Well, looks like I'll be busy.

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Vintage

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A little background is in order first I guess. I picked up this '92 SE with a bad transmission because the owner had bought a new car and didnt want to invest the money to replace or rebuild the transmission on this one. The car had sat for a while and was obviously unable to be driven so the only thing I had to go on was the engine would crank fine but not run and the air suspension wouldnt budge the car even a hair off the tires.

On the plus side the paint was presentable, the black interior was in
excellent condition :D, and the underhood and outside of the car looked like it had been garaged or at least very well maintained as far as cosmetic and visual inspection allowed me since the car was practically sitting on the ground due to the suspension. Title was clean, didnt get a chance to do any other research on its history as other potential buyers were coming to see it.

Pulled the trigger and had a flat bed bring it home and started checking things out.. and well, I've got my work cut out for me. Transmission is definitely a goner, pulled the trans pan and lots of chunky metal present and fluid was garbage.. Yummy. While under the car, saw evidence of some squirells having been under there and chewed thru some of the rubber brake lines, wiring and air tubing for the air suspension inside the wheel wells. :rolleyes:

As a bonus, I soon diagnosed the engine no start condition as no fuel getting to engine due to a fuel pump being completely rusted and locked up tight no doubt from sitting too long with water in the fuel. So after dropping the tank and removing the pump, I cleaned it out and threw away the old fuel filter and blew compressed air thru the fuel feed and return lines.

Stay posted for what else I find and I'll post updates with progress as time and patience allows for. :p
 
Let's see some pics of your new project,if your handy with tools convert it to a five speed and you will have a blast driving it.
 
Thanks for the replies, not sure if the site will let me post pics because Im so new but I'll take some and try posting them tomorrow. As far as the 5 speed swap, yeah I've considered that and read up on it some, just need to gather everything to do it. Got started on the suspension and replacing old/worn out bushings and componets so things are moving along. Any suggestions for subframe connectors for these cars besides fabricating some?
 
Vintage said:
Any suggestions for subframe connectors for these cars besides fabricating some?
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i have the MM sfc's, and though they are nice and do their job, they could be beefier for our cars. also when MM sold these units they were advertised as full length units. it would be nice if they were truly full length, and would tie more of the subframe together. if i were doing it again, i would have a local shop custom make you a set. benefits will be fully custom for your ride and usually you can have them done for alil less or just as much as it would be to order sfc's from MM and pay shipping.
 
mark007 said:
i have the MM sfc's, and though they are nice and do their job, they could be beefier for our cars. also when MM sold these units they were advertised as full length units. it would be nice if they were truly full length, and would tie more of the subframe together. if i were doing it again, i would have a local shop custom make you a set. benefits will be fully custom for your ride and usually you can have them done for alil less or just as much as it would be to order sfc's from MM and pay shipping.
Click to expand...

Thank you 007, thats what I'm talking about right there, some informative feedback is always good. Ok so I started in on the front suspension and after some research decided to
go with a modified 87-8 Tbird/Cougar K-member because it attaches to the subframe correctly unlike the Mustang K-member, the track width was going to work fine, and I transferred the engine mount stands over and had them welded so the engine was set back a half inch. Not much, but it helps weight distribution slightly, so might as well. Oil pan gasket got replaced while K-member was out. Front lower control arms are getting new balljoints, bushings put in and springs will be Eibachs off of a wrecked 95 Mustang Gt. Transmission is still a question mark while I do more research on that. What do you guys have for suggestions on coil spring rear suspension set ups for these cars?
 
Thanks for the tip Chestnut, I'll see if I can return these swaybar bushings and pick up a Turbo Coupe swaybar here locally.

Picked up a set of the PBR front calipers,rotors and spindles off an 02 Mustang from the local salvage yard and got a used x pipe and some shorty headers from a guy parting out a Mustang. The mufflers and tailpipes on the Mark look like theyre original but have some small rust holes peeking thru in various places on the pipes so gonna need to replace them soon too I guess.

Pulled the bad trans yesterday, got everything cleaned up on the backside of the engine, just need to get something lined up to replace it with. Mark007 what other suspension mods did you make to yours?
 
Well mark007's awesome engine bay work inspired me to see if I couldnt clean mine up a bit. Not anywhere near the degree of prep and detail thats he's done, but what I can with the brief periods that I get a chance to work on it. So I started on the drivers side and got the driver header,battery,batt tray and alot of the wiring either pulled back or pulled out to get at the fender apron. Always nervous to look under a battery tray and see a rusty subframe rail but luckily mine wasnt at all and just had typical gunk under it, big relief there. Went ahead and removed the sway bar in hopes that I'll be able to find a TurboCoupe one to upgrade with. Going to install better headers also. Any other suggestions while Ive got all this crap apart?
 
Vintage said:
Well mark007's awesome engine bay work inspired me to see if I couldnt clean mine up a bit. Not anywhere near the degree of prep and detail thats he's done, but what I can with the brief periods that I get a chance to work on it. So I started on the drivers side and got the driver header,battery,batt tray and alot of the wiring either pulled back or pulled out to get at the fender apron. Always nervous to look under a battery tray and see a rusty subframe rail but luckily mine wasnt at all and just had typical gunk under it, big relief there. Went ahead and removed the sway bar in hopes that I'll be able to find a TurboCoupe one to upgrade with. Going to install better headers also. Any other suggestions while Ive got all this crap apart?
Click to expand...

best thing i can suggest is put it all back together, and enjoy the car for what it is. to be honest im so deep in this car, i should be shot. i knew from the start i wanted to be different, but it keeps snowballing even further. but if you feel you really wanna go down this road, do it in small doses. then drive her and feel the difference. thats about the best advice i can give.
 
Lol I'll shoot you if u want but I'd buy you a beer first for doin that killer engine bay work. Seriously though, I'm doin the repairs and the mods together as they make sense to do so. Havent spent any serious money yet and the time spent has just been a hour here and there after work that would have otherwise been spent at happy hour or whatever. After I get the suspension and transmission situation squared away, Im going to just drive it and do minor upgrades to it while hopefully enjoying a good daily driver. Thats all my goals are for it, to be a good daily saved from the crusher if it was left to people who didnt care about older cars.

As a quick update, everything cleaned up good on the driver fender apron, probably get it put together on Sunday and start getting all the stuff unbolted off the pass side apron so I can work on it about an hour each night durin the week.
 
Alright guys I found a T5 setup out of a 92 Mustang Gt convertible up for sale. Its complete but Id still need pedals and a new driveshaft maybe? Not clear on whether my stock driveshaft would work or not. Its $700 for everything, im figuring another$300 for new clutch,pilot bearing and getting the flywheel resurfaced. Is there anything else?
 
Went ahead and bought the t5 setup, it came with a steeda tri-ax short shifter, steeda clutch quadrant, adjustable cable and billet firewall adjuster. Also got bellhousing, flywheel, block plate, most of the reqd bolts, a double hump crossmember and new clutch fork as part of the deal. The clutch that came with it looks fine but I think Im gonna go new to be safe.

Gonna try and devote one of these wknds coming up to getting everything swapped over. Never got to drive it with the bad auto so looking forward to drivin it with the manual.
 
Got the passenger side fender apron cleaned up and front suspension put back together with upgrades mentioned above. Still havent found a TC front swaybar but hopefully can get one sourced by the time everything else is done. Got the new clutch so transmission swap is next thing in line, then rear suspension, then exhaust.
 
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