Hey guys:
I have been working on a pretty beat 1989 LX , V8 of course, and I've had my hands full.
Dunno if many people have bought a car that needed a little of EVERYTHING, so much so that you wonder how it was even running.
I got this one from a longtime mustang shop in Georgia, starts with a D
...advertised as good for parts or Cobra conversion, and now I think that might have been the better plan, lol.
Anyway, I started out cleaning the very nasty interior up..drug all the panels, seats and carpet out, pressure washed until clean.
While I had the interior out I had the awesome job of cleaning mice nests out of the floorboards..that was so nasty. I also had to replace the main harness running from the left dash to the rear of the car since several connectors were screwed up and some of the wiring near the console had gotten burned in a teensy FIRE
Ok, got everything cleaned up, deodorized, etc, and put the carpet, front seats and console back in.Center console piece is an absolute wreck.
Well, the next task was to check the lights in the replacement cluster I bought for it(original got sold, imagine that, lol), onlt to find a blown fuse. Replace the fuse and it blows. The next entire day was spent chasing a short that ended up not existing, it was an internally busted headlight switch.
Moving along....
I bought this car knowing it had a fuel pump issue. I figured it was burned up like most I've seen.
I powered the electrical up and jumped the relay to make the pump run, and it does, woo-hoo. But..it didn't sound right, like it wasn't actually PUMPING.I got the fuel pressure gauge on it and sure enough, it had about 2lbs, if that.
Soooo...
I drop the tank and get my next nasty surprise: Someone had busted the nylon lines at the pump connection and had substituted fuel line and worm drive clamps. Not FUEL-INJECTION fuel hose..just regular old carb stuff.
K...well...it couldn't get much worse, right?
I get the tank down all the way and knock the ring loose and there's the next horror story...
The pump, bracket and inside of the tank was covered in rust...totally covered. The sock had fallen off the bottom of the pump and the small screen on the bottom of the pump had become plugged with crud...thats why it had no fuel pressure.
New tank and pump will be here in the morning.Lines can be repaired with a kit.
Ok, lastly...tonight was very mild, and so I thought, this would be a perfect time to check bulbs.
I think I replaced 11 in all...6 outside and 5 inside. I had to tap on the PRNDL light and it started working, and had to work the panel dimmer repeatedly until IT finally started working again.
Whew...
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy working on Mustangs...they are really easy, and I think this will be a good daily driver once I get through all the neglect and sloppy repair BS. I'm too cheap to send a legit non-rusted 5.0L to the grave anyway.
I have been working on a pretty beat 1989 LX , V8 of course, and I've had my hands full.
Dunno if many people have bought a car that needed a little of EVERYTHING, so much so that you wonder how it was even running.
I got this one from a longtime mustang shop in Georgia, starts with a D
...advertised as good for parts or Cobra conversion, and now I think that might have been the better plan, lol.Anyway, I started out cleaning the very nasty interior up..drug all the panels, seats and carpet out, pressure washed until clean.
While I had the interior out I had the awesome job of cleaning mice nests out of the floorboards..that was so nasty. I also had to replace the main harness running from the left dash to the rear of the car since several connectors were screwed up and some of the wiring near the console had gotten burned in a teensy FIRE
Ok, got everything cleaned up, deodorized, etc, and put the carpet, front seats and console back in.Center console piece is an absolute wreck.
Well, the next task was to check the lights in the replacement cluster I bought for it(original got sold, imagine that, lol), onlt to find a blown fuse. Replace the fuse and it blows. The next entire day was spent chasing a short that ended up not existing, it was an internally busted headlight switch.
Moving along....
I bought this car knowing it had a fuel pump issue. I figured it was burned up like most I've seen.
I powered the electrical up and jumped the relay to make the pump run, and it does, woo-hoo. But..it didn't sound right, like it wasn't actually PUMPING.I got the fuel pressure gauge on it and sure enough, it had about 2lbs, if that.
Soooo...
I drop the tank and get my next nasty surprise: Someone had busted the nylon lines at the pump connection and had substituted fuel line and worm drive clamps. Not FUEL-INJECTION fuel hose..just regular old carb stuff.
K...well...it couldn't get much worse, right?
I get the tank down all the way and knock the ring loose and there's the next horror story...
The pump, bracket and inside of the tank was covered in rust...totally covered. The sock had fallen off the bottom of the pump and the small screen on the bottom of the pump had become plugged with crud...thats why it had no fuel pressure.
New tank and pump will be here in the morning.Lines can be repaired with a kit.
Ok, lastly...tonight was very mild, and so I thought, this would be a perfect time to check bulbs.
I think I replaced 11 in all...6 outside and 5 inside. I had to tap on the PRNDL light and it started working, and had to work the panel dimmer repeatedly until IT finally started working again.
Whew...
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy working on Mustangs...they are really easy, and I think this will be a good daily driver once I get through all the neglect and sloppy repair BS. I'm too cheap to send a legit non-rusted 5.0L to the grave anyway.
