Should I Buy This? 86 Foxbody 5.0

BudgetStang97 · Apr 29, 2015

It's my senior year in high school and my parents might give me some cash to buy a car. I'm in love with fox bodies and the automotive teacher here has an 86 with 160k miles, 5 speed manual, 5.0 and its in pretty good condition. It's unmolested, he's owned it since 97. He wants 4000 dollars for it. Should I go for it?

LarsD · Apr 29, 2015

$4K for a stock unmolested car fox isn't a bad deal IMO. I have bought two foxes in the last 13 years. First one was a car that had been modded, returned to stock, then modded again. Second one was about what you describe, had a couple of mods (cat back, hurst shifter, CAI), otherwise untouched. It even had the factory shocks on it still (150K miles though). The second car was a much stronger buy. I paid $3800 for the first one, and $3900 for the second one.

If the car doesn't have any rust, rails are straight, it doesn't smoke or pop out of gear. Then I would say it probably is a solid buy. Pics help tell the story better. Keep in mind though, it is nearly a 30 year old car. Stuff will break, you will have those days where you are stuck on the side of the road because it dies and you don't know why. However, nothing compares to rolling down the road in a fox (well, an old muscle car does, but you get the point).

BudgetStang97 · Apr 29, 2015

RIght on, i'm just weary of it being 30 years old having 160k and being priced a little high. I can get some pics tomorrow, its really clean my only complaint is the decals on the bottom of the body are kinda flaking, but thats an easy fix. Think it could make a trip from eastern south dakota to denver colorado?

LarsD · Apr 29, 2015

BudgetStang97 said:
RIght on, i'm just weary of it being 30 years old having 160k and being priced a little high. I can get some pics tomorrow, its really clean my only complaint is the decals on the bottom of the body are kinda flaking, but thats an easy fix. Think it could make a trip from eastern south dakota to denver colorado?

There is no way to know. I drove my Wife's 67 Mustang 300 miles the day I bought it. It made it, but come to find out later once I got it on a lift it shouldn't have. lol

Piece of advice. If you are going to drive an old car, have a AAA account. They have saved me a tow bill more then once.

hoopty5.0 · Apr 29, 2015

I'll answer your questions with a question - Are you prepared to spend a good portion of your free time working on this car? Keeping a fox in true DD condition takes a lot of work. True, it may SEEM to be in good shape now, but the more you drive it, the more it will become grossly apparent that many of the systems on the car need to be fixed and/or upgraded.

I'll add to that a little more -

Last summer, I bought what I thought was a decent coupe with minor issues for $3k. It took a month and change to get it to where I was comfortable driving it every day. If you want to see what I did, look at the Hoopty v2.0 build thread.

BudgetStang97 · Apr 29, 2015

I'll be picking up a job welding out in denver, so i'll have plenty of money to blow on it. I just need something to get me from south dakota to denver without screwing me over and leaving me on the side of the road. My parents offered to get me an acura tsx, and said I should just buy a fox body with my own money down the road. Would that be smarter?

hoopty5.0 · Apr 29, 2015

BudgetStang97 said:
I'll be picking up a job welding out in denver, so i'll have plenty of money to blow on it. I just need something to get me from south dakota to denver without screwing me over and leaving me on the side of the road. My parents offered to get me an acura tsx, and said I should just buy a fox body with my own money down the road. Would that be smarter?

No, no. I didn't say money. These cars can be fixed on the cheap if you play your cards right. It's time. If you're working 40-60 hours a week (or more), you don't have time to fix it when it does break down. You're best served getting the Acura as a DD and then when you make a decent amount of money welding, buy a fox as a side project.

hoopty5.0 · Apr 29, 2015

You've come here hoping we can validate your desire buy this car, but it just isn't as easy as it might seem with these.

BudgetStang97 · Apr 29, 2015

D***it. I'll stick with the acura then, and find a foxbody as a side project when I get over there. But I really appreciate you being so blunt and straight forward with me, you probably saved my ass from major disappointment. I can tell the guy rodded the piss out of it, because its got a thunder valley drag strip sticker on the windshield still.

LarsD · Apr 29, 2015

Hoopty is right. It is best to get something that you can rely on to drive while you are fixing the fox. Even if it doesn't need fixing, at some point you are going to want to upgrade it, and you will need something to drive in the mean time.

FoxMustangLvr · Apr 29, 2015

I'm for having a Fox as a fun secondary vehicle. No way would I rely on a Fox to get me to work unless I owned it for a long time and worked all of the kinks out of it. In your case, I would not buy a Fox and immediately rely on it for DD duty as you will likely get burnt.

Good luck

A5literMan · Apr 29, 2015

Agreed

mikestang63 · Apr 29, 2015

30 year old car
your first car
still in high school
parents money

What could go wrong? Now go ahead and lie to us. You won't rag on the car at all and will keep it stock right? MY first car was a 67 mustang fastback that I bought in high school for $2500. I then spent the next year and $5000 ( in 1970's money) replacing everything on it but the glovebox. Blew the motor at Englishtown- put a 428 in it so had to upgrade the trans to a C6 and the rear to a 9". Had to upgrade the front drums to discs. the cooling, suspension, and everyting else. Then of course the repaint. And this was using junkyard parts for the most part and rebuilding the engine and trans in my garage. I still ended up bumming rides from friends because my car was always being fixed.

Save yourself a world of hurt and get the Acura.

