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  1. #1

    Cool My 1st Foxbody: 83' LTD Build/Maintain/Upgrade Thread

    Hello Everyone, I decided to start a thread on my first Foxbody. I wasn't quite sure how to categorize it. I will be doing upgrading/modifying it. But nothing extreme for quite sometime(motor/trans swaps, etc.). But I thought it would be a good place to keep track of it. And hopefully learn more about these cars, and hopefully my experiences will be able to help others. Plus I haven't seen to many build threads on the LTDs.

    My fox is an 83' LTD Brougham, equipped with the 2bbl 3.8L Essex, 3-speed auto(unsure if it is a C4 or C5), and 7.5 rear packing an open 2.47 gear. I bought the car at the end of last September. I buddy of mine from my car club found it on the local Craiglist and told me about it. Come to find out, the guy who was selling it was a co-worker from my previous job. He purchased it from the original owner's family. An elderly couple purchased it new from the local dealership, then shortly after, they moved to Florida. The car was just brought back up last summer by family to be sold. My ex co-worker bought it from them with the intentions of doing an LS swap. But, couldn't bring himself to hacking it all up, And his wife did not care for the car. It ran rough, the original exhaust rotted and was in the trunk, All 4 power windows were bad, and the original struts and shocks were toast. But I fell in love with it within the 1st block of the test drive. Bought it the next day for only 10 $100 bills and drove it home.

    Her 1st day home: (That's my dad in the background, and the Jeep and Bronco are also mine...well the Jeep is now my fiance's, hence the reason I bought the LTD lol.)

    Exterior-












    Interior-








    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  2. #2
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    Pretty clean car. Alway nice getting a running driving project car cheap.

  3. #3
    FEP Super Member Travis T's Avatar
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    I like the color combination, wonder if there would be any hope of that charcoal shining back up? Very clean car and a very good starting point.
    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

  4. #4

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    REALLY nice car!!!!
    1985 Mustang GT Mild 331 4bbl 5 spd, 1985 SEFI LTD LX AOD.
    Cardomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/565542
    Mid Size LTD LX Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/groups/233213650060739/

  5. #5

    Default The Plan

    I really love the car for how original it is. And it my daily driver. My Jeep was on that duty until my fiance' needed a reliable vehicle. So for awhile I was driving my 88' Bronco, but she's a thirsty girl...63k original miles, #'s matching built 358W, C6, and 4.10s. 33 gallons of premium doesn't last when you average 11mpg babying the throttle.

    Anyway, So it will be staying fairly stock/original for now. One day I plan on a built S/C 3.8, 5 speed and 8.8 swap. But that is way down the road lol. I will be and have been going through it and replacing/repairing/upgrading the car.

    Plans for now are:
    -Suspension: Upgrading to LTD LX/ Mustang GT or better performance...Coils, Shocks, Struts, Sway bars etc.
    -Brakes: Would like to upgrade to larger/better performing stock style parts. Larger drums/rotors etc.
    -Steering: This I am unsure about...I don't know if there are quicker ratio racks. But if so, This is also something I would be wanting to do.
    -Engine: It runs well, And still has all the smog equipment attached and working. I'm not sure if it would be worth bypassing the Air Pump and doing an EGR delete. (No Smog Check in Michigan). Other than that I plan on a full exhaust with 99-up Mustang factory headers. Maybe a 4bbl intake from Tom Morana and a 390 Holley.
    -Transmission: 1st thing would be to determine if its a C4 or C5, I know there's virtually no difference sans a locking converter on the C5. than just a basic shift kit.
    -Rear end: I'm fine with the 7.5 and the 2.47 gear...But I would like to add a Trac-Lok.
    Body: Car is straight, and rust-free. Was Ziebarted and undercoated. But the Florida sun got the better of the clearcoat. So It needs to be recleared.

    That's what I have so far, Please feel free to pass along any insight or other ideas/options to look into. Thanks ahead of time!
    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Travis T View Post
    I like the color combination, wonder if there would be any hope of that charcoal shining back up? Very clean car and a very good starting point.
    Thanks! I have a couple friends who are in the autobody business. We are going to try to revive it, Otherwise we will reclear the car.
    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marz View Post
    REALLY nice car!!!!
    Thank you! I appreciate it!
    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  8. #8

    Default What I have done so far...

    Good morning everyone! I figure I will go through and list/show off what I've done with the car so far.

