Fox Fox Body Frame Rust-- Scrap or Save?

[Alldegree]

I think that in the price range you’re looking at, it’s going to be a real hit or miss. You may get an honest seller, and get a decent start to a project, or you could get seriously burnt. But either way, at that price, it WILL need work.

Is there anyone you know that can help you look at these cars without the “emotion” getting in the way? For me, those “I want to be a cobra things” on a regular LX would raise some flags, meaning they beat on it like they wished it was a Cobra.

I'm ok with some work, but I understand what you're saying. I do know a few people I could talk to, so I'll definitely be sure to ask/listen to them so I don't focus on a couple of good aspects of the car and forget about the others like I did last time. Oddly enough, I could probably talk to the buyer of the dumpster fire that I had. He said he does a lot of work with foxes, and that if I was ever looking for another one he could help me find it. I don't know if he meant it or if he was just making conversation while we waited for the overheating winch to drag the car onto his trailer, but it could be worth a shot.

The cobra badges are why I was kind of leaning towards the one out in Washington, but the listing for it just expired, so it probably sold awhile ago. It's going to be a month or so before I have the time or the money to actually pick any of these up, so it might be worth it to just wait for the right one, I suppose.

 

[LILCBRA]

Personally, I wouldn't trust the guy. If he was such a great help he wouldn't have bent you over with what you got in the first place. Who knows who he knows, he could tell you that a particular car would be an awesome buy, but that car might be one of his buddies and has horrible issues of it's own. But he'll sell it to you just because he feels he can catch a sucker twice and get his buddy some extra cash out of the deal. I'd just wash my hands of him.....

 

[Mstng93SSP]

I think he's talking about the guy who bought his rust pile, not the one who sold it to him.

 

[Mustang5L5]

My opinion? Don’t buy anything with rust.

Mechanical parts can be swapped out by a trained blind seal, but body rust and rot needs to be handled by someone with experience.

Buy a solid body car above all else

 

[Rdub6]

I think he's talking about the guy who bought his rust pile, not the one who sold it to him.

Looking back and reading it again...you are correct! But I think he gets our point..... I hope!

 

[Alldegree]

I think he's talking about the guy who bought his rust pile, not the one who sold it to him.

You are correct, I don’t have any intention of dealing with the original seller again.


I’m still looking at cars, I'll post some of them as I find them so you guys can give me your opinions if you want and point out anything I might be missing.

Buy a solid body car above all else

I was thinking about that, and I found an extremely clean lx 4cyl out in Washington:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/786430812/overview/?aff=stemp2&CMP=stemp2

The car is almost perfect based on the pictures, but the only problem is it's a 4 cylinder. I know they're still fun cars, but it would require a swap for the car to really get to where I want it. I found some other ads that I'll list below with my thoughts.

This one's local, and it looks pretty clean. I could do without the flame job, stickers, and smoked headlights, but you take what you can get, I guess:

Ford foxbody mustang lx

I have this beautiful none Rusty mustang well taken care of no Rips in the interior just testing my waters I just did the clutch exedy stage 3 the only problem with is the reversed it pops out of...

chicago.craigslist.org

This car is in Texas, and looks pretty solid aside from the hatchback, but the interior looks like a frat house:

1992 foxbody mustang lx

Great little car it was project have other things I want to do Cons- ac is broken but could be fixed easy with some work. No headliner in the car, but I have a brand new one that needs to be...

houston.craigslist.org

Finally, there's this convertible. I'm not really a huge fan of soft tops, but after seeing how clean this one is and how many there are for sale the idea is kind of growing on me:

Mustang Convertible

REDUCED PRICE Owned car for the last 19 years all but a couple years it was garaged. 5.0 engine with automatic transmission professionally rebuilt with shift kit, lowered/stiffer springs, subframe...

wichita.craigslist.org

I know that at this price point, there are going to have to be compromises, it's just a question of where and what I'm willing to sacrifice to get a decent car. If tacky exterior mods, a bad paint job or a worn-out interior are the worst of my problems, I think I could live with that. Of course, I also thought I'd be able to live with the state that my previous car was in, which is why I'm asking for your opinions.

I also just kind of like talking and learning about these cars. I wasn't especially interested in them before I bought the blue monster, but now that I've owned one, I'd really like to be able to drive one as well.

 

[Rdub6]

First one.... he’s telling you the transmission is on its way out.

Second, green one.... that rust on hatch would make me think there is more elsewhere, regardless of what he says. Interior is being used as a dump. Many things say it has not been taken care of. However, if you can haggle down that price, could be a good start to a project. But I’d be cautious.

Convertible. They engine bay is clean and he’s owned it for 19 years. Both good signs the car has been well taken care of. The auto would be a deal breaker for me, but it looks to be a nice car.

All that said..... very tough to judge a car through pictures on internet. I would want to see anything I buy, in person with time to really look it over.

 

[Alldegree]

Thanks for the feedback.

All that said..... very tough to judge a car through pictures on internet. I would want to see anything I buy, in person with time to really look it over.

That's the hard part of this, most of these cars are pretty far away for me, so the best I'd be able to do is ask for pictures and pay a shop or some other inspection service to send someone out to look at it.

 

[LILCBRA]

I think he's talking about the guy who bought his rust pile, not the one who sold it to him.

You are correct, sir - I misread and/or misunderstood his post.

The convertible isn't listed any longer. But of the other 2, if I had to choose, I'd look at the 1st one. Paint can always be changed. Besides, it's local and much easier to see it first hand.

 

[LILCBRA]

How about this one? It may need a little TLC since they've mentioned it's been in storage for a while. But if everything they're saying is true it could be quite the find.... It almost makes me want to take a trip to Chicago! You know, if I had the money to spend..... Lol It would be nice to have more and better pics though.

