4 Eyed, 4 Door, 5 Seater, Fox Body, Grandpa Eater

I picked up some Mustang 15" by 8" wheels with good plastic center caps. So who's got tire suggestions? Remember this is just a summer time cruiser and a shipped to door price would be great under $400, better yet closer to $300.

Maybe theses: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Fuzion&tireModel=Touring+%28H-+or+V-Speed+Rated%29&partnum=26HR5FZTOUR&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Ford&autoYear=1986&autoModel=Mustang&autoModClar=Standard%20Model

Or these: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Advantage+T%2FA&partnum=065HR5ATA&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Ford&autoYear=1993&autoModel=Mustang&autoModClar=Base%202.3L%204cyl

The stock tires are 195/75-R14 which is about in 25.5" diameter.

Supercoupe V6/5 speed, 8.8 disc rear, LSC air springs to drop on demand, Capri clip with matching (but much wider) rear box flares, 5 lug conversion with deep dish GT500 wheels.

Not that I've thought about it much.

In reply to Junkyard_Dog:

I like the cut of your jib, but my wallet doesn't. I think at the moment it will be a slower build than what I might have suggested. The Zetec and 4 speed are looking like some good options. That and the 5 lug conversion seems more about having a better wheel selection than anything.

I ordered four 205/50 R15 Dunlop Direzza DZ102 from Tire Rack. They are shorter tires so maybe it'll feel like it accelerates a little better. They'll arrive Tuesday.

I check the fuel economy; 24.6 mpg with mostly highway miles. The engine seems to have an oil leak. Not sure where, but I dumped in a quart at the g-spot this morning.

Probably leaking at the valve covers. Every 3.8 that I've owned leaked from there at some point

I think the mustang from end looks terrible to be honest, and the car looks to have decent paint still. I would be tempted to keep all the stock painted parts and make the trim either black or dark grey. Having to paint it (especially a different color) seems like either a lot of money, or a good way to make it look worse than it does now.

In reply to jimbob_racing:

I'll have to check. My first thought was rear main seal.

In reply to Travis_k:

I think I've gotten over the whole nose swap. But you're right something has to be done to the brightwork. Maybe not all of it but most of it. My wife really hates the maroon color. Maybe if I black out some of the trim it'll look better. She has a hard time looking past things like that.

So how do you paint trim? Rattle can? HPLV sprayer? PlastiDip? Any trim removal tools?

FYI, those wheels (commonly known in Mustang circles as "turbine" wheels) are 15x7, not 15x8. Stock tire size on Mustangs was 225/60R15.

In reply to Tom_Spangler:

When I was picking up the wheels from the PO, he measured quickly and probably measures the outside of the wheel rather than the inner bead surfaces. Before I purchased the tires, I measured 7". I went with a slightly smaller size partially for money but also due to wanting non-all season tires.

My Grandparents had the wagon version - cool project! I wonder if anyone has done this type of thing with the wagon version?

im anti front end swap but its good to see another foxbody being saved. you can do alot to change the appearence of the front end with simple things. blacking out the grill is a huge diffrence maker in my eyes.

I seriously do think some clear headlight covers would change things up for the better. That and dark on the trim could really help this thing out.

Mounted, balanced, and new valve stems. Too bad the lug nuts aren't long enough to get them torqued down. I did get a socket on it to get tension on the lugs, but no real torque.

Apparently Top Gear must use really bright lights below their cars for the studio bits. You can hardly notice the shop light at the front.

So you're putting that Zetec in there, right?

In reply to Scottah :

That's my current train of thought.

Before dropping $40 on lug nuts, I mentioned I needed some longer lug nuts to my dad. "Just grab the box of old lug nuts sitting in my garage" he says. Sweet! Sitting on top of the box was a zip lock bag of the perfect set. A little used but definitely what I was looking for and for the best price!

With my son's sleeping noises still audible on the baby monitor, my attention turned toward the 2.0 liter sitting in the corner.

I consider turning over by hand and remember that the spark plugs will offer a bit a resistance, so I decide to pop them out.

Well that's probably not OEM.

At least they got progressively better. I'm guessing I'll have to turn the engine upside down and blow out the plug wells and clean it up some how. I wonder if I should just pull it mostly a part and check everything out. It has been sitting in my garage for 4 or 5 years now. Sad little engine without a home.

Suddenly I hear a voice. No, it's not the sleeping boy coming through the monitor although he's audible, it was something else. This voice was struggling to be heard. I started digging in a box next to me.

It was this little guy! He belongs to the rear wheel drive transmission that bolts up to the Zetec. While I was neglecting them both in the corner, they became friends. I guess the only thing to do is to toss them into the Marq.

Well that's it for tonight. I grab Nitro and we head inside to make sure the boy is still breathing.

I had a spare 10 minutes and managed to get the rubber overriders off of the front bumper.

For a 31 year old car from Wisconsin, that's quite the feat.

Looking good!

Sheesh that looks good, great project!

Thanks for the comments guys! I tried telling my wife that other people like this car, too, but she didn't believe me.

So I was left with the small rectangular holes in the bumper, so I got some lag bolts, nylon bushings that fit over the 3/8" square of the lag bolts, and some nyloc bolts.

And here's a fog cell phone pic of my license plate... I mean the bolts in the wholes