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    1. #1
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States

      89' LX Hatch on the cheap

      A good friend of mine had lost interest in this poor ugly mustang. It had sat for a few years after a head and intake swap. He never got it to run after the new parts were on. He mentioned in an unrelated phone conversation that he was letting the autowrecker come get the car at the end of the week.



      "CANCEL THEM. I'll be there tomorrow..."

      It came to me with welded subframe connectors, turbo coupe disc's, SVO aluminum heads, a Trick Flow manifold, and pretty much every other bolt on offered for a fox 302 motor.

      I figured it was worth the purchase in parts alone.
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      Luckily though, I found the spun balancer in short order. I fixed the timing, and had the car running 30min after it was home. I offered the car back to my buddy for my cash plus beer to clear my conscience. MAN was I excited to hear, "Nope, i'm still over it....keep it."

      So, I fixed the other "little" issues the car had. Well... the mechanical ones anyway... It's gunna take a big hammer to knock the ugly off this one... I fixed the Leaking injector o-rings, weak fuel pump, exhaust leaks, loose steering... and started using it as a weekend fun car.

      I have a list of things I should be working on besides this thing, so I was content with leaving it alone.... until I went autocrossing for the first time.


      DAMN is that fun. The car was on rock hard 225/16's, the suspension was stock aside from some drop springs, at least it had discs in the back, but the brake fade was still quite noticeable... though maybe not as noticeable as my "new guy" driving...

      The want list started immediately. I was "responsible" though, and went back a few times to make sure the 225's were good and done for.

      In the meantime, I went craigslist'n and junkyard'n.
      I collected up:
      Cobra 17x8 and 17x9's
      Nitto NT05s 255/40 and 275/40
      95 Cobra front brakes, and 95 GT rear
      Aerostar 5 lug axles
      SN95 (94-95) spindles and front control arms (and of course added some urethane)
      MM CC Plates and bumpsteer kit.
      04' Cobra rack (or so it was labled) and a MM solid steering column
      and lastly a used Griggs Torque arm, panhard, rear lower control arms, and a heavier rear sway bar


    2. #2
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      Along the way, I also added an MSD dizzy and 6btm box. Lincoln fan, and some 1.7 rockers. battery got kicked out of the engine compartment for being heavy and ugly...






      As of last night, here is the current state. Its close to being back on the road. Just need to add fluids and do some alignment.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Feb 2013
      Posts
      1,414
      Country Flag: United States
      Looks like you've got a good setup going!


      Ridetech Suspsension
      Tech Specialist
      Phone: 812.481.4734

      Project Fox
      1979 Trans Am

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      49
      Country Flag: United States
      Nice to see another fox build, car looks pretty solid. Can't wait to see more!

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Oct 2013
      Location
      H-Town, TX
      Posts
      356
      Country Flag: United States
      Hard to beat a fox body for fun- our stock 87 Saleen is a blast to drive despite being a 14 second car.

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      Thanks for the "atta' boy" comments guys. Fox mustangs are a blast. Certainly faster more attractive cars around, but the $$$ per fun ratio for these is off the charts.

      Its back on the ground! And even moved under its own power so I could sweep up the floor for alignment.





      Now to flare out the fenders a bit so I don't annihilate my new tires the first time the car leans over...




      No ridetech engine compartment here... but its at least tidy'd up a bit at this point... I think a "two points of contact" strut tower brace is on the horizon...

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Aug 2014
      Posts
      49
      Country Flag: United States
      Sweet! Like the homemade alignment tool, you should give us all a rundown on that,.. i'll need to be doing that here soon. Also, really like the look of those seats, what are they (cant make out the stitching), how do they fit, are they comfy???

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      I'm glad you were at least amused by my backyard fab alignment. It is only as close as a questionably level floor, and HF measuring tools allow it to be...

      I'll drive it for the first time tomorrow, so I can speak to some of its effectiveness then, but so far, it seems to work well enough.

