85 T Top Build Thread

[HotNotch]

Ive been a long time lurker on here, and have had a membership but haven't really posted, but here we go.
Bought an 85 t top 4 cylinder car from a kid in my hometown, was kind of rough but wasn't too far gone, essentially a roller with no interior. Basically this is going to be a spare parts build. Already have a 93 ssp 5 speed car, so this will be more of a cruiser. First weekend I brought it home, I threw my old 3.73 5 lug 8.8 out of my coupe I had laying around in it to keep it moveable, along with the 5 lug spindles and front brakes off of a 01 v6 I parted out. Also threw my bullitts on it so it could roll. The front hardlines disintegrated so it had no brakes at this point. Got a motor and transmission from my buddy and boss, tranny is a c4 I had gone threw with a new shift kit and medium stall converter, motor is factory 88 roller motor with new bearings that I traded for, picked up the headers for it last night and painted it some. Has a carbuerated intake on it, so she'll stay carbuerated, at least for now. The goal is to have it all together over spring break, which for me starts in a week from today. So, I'll be spending some long nights in the garage over the next week, but luckily, we have a lift. Anyway, here's the pics.








Car is fairly rust free, has a little corrosion on the floor boards and one small hole in the rocker. My plan is to get it running and driveable, put some miles on it, do some bodywork and send it to maaco. I'm a college student that works at a body shop, but for the price and the fact that this car will be a driver, I cant beat the price for maaco. No point in spending the money for show quality. Anywho, any and all ideas are welcome.

Cliff Notes:
Factory roller long block, carb'd
off road x pipe and dynomax bullets with tailpipes, and shorty frpp headers (left overs)
3.73 5 lug 8.8
SN95 front brake swap
Full length sub frame connectors
mildly built c4
leftover interior from my mustang part outs over the last few years
and a couple weekends worth of bodywork, then shipping it to maaco...

[wraithracing]

Congrats on your first build thread!

Looks like a cool project that will turn out great! A couple of quick thoughts for you. First the 01 spindles do not work well with the stock K member geometry and will cause massive bumpsteer. I would recommend either swapping those for a set of 94/95 spindles before it's driveable or install an aftermarket K member such as Maximum Motorsports. The aftermarket K members generally alter the steering rack location and that works very well with the 96-04 spindles.

If you currently work at a body shop, I would recommend making good friends with a painter or painters. Although Maaco is tough to beat for the price, you should be able to respray your car in black for the same money with better quality paints and longer durability if you can get some help from your fellow employees.

Good Luck and keep the updates coming!

Trey

[HotNotch]

Got thr k member out and dropped the tank, tank is clean and factory fuel lines are good so that will be used. Goal for tomorrow is to get the engine and k member in it. Got the front hard lines replaced as well. Would have gotten more done but had a morning class and had to clean out shop before i started. Oh well, heres pics.







Wanting to try to start it up for the first time sunday. We'll see

[HotNotch]

Got the motor buttoned up and in today. Also plumbed the fuel system, along with fiddling with the ignition harness that the previous owner fubar'd. Got enough to start and run with the key, at least we think. Gonna hit it hard tomorrow and fab the hardlines for the rear and hopefully get the brakes bled and working along with getting the tranny up in the tunnel.

[Lubner]

Very Nice

[mustangsvo]

I am doing a 85 t top car as well.....306 ci v-8 5-speed, 8.8 with 3.73's. Got some body stuff to do....got engine done and running. Love to see your progress....Did my first car at 22 years old 84 gt turbo convertible....loved it!!! Good luck and if you need help we're here

Don

[huck01955]

Nice cant wait to see more

[HotNotch]

Posting from garage at 2 am, sleep is overrated. Tranny is in, as well as radiator,driveshaft,fuel lines, new ball joints, . Need to buy some hardware in the morning. Carb gaskets will be here at 9 15 am, so should be able to fire it up tomorrow. Anybody have to use a spacer for the driveshaft? I took a pic. Also, feel free to comment on my creative use of snap on extensions to hold in the crossmember. Dont mind the gaudy, long plug wires either, they are temporary.

[HotNotch]

Update, was able to fire it up and hear it run, unfortunately the x pipe for whatever reason isnt even close to fitting, so guess ill have to trade it for one that does, as its off a sn95. Got rear brake lines made and swapped out the driveshaft for a longer one i had laying around. Unfortunately the harness is beyond fixing, so we have a toggle and momentary for the moment. Also had to replace the starter. Brakes are bled and battery cables are ran, so to make it drivable just have to figure out shifter cable and mounting, alternator wiring, fan setup, and throttle cable

[HotNotch]

[HotNotch]

Well, was able to pull it out of the shop under its own power for the first time yesterday, though with no exhaust. To finish it and make it driveable and functionable like i want it, it needs a complete harness, so i need to source one. Also needs just little stuff, kinda funny, being my first complete build i thought the hard stuff would be assembling it all, and the most time consuming things was all the little stuff . But, ill mess with that the next few weekends, ive got to get back to school mode as ive got a doozy of a math test coming up the day after i get back off spring break. Anyway, if anybody is parting out a car and has a complete useable harness, feel free to pm me.

[Radarluv]

Nice job. You did all that in 12 days? I need You on my team. Good luck at School

[BlackMamba]

The car is looking good. You got a LOT done in very little time. The 5 lug conversion with the Bullits looks great. Keep up the good work.

[zc911]

nice fast work!
What size tires are you running?