1984 Ford Mustang convert blue brand new convertible top brand tires

This car was originally bought in Texas was in storage for 19 years low miles odometer says 1700 original owner too old to drive

chicago.craigslist.org

 

[Alldegree]

How about this one? It may need a little TLC since they've mentioned it's been in storage for a while. But if everything they're saying is true it could be quite the find.... It almost makes me want to take a trip to Chicago! You know, if I had the money to spend..... Lol It would be nice to have more and better pics though.

1984 Ford Mustang convert blue brand new convertible top brand tires

This car was originally bought in Texas was in storage for 19 years low miles odometer says 1700 original owner too old to drive

chicago.craigslist.org

I'd prefer a V8 hatchback, but unfortunately so does everyone else and the market reflects that. I've toyed with the idea of buying a really clean 4cyl, enjoying it for a year or two, upgrading the suspension over time, and then do a v8 swap when I (hopefully) have more time, money, and space. But I think it may be better to just spend a little more on a decent 5.0 that doesn't need a swap.

It's incredible how lazy some sellers are. I saw an ad one time where the title was just "Car," and the only picture posted was a blurry shot taken from their 5th floor apartment window. No description. No make or model.

Speaking of craigslist, I contacted the seller of that green mess down in Texas. He sent me some pictures of the shock towers. He said there was no rust in the ad,

I don't know how bad it is, but it looks like there's quite a bit of rust on the inside of the tower. It would be one thing if it was just surface rust, but the area around the bottom bolt of the strut mount scares me. I think this one's out.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Ask seller to take photo down the shock tower towards the ground.

Drivers side is usually worse. A little spilled brake fluid or a leak corrodes the hell out of the metal

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

The green car has probably lived it's life in Houston..which is very humid, and right next to the ocean. Bare metal will rust just by exposing it to the air. The humidity where I live is always fairly high, but Houston humidity is equivalent to "salty-wet-air."
I think that is what you are seeing with the green car. It needs a seller willing to put the car up in the air and take the necessary pictures you'll need.

The car has lived a rough life. The owners a pig. The sub wiring tells me that the rest of your wiring harness is probably gonna be hacked. The drivers seat looks to be broken too. ( All the telltales of a car that has had a too hard life)

But,...like I said. If the rest of the body isn't a rusted out hag-mess, I'll take a neglected GT/LX over a well care for rust pile any day.

 

[Alldegree]

But,...like I said. If the rest of the body isn't a rusted out hag-mess, I'll take a neglected GT/LX over a well care for rust pile any day.

The rest of it doesn’t look too bad, just kind of crusty and gross. I’m just concerned about the passenger’s side, some of those holes look pretty flaky.

The fact that he has two febreeze air fresheners in the vents is...alarming.

Here are some more photos:

There are a few more, but I’m on my phone right now, and uploading photos from mobile takes forever.

I also heard from the seller of the local black flamejobbed lx with the iffy transmission. He said the car has no rust on the frame rails or the shock towers, might be worth a look this weekend. He lowered the price from 4000 to 3800.

 

[Rdub6]

I’d want to see under the carpet. Top left corner of the last pic is showing some signs of rot (I believe that’s the seat mount plate in the pic). The rust is likely much worse on the inside.

 

[Adieu]

The fact that he has two febreeze air fresheners in the vents is...alarming.

Good eye on the air fresheners. Multiple air fresheners doesn't necessarily mean anything (you'd be surprised how many I see in cars on a daily basis), but the fact that you're noticing little details like that means you're paying much better attention this time. Keep that up and you'll do much better with your next purchase.

Rust and electrical should be your biggest concerns right now, because as a beginner, they're your hardest things to fix.

Never take a seller's word for it on anything, especially if they're saying things like "It's just a fuse." or "The A/C just needs a recharge." A fuse can be fixed for no more than $5 on these cars, and even a professional evac and recharge on an A/C system is less than $150, (and DIY recharge kits to half-ass the job cost less than half of that) so if they haven't bothered with anything that basic, something more is wrong.

 

[Adieu]

The green car has probably lived it's life in Houston..which is very humid, and right next to the ocean. Bare metal will rust just by exposing it to the air. The humidity where I live is always fairly high, but Houston humidity is equivalent to "salty-wet-air."
I think that is what you are seeing with the green car. It needs a seller willing to put the car up in the air and take the necessary pictures you'll need.

The car has lived a rough life. The owners a pig. The sub wiring tells me that the rest of your wiring harness is probably gonna be hacked. The drivers seat looks to be broken too. ( All the telltales of a car that has had a too hard life)

But,...like I said. If the rest of the body isn't a rusted out hag-mess, I'll take a neglected GT/LX over a well care for rust pile any day.

This is why you never take "Texas Car" in an ad for granted. If it spent its whole life in Galveston, Corpus, Port Aransas, etc, it could be just as rusty as the car that started this thread. If it was driven near the chemical plants and/or refineries of Houston, it could be even worse. I've seen five year old fleet trucks out of Houston that didn't have a cab floor left.

 

[Boostedpimp]

Driver side strut tower by the brake prop valve is usually the first spot to go... check there otherwise look over the floor pans as well as the corners where the pans meet up to I guess the firewall. Look at the door hinge area and look over the bottom of both doors and trunk/hatch lid as well. If it has rust in a spot or two then you have to assume there is more

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Be sure to look where the shock tower goes into the frame rail. That’s the key rust area.

While I agree with people that say the driver’s side where the brake fluid can leak is a common area, it turned out it was my passenger side frame rail and lower shock tower i needed to cut out and replace.

 

[Alldegree]

Heard from the green mustang guy. I only asked for the strut tower mount but he put the thing on a lift and sent me a bunch of pictures.