Well it's a four door Fox Body but it's still kind of cool. It's a 1985 LTD LX. They made over 200,000 LTD in 1985 but only about 3,000 was the LX.
The LX had bucket seats, council, floor shifter (auto), 302 HO engine, front and rear sway bars, and 3.27 posi rear end (7.5 inch).
This is an old guy that purchased it from the original owner and it has 37k miles on it. The guy advertised it last week for $3500 but no one came. He advertised it this week for $2,000 and I called (no one else did). I got over there and he told me he was moving in a week and had to get rid of it. He said he could not drive anymore and it has not been driven for 3 years. I offered him $1,200 but he said no less than $1,500 so I said I better take it for a ride.
It runs good on the test drive but will not shift out of 1st till 4,000 rpm and then once in 2nd stays there. The brakes are also bad, the left front is almost locked up from sitting. So I take it back to him and gives him the bad news. You could tell that he did not know, it ran good 3 years ago when he parked it. I told him that with the bad transmission I could not go over $400 and he accepted the deal.
Now what do I do? I can pull the tranny and bring it over to my friend to re-do and use it for a daily driver. Or I can put a caddy in her and make it into a very nice sleeper, like I have time to do that. But I do have a very nice 72 engine, a rebuilt short tail trans, a 8.8 2.73 posi all ready to go. According to the book this car weighs about 2,904 where the turbo coupe is 3,380 base weight. But my Turbo coupe was a couple hundred pounds more than this for some reason.
I think for now I will redo the trans and brakes and get her rolling.
Kind of a neat car even if it is a four door.
TED
Here's some more info about them, sounds like they are a pretty rare car.
http://www.ltdlx.org/index.html He claims that there were only about 3,260 made for both model years combined, 84&85.
TED
LTD LX's are cool. check out http://www.foureyedpride.com
there are LTD LX faithful over there that can help ya out. i can tell ya though, they may not be too keen on a caddy swap ;)
good luck with it, nice car!
Id just fix it up, throw some 10 holes on it, and cruise.
Dang ive always wanted one of those.
Check the TV cable?
I say keep it fairly original. $400 was a steal.
Also, curb weight is 3300lbs for the LX, 2900 i would guess is the 2.3 model.
I will replace the wheels, these are ugly base line caps. 10 hole was an option for these but I think I rather go with some 16 or something. Time will tell.
I think that dual exhaust would also be cool. I have a set of stock Mustang headers and I just took off the tail pipes and turbos off the T-bird, so all I need is an h-pipe from Summit or Jegs.
Maybe some spings and shocks and it will be ready to go.
Maybe I will take it down to Mike and let him work his magic on the paint to clean it up. I wonder what he would charge me?
Going to be a nice daily driver. I have a son that will turn 15 next month but he could not see any reason to drive it. These kids just don't know a good car when they see it.
The interior is very nice and never been smoked in.
You can sure tell that the floor shifter was an after thought. The hole they cut look like they did it with a plasma cutter, very rough hole for the factory.
My friend that does trannies told me to check the TV hook-up (just like you guys), if that's ok then put it reverse and work it back and forth at an idle. If that does not work pull the valve body and clean it, and as last pull the tail and check the govenor. He thinks that the tranny can be fixed without pulling it. This would be good, I will try.
TED
yeah, shifting like that sounds like it's getting no throttle feed from the tv..... hopefully it'll be a cheap fix.... that's a great find
You , that's a ****ing steal!
yeah, nice find!
Ted,
Shoot me an email about the paint. It would take 2-3 days so a Friday drop-off/Sunday pick-up would work. Price depends on how crazy you want me to get and what kind of shape it's in.
Make it driveable, slap 10 holes on it, and piss off a bunch of ricers.
Sweet. I'd love to have an LTD LX. Rare as hell.
As for the tranny - I'd bet money that the lever for the TV cable at the transmission is seized up. The first time you floored it the cable pulled all the way and stuck in the WOT position because the spring is not strong enough to pull it back. That same thing happened to my '88 Cougar and '87 Sport, and BOTH were cars that had sat for a long time. Get under the car with some penetrating oil and work that TV cable lever back and forth until it's free, then lube it with something more permanent.
I got my Cougar dirt cheap because of that problem. I bought it from the dealership I worked at. They were asking $1500. I took it for a test drive and it had the same symptoms (first 'til redline, then second). I thought the tranny was screwed and told the manager of the dealership. He told me "$800 and it's yours". I brought it into the shop, put it on the hoist, and noticed the car had a lot of surface rust everywhere, and that the shift linkage was stiff (noticed that on the test drive). I started spraying the WD-40 to it and then noticed the TV lever. After a good lubing the tranny shifted like new :D
Thats nice! Are those valve covers stock?