[magnum517]

Looking great!! Keep up the good work!!


Sent from Mos Eisley using Tapatalk

[HotNotch]

Thanks guys, it wouldnt be possible without the help of my dad and a couple of good buddies, we actually had the motor and tranny in it sunday night of the first weekend, but anyway... the front tires are 245/45/17, the rears are 275/40's. Im gonna swap the front springs around with a set of svo springs i have, as the car sits lower than my 93 with eibachs on it in the front due to 4 banger springs. Probably going to try to fit the fattest front tire i can in the feont, would really like to have a 265/40 or 275/40, i know it will require some work tho. Probably going to do sn95 rear disc too since i have most the parts sitting around. Going to put a belt and some hoses on it this weekend and hopefully try to source a harness. Got some plans for the paint tooo, but you guys will have to wait hehe

[wraithracing]

Im gonna swap the front springs around with a set of svo springs i have, as the car sits lower than my 93 with eibachs on it in the front due to 4 banger springs. Probably going to try to fit the fattest front tire i can in the feont, would really like to have a 265/40 or 275/40, i know it will require some work tho.

Looks like you are making great progress and the car looks great!

Keep in mind that OEM SVO springs are longer than OEM GT springs due to the deeper spring pockets in the SVO front control arms, so even though they are for a 4 cylinder they may sit higher than you desire. They will also most likely be a real pain to install.

There are guys running a 275 up front, but keep in mind that you will have to do a bunch of work to keep the rubbing to a minimum. Also with the added width of a 275 the tire will be much taller unless you lower the aspect ratio so that will add to your clearance issues. IMHO a 255/40/17 or 255/45/17 is plenty up front for most street Mustangs. Unless you have the driving skills and the tweaked suspension to handle it, you will not be able to over drive the front end with a 255 up front.

[HotNotch]

I didnt know that about the svo springs, my dad had them in his 79 coupe he built in the early 90's. Ive got the koni red struts and shocks so i assume that theyre svo parts but i dont know for sure. Fortunatly both front fenders have a couple of buckles/dents in them, so i wont feel bad about tweaking them and modifying them to clear big rubber.

[HotNotch]

Pulled the dash out today as it was already pretty much loose and missing hardware from the previous owner. Unfortunately it appears that the harness is all integrated. I had to leave for work and couldn't really mess with it but i'll look at it again tomorrow. If it is indeed all one piece then i'll have to evaluate how I continue, I would really like to have everything function as factory but a sheet metal or fiberglass dash would be easy. Might swap over the complete efi harness and aero dash out of my parts car. Also got an alternator for it, a 6g off of a 03 v6. Fits perfect, don't have to grind or clearance the bracket or alternator any, and its 105 amp. If anyone has done a complete harness and dash swap and has advice, feel free to tell me

[HotNotch]

UPDATE!!!

Been working on the car lately since school let out, have some updates. Swapped out the entire harness for one out of my 89 gt parts car, will also be using the 89s dash and interior panels but leaving the four eyed front and making my own relay harness to run the headlights. Got an h pipe that fits even though its rough, so I can at least have some sort of exhaust until I source the off road x and mufflers that I want. Dash hull and harness is just about in, just have to fix the headlight switch pigtail and multifunction switch connectors. All the mechanicals are sorted out, just have to finish the electrical and put some shakedown miles on the car then its time for body and paint. I have a feeling that after some miles the 3.73 rear will be coming out for something a little more highway friendly, along with sn95 rear discs too, I have the parts so might as well use them. Just wanted to keep you guys updated

[HotNotch]

Got it legal and driveable. Dash and all gauges are functional. Was able to get the factory tach to work with my hei distributor , along with the coolant temp and oil pressure and speedo. Swapped a 3.08 rear diff into it, the 3.73 was making a bunch of noise and turning alot of rpm on the highway. Put new rear shocks on it and a lot of other smaller things. Ran the ignition off its own dedicated relay, along with the choke and alternator field on another. Ordered a headlight relay harness for it today. Also redid the tranny cooler lines and several smaller little things. So far I've put about 30 trouble free miles on it. Welded up a tow point as well, because I figured this thing would leave me stranded at least once and you guys know there is no good place to pull from, well there is on this one. I ended up zip tying it out of place until I needed it. Luckily I only ran it out of gas due to the fuel gauge not working with the 87-93 cluster and the carbed sending unit. Just have alot of interior work left to do to make it comfortable but thats after I paint it. Its nice to finally get it to the point that I can enjoy it. It runs pretty well for a stock 302, and with an off road x pipe and stock catback its pretty mellow. Only pressing matters are new struts at some point and subframe connectors.

[jws4621]

Looks good dude. I know all about the wiring worries in these cars. Mine was a fire trap waiting to happen when I got it. I ended up taking the Wiring harness apart and replacing all of the wire from the connector under the hood to the connectors at the sensors and such. Luckily MR scotch lock and but connector didn't get very far under the dash.

Good luck with it. Looks like you have made a ton of progress already.

[stevecap04]

nice.

[HotNotch]

Decided to have some fun with the car. Was getting tired of the look and especially the black color that absorbed all the heat. So decided to do something different. May not be everyones cup of tea but im a college student on a budget and don't have the patience for straightening every panel. So sanded it, prepped it, and shot it satin desert tan. Put on a 79 front bumper, 82 gt hood, scoop, and rear wing on it too. Just for fun. Realize some may not like it, but its my car and my money. So without further ado...

[HotNotch]