1981 Mexican Mustang Restoration Thread

[4eyewanabe]

Car looks awesome and love the wheels in the later pic's. Leaving them silver was the way to go.

[blueandsilver]

Thanks. I like how the silver looks, and makes the wheels look a bit larger than if I had painted them silver or black.

I now have fix several mechanical issues... guess that´s how it is with old cars LOL, you are never done

[tcruise]

Wow!!! Those wheels look fantastic on your Mustang!

[Bryan Knebworth]

That came out awesome! You must get a ton of 'looks' in it down there

Interestingly, I found an '83-'86 coupe for sale locally. It was painted '91 Bahama Green, and had '83-'86 Capri taillights on it. More than likely a Mexican Mustang?

[02Z06]

Wow!!! That turned out spectacular with those borbets! Nice work!

[blueandsilver]

That came out awesome! You must get a ton of 'looks' in it down there

Interestingly, I found an '83-'86 coupe for sale locally. It was painted '91 Bahama Green, and had '83-'86 Capri taillights on it. More than likely a Mexican Mustang?

It could be... If the car is a notch, an 83 would have a Capri front end with 83 Mustang tail lamps, if it is a hatchback, an 83 is a rebadged Capri 100%

If it is an 84, a notch would be 100% Mustang, and a hatch would be a bubble hatch capri with a Mustang nose.

84 was the last year of the Mexican Mustang, til 94 when Ford brought them back, but they are made in the US since that year.

Ford Mexico was crazy... LOL

[tcruise]

That came out awesome! You must get a ton of 'looks' in it down there

Interestingly, I found an '83-'86 coupe for sale locally. It was painted '91 Bahama Green, and had '83-'86 Capri taillights on it. More than likely a Mexican Mustang?

What's an '83-'86 coupe? LOL... I'd be real surprised if it was a Mexican Mustang. More likely, somebody put Capri tail light lenses on it. My '83 Mexican Mustang is the only one I've found in the U.S. that has been imported via U.S. Customs and legally licensed. The only other one's I know of in the U.S. were all in a used car lot in Texas, close to the border and not licensed.

I'd really like to get official production numbers for each model year 79-84 and if anybody is registering/tracking the survivors, how many of them are known to still exist and what condition they are in. Mine appears to have had near-constant use since it left the factory and amazingly, is still totally original, not counting the wheels/tires and carburetor, which I replaced. I still have the original wheels and carb.

[Bryan Knebworth]

[QUOTE I'd be real surprised if it was a Mexican Mustang. More likely, somebody put Capri tail light lenses on it. [/QUOTE]
Is that possible, to just bolt Bubbleback Capri taillights to a '83-'86 Mustang? The car was in the For Sale section outside of a local junkyard. It was painted that late model light green you'd see Aero LX's back in the day.

[tcruise]

Is that possible, to just bolt Bubbleback Capri taillights to a '83-'86 Mustang? The car was in the For Sale section outside of a local junkyard. It was painted that late model light green you'd see Aero LX's back in the day.

Well, the rear cove is different on the bubbleback, but I think the lenses would still mount right on there. If not, time to get out the drill motor! Some have swapped the entire rear section. Do you have any photos of this mystery car?

[TopGear85]

What's an '83-'86 coupe? LOL... I'd be real surprised if it was a Mexican Mustang. More likely, somebody put Capri tail light lenses on it. My '83 Mexican Mustang is the only one I've found in the U.S. that has been imported via U.S. Customs and legally licensed. The only other one's I know of in the U.S. were all in a used car lot in Texas, close to the border and not licensed.

I'd really like to get official production numbers for each model year 79-84 and if anybody is registering/tracking the survivors, how many of them are known to still exist and what condition they are in. Mine appears to have had near-constant use since it left the factory and amazingly, is still totally original, not counting the wheels/tires and carburetor, which I replaced. I still have the original wheels and carb.

If you're serious about wanting those statistics you should give a call to Marti Auto Works and see if he can process that data. I know he will do special requests like that, you just have to pay to play. It would be interesting to learn more about the Mexico Mustangs, they are a crazy breed.

[tcruise]

If you're serious about wanting those statistics you should give a call to Marti Auto Works and see if he can process that data. I know he will do special requests like that, you just have to pay to play. It would be interesting to learn more about the Mexico Mustangs, they are a crazy breed.

Thanks. I'd like to know what Marti does to get this information and if it is something anybody could do. There are clubs and groups that (attempt to) track this type of information for various makes/models too. I wonder if Ford Mexico even kept records of their production numbers. From all appearances, it was something of a clandestine operation. I've tried finding information online direct from Ford Mexico, no luck. Hey, blueandsilver, do you know where we can get production numbers for the Mexican Mustangs? We should start a club!

[blueandsilver]

Actually one of my best friends works for Ford, he´s been there his entire professional life (39 years...) Let me ask him if he could dig info.

Back then the Mustang was extremely popular as we had very limited variety of Auto manufacturers in the country, with only locally produced cars, So from Ford we had Fairmonts, Mustangs and Grand Marquis (later the Topaz / Tempo), from Chevy we had Monte Carlos, Caprice and Malibus, VW had the Bug, Golf, Jetta, Passat, and I don´t recall what Chrysler had, I think it was the Dart, LeBaron and the trucks.

The Mustang was the only "sports" car.

Amazingly, there are still many survivor cars (meaning non-restored old beaten up cars) which are proof of how good they are. Back when I was a member of the Mustang Club Mexico, most members had at least one Fox as part of their collections, and I was the first member admitted with only a Fox (the requirement was to have a 64 to 73 classic).

