Used Foxbody Help

[AnthonyA1234]

I’m looking into buying a Foxbody and was wondering what you guys think about this one. Does anything stick out to you, I don’t want anything that’s gonna give major headaches.

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[LxMike]

How many miles? How much are they asking?? Ask the usual questions such as. how long have they had it, why are they selling, any receipts for any work done.

 

[AnthonyA1234]

How many miles? How much are they asking?? Ask the usual questions such as. how long have they had it, why are they selling, any receipts for any work done.

They say 85k miles and they want 7500 for it. Only mods they list are “new suspension installed”.

 

[AnthonyA1234]

How many miles? How much are they asking?? Ask the usual questions such as. how long have they had it, why are they selling, any receipts for any work done.

How does the car look to you?

 

[LxMike]

Interior could use some cleaning but nothing stood out otherwise. Could be 185K miles. Looks like new front struts. Is that the owners house in background in first pic??

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Not sure if that’s their house. Do you think it’d be a good project car or would it have lots of problems?

 

[AnthonyA1234]

How much you think it’s worth

 

[LxMike]

Yeah a good project car if you can do most of the work. Price is hard to say. Anywhere from 4-6K I'd say roughly

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Yeah a good project car if you can do most of the work. Price is hard to say. Anywhere from 4-6K I'd say roughly

What work would you say it would need?

 

[Jimmy Dean]

That's hard to say man, it looks pretty clean, maybe it is ready to road trip across the country after checking fluids. Or maybe it looks clean but has a blown oil ring. the risks of buying a 35 year old car. I just bought a 86 bronco as my DD, I've had to fiddle with the carb, replace 3 window motors, replace one set of wheel bearings, replace a master cylinder, replace all of my gauge sending units. and still have to do an alignment, but she runs good, and needs an almost complete interior rebuild, but otherwise it runs and shifts pretty good. I imagine I'll have to do u-joints within the next month, and both third members within 6.

as long as you can do the work yourself, then it's not bad. there will be some unexpected things that get you. I would do an extensive test drive, put it through it's paces, get it up to 75-80, run it at operating temps, do some hard braking and steering, turn it off, restart it hot. The try to nitpick it a bit to get some money off. Understand it will not handle or perform like a S550, not even remotely close.

and understand that there is some risk, you can test drive it and everything works out perfect, but next week you find out they used some JB weld over a crack in the head or some crap and you're saddled with an expensive fix.

 

[Interceptor]

If you have never owned a box body before, this is a good one. Photos can't be trusted but this car looks really good to me. Usually the GT body plastic pieces have gone wavy, your rockers look really good. Paint looks good, most likely repainted somewhere along the way, if not wow.

Interior also looks really good. This car has been garaged and pampered. Mustang has not been modded out, which is really unusual for a 5.0 manual.

The price is very fair.

My expectations if I purchased the car would be a week end car, maybe 2-3 thousand a year. Leave stock as is, and just enjoy the drivetrain. Fox bodies are infectious. The only mod I would consider would be exhaust. They really sound good n traffic going through the gears.

Sum it up by saying... I would buy the car if I had the money.

PS. All used cars have issues, but fox bodies have a great aftermarket.

 

[XS]

Here are problems I had on my foxbody, which are common especially before '90:
The car was completely stock from day 1 (was my mom's car bought new in '88)
Car started life as a MAP car (manifold absolute pressure) and it never ran right, ever. I switched it to MAF (mass air flow) and... it still never ran right. The idle stumbled, it pinged on mildly hot days no matter what gas you put in, etc. I had it to tuners, I scoured the internet forums and tried every fix I could find. I tried a new computer, a new wire harness, nothing fixed it. I wasn't alone either, a quick google search and you'll see a lot of other people in the same boat. These cars need a newer stand-alone system like FAST, or Holly, so.... maybe keep that budget in the back of your mind in case it starts acting up on you.
The car had a mismatch of Ford parts on it that was truly bewildering. It had the State Highway Patrol pack springs on it. My mom never ordered it that way, that's just what Ford threw on the car. It also had Lincoln parts here and there too. Again a quick google will reveal this was a common practice in the factory in the 80's. When they ran out of one thing they just threw another on the car and said "that'll do" and sent it out the door. This becomes very important when you need to, you know, work on the car and you're giving the parts store part numbers that don't match the car and they think you're insane.
The T5 manual trans case isn't strong. I've seen people throw 600HP at them and go, yeah I'm fine don't worry about it. But I stretched, yes stretched, the case on my T5 with 300HP at the wheels. So either keep it stock or build a trans too if you add power.
Those were just my experiences with a stock (most of it's life), unmolested '88. Others will have other experiences and many will tell you they haven't had any issues at all. Would I do another foxbody? Yeah sure. Not trying to scare you away, just letting you know they can possibly have some really bizarre quirks.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

That looks like a hell of a well kept example. Price is fair if it’s truly that clean.

The fact that the cheese graters aren’t busted up, fog lights are in tact and there’s no saggy bumper or side skirts says a lot.

In addition to everything mentioned, check for rust in the rear hatch area (with the hatch up) up by the roofline, along the roof seams, etc. That is a problem area on fox cars, especially the LX and GT hatch cars. Good news is that paint has been very well kept if original, or it’s been repainted and any issues were probably addressed.

 

[Interceptor]

There are torque boxes that lower arms attach to underside of car behind rear seats.
The lower arms attached rear axle to car body. If cars has been abused they will be cracked. Any mechanic will know what I'm talking about and can be easily checked on a lift.

 

[Blown86GT]

Some random statements from someone who has owned multiple foxes...

The most important thing for me is to find an unmolested car with minimal modifications. I don't want someone else' headaches. Does it idle and drives like factory? Any tell tale signs like excess RTV? Appears to have the stock cylinder heads and stock headders...thats a good sign.

I'd be shocked if that is the original paint...most as they age have issues with the clear coat.

Many of the recommendations in this thread are good...one I would key in on as well is the tranny. Does it shift smooth, any noises? A raced car, like someone mentioned above could have torn torque boxes...something to crawl underneath to verify. Also, does it still have the stock cats? Cats are usually the first to go when someone decides to modify one...

Super easy cars to work on. I've rebuilt everything on these cars to include motors, tranny and rear ends. A well kept 5.0 engine will literally run forever. I've rebuilt one that you could still see the crosshatching in the cylinder walls after 200k miles. And the T-5 is a relatively easy transmission to rebuild if you have to. Does the clutch slip?

Being a Florida man like me, does the air blow COLD? Another important thing to check...my Foxes AC just died about 4 months ago and guess what car hasn't been driven since summer has come! lol

I'd offer 5k and buy for right at 6k if it was me. Good luck!

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