    Engine:
    -Tune Up: Autolite plugs, 8mm wires, cap, rotor, Air & fuel filters.
    -Oil and filter change/s.
    -Replaced Oil Pressure switch(body was leaky)
    -Replaced Mechanical Fuel pump and Rubber line(body was leaking)
    -Valve cover gaskets.
    -EGR Valve gasket.
    -Various Vacuum lines.
    -Heater core.
    -Battery Cables.
    -Carb spacer gasket.
    -Accelerator Pump.
    -EGR spacer/plate-to-manifold gasket.(Solved 98% of the idle/drivability issues)
    -New Cat-Back exhaust.

    Suspension:
    -Front Struts...Monroe-matics.
    -Rear shocks...Monroe HD shocks.
    -Rear Coils...Swapped to 83' LTD Wagon Rears.

    Interior:
    -Front Window motors.
    -Trunk weatherstripping
    -Sunpro 3pc gauges.(Volt, Temp, Oil psi.)

    Exterior:
    -Painted the Wheels black.
    -Swapped the Original Wire wheel covers with a set of Fairmont Dog dishes.
    -3.8 Fender Badges.

    And the pictures...

    3.8 Fender badges and fresh painted wheels.


    With the Dog Dishes on...



    The Exhaust...2.25in duals from the cat back. OEM replacement 5.0 'Stang mufflers.






    Engine...Painted the Valve covers Ford Blue when I did the gaskets.




    Sludge free!




    And the source of my drivability issues...It was so dirty that I wasn't able to tell that EGR plate was a separate piece from the manifold. Once I started to clean around everything, That's when I figured it out. 1 new gasket later and she's purring.






    And my Sunpro gauges.
    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  9. #9
    FEP Super Member Travis T's Avatar
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    China Grove, North Carolina
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    You can upgrade the rack to a Mustang 5.0/Lincoln Mark VII LSC rack, it's 15:1 instead of the probably 20:1 rack you have now. You have to change the power steering pump to match though. Looks much better with the wire wheels gone!
    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

  10. #10

    Default

    If MPG is what you're looking for I'd totally toss a 99+ Mustang V6 in there.
    1985 Mustang GT Mild 331 4bbl 5 spd, 1985 SEFI LTD LX AOD.
    Cardomain: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/565542
    Mid Size LTD LX Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/groups/233213650060739/

  11. #11

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Travis T View Post
    You can upgrade the rack to a Mustang 5.0/Lincoln Mark VII LSC rack, it's 15:1 instead of the probably 20:1 rack you have now. You have to change the power steering pump to match though. Looks much better with the wire wheels gone!
    Great! I've been dealing with a leak in the powersteering system. I think it's one of the lines...Not major, basically just makes a mess on the rack and the K-member. That gives me more initiative to do the swap. Thanks for the info on that! And thanks, a friend of mine had them in his garage. Sold them to me and a OEM left fender for $50.
    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  12. #12
    FEP Super Member Travis T's Avatar
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    Several Ford/Mercury/Lincoln cars used that rack, just go to a parts store and order parts for an 87-93 5.0 Mustang just to keep it simple. You'll probably have to buy new rack mounting bushings as the last one or two I bought came with only the one bushing style that works on the newer cars and I ended up having to reuse the original ones on my 84 GT.
    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

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marz View Post
    If MPG is what you're looking for I'd totally toss a 99+ Mustang V6 in there.
    Honestly, Since I fixed the massive vacuum leak from the EGR spacer gasket. It has been doing quite well in the mpg department. I've been averaging 17-18mpg of mainly city driving. And have gotten a best of 25.5mpg from Findlay Oh, back home to Dearborn MI. I double and triple-checked my math. I always check my mileage when I fuel. So we will see how she does on the next few tanks.
    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Travis T View Post
    Several Ford/Mercury/Lincoln cars used that rack, just go to a parts store and order parts for an 87-93 5.0 Mustang just to keep it simple. You'll probably have to buy new rack mounting bushings as the last one or two I bought came with only the one bushing style that works on the newer cars and I ended up having to reuse the original ones on my 84 GT.
    Cool, thanks for that info. I will definitely keep that in mind when I go to do it.
    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

  15. #15

    Default Swap meet/show snaggings

    Couple friends of mine when to a swap meet and picked this little handy-dandy book for me. It's chock full of info that you don't get in a Haynes/Chilton's manual.



    And I scored this original ad brochure for it...Also found one for my 88' Bronco as well.

    -Mike-
    83' LTD Brougham, 43k miles, 3.8 2bbl/Auto, Pretty much Stock/Original for now. DD.
    88' Bronco XLT, 63k miles, Built 358W/C6..soon to be ZF5 swap, 4.10s. All-Around-Fun Machine.
    96' Cherokee Country, 131k, 4.0 I6/Auto, 3in lift, Lots of Mods, DD/Off road Machine.

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