      I'm certainly open to criticism or tips on how to improve, but my process was:
      1. Leveling the car at ride height by shimming between the tires and the floor with plate stock.
      2.Set Caster (ie. max out caster all the way to the extent of the MM plates)
      3.Set camber. -2.5 degrees. I don't have a pic, but I squared a piece of angle stock to my level plane, and used a digital angle finder on the angle stock to determine my setting.
      4. Set toe. Obviously, thats the "fancy" pictured set up. Basically marked the diameter of the wheel and center on some angle stock. I fixed those pieces to the wheels low enough that I could measure underneath the car. I attatched a couple tape measures to one side, and strung them across for quick easy measuring. Adjust to your desired. I've read that street car should be 1/16" toe in, track/autocross could benefit from square, or 1/16th toe out. I left mine 1/16th toe out as its most common duty is autocross...

      I still want it streetable enough to "impress" my friends at work with this joe dirt corvette, so if it sucks on the street, i'll be sure to admit it...



      The seats in the car are Tenzo R's. I don't think i've read a single positive review online. The were already in the car when I bought it. The adjustment latch on the DS was broke when I took ownership. The drivers seat back would not stay put. The lever with the teeth had busted clean off (my buddy that previously owned the car is a big dude. I blame him) Anyway, I buzzed the arm back together and they adjust good as new now...
      The wife HATES them as her head lands right in the plastic harness pass through. Those things said, i'm stoaked to have them over stockers. Even without harnesses in the car yet they hold my butt in place fairly well...and I feel they are at least as comfy as any other "low budget performance" seat i've ever sat in...



      I started in on the front fender rub today as well... Almost there....


      Last edited by LERM; 05-06-2015 at 06:23 AM. Reason: clarification

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Jan 2015
      Location
      Charlotte, NC
      Posts
      309
      Country Flag: United States
      Killer little track rat...since you added a 6BTM, is boost in the future??
      Justin Novick
      Sales/Support
      Entropy Radiator / Engineered Cooling Products
      "The Sexiest Radiators For The Sexiest Hot Rods"

      www.EntropyRad.com www.SpeedCooling.com
      773.303.8251

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      The MSD box was added for the the basic spark help... Its only a "BTM" as I still had that box in my tote of mustang stuff from my last car. I had every intention of adding boost to that one. For this one, I dunno...

      The big thing that killed my last mustang (a 94') was me being tired of jumping through smog hoops. (ie swapping out the X-cam'd 331 every two years for a stocker...it made sense to a younger dumber me...) This current car smogs pretty easy, and I don't know if i'm ready to deal with any changes that.

      My plan for now is to leave well enough alone, and fix only what breaks to keep this thing on the road/track. I'm trying to turn my attention to my 1953' chev pickup... which needs "a few things"...

      That said, a "50 state" vortec system on the mustang would not be out of the question...."someday"... but neither is moving my go fast stuff to a 63' Falcon... in which case boost via turbo would be inevitable.

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      It finally ran some errands around town today. Found a lil' rub inside the passanger side rear wheelwell that was mitigated with a BFH... and i've got a slight exhaust rattle towards the rear (no surprise with how much I had to snake the exhaust around suspension stuff... should be able to adjust it out...

      Feels much more solid with the stiffer bushings though, and I can certainly feel the stiffer bar.... next track day will be fun, and if nothing else, its got a good "hot trailer park girl" look about it now for sure...




      I'm thinking that glass hood needs some matte black though...

    12. #12
      Join Date
      May 2009
      Location
      Connecticut
      Posts
      409
      Country Flag: United States
      That thing is friggin sweet. Your build had me cracking up. With regards to the alignment 2.5 deg camber sounds line a lot but I'm not txt familiar with strut front ends. Also I would check caster side to side. I put the car on two vinyl tiles with bearing grease between them to make my own turn plates. Then turn the wheel in 20 deg zero your level and turn it out 20 and that should be your caster. The added benefit of the plates is you can push down and bounce the car to union bind everything
      Aldin
      1969 Camaro (Weapon of Choice) in the works

    13. #13
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      Thanks sir.

      I appreciate the alignment ideas. This is the first i've ever really paid this close attention to alignment. (my other toys are for the dirt, and don't care much about a 1 degree camber change... )


      I looked for some cost effective alignment plates, and I really dig the vinyl tile ideas.

      I landed on the -2.5 degree camber setting by sniffing at others suggestions online. These cars have a HORRIBLE camber curve... starting aggressively negative is my current plan to fight that. I'll most likely dial it out a bit if the car starts to see more frequent street duty... but for now its the occasional grocery store run, and autocross...

      thanks again for the ideas. Much appreciated.

