89' LX Hatch on the cheap

[LERM]

Had to take a break from the mustang to prep our desert toys, but I'm back at it.

I added the wider 98' axles with extended studs to the car this afternoon.

MAN, am I tired of pulling the torque arm and smelling gear oil.

I should have the rough version of the flares on all four corners by weeks end.

[LERM]

Well, it drove to work this morning on its "new" tires. All the flares are bolted on, but none of them are finished.

Still, I had to share.

This is the width with the 98' mustang width axles on.


Obviously this poor thing has been "enjoyed".





The rear fender is the one I had to piece back together. It had been sectioned up before I got ahold of them. I plan on blending all of these into the body. The DS rear will be the most work since i'll have to at least lessen the amount of filler that was used for the last "fix"...


Hot trailer park girl just got bolt-ons...

[Martin71RS]

those flares make it look so much better/meaner!
cool!

[Getrdone]

Looks awesome! I know the multi-color is gonna drive you nuts.

[LERM]

those flares make it look so much better/meaner!
cool!

Big tires, and low stance is the fix for just about anything huh? Thanks for the attaboys.

Looks awesome! I know the multi-color is gonna drive you nuts.

POST NUMBER ONE!? I'm honored.

Its already driving me nuts. My goal was to get the car into "raceable" condition with the new tires, and to deal with the finish work as I could... but I'm feeling pretty tempted to at least get the thing in a single color primer or something to make it less offensive looking. OR, i'll just satin black the flares to kinda match the hood.

And of course, now that the tires are on, and i'm itching to go racing... i'm pretty sure that my "new to me" 8.8 is on its way out.

I drove it to work, and am hearing some far less than bitchin' bearing noise from the rear of the car. bummed... but maybe its time to spring for some welded tubes, 9"bearing ends, a torsen, 3.55s and 31 spline axles... now... how to fund?

[andrewb70]

...... now... how to fund?

Too bad you can't put the hot trailer park girl with bolt-ons out on the street...LOL

Andrew

[1965gp]

Hot trailer park girl got bolt ons... love it.

[LERM]

Too bad you can't put the hot trailer park girl with bolt-ons out on the street...LOL
Andrew

Did you just suggest I.... Pimp my Ride?

Hot trailer park girl got bolt ons... love it.

Glad i'm amusing someone besides myself!

[Chev Korbin]

LERM,.... dude.

Haven't been on in a while, but I am glad to see the progress with the mustang. Fender flares look gooooood,. the wide rims and tires give it some serious attitude. Bad ass man, just an awesome fox.

[LERM]

LERM,.... dude.

Haven't been on in a while, but I am glad to see the progress with the mustang. Fender flares look gooooood,. the wide rims and tires give it some serious attitude. Bad ass man, just an awesome fox.

Thanks Chev'! Its coming right along. I'm getting anxious to see it clean and painted... but unfortunately thats no where near the top of the priority list. I agree with the attitude though... if its going to be ugly it might as well look mean and ugly.

So, I got to go racing! Just going off comparing times to guys i've raced before its fair to say the tires made an improvement. I ran closer to them than ever before. That said, I sure didn't get the "WHOA! SO DAMN STICKY" feedback that I was expecting.

Granted:
Tires were used when I got them, so maybe fresh ones would be way better?
I hadn't raced the car in 4 months, so my basis for comparison might have been skewed.
My driving is still VERY much in need of improvement, and I know the tires can only fix so much overzealous right foot.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Glad to see you've been enjoying the car man! I need to get mine out to some events before I get the urge to get rid of it, lol.

[wyattroa]

Glad to see you've been enjoying the car man! I need to get mine out to some events before I get the urge to get rid of it, lol.

Please never get rid of it...I still regret letting my 89 lx go...If I ever do it again though, it will be a notch.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Please never get rid of it...I still regret letting my 89 lx go...If I ever do it again though, it will be a notch.

It's been crossing my mind but I would have a hard time letting it go. I've got more time and money in this one than I ever thought was possible. The only way I'd let it go is if I were to stumble across a 2nd gen Firebird for the right deal.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Anything new??

[LERM]

Nothing terribly exciting. Ive spent some time fine tuning the for of the flares. Still a ways to go to say the least.

I had some rubbing issues with the 335s in the back last race. (Weird, right?) So I did some massaging with my favorite bfh, and added a 1/4 wheel spacer. Luckily I had the foresight to add some extended studs to the axles last time it was all apart in anticipation of this... (OR! It was just a lucky ass coincidence that the last 8.8 I bought came with them... Either way...)

Going to do some autocrossing in the morning though, so I'll get to see if I'm heading in the right direction at least.

Think "go-fast thoughts" for me.

[LERM]

Well I didn't win. AGAIN. "As long as you're having fun..." pffffft...



I ended up 5th out of 21, and contrary to my ramblings above, i'm pretty damn stoaked. The car feels outstanding. Room for improvement sure... but MAN, has it come a long way since I started. So good in fact, that i'm going to go ahead and make it less ugly. I got ahold of the adhesives, fiberglass strand fillers etc that will be required to blend the flares... I don't think it will be a super fast process, but we'll see if I can't get all hopped up on Mtn. Dew and surprise myself.


Here's my best (and final) Lap of the day:

[Josh@Ridetech]

^^^ That looked like a lot of fun.

You've really got me wanting to throw flares on my car now...

[Jimbo1367]

Great score. These cars are getting scarce. Most people think they're Hemi Cuda convertibles.

[LERM]

Thanks for the atta'boys gents.

Some cool action shots from the last autocross. (DAMN this thing needs some paint! :D )



The CAM Challenge is coming up in a couple weeks. They require different numbers than the normal SCCA events. Luckily, my Stepmonster has access to some pretty cool sticker makin' machines. So, while the car will still be 50 shades of grey for the big national event, at least it'll have some cool racecar inspired steekers.


My "new to me" GT bumper was missing the Ford emblem up front. So instead of ebay'n one, I had my Stepmonster make up something more appropriate for this turd. This is the second "Pile of a Mustang" in my group of racing buddies. Since its a clever way to label the car #2 and liken it to poop at the same time, its been labled "Deuce". This'll be in place of the Ford emblem up front for a while.

[Josh@Ridetech]

That first picture is badass!