Fox Shell/Rebuild Question..

[Redeemedsoul]

I am a college student on a budget with two years to rebuild a car for when I get out of college. The car I am about to buy is a 1989 mustang gt hatchback with 130,000+ miles nothing rebuilt. I plan on taking out the engine, tranny, suspension, and interior the whole nine. I need help deciding if I should buy an actual car with the motor/tranny/wiring already or just buy the shell of the car and work from their. I'm not worried about gas, but reliability is a big issue. I'm a complete noob to v8's or american cars.. I own a stg. 2 wrx, i have done all the work on my car. Even swapped turbo's because I was bored, but how should i plan this project. I have a list of mods I was looking at... 3:73 gears ... manual tranny ... need to rebuild a whole motor ... no idea what to get ... (no flames) - Thanks

 

[Lyncher]

I am a college student on a budget with two years to rebuild a car for when I get out of college. The car I am about to buy is a 1989 mustang gt hatchback with 130,000+ miles nothing rebuilt. I plan on taking out the engine, tranny, suspension, and interior the whole nine. I need help deciding if I should buy an actual car with the motor/tranny/wiring already or just buy the shell of the car and work from their. I'm not worried about gas, but reliability is a big issue. I'm a complete noob to v8's or american cars.. I own a stg. 2 wrx, i have done all the work on my car. Even swapped turbo's because I was bored, but how should i plan this project. I have a list of mods I was looking at... 3:73 gears ... manual tranny ... need to rebuild a whole motor ... no idea what to get ... (no flames) - Thanks

well do you plan on just rebuilding the motor or rebuilding and modding it or...just putting in a whole new motor? It really depends!

 

[shifterpilot5.0]

I would recomend a complete car to start with, I started mine as a roller with no motor and trans 2 and a half years ago 8000 dollars and 2 years I was done and if I do it agian I will deffinately drive it in to the garage before I start.

 

[Lyncher]

I would recomend a complete car to start with, I started mine as a roller with no motor and trans 2 and a half years ago 8000 dollars and 2 years I was done and if I do it agian I will deffinately drive it in to the garage before I start.

true but if its not gonna be his DD and if he is gonna do a complete motor swap then it could be a waste of money in the long run. But if its gonna be a DD then obviously get a full fox

 

[Redeemedsoul]

I want a completely new engine/trans... i want it to be reliable ... i will be looking into 300+ rwhp ... but still daily driveable if i wanted it to be... where can i buy a whole new motor. or should i buy everything(cams, bores, shaft, whatever else is in the block) seperate?

 

[Redeemedsoul]

it will be a DD but i want it to be reliable if I do the usual bolt-ons and rebuilding the engine seems harder than just getting a new one and starting ... I would also be looking at a shop to fix up my wires and fuses and all hoses/electronics to get everything working.

I am going to be gutting the interior ... planning on no back seat .. with nice comfortable buckets for the front .. i also want an adjustable suspension for the daily driver and the weekend racing purposes...

 

[Lyncher]

I want a completely new engine/trans... i want it to be reliable ... i will be looking into 300+ rwhp ... but still daily driveable if i wanted it to be... where can i buy a whole new motor. or should i buy everything(cams, bores, shaft, whatever else is in the block) seperate?

Well that depends too. You could buy a new motor from FRPP (Ford Racing Performance Parts) they have a website where you can look at the crate motors. Or you could do it yourself...what is the maximum HP that you would want to acheive..if it is going to be over 450 than you will probably need an aftermarket 4bolt block

 

[Lyncher]

Heres the ford site with the crate engines, just click download next to the crate engines picture http://www.fordracingparts.com/download/catalogs.asp

 

[Redeemedsoul]

Thanks for the reply... I'm looking to run 12's for now ... high or low 12's but i want the car to be able to handle 10's if i change/add a few parts.. Also if im looking to get into the 12's/10's with just switching things should i get just the fox body shell or buy a used running 1989 gt...?

 

[Lyncher]

Thanks for the reply... I'm looking to run 12's for now ... high or low 12's but i want the car to be able to handle 10's if i change/add a few parts.. Also if im looking to get into the 12's/10's with just switching things should i get just the fox body shell or buy a used running 1989 gt...?

...well I doubt your getting into the 10's n/a, and im not positive how much rwhp that would take but there is a good chance that you would want to get an aftermarket block such as a Dart, R302, A4, or a Man O' War. And your not going to go from 12's to 10's by just swapping a few parts...you can definatly get into the 12s na, that should be 2 hard...but to get to the 10's your gonna need a blower or a big ****ing shot of nitrous...there are a lot of options but it mostly depends on your budget...

 

[Redeemedsoul]

Just wondering where can i find these types of aftermarket blocks... Also after some research i made up a list of mods i wouldnt mind having on my car ... solid underpinnings, poly urethane bushings ... adjustable shocks/struts, swaybar, world class t-5 tranny either 3:73 gears or 3:55 gears ... subframe connectors, and x frames... Baer's Claw brakes... thats what i have written down any insight anyone else?