My Second Fox

FoxyNate

Member
Apr 16, 2021
40
12
18
Seattle
Hi all!

Not sure if this should be in welcome wagon but I got my second foxbody (first was my first car, a 4cyl 15 years ago)

The body and frame will be toast in about 5 years due to rust (according to a body shop) safe for now, but the engine/drivetrain are solid and it runs great. No regrets at $3500 in this market, going to get my money's worth f'ing around with it this summer.

Planning on getting a 4cyl with a clean body in the next year or two (when my 2 car garage is finished) and swapping out the engine, drivetrain, suspension of this one into the new frame, are there any components that you wouldn't suggest upgrading before that swap? It's pretty much stock at the moment except for GT40 intake and air filter.
Not going to do torque box reinforcements or subframe connectors since body is getting tossed in a few years. It has super nice 4 lug Weld racing wheels so putting off that conversion for a while.
Upgrading radiator and fuel pump since they're going out anyway. Nothing else NEEDS to be changed.

Excited to be a part of this community!
 

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Hey! Welcome from another newbie :coff:
Sounds like a good set up you've got on the go! How is the rest of the car looking rust aside? Any kinda funky interior options? :pop:

Those quarter windows look pretty excellent unless the photo is a touch deceiving?
 
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Hey! Welcome from another newbie :coff:
Sounds like a good set up you've got on the go! How is the rest of the car looking rust aside? Any kinda funky interior options? :pop:

Those quarter windows look pretty excellent unless the photo is a touch deceiving?
Strut towers are :dead:
Paint job is terrible DIY disaster, rust that's been bondo'd over and floor pans are flaky. It's safe to drive but not worth rebuilding.
Interior has a janky touch screen radio and "The Lean" but otherwise pretty great!
 
Show us pictures of what is so bad that you think you will need to throw this away in 5 years? If it is something that will last 5 years that tells me it's not at a point it cant be fixed now. Pictures under the car, floor pans, door jambs, front strut towers and frame rails. There are numerous foxbody pro's here that will give it to you straight.

Chris
 
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Show us pictures of what is so bad that you think you will need to throw this away in 5 years? If it is something that will last 5 years that tells me it's not at a point it cant be fixed now. Pictures under the car, floor pans, door jambs, front strut towers and frame rails. There are numerous foxbody pro's here that will give it to you straight.

Chris
I will when I have some time/daylight.
I took it to a bodyshop to see if they would work on it and they broke down the issues for me, plus the mechanic that I took it to. That plus I'd prefer an LX body style so spending the time and energy to cut out and patch strut towers seems not super worth it. Basically bought this because I could afford it and I wanted to learn some mechanical skills this summer.
You can't get a screwdriver through the towers yet but there's a definite croissant level rust thing going on.
 
Hi all!

Not sure if this should be in welcome wagon but I got my second foxbody (first was my first car, a 4cyl 15 years ago)

The body and frame will be toast in about 5 years due to rust (according to a body shop) safe for now, but the engine/drivetrain are solid and it runs great. No regrets at $3500 in this market, going to get my money's worth f'ing around with it this summer.

Planning on getting a 4cyl with a clean body in the next year or two (when my 2 car garage is finished) and swapping out the engine, drivetrain, suspension of this one into the new frame, are there any components that you wouldn't suggest upgrading before that swap? It's pretty much stock at the moment except for GT40 intake and air filter.
Not going to do torque box reinforcements or subframe connectors since body is getting tossed in a few years. It has super nice 4 lug Weld racing wheels so putting off that conversion for a while.
Upgrading radiator and fuel pump since they're going out anyway. Nothing else NEEDS to be changed.

Excited to be a part of this community!
This will be an excellent build when you can swap the go-fast bits into a solid chassis. You've got a whole forum rooting for you!
 
Plenty of folks here have tackled the rusty strut tower issue in several different ways. If you can pull the engine and trans out it really isn't that hard of a job.
 
I did a deep clean of the frame rails when doing my K member swap.. used compressed air and my pressure washer to clean the inside of the rails out.
I then followed up with some Eastwood frame rail coating, comes in a can with a 360* spray nozzle. I used 3 cans in the front frame rails and am no longer worried about my car rusting out.
A little R&R now and you could have a trouble free car for years
 
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I did a deep clean of the frame rails when doing my K member swap.. used compressed air and my pressure washer to clean the inside of the rails out.
I then followed up with some Eastwood frame rail coating, comes in a can with a 360* spray nozzle. I used 3 cans in the front frame rails and am no longer worried about my car rusting out.
A little R&R now and you could have a trouble free car for years
This is an awesome idea!
Will have pics tomo but seems like sanding, POR- 15 on surface and eastwood for insides, epoxy putty and resanding may put me in a good place for a long time.
I have no experience welding (hell even changing the fuel pump this monday makes me nervous lol) so the cutting out and patching game is not for me
 
Welding is fun! Seriously. Years back I had an 88 Convertible that needed a rear floor pan welded in. I got estimates and realized that for half the price of paying someone else to do it I could buy a decent welder and learn to do it myself. That was exactly what I did...and this was long before the days of Youtube teaching you anything you want to learn. You might consider buying a welder, and learning to weld. It doesn't have to look pretty, just has to be strong. Fuel pimp is easy, just make sure you replace the filler neck seal and the vent line seal.

Chris
 
Welding is fun! Seriously. Years back I had an 88 Convertible that needed a rear floor pan welded in. I got estimates and realized that for half the price of paying someone else to do it I could buy a decent welder and learn to do it myself. That was exactly what I did...and this was long before the days of Youtube teaching you anything you want to learn. You might consider buying a welder, and learning to weld. It doesn't have to look pretty, just has to be strong. Fuel pimp is easy, just make sure you replace the filler neck seal and the vent line seal.

Chris
I'm already in trouble, what is a vent line seal google is coming up blank
 
Yes, vapor valve/vent line....same thing-ish. A fuel pimp is someone who lets you use a piece of gas they control......for a fee.....be careful as sometimes the gas is under aged....
 
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