http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/cto/4722430291.html
here's my opinions on it: it's not an lx, its a base model, the 3.8 is the lowest rung engine for these, 100K is about the time the AOD requires a rebuild. 1988 was the year they became the "not if, but when" head gasket blowers. the TC hood looks silly, the Mustang turbines looks silly painted black, this is a $2500 car tops!
I saw it posted yesterday or whenever. I have a pet peeve about someone posting pics of a car for sale and not even washing it before they take the pictures. In my opinion, it's a question of whether you want it to sell or not. There's a reason that dealerships detail cars before throwing them on the lot... But I digress.
I'd go $2k tops on it, but I really don't want a V6. I personally like the looks of grills in fox thunderbirds (I have an '88 LX) and I think that the TC hood and bumper give it a more aggressive stance than the aero look of the turbo coupe. I don't mind the look, and to me, it looks better. The interior looks to be in good condition.
The body looks really good, but I'd want to look at the undercarriage before making an offer. It could need some work.
Still, it's a very base car, and after you put a v-8, 5 lug swap, redo the suspension which is most likely shot, you're looking at a $4k car... I'd start with something else..
The actual category/title causes it to be rather hidden but I happened upon it in a roundabout way.
Don't know if it's prohibitively far away...who knows what he's asking...but I wouldn't pay more than 5K for this: http://www.racingjunk.com/Ford/182272639/1987-Ford-Mustang.html
I've seen a few decently modded Birds/Cats and anything more than 4-5 and they seem to just sit on CL/wherever indefinitely.
Why would the aod need rebuilt around 100k?
I wouldn't buy a v-6 car, but if i did, it would be an 88.
Lolz at the 342hp Blue Print 331. Weak. A 302 with Performer/AFR 165/TW 170 heads makes that much.
Yeah I didn't read that figure at first but something's wrong with the setup.
Mechanically I've always wondered if stroker motors were a longevity issue due to side loading and I wasn't surprised to find with further reading that they are. It sounds like 408s are okay, but 331s/347s sound like a one-season money waster. Maybe being that underpowered would help it out. I'd certainly not turn it down at a reasonable price for the car. You could drive it responsibly and have some fun but not do things like drag race it every weekend, probably get a couple years out of it, then decide what to do next.
It's like nitrous, I really don't like performance mods that don't "last" so to speak.
Wow! Much descriptive! Many info! Such fast! Wow!
(http://doge2048.com/meta/doge-600.png)
Seriously, I HATE ads like that. Zero info. He can keep the motor. Ill take the rest and off 2500 IF the rest is as good as the ONE picture shows......
As far as the first car those front seat are from a totally different car. The pattern is wrong for 88. Those are 83-86 seats.
88 was the year of the head redesign that caused most of the head gasket issues you hear of.
For a V-6. Gimme an 87 and I'll call Morana Racing if I want more power out of it.
But the sefi means an easy fulie swap and correct orientation in the engine bay as well as proper lines.
Almost ever long lasting durable engine you've ever heard of has worse side loading and rod to stroke offsets then a 347. The big ford inline motors, chevy and ford bigblocks ect.
If you're gonna do a V8 swap then fine, but if keeping the V6 go with the earlier ones. It took till the later split ports for them to fix the HG issues.
And yes a 347 has a lower side load ratio than a standard factory Chevy 400. There's a lengthy thread on this site about this. Problem with a lot of the earlier build 331/347's was oiling issues due to where the ring landings were. The newer kits have alleviated this.....
If I'm gonna spend top dollar, I'll take this....
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=361594539
(http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/544/408/images/2013/12/11/361/594/35187171013.361594539.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg)
(http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/544/408/images/2013/12/17/361/594/35310445745.361594539.IM1.02.565x421_A.562x421.jpg)
(http://images.autotrader.com/scaler/544/408/images/2013/12/17/361/594/35310445764.361594539.IM1.17.565x421_A.562x421.jpg)
It could be the sister car to your current black one.
I wish I could find a nice set of sport seats like that one
Nah. 331 or 347 strikers are fine. They'll last just as long as a rebuilt 302. I've heard horror stories about Blue Print engines. py parts and 331s with ported E7 heads. Yeah that's going to make good power.
I'd love to buy that thing and just drive it as is. Then realize it's a slug and dump a 408w in it but leave the exterior and interior stock. Well maybe not a 408w. I doubt the proper EFI intake for that would fit under a stock hood. Maybe a Dart block 363 stroker with a blower.
Those could very well be 87-88 seats, however, we can't see if they have the seat belt hooks. Also, was it the earlier heads that were better, or was it the gaskets, or was it a combination of the 2?
LMAO @ V8Demon's post. Nice.
That's interesting to hear about 302-based strokers. I had read about oiling issues in early kits.
I literally don't have a good grounding on relatively how long of a stroke you can get away with before wear and tear really gets bad. I'll have to find that discussion re: comparing to a SBC 400. Interesting as well.
Bang! Found it!
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?20991-anyone-running-a-331-or-a-347-stroker-in-there-fox
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