Fox body DD?

Is this feasible? I figure there are millions of parts for them when something breaks, and I've never had a V8....

How many miles a day?

Manual V8 cars make a great DD, but are you looking for big power, because stock they don't make much.

Are you looking for handling, see above

All is easily fixed with bolt on parts or savvy shopping in the first place

Some things matter more than others, ie: weld in frame rail connectors are essential

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/86-mustang-challenger-build/41304/page1/

Sure, why not? The millions they built were primarily daily drivers. I can't imagine gas mileage would be much worse than any current muscle car.

Why not, it is just an old Ford, right? Plus it probably has one of the best parts supplies (new/used/performance) of any car out there.

Are you committed to the fox body thing? Because the early 94/95 SN-95 with the last of the 5.0's is looking like a real bargain right now.

Ya I'm not sold on the looks for the next generation, I love looks of the fox body, and the cobras don't fall into my sub $4000 price range...

Tens of thousands of rednecks do it every day!

I got my '88 Notchback about a month ago and I'm loving it. I've only run one solo with it and we had snow, hail and rain so couldn't really judge the handling but it rolls around a lot. Sub frame connectors are on my list and so are shocks but right now I'm just enjoying the rumble. Got some used 710's and 10 hole wheels for this weekends solo, should be fun.

I used my '92 GT 5spd as a three seasons DD here in CT a few years back. Loved every minute of it and got 25 MPG (almost all highway) to boot. When they're close to stock, they're very comfortable to drive, especially with the seats from the GT.

I'd do it again, but my current commute is far more congested and the lack of safety (relative to today's cars) makes me hesitate. The BMW fanboys will kill me for saying this, but my '97 E36 328is felt a lot like a fox body with a better suspension and less brake dive. I found them very similar from a power train perspective.

most Fox Mustangs were mild mannered 4 cylinder models that were bought by young single women because they were cute.. most of the V8 models were bought by young guys that were trying to pick up the women that thought they were cute cars..

The V8 cars are fun and the 4cyl cars are for the self-flagellating.

I daily drive my fox body, haul my two kids around all the time, do 100 miles a day with it most of the year. Works great! I have about 6k in my car total, gets about 25 mpg and has close to 400 horses. I bought one that was a junk yard salvage so it came cheap, and rebuilt pretty much everything, painted it myself. It is super fun to drive, handles great, plenty of power, and enough room for two kids and two adults comfortably. J

Moving_Target wrote: The V8 cars are fun and the 4cyl cars are for the self-flagellating.

my mom had a 2.3/4 speed 86 Mustang hatch when i first got my license... it was a fun car, and pretty reliable.. but it kept eating clutches, transmissions, and brakes starting a few months after i got my license for some reason..

I drive the Lincoln whenever I get the chance and it's basically a Fox. Longer A-arms, longer wheelbase, yada, yada...

It's a blast and my kids love it!

Murrica!

(not me or my car)

novaderrik wrote:

Moving_Target wrote: The V8 cars are fun and the 4cyl cars are for the self-flagellating.

my mom had a 2.3/4 speed 86 Mustang hatch when i first got my license... it was a fun car, and pretty reliable.. but it kept eating clutches, transmissions, and brakes starting a few months after i got my license for some reason..

I immagine the right rear tire probably developed some odd wear patterns as well!

The_Jed wrote:

novaderrik wrote:

Moving_Target wrote: The V8 cars are fun and the 4cyl cars are for the self-flagellating.

my mom had a 2.3/4 speed 86 Mustang hatch when i first got my license... it was a fun car, and pretty reliable.. but it kept eating clutches, transmissions, and brakes starting a few months after i got my license for some reason..

I immagine the right rear tire probably developed some odd wear patterns as well!

not really odd.. it just kept going bald..

Please note that my notchback was bought as a poor high school kid. It was originally a 2.3L/4spd and it was slow and not very reliable. The steering rack used to jam and lock the steering at inopportune times, engine was tired and even new, it had 88hp to drag around +3000lbs. The transmission forks were worn so if you weren't careful, it would shift into la-la land and you'd have to drop the transmission to get the shift linkage unjammed.

The car didn't get interesting until I bought a salvage T-bird with a 3.8L Essex and C5 transmission (still a turd of an engine but more powerful than the 2.3L) and swapped it in. I drove it for a few years until an undiagnosed leaky power valve fubared that engine. I bought another salvage T-bird with a CFI 5.0L and AOD. Now, I began to understand the interest in 5.0L Mustangs. It's gotten worse since then.

Ah yes, the one-wheel peel aka one-tire fire. Not such a big deal with a weak engine but a real downer if the car has some "umph".

My other options right now are Protege5 and the third gen Supra...

Protege5 is probably the smartest but the fox body would probably be funner. I don't want to get rid of my WRX but i need to free some money up and possibly get a project car to rallycross.

in other news: you can get 9 teenagers into a hatchback Mustang if you want...

lol everyone knows at least someone who has or does DD a fox body. Go for it.

I had a 1993 GT hatch for a couple of years. It was Reef Blue with Opal Grey interior. I loathed the AOD so I swapped in a T5. It was a fun car but I sold it back to the previous owner.

Oh, and it was my 4 season DD. It had Falken ZIEX ZE-512s and with a few sandbags in the hatch, it did pretty well in the horrific Nebraska (Siberia really) winters:

I have a friend that had a turbod 4cyl 5spd Fox. That thing was the ultimate DD and honestly a T4cyl is the only Fox body I could even stand to own. I hate the clapped out little 5.0. I don't even consider that a potential V8 to ever own again. I just can't get over taking a F body Camaro with a mild 355 combo and smoking nearly every 5.0 bolt on guy at the track for half the money.

Uncoiled wrote: My other options right now are Protege5 and the third gen Supra... Protege5 is probably the smartest but the fox body would probably be funner. I don't want to get rid of my WRX but i need to free some money up and possibly get a project car to rallycross.

The lack of power and the lack of a sixth gear for the highway on my Protege5 is killing me. If not for three kids (needing a 5 seater) I'd have a Fox Mustang as my DD no question.

I bought a '92 LX notch 5.0L 5sp in '97. It was my third Fox Mustang. The first was a '86 GT that was a 8 month car, (Only drived in good weather) that I sold after a couple of years, the second was a "93 Cobra R" that I road raced. The '92 was driven in all kinds of weather and we're talking Chicago winters here! I loaded about 120 lbs of lead in the trunk for winter driving and only used A/S performance tires and got around fine. Once up to speed I usually drove faster then the average SUV driver but that's me. This car came with 3.55 rear which made the car much quicker then your average Mustang and didn't hurt MPG that much. High teens to 20 mpg in the winter and mid 20's in the summer. The difference was mostly due to the winter blend of gas we get here.

I sold the car to my nephew in 2004. It passed the 200K mark in miles with only a trans rebuild and new front LCAs, other then the normal stuff.

Chassis is not really something to write home about, but the engine is tons of fun. The chassis can be made to work, a whole industry is out there.

Beware cheap parts, some of the chinese stuff can be lethal.

Major downside if the fuel economy, figure about 20mpg. (depends on how you drive it)

I almost bought a '91 LX 5.0 with a 5-spd new. Then I took it on a 2 hour test drive, and realized how tired my left leg was from the clutch. It was pretty much all city driving, so take that for what it's worth.