02 281 GT · Apr 29, 2015

I daily drove an '86 GT about ten years ago. It was pretty much the same experience everyone here is describing. It seemed like something was breaking and needing replacement every other day on that car (transmission, clutch, drive shaft u-joints, alternator, etc.) Add to this all the money I spent on the usual things like exhaust, a five lug conversion, etc. It left me stranded a few times during which I had to bum a ride from my parents. It had been abused by previous owners (not unlike the car in which you're interested), and it showed.

As stated before, while a car like that wouldn't be a bad idea at all as a side project, trying to daily drive it whilst keeping it running in addition to the modding and occasional hot rodding (you won't be able to resist; no one can) would end up being a financial disaster for you.

Mr. Snrub · Apr 29, 2015

I'm with these guys... I've sunk a ton into my coupe.. it's mint.. and everything on it is pretty much brand new.

I wouldn't ever depend on it to be my DD. They're just too old for that sort of thing.

squeak93 · Apr 30, 2015

I'll ad my two cents....

One, good job of asking for advice then ACTUALLY listening. Two: Save a little bit of coin, work hard and then buy something to tinker with. Fox's are not very forgiving if you can't turn a wrench or do basic maintenance. They are however great cars to learn how to sling wrenches on. But as stated, they are getting old and random crap is going to break for no apparent reason.

For the record, they are ALL financial disasters. Think of it as a losing investment from the get go, unless you get one for free and are lucky enough to flip it to some unsuspecting soul.

Good look on your trip from SD to Co. I live in Denver for a few years and it was a blast! (buy a snowboard and hit up the slopes)

Mustang5L5 · Apr 30, 2015

While the price for a clean fox is OK, you are gonna be working on it. If you need reliable transportation and don't have the skills to fix it yourself, I would probably steer clear of a 30 year old car.

95BlueStallion · Apr 30, 2015

I bought an '89 GT off a trailer the summer before my senior year of high school. It had 152,000 miles on it, and had also been flogged at Thunder Valley. The previous owner emailed me pics of it after the fact. That was one of the most fun cars I have ever owned, and actually never left me stranded. All that being said, the engine had been rebuilt at some point, but wasnt new by any means. I DD'ed it for two years before foolishly selling it to a friend who totalled it. A lot of guys on here are older and want their car to be in tip top shape, and have other nicer DD's to compare it to. But when you are young, you arent as concerned about those little things. Im not saying buy the car, but dig into it a little deeper. If the engine and trans have been gone through (receipts as proof), and the usual maintenance things are good (brakes, tires, serpentine belt), then I wouldnt run away so quickly.

mikestang63 · Apr 30, 2015

squeak93 said:
I'll ad my two cents....

One, good job of asking for advice then ACTUALLY listening. Two: Save a little bit of coin, work hard and then buy something to tinker with. Fox's are not very forgiving if you can't turn a wrench or do basic maintenance. They are however great cars to learn how to sling wrenches on. But as stated, they are getting old and random crap is going to break for no apparent reason.

For the record, they are ALL financial disasters. Think of it as a losing investment from the get go, unless you get one for free and are lucky enough to flip it to some unsuspecting soul.

Good look on your trip from SD to Co. I live in Denver for a few years and it was a blast! (buy a snowboard and hit up the slopes)

Sounds like my ex wife...lol

FoxMustangLvr · Apr 30, 2015

95BlueStallion said:
I bought an '89 GT off a trailer the summer before my senior year of high school. It had 152,000 miles on it, and had also been flogged at Thunder Valley. The previous owner emailed me pics of it after the fact. That was one of the most fun cars I have ever owned, and actually never left me stranded. All that being said, the engine had been rebuilt at some point, but wasnt new by any means. I DD'ed it for two years before foolishly selling it to a friend who totalled it. A lot of guys on here are older and want their car to be in tip top shape, and have other nicer DD's to compare it to. But when you are young, you arent as concerned about those little things. Im not saying buy the car, but dig into it a little deeper. If the engine and trans have been gone through (receipts as proof), and the usual maintenance things are good (brakes, tires, serpentine belt), then I wouldnt run away so quickly.

I'm one of the older guys that have a reliable vehicle for work but once my Fox is running I will drive it to work during the summer but If I was to break down on the way to work my boss would only laugh at me, not fire me or get upset. I however would not recommend that a young man, who is new in the work force and getting a new job, purchase and rely on a Fox as a DD. A new employer will not be happy to hear that your 30 y/o car left you stranded on the way to work especially when you had an Acura TSX offered to you which really is a nice car.

Should I Buy This? 86 Foxbody 5.0

BudgetStang97

New Member

LarsD

BudgetStang97

New Member

LarsD

hoopty5.0

mechanicus terribilis

BudgetStang97

New Member

hoopty5.0

mechanicus terribilis

hoopty5.0

mechanicus terribilis

BudgetStang97

New Member

LarsD

FoxMustangLvr

I love my Pimp

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

mikestang63

02 281 GT

Agreed...My wife has great Boobs

Mr. Snrub

Active Member

squeak93

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

95BlueStallion

My assy trans to myself

mikestang63

FoxMustangLvr

I love my Pimp

Similar threads

Should I Buy This? 86 Foxbody 5.0

New Member

New Member

mechanicus terribilis

New Member

mechanicus terribilis

mechanicus terribilis

New Member

I love my Pimp

At least it is lumpy...

Agreed...My wife has great Boobs

Active Member

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

My assy trans to myself

I love my Pimp

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency