Worked hard the last couple of days and got her Epoxy primed this afternoon. It's not perfect by any means, but it is one solid color at last.
I had a few issues on the hood so I'll need to redo it. Even though I washed it twice and wiped it down, something on the hood reacted and the primer didn't lay down right. I'm going to paint the window trim charcoal, (and maybe the molding and headlight surrounds too, still undecided) and rock the epoxy for a while. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to get it professionally painted.
The bad news is I think I have a stuck thermostat and a bad starter. I cranked it friday to let it get up to operating temp and the temperature kept climbing, but the radiator and upper hose didn't get hot. The thermostat just wouldn't open. Hopefully the engine didn't get hurt when the temp went up. It was reading close to the L in NORMAL on the gauge. I guess I'll find out for sure eventually. The same day the starter started dragging badly and wouldn't even turn the engine over once it got any heat in it. It still runs good it's just impossible to crank after the first time. I have another starter, just not looking forward to putting it in at home with nowhere to jack the car up or anything.
Hopefully I'll get that stuff fixed, the lights and stuff back on the car, and the A/C stuff installed in the next week or two. Then it'll be time to go cruising. I got tags for it Friday morning, so everything is ready to roll. Just waiting on me.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
I got tags for the 86 and have driven it a couple of times staying close to the house. It got a little hot on the first trip, so I brought it back, pressure tested it and found that the upper rad hose was a little loose. I drove it about 6-7 miles after that and it did fine, so hopefully that's all it was. I'm going to put some miles on it before I put all the A/C stuff on, just it case it has to come back apart.
It runs and drives good, but definitely needs more gear, as the 2.73s don't keep it in the powerband very well. I also need to install the front swaybar, it leans a lot while cornering without it (no surprise there).
I did get all the interior together and put the emblems back on. I like the way the flat black looks, we'll see how it holds up.
The door panels were already cut, so I put speakers back in the doors. (I replaced the board part of the panels, but the vinyl was still cut)
I need to find some sort of cover or grille for them
I'm also either going to install the Saleen pedal covers I got from Esco a couple years ago, or go back with stock. Not sure yet
Last edited by v8stang289; 05-04-2014 at 05:24 PM.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
I'm also into shooting and reloading, so the car has some related touches, like these door locks.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
Also need to put the hatch window molding on, but first I have to figure out how to remove it from the old hatch without destroying it.
Last edited by v8stang289; 05-04-2014 at 05:27 PM.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
Car looks great, keep up the good work. For your moulding situation I would recommend going to your local Harbor Freight or auto parts store and get one of those plastic moulding removal tool sets. I got mine from HF and it worked great...I didn't scratch the mouldings or the glass (because the tools are plastic) or dent/destroy any of the pieces. Plus the set was only like $5 so it was an easy decision.
I have the Saleen pedal covers on my 85 and I really like them. They look way better than the stock pedal set-up, and they grip your foot better.
Last thing I wanted to mention was about the emblem on the passenger dash bezel. I like the emblem, but I think it might look better if you moved it to the bottom right corner. It looks a little lost in the middle because of all that empty space around it. Just my .02, but I think it would look awesome in the lower right corner...just like Saleen did with the emblems he put on his 84/85/86's.
Cheers!
Mike (TopGear85)
Have:
85 Saleen #73-GT,2R,TuTone,Cruise,Pos,5spd,Charcoal
***August 2015 ROTM Winner!***
Had:
79PC-San Jose #2890
86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Sand Beige
86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Charcoal
90LX-Oxford Wht,5spd,Sunroof,5.0 Hatchback
90GT-Oxford Wht,5spd
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
TopGear85, you've got me thinking. I've always assumed the emblem was factory as it was there when I got the car, and there were holes where it attached. But thinking about it I've not seen that emblem on other 86 gt's so it was probably added by one of the PO's.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
That dash emblem is off of a 90-93 Mustang, the 89s were the first to have them and they had "25 years" on the blank part at the bottom. I was thinking of putting one in my car as a Mustang should have an actual Mustang emblem on it somewhere!
1984 Mustang GT owned since 1991 (first car). Mercury Mountaineer GT-40P engine, some suspension mods, currently undergoing a five lug SN95 brake upgrade and more suspension mods. Some minor body and interior mods have been done as well.
2004 GT convertible, 2001 Taurus LX, 1994 F150, 1950 F-1 Ford Pickup
I took the car for a 20 mile round trip to get gas this afternoon with the Temp around 80*F. It was fine on the way there, running at about the "O" in Normal. But by the time I got home it was about to peg the temp gauge and starting to steam from the overflow. I cant figure out whats going on with it. Pressure tested the cooling system and it's fine. New thermostat, water pump, radiator, hoses, and the fan is working like its supposed to and moving lots of air.
I'm wondering now if it blew a head gasket when the t-stat stuck a few weeks ago, or if maybe I have a cracked head or something. Guess I'll pull the plugs and maybe do a leakdown test or something. I'm pretty frustrated at the moment.
Last edited by v8stang289; 05-07-2014 at 06:36 PM.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
Where did you buy the water pump? I've had a couple of parts store pumps fail within a month.
1984 Mustang GT owned since 1991 (first car). Mercury Mountaineer GT-40P engine, some suspension mods, currently undergoing a five lug SN95 brake upgrade and more suspension mods. Some minor body and interior mods have been done as well.
2004 GT convertible, 2001 Taurus LX, 1994 F150, 1950 F-1 Ford Pickup
It's a parts store pump. GMB brand I think. It's not leaking out of the weep hole, and it's definitely circulating water. It's just odd how it acts, I can drive it around for a while, getting down on it and stuff, and it does fine. Then it suddenly begins creeping up and won't come back down. I'm wondering if it can still be air in the system, or if the pump somehow has the wrong impeller. Really starting to think it's a head or head gasket issue. I'll get it nailed down eventually.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
Here is a suggestion that I think looks good on the passenger dash bezel and it should cover up any repairs you will have to make if you remove that emblem. The repairs might not get perfectly covered, but this will draw the eye away from any imperfections.
I had this decal on both my 86GT's and I thought it fit the space perfectly (because that passenger bezel needs something IMO):
Cheers!
Mike (TopGear85)
Have:
85 Saleen #73-GT,2R,TuTone,Cruise,Pos,5spd,Charcoal
***August 2015 ROTM Winner!***
Had:
79PC-San Jose #2890
86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Sand Beige
86GT-9L,TuTone,5spd,T-Tops,Charcoal
90LX-Oxford Wht,5spd,Sunroof,5.0 Hatchback
90GT-Oxford Wht,5spd
Beautiful sunny day here, so I pulled out the sunroof and drove the mustang for a bit. I think I've got he overheating issue solved and everything seems to be working good. next step is to get the 3.73 gears installed and the A/C stuff installed.
Just wanted to add, I finally did get my overheating issue figured out. It was a bad NEW radiator cap. It would seem to seal fine, then the small valve in the center of the cap(the one designed to let coolant back in from the overflow) would open and not let the system build pressure. I must have pressure tested the system half a dozen times and it tested fine, ( because the cap is off while pressure testing). It was intermittent and hard to find. Figured it out one day when it was idling with the hood open and I bumped the rad cap and coolant started coming out of the overflow. Bumped it again and it quit. hmmm. I replaced the cap and have had no more trouble.
Last edited by v8stang289; 12-23-2015 at 10:26 PM.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
A lot has happened over the past year since I've posted in this thread . I started having some driveability issues with the Mustang, bucking, low power, etc. I checked several things and found I had a burnt signal return in the ECM. I replaced the ECM and it helped but there were still some issues. Then the real fun started...
My pregnant wife went had to have an emergency c-section due to high blood pressure, followed by an emergency hysterectomy for uncontrolled bleeding. My newborn son was diagnosed with Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension and a partially collapsed lung, and life flighted to Duke. He ended up spending the first month of his life in NICU but everything turned out all right and he is now doing great. Just turned 9 months old and is perfectly healthy and developing normally.