    14. #14
      Join Date
      Nov 2008
      Location
      NC
      Posts
      583
      Country Flag: United States
      Fox body love here.
      Awesome job, it looks great.

      Your sand toy looks like a blast. Specs on it?

    15. #15
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      Thanks for the kind words. Of course, now that its driving i'm heading out of town for work for a week... I wanna DRIVE dammit... I'm hoping to go autocrossing May 31 though... hopefully it'll work out...

      The buggy is a 4130 2 Seat, Coilover/bypass rear, Combo front hub, Charlynn steering, microstub 930's, Full Weddle 091, and a Honda J35A4. GREAT fun... though i'd love a turbo... on an LS.
      CAM-T Autocross Fox Mustang
      LX mustang autocross on the "cheap"...
      1953 PickEmUp
      1953 Chev Pickemup

    16. #16
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      I'm having a ball with this thing....

      No big changes this month... but after the lincoln fan went on, the stock alternator showed some weakness... so I did the 3g swap.




      The 3g alternator is MUCH better, but I think i'm going to ditch the underdrive pulleys as well... The car came with them, but personally i've never been to keen on the idea of decreasing cooling and charging on a street car... just need to find a complete set of stock pulleys.

      I also got tired of the sharp contrasting white fiberglass hood, so I went "hillbilly autobody" and sprayed some rustoleum satin through a HF HVLP gun... result was all you'd expect from a $15 paint job.... but is a vast improvement over the gelcoat...


      I did get back to the track today as well, and no surprise, the car is WAY WAY better with all the suspension brake and tire upgrades. Its 100% better, and has me on pace with cars I have no business keeping up with.


      CAM-T Autocross Fox Mustang
      LX mustang autocross on the "cheap"...
      1953 PickEmUp
      1953 Chev Pickemup

    17. #17
      Join Date
      Jan 2015
      Location
      Charlotte, NC
      Posts
      309
      Country Flag: United States
      cleaned up nicely..dig the hot chic in the trailer park comment
      Justin Novick
      Sales/Support
      Entropy Radiator / Engineered Cooling Products
      "The Sexiest Radiators For The Sexiest Hot Rods"

      www.EntropyRad.com www.SpeedCooling.com
      773.303.8251

    18. #18
      Join Date
      May 2008
      Location
      Austin, Tx.
      Posts
      1,539
      Country Flag: United States
      Great project! I really like your fender stretch!
      Ray
      FEW FRILLS, just BIG CHILLS!!!
      1972 VW Bug (427LS/T56 Magnum/9"-3.70 gears)
      18"x10-1/2" (315/30/18) Front, 18”x12" (335/30/18”) Rear
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...-Lady-Bug-quot

    19. #19
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      Work has been in the way of any racing for a few months. So, this thing has been used primarily for hardware store runs and gathering stink eyes from my neighbors. (I suppose it's a good thing if my sh!tbox mustang is the neighborhoods biggest problem.)



      My stepmonster did hook me up with some magnets. I think I'll need to go one shade lighter on the numbers to keep those judgmental scca guys from protesting... But the idea is there...



      I finally made it down to Qualcomm last weekend. It ran towards the top of the Mustangs there... But there's still an s197 that is besting me by a full second... On street tires no less. Looks like I'll need to sign up for some instructor help after all...
      CAM-T Autocross Fox Mustang
      LX mustang autocross on the "cheap"...
      1953 PickEmUp
      1953 Chev Pickemup

    20. #20
      Join Date
      Apr 2015
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      165
      Country Flag: United States
      Back to the track with a proper brake proportioning valve, and some increased negative camber trying to chase out some serious understeer.... (well... understeer when I don't enter a corner early under panicky' braking like a new guy)

      ...then I saw these pics, among others...



      Even with -3 degrees camber up front, its body rolling hard enough to create positive camber.

      So... I suppose its time to beg the wife for some coilovers... it is almost my birthday afterall....
      CAM-T Autocross Fox Mustang
      LX mustang autocross on the "cheap"...
      1953 PickEmUp
      1953 Chev Pickemup

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