Let me see if my friend can help me with some production numbers

[TopGear85]

[

Marti has a contract with Ford to go through their data. Thats why all Marti Reports have the official Ford Motor Company seal (for lack of a better word) attached to them. He also bought all of the old "Eminger Invoices" so he can provide those (for a fee) to the current owners of each car (he doesn't have all of them, but he has a whole lot) as well as draw info from them. I'm sure he had to pay a pretty good price for the access and the Eminger Invoices.


B][/B]

Thanks. I'd like to know what Marti does to get this information and if it is something anybody could do. There are clubs and groups that (attempt to) track this type of information for various makes/models too. I wonder if Ford Mexico even kept records of their production numbers. From all appearances, it was something of a clandestine operation. I've tried finding information online direct from Ford Mexico, no luck. Hey, blueandsilver, do you know where we can get production numbers for the Mexican Mustangs? We should start a club!

[tcruise]

Wow, it would be great to get info straight from a long-time Ford Mexico employee! Very interesting history. That's one of the things I like about classic cars, is learning all about them, the people who built them, etc.

FYI, I will be posting a For Sale for the 1982 Capri RS 5.0 with posi that I gave my son and for some other Capri parts, including some very nice louvers, six TRX wheels WITH TIRES, and 1979 Capri right quarter section and door. My son really wanted to restore the Capri, but I talked him into selling/parting it and using the proceeds for our other classics. Yesterday, we worked all day cleaning wheels and other parts, and today, we pulled the Capri out into the yard for vacuuming and its first bath. It is complete and very fixable, but too big a challenge for my declining health, and we both have way too many other cars to take care of. I'm saving a few selected parts from the Capri for my Mexican Mustang.

[blueandsilver]

So I took the car for a good cruise on saturday since I hadn´t driven it for a whole week due to the high pollution in Mexico City in the last weeks (part because of the volcano ash and part because of the low wind conditions). This car is restricted to be driven on certain days when there is a pollution contingency, and since its a PITA to guess if you can drive it or not, I just kept it parked.

Driving it lets you know how many things are pending, even though you think you are almost done because it looks good from a few feet away.

It definitely needs an electronic distributor (it has an old points distributor), and a good adjustment of the carburator, though it runs, fine, its just way too rich in the fuel mix and it smells too much. The brakes are terrible, though they supposedly fixed the booster and master cylinder, it certainly doesn´t feel like.

It also needs tons of little stuff from dew wipes, hood weatherstripping, clips, etc. which I managed to order most from fox resto with the memorial day promo code.

Here´s a pic of my "kids" outside my house after the 1 hour drive.

[blueandsilver]

So quick update on the resto... I´ve been driving the car for about a month now... it still has tons of work to be done. Even though the engine and trans are rebuilt, it still has a lot of mechanical issues. I already bought a bunch of stuff (a MSD distributor, engine dress up, lots of little things). Problem is I don´t have time to work on it, and I don´t have a mechanic to do it anymore. Need to find someone with restoration experience and that´s able to work on the details, which is mostly what it needs. Correct suspension setup, carburation, etc.

Then I need to do the interiors...

So it still is quite a WIP... Right now its not a car you enjoy driving at all.

[TopGear85]

That's disappointing to hear, but I'm glad you haven't given up. If I was you I would hit the items that are going to make you happy and help you to enjoy driving the car first. If your biggest complaint is mechanical issues then definitely get those sorted first. If you don't enjoy it because the interior is incomplete then that is the first thing I would do, etc.

You have waited a long time just to get the car to this point, and it sucks that you aren't having fun with it. Just figure out the main reasons it isn't run to drive and start picking away at them. I hope you get things sorted ASAP because these Foxes are fun cars to cruise around it and you deserve to be enjoying yourself.

Good luck and let us know if we can help with any of the cars problems.

[blueandsilver]

Thanks

I have decided to go the "engine mod" route instead of keeping it original, trying to get a little better performance. I got the following parts:
1. MSD ready to run distributor, blaster coil and spark plug wires
2. Edelbrock performer rpm intake manifold and a 500 cc electric choke 4 barrel carburetor
3. A set of shorty headers
4. a set of lowering springs, which I´m still not too convinced about installing, I´d have to see how low it sits.

The car is going back to a new mechanic to be worked on next week... let´s hope they can make it more drivable with the mods. I´m not looking for a race car at all but the way it drives right now is just plain terrilbe, so the new components hopefully will help.

[huck01955]

Best of luck with it I hope things go well from this point on

[blueandsilver]

So, there seem to be good news so far. Car is back at the new mechanic´s shop. My brother found the place, turns out the owner was a Ford Engineer back in the Fox era who worked in Cuautitlan where my car was built. He loves Foxes and knows quite a bit, so it looks like its in good hands.

My brother is overlooking the resto process since he´s out of job right now and needs something to occuppy himself, and since he has already restored a couple 4 eyed cars (including another 81), I´m confident.

Car´s got the new edelbrock intake and 4 barrel carb, the msd ignition installed. Next steps are fixing the trans oil leaks and making the car brake...

[huck01955]

Sounds like your car is in good hands

[devorick86gt]

The car looks outstanding brother!!!

[Bryan Knebworth]

I recently spotted that "Capri coupe" that I was talking about earlier. The car was painted Bahama Green and if it wasn't a Capri coupe, the front and back were both sourced from a Capri. Also, the car burned oil, and sounded like a "buzzy" 4 cyl.

[horsepowerjunkie]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the rear end shot from the first page kinda looks like a Dana 44!

[blueandsilver]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the rear end shot from the first page kinda looks like a Dana 44!

Stupid Q... what is a Dana 44?

On a side note, here´s a "blurry" sneak pic at what´s happening to the engine bay: