What to look for in a Fox Body

[markolson]

I am patiently watching Craig's List for a notch Fox Body to restore for my conversion. I like the exterior of the 85 & 86 cars the best, but like the dashboards from the 87-93 cars, and their exteriors are acceptable to me. I have been checking out Late Model Restoration, and it seems they have a lot of parts needed for a restoration. But I suspect that there are some things that will be very hard to find, so I figured I'd ask you all what parts of these old Fox Bodies are very hard to find in good condition.

So what should I be looking for in a conversion candidate?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Mark

 

[ModFoxMustangs]

Welcome and hope you enjoy your stay.. Someone will responed to your thread soon..

 

[Svt Fox]

You want something as close to being unmolested and trashed as possible. A small ding here and there isn't too bad but corrosion is what you want to be looking for.

 

[ponyboy89lx]

Check strut towers, floor pans, and spair tire area for rust. I used to have a nice coupe but it was eat up with rust in the towers and the floors. Buy a Roller they are cheaper. If you plan on doing the wiring and interior you caould get a hull but ONLY if you have a donor car lined up. I would not suggest a hull if your just gonna do the motor swap, because you can use the fox wiring throughout the body.

 

[markolson]

Thanks guys. Normally rust is not an issue for us here in Norcal. Badly repaired collision damage is much more of an issue than rust. And PO hacked wiring harnesses can also be an issue.

I was fishing more for parts that are made out of "unobtanium". I am getting frustrated by difficulties I am facing getting some SN95 parts for my 96 Cobra, such as AC condensers, IMRC gaskets, interior parts, etc. It seems to me like there are a lot more parts available and being reproduced for the Fox Bodies than for my car. But if there are Fox parts that are hard to get, I'll make sure the car I buy will already have them in place.

 

[Bill]

You'll have less trouble with a typical fox coupe than you do with the 96. The 96 was the first year the 4.6 was in the Mustang. They changed a lot of things for 97-98. Don't forget to check the other resto houses. They don't all have the same stuff.
http://www.foxresto.com/
http://www.drakeautomotivegroup.com/Default.aspx?wid=141

Scott Drake doesn't have as much for Fox bodies, but they have a lot of cool stuff.

 

[markolson]

You guys are making me feel a lot better about my decision to go with a ModFox. Thanks.

 

[Bill]

My current project is an 86 convertible. If you want to keep the fox interior...you like dash from the 87-93...you like the look of the 85-86...get an 87+ coupe and put an 86 nose cone and hood on it. The bottom line is that the build is a reflection of you. Decide how you want it and then figure out how to build what YOU want. I like the four eyed fox look as well. 85-86 are my favorites. I did an 85 vert in 2008 to give to my father-in-law for father's day. I didn't change anything but motor, tranny, exhaust, a bit of wiring and what we had to.

 

[markolson]

Thanks Bill. I didn't know it was that easy to swap the nose cones and hoods. That would make it perfect. I am worried that I will need a hood with a little more headroom that stock though. The motor on the engine stand is a Teksid Terminator motor which will get a Kenne Bell on top.

Wiring differences don't bother me at all (I'm an electrical engineer). I completely rewired my son's Honda CRX swap for him. If anyone ever steals that car, they will have to replace most of the wiring harnesses to get the thing to run again. Special security features.

 

[Bill]

The hood will fit with your termy motor. If you decide to make the motor taller with the KB blower, there are plenty of cowl induction style hoods that work to allow heat out and give extra head room. You will only need another inch or so. I can't remember exactly how much tall the KB makes it, but hood options range from one to four inches...or more if you want a lift off.

 

[markolson]

I'd prefer the stock hood if possible, and the least radical possible if not. I like a stock look, with lots of mods underneath.

For example, I embedded my PLX M-300 wideband inside of the dead stock CD deck in my 96 Cobra:

 

[Bill]

You might consider something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/270790172334?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
It serves the same purpose in that it makes people assume you have an old school pushrod motor. What I like about it is that Cervinis makes a kit that could be adjusted/fabbed to make the induction holes functional for a termi motor. I do agree that a sleeper is very cool.

 

[markolson]

Oooh, that's nice.

Unfortunately, there is no way the State of California would let me run something like that. I have to use the stock termi intake pipe and air cleaner. They have this new STAR testing program where they take random cars and "know high emitters" AKA performance cars and make them go through a closely monitored smog shop. All Mustangs are getting STAR tested. I swear the CARB is getting as high handed as the Nazis were in Germany. No CARB EO number for any engine related mod and you fail the smog test, so no tags. Grrrr.

 

[Bill]

They won't let you use CARB EO parts?

 

[markolson]

Yes, they will, but it would have to have a CARB EO number for a 2003/2004 Mustang, not a Fox...

It's frigging insane here.

 

[Bill]

That means the hood would work. It uses a stock location cold air kit at the front passenger corner of the engine bay. Cervinis makes a sheet metal attachment that goes on the hood and funnels the air over to the filter. Since it is part of the hood, I don't think it requires a CARB EO. If you can make the stock hood work with the blower, that would bee very cool too.

 

[markolson]

I hope you are correct. It is probably worth a try.

But the Smog Referees, especially the ones here in Northern California are little tin dictators who will not use any judgment. For example, on my son's first Honda CRX with an Integra motor swap, we used the intake manifold from a car with an automatic transmission. It had an extra vacuum fitting that was not needed with a manual transmission. So we capped the extra vacuum fitting and went down for the inspection and smog test for the BAR sticker. We passed the emissions test, but they made us replace the intake manifold with one from a manual transmission car, so it would not have that extra vacuum fitting.

Can you believe it?

 

[Bill]

Call Cervinis and get them to send you digital information on the parts. Go down and talk to one of the referees to tell them what you are trying to do and why it should help your build get better emissions by drawing clean cooler air up against the CARB approved cold air kit. Sell it to them in advance and ask them how you might be able to do a build like this that they would be willing use as an example to other of what can be done completely legally. After all, that is the entire point of an EO.

 

[markolson]

That is good advice, and I will try it. But all these clowns do is look up what it says for a Terminator in Alldata, and tell me that I have to do everything exactly that way. If there's an aftermarket part with a CARB EO number, they make sure it applies to the donor car. They have no understanding of how emission control systems work, only what pieces need to be where, and how to run the smog test. We actually went through this with my son's 88 Honda CRX. We were smogging it with a 95 Del Sol OBD1 B16A motor. We had a CAI on it with a CARB EO number for an OBD2 B16A from a 2001 Civic, and were told we needed the stock air pipe and air filter box for a 95 Del Sol. Sheesh.

With his current CRX, we BAR'd a 95 Integra GSR B18C1 engine in it. We had a down pipe and cat from a 2001 Civic on the engine. In that setup, the O2 sensor is in the down pipe right in front of the flange for the cat. We had to go buy a GSR down pipe and cat because in the GSR, the O2 sensor is on the cat side between the flange and the cat. The O2 sensors were not more than 2 inches apart, but they made us change it. Of course the GSR cat was much more expensive because it is "Special". Sheesh.

Don't get me going on the smog refs around here...

 

[markolson]

If you guys for other states get word that your state is considering adopting any of California's smog laws, throw a lot of money at lobbying against it.

I now have 11 posts. I can now see the pictures.

I am patiently scanning Craig's List for a decent, cheap 87-93 silver fox, but no luck yet. :0