[teamyamahablue08]

Hey guys I'm a new member, sorry if this is in the wrong topic, still gotta get used to the navigation of the forum. I joined Fox body forums a few hours ago and logged and to find the dicks already banned my account because I didn't post immediately...So here I am. I'm a 16 year old looking to get a fox body for my first car. It's an 88 LX hatch I found on Craigslist for $2900, and wanted to come here for a little more reassurance on it. It looks nice in the pictures and the guy says its in great condition and that's why he bought it. It's a 5.0 5 speed. Here's where I start to wonder. Supposedly the car has had a rebuilt bottom end, 0.30" over (?) GT40 heads with Trick Flow valves and springs, and "stamped Ford racing pistons and heavy clutch." It also has Flowmaster exhaust without cats and was told it could use a tuning. I asked if the o2 sensors were installed after removing the cats and the guy said he wasn't sure, so I assume no and figure that's why it doesn't run right. For some reason it's not inspected and also needs the windshield replaced. The guy says it has just under 100,000 miles but the speedo (odo?) hasn't worked since he's had it. It's got chrome pony style wheels like the later 90 GTs had as well. I work about 25 hours a week at minimum wage so I just want to make sure it's a good deal and worth while investment and not have a useless money pit. It's by far one of the cheaper ones I've found, even cheaper than ones that have worse bodies. I should be seeing it in person on Tuesday, anything Mustang specific to check it for? Thanks guys and sorry about the novel.

[snowcraft93]

check for engine noises, ticks, and leaks. make sure it idles right, check alternator, oil level, coolant level, any lights on dash, trans fluid. i paid 4k for mine and spent 1500 the next week just on fixing parts so make sure you check as much as you can.

[96paxtonstang]

Where are you located?


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

[UGOT8UP]

Sounds like it has some issues that need addressing, you might come off cheaper buying one of the mustangs you found that run good vs buying that one and paying a shop to fix the current issues with the vehicle.

[snowcraft93]

try and have a shop check it out before u buy it too if you can

[1LOUDGT]

As a first car daily driver I would be searching for a Fox that is as stock as possible, mechanically well maintained, no rust and with a descent interior. 2 grand doesn’t buy much in todays used car market especially mustangs so you may want to save your pennies for a little while longer. Also if doesn’t pass your local emissions inspection move on.

[teamyamahablue08]

Believe me, I've already found that little money won't get you anything thats worth while in this market. Most other fox bodies I've found for sale are in the $5,000 range mainly because they have Cobra wheels and Saleen body kits and other bolt ons and still have 100,000 plus miles. It will take me a long time to get that much money saved and I'm not getting help buying one but I refuse to settle . I live in northeastern PA in the rust belt, and we also don't have to take emissions tests where I live. It seems like it would be a decent DD since it seems like a very mild build but it surely needs work. The guy says all it would need to pass inspection is the windshield and cats but cats aren't neccesary, just the O2 sensors. Thanks for the input, I surely wish I could afford some of the ones I found. My dad and I are going to check it out tomorrow night and he's very inclined so I guess that will be the only way to find out what the deal is with it.

[fogged306]

Go over it with a fine tooth comb. If the guy doesn't know if the car has o2 sensors, then he doesn't know a thing about cars. It's not hard for him to go out and check if there's o2's on the car or even just read the codes. If there's no o2 sensors on the car then you will have a check engine light on and codes stored. Definitely go over everything on that car and take nothing that guy says as the truth.

There's also no such thing as stamped pistons. He's confusing stamped rockers with the pistons so I'll assume he's just regurgitating what someone else has told him.

[teamyamahablue08]

I assume the same thing as what you said. I talked to him again and he said he needed to get rid of it to fix his truck. Another thing that occurs to me is that its located on a road that has part of a detour because it got washed out by massive flooding in early September.

[teamyamahablue08]

I went and checked it out. I'm up in the air about it. Its a very solid rust free car. It has its problems that need adressed and some others I found. The steering column has a good amount of play in it when you wiggle the wheel, the windshield needs replaced, and the interior is starting to show it's age and the speedometer and power locks don't work. It's got 99,000 miles on it. He started it up and it sounded good and strong and it has the GT40 heads and while doing the top end, he noticed the cylinders were bored .030" over and had "Ford racing" stamped into them, not stamped Ford Racing pistons. It seems like a very solid car for $2,900. I didn't get any very good pictures of it, but it could also use a paint job because tree sap or something messed up the clear on the roof.

Edit: He's a truck driver and the car is uninspected and uninsured and was afraid to let us take it out for a test drive, but I said I couldn't buy it without being able to take it for a test drive, so we'll see where that goes

[SSteady98]

awesome man. Hopefully things will look good for you.
I traded my 98 v6 for a 95 5.0 and now I am having to get a explorer 5.0 put in mine since the motor i have has a pretty nice knock going in it. I also tried to have the codes read, and haha, autozone couldn't read them. I guess someone didn't hook up the reader module the right way or something. I cant complain, i traded a v6 with 167k of hard driving on it for a GT with a very straight body, a drop, leather seats, and a 1,000 exaust. i think i came out in the good despite the motor.

[1LOUDGT]

If you cant drive it, you cant buy it.

[teamyamahablue08]

I think I'm going to pass on that car because it seemed to have alot of electrical issues, but I found another 89 LX on my local Craigslist that is also a 5.0 5 speed with a header-back exhaust, K&N intake and other small mods. This car looks to be a less "rigged" but just as solid of a body.