Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

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Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

September 01, 2010, 10:39:37 AM

So I've been a proponent of saving the fox bodies from dd duty as they are getting old and not many are left that are not rusty (here anyways;)). I have however started to tire of my 3.8 MN-12. It is kinda boring to drive. I've found this http://www.signature-autos.com/detail-1987-mercury-cougar-xr7-used-6019592.html and I'm seriously considering getting it for dd duty and selling the MN-12. Is it possible to dd a fox in the north and not have it get eaten by the salt in the winter? If it's not then I'll keep my eyes open for a 5.0 MN-12 or a Mark VII.

My girlfriend has brought up the point of just buying a brand new car. My response is I can think of better things to do with 30K then spend it on something that will be worth half of what I paid for it in 5 years:hick:

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #1 – September 01, 2010, 10:48:33 AM

See the rust proofing thread. What do you think.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #2 – September 01, 2010, 11:28:59 AM

Wow, just my opinion too but I can use any car here for a DD and be happy. Also my 92 MN-12 Tbird is quite boring. I've had it for 12 years but I didn't suffer as it was the wife's car. It feels like it's about 9,000 lbs. I just need to massage that AOD and EFI engine in to the 86 which feels like 2,000 lbs. That extra 5" in width makes the MN-12 feel big bulky and heavy.

I'm with you. Older cars are better as DDs than spending 30k on a new whatever.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #3 – September 01, 2010, 11:42:47 AM

Well, they were meant to be daily drivers back in the 80's, so I think they'll do fine

Lots of cars are still around in the North.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #4 – September 01, 2010, 11:46:52 AM

I imagine with weekly trips through a car wash with undercarriage spray the rust munchers could be kept at bay somewhat :D

Mine will be driven daily as soon as I get my license back ,
My last DD was my 88 Mark VII .

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #5 – September 01, 2010, 11:57:55 AM

Thing is NICE! Definitely wouldnt want to see it ruined. But it takes a good 5-10 years for things to really get bad, that's got a fresh start. Do like I told ya, plunk down about 100 bucks for one of those husky ~1500 psi or so pressure washers on ebay, might even find it for that price at HD or lowes, I forget. Theyre no more than $150 for sure. So worth it tho. If it's above freezing out, hook it up to the faucet outside and blast away. Spend a honest 20-30 minutes blasting the fenderwells and floor off, unfortunately without hot water the salt wont dissolve as well but youll be better off than washing it at the car wash.....aaaaaand driving back home over salty roads with a wet car that dry powdery salt sticks to like glue. :hick:

And as crude as it is, honestly if I were you I'd do what I did to the 'Vic. Get a lot of cardboard, put it down, jack up one end of the car nice and high, and get 3 or 4 cans of WD-40 Big Blast and fog the hell out of it, spray the whole undercarraige with a couple coats, let it sit a day to gel up then coat it again. Soon Im doing this with the silver cat because I wanna rip around this winter in it, just when the roads dry, so I can enjoy a low 13 sec car in the winter

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #6 – September 01, 2010, 12:17:00 PM

Take out the valve cover gaskets.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #7 – September 01, 2010, 04:25:03 PM

for that price spend a little more and take it to ziebart and
have them shoot it. they have a used car system. if that
was a bird and not a cougar i bet you wouldnt dd it, lou.
looks too nice to run in the winter. its not my money so
go for it.--irv

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #8 – September 01, 2010, 05:30:00 PM

The Sport is great as my daily driver.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #9 – September 01, 2010, 08:12:27 PM

Man, I love the two tones.

Can you get around in rear drive up in Chicago? What it your long term goal for the car?

Do you want to keep the car forever? It will last many years if you keep the salt washed out when you can. It will eventually creep into every area though, just a matter of time.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #10 – September 01, 2010, 08:21:32 PM

Any car not kept in a plastic bag is going to rust sooner or later. If you just get rid of the rust as you notice it, it will be fine. I drove my car for a 150 mile commute for four months of winter. From early January to early April. Went down to a couple below several time. Snowed several feet a couple of times too. There was a couple of times when I was the only person to show up because no one else thought they could make it.

I had my throttle cable come undone(previous owner swapped the throttle cable and lost the clip that goes in the cable end) and dropped my front u-joint from an eaten up yoke. Not the cars fault, but I also drove through the back of a cadilac, and was able to fix it for work in the morning. Make sure the alignment is good. These cars like front tires.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #11 – September 01, 2010, 08:21:59 PM

I drove my 87 as a dd for about 4 years. Ran around on 10 holes and good tires and went just about everywhere I go in my Jeep. Last year put snows on with the steel wheels and granny caps and kept a full size spare in the trunk and it got around but not as well. Of course I went and sold the car and now want/need another so I can park this XR7

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #12 – September 01, 2010, 08:28:55 PM

I drove my first 20th as a dd when I was a senior in high school and through my first few years of work, and it was great, comfy, stylish :D LOL You have a fox bird already, so you know how they drive, next time you drive it, think of what it would be like to drive it everyday, then buy that Cougar, and drive that everyday. You won't be dissapointed and as long as you keep up with undercarriage washes and maybe get it rustproofed I think it will hold up just fine.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #13 – September 01, 2010, 09:14:55 PM

My only problem with daily driving my TC is the lack of factory cupholders. That's it.

Fox as a daily driver good idea or not?

Reply #14 – September 01, 2010, 09:34:11 PM

I daily-drove my 88 T-Bird for three years, and an '87 Sport for a few years before that (and even drove the Sport in winter) and liked it enough. The Sport was a tank in snow with four good snow tires.

If you don't want it to rust, undercoat the bejeesus out of it. And I mean remove the door panels and spray inside the doors, and remove the trunk liners and spare tire and spray inside the quarters. Take the plastic front inner fenders out and spray inside the front fenders. Spray the inner strut towers down where you know they rot. And remove the lower inside quarter panels (by the back seat) and spray in around that seam that these cars tend to rust on. It might take a full day, but it'll be worth it to not have the car fall apart. In other words, protect everywhere that you know these cars are pr0ne to rust, because an undercoating shop is just gonna squirt stuff where they can reach, and generally, if it's accessible enough to spray like that it won't rust there anyway (rust forms where water gets into confined spaces and stays there, such as between two sheet metal panels bolted or welded together such as door bottoms, seams, etc).