Understandably the 86 has been on the back burner for a while now. I started back on it a couple of weeks ago. It would crank but wouldnt idle when cold, and would break up when revved. I found I had a bad IAC valve, and that my fuel pressure was 19psi. I pulled the vacuum line off the FPR and gas shot out of it. After replacing the IAC and the FPR It would idle but I still only had 19psi. So last saturday I put in a new Walbro 155lph pump. Now it runs great again and pulls hard. I put on new header gaskets on sunday and installed the front sway bar.
Now I hope to finally install the a/c stuff this coming weekend and the 3.73 gears and subframe connectors in a month or two.
Here's how it sits at the moment.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
'88 Mustang GT convertible, T5, 3.08:1 gears. 5.0 Explobra Jet: A9L Mass Air conversion, Fenderwell Mac cold air intake, 70mm MAF meter = 4.6 T-Bird/Cougar housing + '95 Mustang F2VF-12B579-A1A sensor, aftermarket 70mm throttle body and spacer, Explorer intakes, GT40P heads with Alex's Parts springs and drilled for thermactor, Crane F3ZE-6529-AB 1.7 "Cobra" roller rockers, Ford Racing P50 headers, Mac H-pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 190 LPH fuel pump, UPR firewall adjuster and quadrant with Ford OEM cable, 3G conversion ('95 Mustang V6), Taurus fan, rolled on Rustoleum gloss white paint...
Past Four Eyes: Red well optioned '82 GT 5.0, Black T-top '81 Capri Black Magic 3.3L 4 speed, Black T-top '84 Capri RS 5.0 5 speed.Over 200,000 miles driven in Four Eyes, and over 350,000 in Fox Body cars.
Wow, sounds like you had some bad things happen, good to hear everyone is okay now.
1984 Mustang GT owned since 1991 (first car). Mercury Mountaineer GT-40P engine, some suspension mods, currently undergoing a five lug SN95 brake upgrade and more suspension mods. Some minor body and interior mods have been done as well.
2004 GT convertible, 2001 Taurus LX, 1994 F150, 1950 F-1 Ford Pickup
I'm glad to hear your family is doing well and that you are able to get back to the stang.
Dave
If common sense was common wouldn't it just be sense?
1983 Capri L T top 5.0 efi aod
1983 Capri RS Turbo
1981 Black Magic 400 c6
93 F-250 351 5sp 4x4
Got the condenser, compressor, and lines installed today.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
Drove it to work today and it did great. Definitely needs gears, the 2.73's just aren't cutting it when the car doesn't really start pulling until 2,000 rpms. Got one of the techs to pull a vacuum on the a/c system and charge it before I came home. It was nice cruising home with cold a/c. Gonna take it back tomorrow and get it aligned hopefully.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
2.73s are good for going 75 MPH in second gear with a 5 speed...
'88 Mustang GT convertible, T5, 3.08:1 gears. 5.0 Explobra Jet: A9L Mass Air conversion, Fenderwell Mac cold air intake, 70mm MAF meter = 4.6 T-Bird/Cougar housing + '95 Mustang F2VF-12B579-A1A sensor, aftermarket 70mm throttle body and spacer, Explorer intakes, GT40P heads with Alex's Parts springs and drilled for thermactor, Crane F3ZE-6529-AB 1.7 "Cobra" roller rockers, Ford Racing P50 headers, Mac H-pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 190 LPH fuel pump, UPR firewall adjuster and quadrant with Ford OEM cable, 3G conversion ('95 Mustang V6), Taurus fan, rolled on Rustoleum gloss white paint...
Past Four Eyes: Red well optioned '82 GT 5.0, Black T-top '81 Capri Black Magic 3.3L 4 speed, Black T-top '84 Capri RS 5.0 5 speed.Over 200,000 miles driven in Four Eyes, and over 350,000 in Fox Body cars.
Took a day off work today to put the gears in. Changed the u joints, rear shocks, and wheel bearings while I was at it. Put in ford racing 3.73s and carbon fiber clutches. It pulls really hard now. Hope to get to the track in a couple weeks to see what it does. A guy from work has an 02 z28 and wants to run me.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
Just read through your thread for the first time. Great job bringing your car back from the dead. Congrats and enjoy it!
