Where have I been? Anyone miss me? I'm back with a *insert clever title* 1998 Mustang GT build!

Well, its been awhile since I have been on here.   

We moved.  We ended downsizing from our 2600 SQFT house to a 1400 SQFT house. Why? We took advantage of the crazy market and paid off ALL of our debt. Save the new mortage.

The house is a WIP. Still need to update some things, as an older lady had it. Sorta dated. Which we are fixing. Heck I dont even have access to the garage really! Still working on getting stuff moved out and into the house. Really a timely process considering.......well....work and life.

I did at least start making a place in the garage. WORK IN PROGRESS, this is like half the space.

On to the car.  

I picked up a 1998 Mustang GT from a gentleman who was selling it for his mother. Unfortunately his farther passed this June. It was sitting and had low mileage (45K....more on that later). 

It was in need of some love, and honestly I kinda fell for it.  All stock car except for some live wires, and intake and exhaust of some type (havent looked too hard yet).

Met Kyle and we went for a test drive to get the title notarized. 

Couple of issues. 

1. Charging light came on

2. Driver side window is inop

3. Odometer is dead

4. Wiper cowl is trash

5. Various interior trim pieces worn 

6. Tires mismatch and one rim has a chunk of the lip gone and the other has a bend in it. 

7. Engine coolant temp gauge is inop.

While none of this is major, its something to consider.  Which it seemed with either some of the issues the seller wasn't aware of or this having been meant to be - Kyle ended up taking $1000 off asking price! Did not expect that and was super blessed he did. I got to meet his mother as well who invited my wife and son it while we talked. Super nice family!

The charging light was a loose terminal

The rest is easily fixed. With parts on the way to do so.  New wheels coming as well. 

The car?  Rides great!  Not fast with only 225 HP but plenty of torque and a great shifitng manual.  Drove me home 2 hours with no issues. Very happy.

Mileage I figure is closer to 60K. Last record of this mileage it shows was in 2014. The father had driven at most 2000 a year and some years less based on CarFax. So assuming 8 years and an average mileage - its closer to 60K. When I fix the odo I will adjust the mileage further up to that, which may be higher than actual as - FWIK the father drove it less and less. 

Plans are. Clean, repair, polish and make a nice cruiser so  I can nuts with the truck!

To continue. 

I feel really good about this car. Has a great history, and really. Rust free, leak free and solid. No water in trunk or anything.  Seller did his best in representing the car, and I am inclined to believe him.  

Some pics of the carnage of the wiper cowl.

Removed the broken antenna.

Really hesitated on starting another thread, life seems to be catching up to me or I it. So time is more available. Will update with progress. Over $500 in parts on the way to correct the issues and make a survivor!

Started simple. Cowl is off. 
 

This weekend the car has a date with degreaser and a pressure washer. Yummy. 
 

While awaiting I redid the wiper arms. 

 

Also. Trying to pick these up. 
 

Odometer repair in progress. 
 

Will give it a good clean as well. 
 

All done. Gave it a simple clean.

Looks like you have some broken solder joints on those PCBs. I had that issue with a 2000 F-150. I ended up taking the board to a TV repair place and the guy re-soldered all of them for about $50 or so.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Sure is possible. All of it works except the temp gauge. Which isn't pictured upside down. Gonna try a sending unit first. Will regroup. Thanks!

Cowl is ready to go in. 
 

Assembled the shift boot and trim. I didn't realize it was a leather boot. So upgrade!

bonylad said:

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Sure is possible. All of it works except the temp gauge. Which isn't pictured upside down. Gonna try a sending unit first. Will regroup. Thanks!

It's a very common failure in Fords of that vintage. Something about the solder they were using, over time it gets brittle.

I had a 96 which was the 4.6's first year.  It had a magnaflow exhaust (well, probably just mufflers) and it was probably one of the best-sounding (normal - not exotic) cars I've heard. 
 

I have a feeling you bought yours really well. Nice!

Pulled some things from the bay. Getting ready to clean the bay in the morning. Wiper cowl and backing panel removed. Pulled the intake piping and plan to redo somethings. 
 

