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  1. #1

    Default NY5Speed's 1984 GT350 fixer-upper

    My uncle picked this car up a little while ago in FL and sent it up to me here in NY to fix up for him. The plan was to just clean up the rough edges and make it a nice driver for him. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly after sending it up to me. It's part of my fleet now and I'll be fixing it up in his memory (he was the one who got me into cars as a very young kid).

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    The car has had a bit of a tough life, the carfax confirmed my suspicion that the car had a minor accident and an engine fire in its past. I hesitate to say I'll be restoring it as it won't be 100% factory but it will remain in the spirit of the original car for sure. It is clean and straight underneath and the interior is in nice shape with the exception of a worn driver's seat bolster, a faded (and capped and faded again) dash pad that I'll replace, and an ill fitting replacement headliner. The roof has had a poor rust repair at some point that has rusted through again. I have to see if i can do a spot repair or find a donor roof and do some surgery. The whole car needs paint really... I'll get to that last. A few pieces of the unobtainium side moldings are missing so I'll have to find a suitable close-enough option.

    At some point it was 5-lug swapped with 96+ spindles but no caster/camber plates, stock lower control arms, and no bumpsteer kit so it currently handles like crap. I have all the correct parts to return that to stock. I have some LMR TRX repro wheels that will look just right on it.

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    So far I've just done a little cleaning, plugs, wires, car, rotor, coil, and replaced the severely dry-rotted and corroded duraspark harness (pics are before i did anything). The immediate plan is to hit all of the deferred maintenance points, swap all fluids, fresh brakes , shocks, struts and put a few miles on it (in the spring). The factory 4bbl was replaced with an Edelbrock at some point. It runs well enough but I'm sure I'll put a Holley back on it at some point. I also have all of the correct dual snorkel intake bits to put on. In the near future I'll be pulling the engine so I can thoroughly clean the engine bay and probably replace the whole harness. This will be a slow process but I will do my best to update this thread every now and again.
    -Randy
    '83 Mustang GL notchback - 351w - T5Z
    '84 Mustang GT350 20th Anniversary Hatch #2808 - 302 - T5
    ''92 Mustang LX Hatch - 2.3t - IRS (in progress)

  2. #2

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    Randy — Sorry to hear about your Uncle. Sounds like his car is in good hands. You sound like you've got a good plan of attack. Looking forward to following along. Good luck with it.
    84.5 GT Convertible Build Thread
    86 LX Coupe

  3. #3
    FEP Super Member JTurbo's Avatar
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    Looks like a solid Anny, can't wait to see the progress on this car.
    1979 Indy Pace Car Mustang 302 / 5spd
    1982 Mustang GT T-Top 302 / 4spd
    1986 SVO Mustang - 1C

  4. #4

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    Thanks guys. It's not a bad car, just needs a bit of love and a lot of time. Progress will be slow at first, I have to wrap up a few things on the '83 before I really dive into this one.
    -Randy
    '83 Mustang GL notchback - 351w - T5Z
    '84 Mustang GT350 20th Anniversary Hatch #2808 - 302 - T5
    ''92 Mustang LX Hatch - 2.3t - IRS (in progress)

  5. #5

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    That looks like a nice car. FYI, don't go ordering one of the replacement headliners. They are all crap. Cheap crap. Save that OEM board and just peel the fabric and sand the deteriorated foam off of it and have some recover it. You will be much happier. I had #4124 back in the day.
    Liberty once lost is lost forever.

    John Adams
    July 7, 1775

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by homer302 View Post
    That looks like a nice car. FYI, don't go ordering one of the replacement headliners. They are all crap. Cheap crap. Save that OEM board and just peel the fabric and sand the deteriorated foam off of it and have some recover it. You will be much happier. I had #4124 back in the day.
    Thanks for the heads-up. I fear it may already have a replacement headliner in it but I'll confirm when I get back to working on it. It's tax season so I probably won't even be able to look at the car again until 4/18.
    -Randy
    '83 Mustang GL notchback - 351w - T5Z
    '84 Mustang GT350 20th Anniversary Hatch #2808 - 302 - T5
    ''92 Mustang LX Hatch - 2.3t - IRS (in progress)

  7. #7
    FEP Power Member
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    I see the seat belt recall was not done. You can try the dealer or you can pick up the part on eBay. Flip the buckle over, if you see a white plastic piece it was not done. Black plastic piece means recall was done. The white piece breaks down due to sun exposure.
    Fox Body/3rd Gen MCA Gold Card Judge
    84 SVO 24K miles, 85 Mclaren Capri Vert. 84 GT Turbo Vert.
    88 Mclaren Mustang Vert 20K miles, 89 Mustang LX Sport Vert,
    03 Mach 1 7900 miles, 74 Mustang II, 69 Mustang, 67 Mustang, 07 GT500,
    14 Mustang CS/GT, 15 F150 FTX Tuscany, 16 F250 Crewcab, 67 Tbird 47K miles

  8. #8

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    I'll look into that, thanks Kevin!
    -Randy
    '83 Mustang GL notchback - 351w - T5Z
    '84 Mustang GT350 20th Anniversary Hatch #2808 - 302 - T5
    ''92 Mustang LX Hatch - 2.3t - IRS (in progress)

  9. #9
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    Another comment in regards to headliners. If you backer board is salvageable, I do agree with Homer that is the better option. The ABS boards are much heavier than the OEM board. That makes installation a PITA. I have done 2 one in a coupe and another in hatchback and wasn't really happy with either. Once installed and fitted properly they look OEM, but IMHO it takes at least two people to install the headliner. I can install the OEM by myself with no issues.

    The other interesting issue with the coupe was that if we snugged down the dome light screws it would actually cave in the roof skin in the middle of the roof due to the weight of the board. We ended up having to carefully tighten the screws just enough for the dome light to work, but no more in order to prevent the roof issues. Doubt everyone has that issue, but was really strange to finish the headliner and suddenly we have a caved in roof skin.

    Anyway, if you have to replace your board, then there are few options especially when you don't have an original to use as a template to make your own just like my 79 PC with the sunroof. Best of luck and your GT350 looks great!
    ​Trey

    "I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"

    "I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."

    Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
    Current Mustangs:
    1969 Mach 1
    1979 Pace Car now 5.0/5 speed
    1982 GT Stalled RestoModification
    1984 SVO Still Waiting Restoration
    1986 GT Under going Wide Body Conversion Currently

    Current Capris:
    1981 Capri Roller
    1981 Capri Black Magic Roller Basket Case
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