1979 Indy Pace Car Mustang 302 / 5spd
1982 Mustang GT T-Top 302 / 4spd
1986 SVO Mustang - 1C
This past weekend I took the wife for her first ride in the 86 since I bought it on her birthday 5 years ago. She thought it rode well and liked it overall. She didn't particularly like when I pulled out and floored it, spinning in first, part of second, and barking the tires in third. Man I love the 3.73's, they really brought this combo to life. I want to run it tomorrow night at the local test and tune, but rain is in the forecast... Luckily, I only live about 7 miles from a 1/4 mile drag strip. So if it rains I'll just try again next week.
Last edited by v8stang289; 12-23-2015 at 10:19 PM.
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
Finally got it to the track, and lets just say it didn't go well. I went to crank the car after work and it turned over slower and slower until nothing.... Bad cell in the battery. Went and got a replacement (under warranty) and got the car started and checked the alternator to make sure it was charging.
I was concerned that it wouldn't run to its potential since I had the battery unhooked for so long that the computer would have to "relearn" everything, but I wanted to run it and the guys from work were headed out so I took it to the track.
First run was a complete waste. I tried to take it easy off the line but even rolling into the throttle it spun badly. Got a little bit sideways in second gear(freaked my wife out) and then had to try twice to get into third. Ran a 15.6 @ 94mph.
Second run was a little better, track had a little rubber on it and it didn't spin as bad. Ended up with a 14.3 @ 93.8
I'm concerned with the 94 mph trap speed. I was really expecting closer to 100. I'm hoping it was the lack of "learn" time for the computer, and maybe it will pick up next time.
Then, the fun began..... went to run the car a 3rd time, fired it up put in reverse and 20 ft later it died. Tried to restart, it sputtered and died. Then nothing, just turning over and over with no start. My buddy said he could hear the fuel pump priming, so I suspected the TFI module. It was getting late and I didn't have my spare module or wrench so I headed to a buddy's house to get his trailer because I didn't want my car locked inside the gates at the track. Got the car loaded up and dropped it and the trailer at my buddy's house, and went home for the night, tired and frustrated.
The next day I took my spare TFI and wrench and changed it out. Still no start..WTF. Cycled the key a few times.....no fuel pump. At the track my buddy said he could here it, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt since there were loud drag cars around. Anyway, I jumpered the fuel pump and the test connector and started testing the circuit. I had power at the relay, so I figured the pump I just put in was bad... Went to check for power going to the pump and as soon as I touch the harness going to the tank the pump kicks on. Let go, it shuts back off. Turns out the plug at the top of the tank wasn't seated good.....Doh!!!!. I dropped the tank and got that straight. Then set the timing since I had to move the distributor to change the module. Took it for a test drive and it was bucking and not pulling well. Brought it back and put the old module back on. Reset the timing and test drove again. All was well and it drove like it should. My spare TFI was bad.
Then I decided to take a couple of degrees of timing out and see how it did. Well when I did that I screwed up. I pulled on the TFI module to rotate the distributor and it broke...cutting the car off. So I walked away and went home.
Went home and ordered a Motorcraft TFI module as well as a cheap backup off of RockAuto. A few days later I went back and put the new TFI module on and set the timing. I backed the car out of the garage and was letting it idle while I cleaned up and closed the garage doors. I heard a loud noise followed by rattling, I thought I had blown an A/C line off initially, but when I raised the hood I could see the electric fan was vibrating. Looks like the bearing went out and the fan blade hit the shroud and broke. Thankfully it didn't hurt the radiator, but I was mad because it was one thing after another. It was about 80 degrees and I only had about 10 miles to go, mostly highway with 2 stop signs so I said screw it, and drove it home. It ran fine and didn't overheat, so I got home and parked it.
I ordered a new Taurus fan last week and installed it thursday, drove it to get gas today and it's doing fine. Just had a bit of a frustrating few weeks with it.
I'm thinking about getting some drag radials in the near future to see if I can get into the 13's.
What do you guys think about the low mph?
NCSU 08 Mathematics
86 GT 5-speed, GT-40 heads, TFS1 cam, Performer EFI intake- 13.77@101.4
66 mustang coupe-5.0 HO, T-5, 3.80 gears
If everything seems under control, youre not going fast enough--Mario Andretti
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