Now I really feel guilty (well at least kind of). I checked the TV rod (on this one it's a rod instead of an cable) and it was unhooked, I hooked it back up and the transmission works perfect. Been driving it around and it runs perfect except for the front left caliper is dragging. Nothing that a brake job won't fix.
Won't tear any shaving cuts open but it takes off pretty good for a mid-eighties car.
I'm I going to hell?
The valve covers are stock and so is the air cleaner, really cool. In fact this car is just how it came from the factory in every respect.
I think this car is worth some new wheels instead of 10 holes, the question is what kind should i get? And what size?
TED
Sweet... I believe the LX got the same detuned HO as the '84-'85 Automatic Mustangs...
There is a guy that runs true street at the FFW events that has a baby LTD(not a LX)... But none the less, I've seen it run some high 11s...
I have been trying to research this engine. I found that the 210hp Mustang manual trans engine had a roller cam, carb, and forged pistons. And only the Auto Mustang had the EFI.
Does anybody know if the HO in the LTD has a roller cam or forged pistons?
TED
Nice find!
Don't feel bad about what you paid for it. Would you have been PO'd if you gave him his original asking price and then found out the trans was shot? I think so. You weren't 100% sure what you were getting into in the first place so you went with your gut. It turned out in your favor so enjoy it!
I would do a 5 lug conversion using Sn-95 stuff. Get some real binders on there. Would open your selection of wheels up too.
Nope...
Always heard the first roller cam/forged engines were the '85 5 speed Stangs... The Auto HO with CFI and iron exhaust manifolds are not supposed to be roller... It should have the good E5AE heads which are same as the E7s...
Guessing the block is roller compatible as I have a '85.5 truck block that had a flat tappet cam, but has the taller lifter bores... The bosses for the spider hold down are not tapped...
In '86 ALL 5.0s were roller except the truck engines...
If you really want to know, pull a push rod and measure it...
The roller PRs are 6.27".... Flat tappet are 6.9"
Thanks TC50, this is what I figured. Doesnt really matter for this application anyway.
You sure have a lot of Ford Know How, very lucky to have you on this forum.
TED
I like your way of thinking; if the guy changed my $1,500 plus and it had a bad transmission he sure wouldn't give me any money back.
It was an honest transaction with the knowledge that I had at the time.
TED
yep,, they kinda taste like chevy dont they?
And finally arrives our first ever "ACTUAL" CFI HO. now can you please take that air cleaner lid off and tell me what color injectors those are,,? Should be Dark blue,=52lb
Is that a TFI distributor system?
You sure that is a 327 trac lock? on a 7.5?
Also, i like that power steering pump,, i put that style on my coug cause it has a smaller pully. Power steering is Way nicer now , not that it was bad before but a smaller pully means more leverage.
I have to say it,,, you got more bang for your buck than anyone here in a long time.
Books man... Books...
PR info taken from a Ford Racing catalog... Same info will be on web site...
Course you have to know to check for this stuff... :D
BTW The Trick Flow heads require longer than stock PRs... I believe they recommended a special(expensive) 6.78" ... Stuck early flat tappet PRs in mine from Ford Racing that are 6.8"... Geometry checked out perfect... Cost $29...
Those sure look like the valve covers I have on mine, from an 84 Stang'
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/84fila/000_2351.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/84fila/000_2350.jpg)
can you get a side pic of it? i want to know what it would look like on '03 Cobras. Ponies maybe? i want to mess around with some different ones i love those cars
Yeah but his were obtained legally......
They are black or dark blue, see picture. Don't know about the distributor.
I put the car on the hoist and check the gears and it is a 3.27 trac lock on a 7.5.
Also cleaned up the engine a bit and it looks a bit better.
TED
Here you go.
I was thinking about these but I'm really worried that they will not clear on the LTD. I know that are just Cobra wheels again but they look nice and the price is good.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AFS-79-93-Mustang-Wheels-Tires-Cobra-R-4-lug-Silver-2-2_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ66483QQihZ013QQitemZ230150984394QQrdZ1
Let me know what you come up with. Also let me know if you would like a bigger picture to play with and I can email it to you.
Thanks
TED
Color of top plastic part of the injector determines flow... Those are tan...
I know zero about FI of any type. What do tan ones flow?
Here's a picture with snowflakes. Too tall of tires 225x60x16 equals 26.6 inches tall the stock were 205x70x14 or 25.2 inches tall.
What I need if I did this is 225x50x16 that are 24.8 inches tall.
The tires with the cobra wheels are 255x40x17 and are 25 inches tall.
The 225x60 rub in the front and gives it a cop car look. I don't really like it. But the wheels look a lot better.
The stock ones are steel, with aluminum melted to them and rubber over that. What's up with that you would think it would cost a lot more to make than just plain aluminum wheels.
