfect, which I’ll believe when I see.

There’s also the fact that I don’t really know how to drive stick. I’ve done it in racing sims but downshifting properly was always something I struggled with, so a test drive probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

https://www.facebook.com/View: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/512839079504931/

He lowered the price today, so this one will probably go fast, although it’s been up for awhile so maybe it’s not as nice as the guy says it is.

Also, I realize this has gone from a “dumb kid needs help repairing rust” thread to a “slightly less dumb kid needs help finding a car” thread, so if I need to move over to a different category, just let me know and I’ll do that.

Mustang5L5 · Oct 13, 2019

That quarter damage would turn me away. If you have the skills to DIY that’s one thing, but that’s gonna be a spendy fix plus repaint.

Adieu · Oct 13, 2019

Mustang5L5 said:
That quarter damage would turn me away. If you have the skills to DIY that’s one thing, but that’s gonna be a spendy fix plus repaint.

That was my first thought as well, not to mention no AC or heat (especially in a northern state).

That's a little overpriced, but not a terrible project car. If the heat and AC were hooked up and working, I'd be all-in at that price all damned day, but every time I see one that has it not hooked up, or "just needs a charge" I assume the worst.

General karthief · Oct 13, 2019

If it is rust free I think it is not a bad deal.

Alldegree · Oct 13, 2019

74stang2togo said:
That was my first thought as well, not to mention no AC or heat (especially in a northern state).

That's a little overpriced, but not a terrible project car. If the heat and AC were hooked up and working, I'd be all-in at that price all damned day, but every time I see one that has it not hooked up, or "just needs a charge" I assume the worst.

He actually said the previous owner pulled it out completely, I guess they were planning on racing t or something. I just took a look at it today, and it looks really clean. The guy took me for a ride around the block, and it hauls. The only thing that worries me is it smokes a bit. The guy said it’s intermittent, but it could be the valve seals, and I know that’s a pretty big job. I’ll post some of the pictures I took when I get home.

Alldegree · Oct 13, 2019

Here’s some more pictures, the shock towers and frame rails look really clean. The damage to the rear quarter doesn’t seem to extend past the fender lip, and hasn’t started rusting too bad yet.

View attachment 636528

Alldegree · Oct 13, 2019

Adieu · Oct 13, 2019

The thing about that quarter panel is that someone's already tried, badly, to fix it.

If the A/C and heat were removed intentionally, then the worst is no longer assumed, it's a given. That car will need an evaporator and heater core, not to mention whatever was removed.

Fox Fox Body Frame Rust-- Scrap or Save?

Alldegree

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Noobz347

Stangnet Facilities Maint Tech... Er... Janitor

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

Alldegree

Rdub6

So while I wait to figure out my rear end issues

Alldegree

Gs1987GT

Active Member

Potomus Pete

I'm still waiting for the fully nude shots

Alldegree

1989 Ford Mustang

Alldegree

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Adieu

Easy there, this ain't a dating site.

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Alldegree

Alldegree

Alldegree

Adieu

Easy there, this ain't a dating site.

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wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

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wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

So while I wait to figure out my rear end issues

Active Member

I'm still waiting for the fully nude shots

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

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