86 fox body price check

I am hunting for a good “value” fox body mustang. Came across one that is 1986 5.0 5 speed . Body is pretty good, one rust spot at bottom of just in front of the door. 

The passenger side floor board is all the way gone and the driver side has a small rot through spot. 

It was parked “a couple of years ago” bc the starter went out.  So currently can’t test drive. 

I noticed the oil level was good, but smelled like gas. The metal tubes for the heat were cut.  And the positive battery cable wasn’t connected to anything. Currently no starter in the car. 

Any idea on value of this they they are asking 3k ?

86 is the last year of the 4 eyed Mustang.  Some like them, some don't.  Is it a hatch or notchback?  Notch's command more $$.   With that much rust, check the shock towers, and battle boxes.  Sounds like a rot box.   Gas washed engines can lead to trouble. Probably needs a heater core.  For $3000, I'd move on.

In reply to Somebeach :

I'm not sure where you're located or how far you're willing to travel, but this one looks like a far better value. 

I'm with dirtydog, seems like a lot of known issues and question marks for $3k.

86 is a popular year, last of the 4 eyed cars and fuel injected. Prices are steadily on the rise so some people are asking crazy money for beat cars.

Sounds like a $1000 car to me but there are probably plenty of people that would pay more for some reason. 

86 was the oddball engine, flat top pistons and truck heads, they won't take much of a cam. 

1992 is the best year, it's the last of the forged pistons, nicer interior than the older ones and first year of two stage paint.  My avatar had 88k when I picked it up for $1500, very clean with bolt ons and the AC works. 

Some guy at the track last year gave it a good look and rub down then told me it was a $6k car.

Crack pipe price for a non-running rusty car. 

SVreX said:

Crack pipe price for a non-running rusty car. 

This.  

Prices are going up for clean cars, though, especially notchbacks.  Hatches are still pretty cheap... has to be exceptionally nice to bring a premium.

Thanks. For the good advice.

Yeah that is what my gut was saying too maybe 1k. I think I will move on. I am in Ohio  so rust is everywhere. I wish I was closer to that one that Pete linked. 

If if anybody sees any good value fox bodies in ohio let me know. Looking for fuel injection only. 

The mechanicals on a Fox can be fixed as there were millions built and parts are cheap. Get the best body you can as that's where it gets time comsuming and expensive to fix to a good to high level.  I saw a very nice '86 GT for sale last year at a cruize night. The price was over 10K but due to the low miles and condition of the car I would have  offered something close if I was inthe market.

I've owned 3 of these cars. A new '86 GT, a used 92 LX Notch, and a '93 Cobra "R".

As stated, clean ones are now $10k cars unless you want to start with a clean roller and bring it back.  This one sounds like its best use would be a parts donor for something else.  These cars are still plenty common that rust repair doesnt make sense unless its something special like a Cobra.  Every part is available but some of the replacement parts from 5.0 Resto are of questionable quality compare to OEM.  

As far as finding nice cars in Ohio - you won't but the good news is plane tickets are cheap compared to rust repair.  If you have the time, I would hop on the 5.0 forums and troll the classifieds until something comes up that all the internet fanbois are like OMG Cant Believe You Are Selling and then snatch it up.  

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/you-need-this-fox-body-race-c/132762/page1/

Still available?

My thinkin' on the matter-

Buy a one way ticket to SoCal or Arizona. Spend a week at Disneyland and the evenings looking at cars. Buy one and drive it back

Pricing around me is all over the place. You see ones as high as 10-12K, and ones for $800. I'm sure quality varies according, but it's hard to really get a handle on what they are worth. I have a 88 5.0 Notch that I plan to sell this spring. Its a good driver, rust free. I'm going to put 5K on it and see what happens.

akylekoz said:

86 was the oddball engine, flat top pistons and truck heads, they won't take much of a cam. 

The '86 engine will take a bigger cam, it's when you swap in the later E7, GT40,  or aftermarket heads that you run into problems.

The combustion chamber is deeper on the "86, the valves sit further away from the pistons,  so Ford didn't need valve reliefs for clearance and that's the problem when you do a head swap.

As a daily driver my '86 drove the best of the three Fox Mustangs I've owned. Not the fastest but the most responsive at normal speeds.

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I went and looked at this.  Seemed fairly rough and covered with uneven primer so who knows what was underneath. 

https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/d/1983-foxbody/6512401842.html

No tags or insurance on it now so he drove it on the test drive. He drove it hard on the test drive and was the fastest car I think I have been in ( haven’t been in many) 

what scared me off was he said little to no rust  but I could see where the floor boards where patched with rivets . There was a leak I think from the transmission on back where it goes to the driveshaft. And also a “front seal “ that may need replaced. 

The interior was rough. And the power steering pump whined loud for a good while until warmed up  

I just can’t get over how fast it felt though  

In reply to Somebeach :

That 2.3T looks like it's had some work done from what I can tell by the craptastic flip phone pics (poss larger turbo, FMIC, blow off,and possibly higher than stock boost).  I had an '86 GT years ago and then an '86 SVO.  To compare, the GT had great pull down low but fell on it's face at 5k.  The SVO had much better top end.  I bypassed the factory boost controller with a red or blue butt splice connector and enjoyed pegging the boost gauge(not recommended w/o a proper accurate boost gauge and FP gauge though).  That along with a 3" dp and magnaflow mufflers it pulled very well and quicker than my E36 M3 I had succeeding it. 

I wouldn't touch that car personally due to the rust issues you mention, BUT it may be worth considering for parting out, or swapping that drivetrain to a doner (Mustang or Ranger or something interesting).

Gotta nope your way outta there!  That 83 is junk.  The current owner's taste in wheels should tell you all you need to know

In reply to Somebeach :

Little to no rust after he replaced with a riveted panel is not really a lie just misleading. 

There was a thread on GRM for CL ads like this. 

A fly and drive is your friend here as was mentioned.  250 for a plane ticket and 10 hours driving back are going to be waaaayyyyy cheaper and faster than even the most basic rust repair.

The amazing thing is that they don't even cost more in areas that they don't rust!