in the market....is mileage an issue?

[russo2999]

hey,
im in the market for a fox body stang, most desireably a convert. or hatch, on average, at how many miles would you guys say a 5.0L is in its final moments? like 160K??? i got an offer for a 167K, and im a little worried about it....

 

[vristang]

If all is well with the motor and it is very close to stock, it should be close to 20mpg if not closer to 25mpg.

 

[Mark89coupe]

I have 197,000 on mine and it runs great, no signs of stopping. The tranny would be something to worry about with that mileage.

I use a quart of oil every 500 or so miles. Don't leak at all.

I average 20mpg combined city/hwy. (when my foot isnt on the floor)

 

[bryce93lx]

if it is a 5sp and taken care of you should be okay, may need clutch depending on when it was changed, butif it is a, auto car and the original tranny, it is proably on it's last legs mine popped at 130,xxx, but i was mean to it, the motor's are soild i know a guy with almost 300k on a 86 gt, never had a valve cover off

 

[RBRANDX]

Mileage is not important, its how hard the miles were put on the car, and how well it was maintained. Ask the seller to let you have a mechanic of your choice take a look at it and ask him to do a leak down test on the cylinders...That is about the best indicator of the internal condition of the engine.

 

[russo2999]

so the condition of the engine is basically based upon the mileage to the gallon? cauz then you can see how efficient it is, wether its rubbing, etc etc.
yea, the one im looking at is a 5 speed. i have a 95 v6 5 speed with 72k on it right now, but i want something with power, you know? a real muscle car.

 

[Mark89coupe]

Miles to gallon isnt a good way to check. The leak down test is the best. I just threw in the mpg.

 

[vristang]

Don't try to judge the condition of a motor by its fuel economy, I was speed reading and misunderstood the question.

My 302 was still running well with 190k or so on it, when I pulled it.

I am still using the stock T5 with about 215k miles on it. The most recent 11k or so have been with a built 408w. It is finally starting to whine a little.

If it drives well, go for it.

jason

 

[86bluecobra]

yah what they said. 167k (KM) is not much. thats only around 104 miles. thats not so bad. a friend of mine is at 315k with his.

 

[865.0HO]

My GT has 201k miles on it and still running strong, only uses a quart every 1,000miles. In fact I pulled the valve covers for the first time earlier this spring to change the gaskets.

My LX is still running strong as well.

 

[Darkwriter77]

My notch is almost at a quarter-million miles, but it's had a motor rebuild at around 130,000 miles and an AOD-to-T5 conversion done about the same time. Being that the first owner had the thing set up strictly for drag racing tells me those were some pretty hard 130k miles, and the 18-year-old that had it after him for a few months definitely didn't help things, either. Still, about $3,000 in parts and countless hours of my own labor, I've just about finished bringing it back from the dead.

MORAL O' THE STORY: Mileage does not necessarily indicate reliability on these cars, it only amounts to how much restoration you'll need to perform. Even if you do get stuck with one that's been beaten to death, Mustangs (and their 302 powerplants) are almost infinitely rebuildable beasts - you can buy darn near every single little bolt, nut, screw, trim piece, and doohickey on these things new or used in 48 out of 50 States, and for dirt cheap (especially compared to newer aluminum-blocked/-head motors and import cars).

FWIW, my other 302's a '90 Lincoln Town Car. It's got right at 198k on it now on the original motor AND tranny, and all it's needed thus far is a water pump and valve cover gaskets. These things just refuse to die sometimes.

 

[Modular2v]

my 5.0 was still running strong with 215k miles on it when i pulled it to do the 331

 

[Modular2v]

i might add that my car was BONE stock though with a set of 02 gt mufflers

 

[Repostyle]

my 5.0 has about 150k miles on it and it runs great. The auto tranny was rebuilt just before I bought the car, but other than that, it was pretty much stock and didn't leak or burn oil. still full at every oil change. It is kinda sad for rwhp now (194) but that's most likely because I haven't done all my mods to it yet so what I've done so far has hurt more than helped. I still have heads, cam (which will be going in soon), and SC to go