Repair manual and parts source advice needed

MustangMD · January 1st, 2011, 06:10 PM

I just bought back the '87 Mustang LX (2.3L) I bought new in high school and owned for about 15 years before selling it. Unfortunately the guy I sold it to did not take good care of it, so what I have now is essentially a project car for my four boys and I to start rebuilding over the next few years (oldest boy is 11).

Right now I just need to get it into "OK to drive" condition, so I'm not looking to start down the road of performance enhancements yet. That being said, which repair manual would be best? Chilton, Haynes, other???

Also, where would you suggest purchasing parts from to get decent quality at a good price (noting that I'm just wanting to go with OEM spec parts for now)? Online (which sites do you prefer?) or a store like O'Reilly, Pepboys, Autozone, etc.

Thank you for the advice!
Matt

OHC230 · January 1st, 2011, 07:55 PM

It sounds as if you are going to have this project for a while. If it were my project, I would try to find a factory service manual. The other books really leave a lot to be desired.

OE parts a getting a little harder to find these days and they all seem to vary in price, so often times you are better off searching online for the best price on a particular item, rather than trying to obtain all of your parts from the same source.

"Late model Restoration" (see link) seems to have quite a few OE parts in stock and they are fairly competitive in terms of pricing.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/

Everett · January 1st, 2011, 07:58 PM

I have had good luck with my Haynes manual and if you are happy with oem I suggest the local wrecker for most stuff

zonker · January 2nd, 2011, 12:11 AM

for starters, here's a great deal... get this one, then search for a good price on book number 1 and a evtm book. you'll spend 50-60 by the time you've got all 3.

87 Ford Body Continental Mark VII MUSTANG Repair Manual - eBay (item 190289878377 end time Jan-17-11 15:33:36 PST)

zonker · January 2nd, 2011, 12:13 AM

as for online parts, rockauto.com for the usual replacement stuff, car-part.com is a great search engine for used parts, and round it off with craigslist and ebay.

free2.3 · January 2nd, 2011, 01:20 AM

oh and dont forget the hot rod stuff just in case over at esslinger and racer walsh

January 1st, 2011, 06:10 PM	#1
MustangMD Look Ma! My First Post! 1987 Mustang LX Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: North Texas Posts: 1 iTrader: 0 reviews	Repair manual and parts source advice needed I just bought back the '87 Mustang LX (2.3L) I bought new in high school and owned for about 15 years before selling it. Unfortunately the guy I sold it to did not take good care of it, so what I have now is essentially a project car for my four boys and I to start rebuilding over the next few years (oldest boy is 11). Right now I just need to get it into "OK to drive" condition, so I'm not looking to start down the road of performance enhancements yet. That being said, which repair manual would be best? Chilton, Haynes, other??? Also, where would you suggest purchasing parts from to get decent quality at a good price (noting that I'm just wanting to go with OEM spec parts for now)? Online (which sites do you prefer?) or a store like O'Reilly, Pepboys, Autozone, etc. Thank you for the advice! Matt

January 1st, 2011, 07:55 PM	#2
OHC230 Enthusiast Supercharged 89'/ 85' SVO 11.945 @ 119.6 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Napa Valley CA Posts: 879 iTrader: 0 reviews	It sounds as if you are going to have this project for a while. If it were my project, I would try to find a factory service manual. The other books really leave a lot to be desired. OE parts a getting a little harder to find these days and they all seem to vary in price, so often times you are better off searching online for the best price on a particular item, rather than trying to obtain all of your parts from the same source. "Late model Restoration" (see link) seems to have quite a few OE parts in stock and they are fairly competitive in terms of pricing. http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/ __________________ Supercharged 2.7L 398 HP 501 ft lb !!

January 1st, 2011, 07:58 PM	#3
Everett Hardcore Enthusiast 2000 gt Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Saskatoon Posts: 1,053 Blog Entries: 1 iTrader: 2 reviews	I have had good luck with my Haynes manual and if you are happy with oem I suggest the local wrecker for most stuff __________________ Black and White Crew Crew Member # 3 centerforce dual friction,.100 shot freeflow exhaust,70mm accufab tb,professional products plenum, tri ax,3.90s amazing how fast you can go when the road never curves .....lighting up the Canadian prairie

January 2nd, 2011, 12:11 AM	#4
zonker Enthusiast 1991 Mustang LX 2.3 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Temecula, CA Posts: 660 iTrader: 0 reviews	for starters, here's a great deal... get this one, then search for a good price on book number 1 and a evtm book. you'll spend 50-60 by the time you've got all 3. 87 Ford Body Continental Mark VII MUSTANG Repair Manual - eBay (item 190289878377 end time Jan-17-11 15:33:36 PST) __________________ Rob 1987 Mustang 2.3 LX Convert (T5) project 2.5 N/A HP 1991 Mustang 2.3 LX Convert (A4LD) 1992 Mustang 2.3 LX Convert (A4LD) 41.52 mpg!! 1994 Capri XR2 1.6 Turbo Convert 1999 ZX2 S/R 2.0 Coupe http://zxtuner.com

January 2nd, 2011, 12:13 AM	#5
zonker Enthusiast 1991 Mustang LX 2.3 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Temecula, CA Posts: 660 iTrader: 0 reviews	as for online parts, rockauto.com for the usual replacement stuff, car-part.com is a great search engine for used parts, and round it off with craigslist and ebay. __________________ Rob 1987 Mustang 2.3 LX Convert (T5) project 2.5 N/A HP 1991 Mustang 2.3 LX Convert (A4LD) 1992 Mustang 2.3 LX Convert (A4LD) 41.52 mpg!! 1994 Capri XR2 1.6 Turbo Convert 1999 ZX2 S/R 2.0 Coupe http://zxtuner.com

January 2nd, 2011, 01:20 AM	#6
free2.3 Regular FK UR HONDA Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: the glory hole Posts: 366 iTrader: 0 reviews	oh and dont forget the hot rod stuff just in case over at esslinger and racer walsh __________________ Nitrous is neat.... Fuel injection is sweet... but at the end of the day i'd rather be blown 91 Mustang hatch(AT) 91 Mustang hatch 2.3T

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