TED
As for the FI you have, it's the holy grail of CFI. I kinda had a version of it on my car, but yours is a TRUE HO CFI. All I had was Ho CFI injecters in a regular 5.0 body. A nice find and it looks to be in great shape. I also wonder what the car would look like with say Pony's or Turbines on it
tom,, what resources do you have on injector id,, i only have a single page that appears in my emissions shop manual that randomly shows up for poor running diagnositcs.
Ted
that fuel injector does not show on my chart, not sure where they came from or if they are or were replaced in the past.
In the first pic below is a chart for your future ref. This chart gets you a visual idea of what flow rate each injector is by its top color. Your injectors are not within the years applicable to your HO.
Please see if you can get the number off the injector where i have arrows pointing.
In the second pic, there is a big round gold thing. That little tiny plug in the top can be drilled out with a tiny drill bit. Next start a screw in your hole you drilled. Next, pop out that plug. Now you have access to the allen adjustment screw.
RULE OF THUMB----- 1 turn CW= 2psi. THere is a fuel test fitting along the top of the CFI for reading fuel presure. Thats where you would hook up your tester, duct tape the guage to the windshield, take off driving and watch the fuel presure to make sure it goes no lower than 30psi in between shifts. This is a good idea for verificaiton of your fuel pump and its performance. If you think you want to do this, ill suggest a 3.8L SC fuel pump.
Also,, with the key on only, measure your voltage at the green wire of the TPS , it has to be less than a volt.
Also,, on that distributor, is there a sideways mounted 6 wire connector? if so,, its a TFI system.
Down near my sig,, i have a "diy link" you may want to check out. Its sort of geared towards CFI systems plus a bunch of other stuff.
Also, if you ever experience hesitation ,,, and your tps reads good ,,, and your fuel pump has 40psi at idle and drive test within 30psi during shifts,, and your two main parts in the dizzy are good,,,,,,,,,,,REMOVE THE INJECTOR SCREENS. Your problem will go away like magic. Replace them if you want but i didnt.
scott
edit: How in the hell did i not realize this thread has four pages? sheesh.
Cad-tbird, those are Ford's infamous "polycast" wheels. I don't understand the reasoning behind them either, unless they were looking for something that wouldn't be damaged as easily, but then the plastic center caps always get gouged up or broken. All I know is that they were all ugly and I'd rather have plain steelies than those ugly things.
Scott, I just have what you posted BUT....
The HO CFI inj are listed as gray... Suppose those are just tinted a bit, due to a little fuel evaporation????
I'd think it's highly possible...
Ford wasn't the only one to experiment with polycast. My '78 Trans Am had polycast "honeycomb" wheels on it, and I believe those wheels dated back to the early 70's. They looked good, but were heavy as hell and the metal "tower" that the center caps attached to rusted away, causing the caps to fall off.
I third the "10-hole" suggestion. 10-holes just look right on LTD's...
I believe 73 was the first year Chevrolet used Polycast wheels. On the Monte Carlo infact.
I was thinking the same,, discoloration due to fuel.
Ted
Can you do one more thing,, Unplug either injector and measure the riesistance. Or if you cant,, get someone to do that. I suspect something here but i dont wanna call it out right now. If it is what i think it is,, the CFI EEC is more toloerant to deviations in injector typs than what i thought. Im running blue tops and didnt have problems related to the eec.
Okay I looked local and did not find any 10 hole wheels. But I found these on eBay and they look pretty nice.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250143341265
I put a bid in thinking that the buy it now would disappear but maybe ebay changed than and it's still there.
Should I wait it out or just pay the $300 plus shipping and get it over with. How much wear is 5/32" left? Just over 1/8 inch does not sound that good to me, but legal for a while.
TED
But how much is shipping to You?? They are in FL...
2/32 is minimum to pass state insp in VA, and that ain't much...
Hell if you were closer, after I get my turbines *hopefuly* this week, you can have my 10 holes
5/32" is half way through the tread on most tires. i wouldnt pay that much for those wheels. mustang guys usually give them away.
Shipping is flat rate of $149 so if I got them with my current bid it would be $274. Well at least the tires will last a little while. I think he is going to spend very close to the $149 to get them to me in Washington.
I have two 10 hole already but they are pretty rough shape and I like the sound of these. I want the car to look nice.
I have not seen too many for free and they seem to be kind of hard to find in Washington. I had to look quite a while to find two because I thought they would be good for slicks, I thought they were 8 inch but now I know they are 7.
Okay so I will wait it out.
TED
browse the local mustang boards or craigslist
that's a nice score:D
If your son doesn't want it you could ship it to me;)
Not too bad with the cobra wheels.
TED
Except those are LS1 Camaro wheels, not Cobra's :hick:
You are right, my friend is playing tricks on me. Where did those five lugs come from?
You have a good eye.
TED
:D
I try ;)