Idk but I think it has an aftermarket H pipe. Other than that I see mufflers installed that appear to be Flow Masters. Idk. That H pipe doesn't look stock. Iirc the h portion is one piece. This is slip fit with a clamp. Thoughts?

Also. Garage is cleaned out!  Now to spread it out and make it a home!  Garage home!

I like your house - we are a fan of ranch homes.  Our tax assessor likes ranches too.  Where 'dis at?
 

Car looks cool -  will watch.  

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

Newport NC. Several ponds by the property. Lots of geese and ducks it's pretty cool

   I go back and forth between wanting an old, nearly stock SN95 Mustang (5.0 or 4.6) and an '05-'09 Outback 3.0R. Weird combination, I know, but it's all about the "driving a slow car fast" feel. I think I could have equal fun with either platform.


   Anyway, apologies for the slight flounder. Carry on. :) 

How many cats are on the h pipe? If it just has two cats it's aftermarket. Just from the picture you posted it certainly looks aftermarket to me. 

Does the H pipe have 2 cats or 4? Factory should have 4 and pretty sure it's 1 piece and doesn't have that slip joint. Although all my experience is with 5.0 Fox body cars, only worked on a handful of 94+ Stangs.

Looks like a pretty clean car though. I've been on the lookout for a clean 94-04 car for a few months now. 

Ive got a buddy that might be interested in the stock wheels if you get a different set. He needs a set of wheels/tires to make a car a roller. He doesn't really care about dings/bent as long as they roll.

I've got a 94 GT parts car, in case you need anything.

Welcome back and nice stang. You were smart to get debt free before all this hoo ha with the economy starts up. IIRC, you can put PI heads on that non PI engine and get a good compression boost. I had a Dr gas xpipe, steeda timing adjuster and pullies on my gt and it ran 13.89  and it was an automatic! Looking forward to the updates

In reply to Blunder :

Two. Pretty darn sure it's aftermarket. Perhaps a Pypes?  

In reply to Agent98 :

Steeds timing adjuster?  How's this different from a tuner? 

Alright. So after today  done till parts arrive. 
 

9 AM went to my brothers house to pull the F20 Turbo out of the S2000 to make way for the K24 Turbo. Bout 2 hours of "work". 
 

Came home and pulled out the mower and figured now is as good a time to clean the stang whilst I wait for parts. 
 

Pressure washed and simple greened the car. Solid car. No big surprises with it. All parts that have been removed have been cleaned and are ready to go back on. 
 

Ordered a replacement MAF as the original had been ported. Now while back in the day that would have been my thing but now. Being older and smarter (allegedly) I went back to stock. 

Before.

After. 
 

Installed the cowl panel backing.  Found a busted hard washer line so I paused on putting the cowl on till I get some. 
 

Replaced the busted door pulls. Well passenger side anyhow. Driver side was the worst and it won't clip in. Rather than mess it up I pulled it out and since I have to pull the panel to fix the regulator I'll take a peek then. 

Before  

After

Again. It's sorta just sitting there. Here's the passenger side all the way in. 
 

I found some unsecured lines. Redid the pcv hoses. 
 

Awaiting the MAF. Intake. Plugs and wires. Then off to work I go to get inspected. 
 

Still attempting to get wheels. 

Nice wheels you have on there now! Probably you can get some Bullitt take offs cheap. Steeda timing adjusters were all the rage back in '02, when hand tuners weren't as popular as they are now, and the timing tables for the 4.6 may not have been easily accessed. The engine in Mustangs was only five years into production...the Steeda allowed the use of the stock computer..they were about $179 bucks, compared to what we get charged for an SCT nowadays.

Sooooooo. 
 

I did a thing.  I've been looking for wheels, but cannot find any wheel that is either Peeling, pitted, Rashed, Miss matched tires both in brand and size. And if I do find something along those lines the seller wants a small fortune.

SoI went on americanmuscle.com.  

I did a thing. Four brand new wheels four brand new tires Lugnuts everything mounted and balanced shipped to my door.

Wheels arrived!  Missing one center cap but that's it!  Picked up some OEM Motorcraft 5W30 synthetic blend and a Motorcraft filter as well. Next day or so depending on what happens with Hurricane Ian. I plan to change the oil and slap these babies on!