Progress Thread Let's try this again...

Alldegree

Active Member
Sep 14, 2019
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Charleston
Just wanted to give everyone an update. I know at the end of my last thread I said that I would wait until the snow had melted before looking for another fox, but an opportunity has arisen and I decided to jump on it.

You all may remember how I sold my rusted out 85 for parts to a guy who was going to use it for his 86. This is that car. He said he was going to sell it for 7000 when it was done, but he would accept payments on it now, so I put 4000 down, just made another payment today and I'm probably going to finish it off in mid-late January, which is about when he says he'll have the car finished.

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I've seen the car in person several times at the owner's shop, it is completely clean from what I can see.

It has an 85 roller block, an electric radiator fan, lowered suspension, camber adjustment plates, a hurst short-throw shifter connected to a T5 out of a 91 or 92, off-road H-pipe, Flowmaster 40 exhaust, American Racing mesh wheels, and a GT40 intake. There's probably more that I'm forgetting, but when it's done it will be a solid driver that needs nothing but still has room for me to do stuff to it later. The back seats, hood liner, cowl vent, steering wheel, a lot of the interior plastic as well as some other random small things are out of the junk 85 that I had.

I know it's risky buying a car that's still being finished, but the seller and I each have a signed bill of sale to record payments totaling up to a locked-in price of 7000, I've been to the guy's house and seen the title, he's been completely upfront with me about what he's been doing to the car and what still needs to be done, and he's sent me updates almost every weekend as to how the work is going, so he seems like a trustworthy guy to me.

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I already have a list of things I'd like to do to it, but right now my main objective is paying it off and figuring out how to get it back to my house. Since the owner says he'll be done in January, the roads are going to be a salty, slippery mess, so driving it home is out of the question.

I also got to see what's left of my 85:

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I can't believe I actually bought that thing. At least the few good parts are going to people who can use them.
 
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I'm not sure I see a 7k dollar car there.......

In following your other threads the one thing I see you struggle with is patience. I think you jumped into this one too. I wish you luck and hope this car turns out good. I also hope there are no problems with the car getting finished. What you consider finished, and the seller consider finished might in fact be two completely different things.
 
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Good luck with the car! It looks good in the pics. Value is subjective, so hopefully this one ticks most of your boxes. I've got no room to talk. I think I over paid for my car and dont even want to know what I have in it now lol.
 
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I won't go into the price or if it's a deal or not or anything of the sort. I will say congratulations and that it looks like a damned nice car in process! :nice:
 
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I'm not sure I see a 7k dollar car there.......

In following your other threads the one thing I see you struggle with is patience. I think you jumped into this one too. I wish you luck and hope this car turns out good. I also hope there are no problems with the car getting finished. What you consider finished, and the seller consider finished might in fact be two completely different things.

You are absolutely correct on all fronts and I share your concern. I like to think I jumped a little softer on this one, though. The seller has built and sold several of these cars and they all look great, and from talking to him he seems to really pay attention to detail, right down to the warning stickers under the hood. His definition of finished is higher than mine, I think. Nevertheless, 7000 is a lot of money, so I won’t be completely at ease until it’s done and in my garage.
 
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If you have been lucky enough to find a reputable builder who takes pride in their work, and does it right, you’ll probably be ok.
You can spend 4 or 5k, and then get to 7 in a hurry on your own, and not be as far along. Hope it works out.
 
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I am not certain that I agree [if] that is fresh paint that I'm seeing on that car.

It is fresh paint, less than two months, I believe. The guy runs a paint shop, so the work is very solid.

Since I’m hopefully going to get the car in late january, I’ve been thinking about what kinds of upgrades I could do to the car while I wait for the weather to clear. I’m thinking about an MAF conversion and shorty headers. Is that a realistic goal? I know the A9L computers are hard to find, but the seller has a lot of parts, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have one.
 
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It is fresh paint, less than two months, I believe. The guy runs a paint shop, so the work is very solid.

Since I’m hopefully going to get the car in late january, I’ve been thinking about what kinds of upgrades I could do to the car while I wait for the weather to clear. I’m thinking about an MAF conversion and shorty headers. Is that a realistic goal? I know the A9L computers are hard to find, but the seller has a lot of parts, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have one.

Add $4k [minimum] to value of the rest of car.

You're getting a good deal IMO.
 
If that car is completely done and running well with a nice paint job when all is done I'd say that's a fair market price. Not a steal, not cheap but fair. I particularly like the 4 eyed foxes best myself. Have a nicer muscle look vs. the euro headlights of the 87-93 cars. That's just my $.02.

Oh and if the builder don't do it for you then sub-frames and strut tower brace first things to do.
 
If that car is completely done and running well with a nice paint job when all is done I'd say that's a fair market price. Not a steal, not cheap but fair. I particularly like the 4 eyed foxes best myself. Have a nicer muscle look vs. the euro headlights of the 87-93 cars. That's just my $.02.

Oh and if the builder don't do it for you then sub-frames and strut tower brace first things to do.

I’m planning on getting some full length subframe connectors welded in once the weather clears and I can drive it to a shop. Strut tower braces are a good idea too.
 
What do you guys think I should do about getting the car to my house? I would need it to be in an enclosed trailer, right? The shipping quotes I've seen are around $350. If all else fails, the seller said he'd be willing to hang onto the car until the salt and snow are off the roads, but I'd rather have it in my garage and I think he'd rather get it out of his so he can move on to other projects. It's only 11 miles away.
 
Man you have a disease....you have the Fox bug bad! Car looks sharp deffinently a step up from the last heap. I agree with others it is priced in the ball park. That's my favorite year car too! If I were you and this is going to be a summer car. I would let him store it or find a buddy with a enclosed trailer. If you do get impatient try to move it after a rain when the road is dry and or do a good rinse after it is home especially the underside. That salt dust will be everywhere!