Newbie
Greetings fellow foxes!
I'm a newish 92 vib/red feature owner. The car was purchased in Febuary and has since been a project. I've been dealing with PO problems and 20 year old car problems.
The car, unfortunately, has been wrecked at some point in it's life as it has new Ford metal on the front end along with being a little bent in the frame. It is in sore need of a new top, upholstery and a new dash. (Damn PO cut a hole in the damn thing and covered it up with a "Limited Edition" tag from somewhere else.
It is a 5 speed and has about 175k on the clock. The heads and intake have been replaced with Trick Flow units at some point in it's life and, other than the normal squeaks, rattles and seeping main seals, the car runs fine.
I'm a newish 92 vib/red feature owner. The car was purchased in Febuary and has since been a project. I've been dealing with PO problems and 20 year old car problems.
The car, unfortunately, has been wrecked at some point in it's life as it has new Ford metal on the front end along with being a little bent in the frame. It is in sore need of a new top, upholstery and a new dash. (Damn PO cut a hole in the damn thing and covered it up with a "Limited Edition" tag from somewhere else.
It is a 5 speed and has about 175k on the clock. The heads and intake have been replaced with Trick Flow units at some point in it's life and, other than the normal squeaks, rattles and seeping main seals, the car runs fine.
Comments
There is a guy here in Florida that bought his (wife's) 1990 7-Up brand new and the dealer he bought it from had Limited Edition logos (tape style) installed on the car above the 5.0 emblems but they are a little different than the one I see on your car. Some dealers dolled their cars up to sell from what I have understood, and with the guy here locally owning one I know it isn't rumor.
And it isn't as nice as it looks. That's it's good side!
The passenger door has a wrinkle in it from someone bumping it. Nothing bad, just a litte ugly.
After the top gets replaced, I'll see about taking care of the bodywork that needs doing.
Nice lookin '92! Its a crime that some cars are neglected but I'm sure it's in good hands now and will be taken care of. My car has a similar history as well. Front end collision and replacement panels along with needing upholstery. It's just something to keep us busy. You will find alot of good information on here. If you are looking for something in particular, just browse through the archives. You will probably find something.
Welcome again!!
It was taken at the Brussels ferry on the Illinois River just north of Grafton, IL. (A stone's throw from where it joins with the Mississippi.)
The site has been helpful. The car is modded and I don't plan on undoing anything under the hood. What further mods are done will all be underneath and not visible unless you crawl under or open the hood. (Ok... the cueball shift knob will stay, too)
I did spend a good part of Saturday doing some work on it. I replaced the instrument binnacle (original had holes from a Ricer tach and crap alarm system in it), polished up the instrument lens and scrubbed the ever-loving hell out of the interior with a container of Armorall wipes. She cleaned up rather well. I'll have to get a photo of the interior.
Sounds like you have a good start at gettin it back to where she use to be. I've been doing the same. Just takes a little patience.
So are there any more locals in your area with feature cars? I think you are the closest one that I've run into here on TWF.
Keep up the good work.
I'm hoping there's a swap meet at the Fun Ford Weekend in August. I would love to find a new dash there.
I got my Marti Report today.
Nothing unexpected but... now I have to find one of the stereos that was slaved with the graphic EQ. FML.
Your car sounds very similar to mine as mine has the casette with graphic equalizer and a 5 speed. Does yours have factory a/c?
So what are your plans for your car?
I'm thinking about trying to make it to Gateway for the Fun Ford event in August too.
Since the top half of the engine has been replaced with Trick Flow stuff, I don't really plan on putting it back into stock trim. I've been slowly going through the suspension and replacing what's needed replacing, (almost all of it) and am currently waffling on deciding between Maximum Motorsports' starter box or coilover kit. I'd like to do a track day or two with the car at some point, too. There may also be a 5-lug swap in the car's somewhat distant future, too. If/when that happens, the 97/98 GT wheels would end up powdercoated pearl white, just to keep the theme of the car intact.
The interior will be rehabbed at some point but I understand there's a lack of proper repro upholstery so I've been focusing on the plastic bits. The dash itself needs to be replaced, (damn kid cut a hole in it) and the console lid needs to be replaced since it is just worn out and is starting to fall apart.
I'm also on the hunt for the hard-to-find tape deck/graphic eq radio. I don't recall my 93 having poor audio quality and I don't need a CD player since I'm sure I can fab up a way to either have a line-in for an iPod or just get a FM transmitter for it.
Perhaps there'll be a swap meet at the FFW and I can find a dash and radio. Haha.
$1500 later... New suspension is enroute! Goodbye 20 year old crap!
I figure if I've got to rip it all apart to replace 20 year old things I might as well do it right. Bilstien for the shocks/struts, H&R for the springs and Prothane for bushings. I'll probably also replace the balljoints, too.
I can has new suspension.
At least I can start putting things back together tomorrow.
The suspension is in, sans PHB. The car sits a little lower now and the 1/4 mile I drove it to park it in the lot at work (appointment for aligning is Tuesday) it felt different. We'll see how it handles on the road.
Fuck crappy spring compressors.
ETA: Filthy but lowered car. The alignment shop is in the background. It'll sit there 'till Tuesday.
And the before:
Looks fantastic!!
Dampers are Bilstein and the other hardware is Maximum Motorsports.
Pros: Steering response is quicker and more precise. I chalk this up to the new control arm and steering rack bushings along with the alignment. Bumps are a bit more noticable but not as harsh as they used to be. I suspect the H&R Sport springs and Bilstein dampers have taken care of that.
Cons: There's more road noise that I'm certain the caster/camber plates are responsible for.
Overall, I'm happy with the changes if, for nothing else, to get rid of the 175,000 mile-old original suspension components. Instructions were easy to follow and there was no fitting required to make anything work.