Welcome to Stangnet...
Keep in mind that the car is 20 years old and that lots of miles have been put on it.
Some of the previous owners may have done some work of dubious quality, so
be prepared to deal with it. If it was a one owner or family owned car, the car may
be in better shape than if it changed owners several different times.
These cars are a lot of fun, but they require some wrench work and TLC to keep
them at their best. If you are into the DIY mechanic thing and have some
experience fixing other cars, it will probably be OK. If you have no clue except
to take it to some mechanic, the mechanic will soon own your wallet or credit card
and you will grow to hate the car rather than love it.
If you live in a location that has emissions testing, have an emissions check done
before any money changes hands. Fixing emissions related problems can be
expensive since the previous owner(s) may have removed the required equipment.
Removing the emissions equipment doesn't make the car go faster, it just makes
the computer angry and spit codes. Some codes may cause the computer to go
into limp mode, reducing power and economy.
Here are my standard comments to someone new to 5.0 Mustangs.
There are some clues on what to look out for when purchasing one.
If you want to do the fix up & power up thing, make sure that you have some other
form of reliable daily driver. That way the stang can sit while your wallet and hands
take a rest from the last project that didn't quite get finished on that 3 day weekend.
Things always cost more and take longer the first time you do them. Having some
other working vehicle makes life easier since it isn't the big crush to get it running
for the Monday morning drive to work or class.
Plan on spending some money on tools it you don't already have them. The stang
has both metric and american fasteners, so you really need two sets of wrenches.
A timing light, digital voltmeter, vacuum gauge, compression tester, fuel pressure
test gauge and fuel line coupler tools are some of the test & tuning tools you'll need.
Visit the pawn shops and sometimes you can find a deal on tools & test equipment
if you stick to well known name brands.
A sheltered work area is almost a must, someplace that you can leave the car in
pieces without upsetting anyone. Some guys here have changed a transmission in
the parking lot of their apartment in a rainstorm, but they will tell you it wasn't fun.
Depending on where you live, a warm dry garage is a nice place to do the winter
projects that stangs tend to become.
EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) Computer - every stang after 85 has or had one:
don't let it intimidate you. The computer based EFI systems are not hard to fix
and most of the time they tell you what's wrong with the engine. Here's a book
that will get you started with how the Ford electronic engine control or "computer" works.
Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control 1988-1993 by James Probst:
ISBN 0-8376-0301-3.
It's about $25-$35 from Borders.com see http://www.amazon.com/ . Select
b...e patience and though before you get started.
