To Restore or Resto-Mod guide

[Sellis1012]

I think if you have a 79 Cobra you should strip it of all identifying parts, burn them, weld a hillbilly cage in it and take it to demolition night down at the local turn&burn.

[79 Road Runner]

(This should be added to our emoticon list)

[79 Road Runner]

(This should be added to our emoticon list)

[evlgt85]

LOL, here, I'll be merciful:

Low-mileage survivors who have made it these 20+ years should be left that way.

EFI 2.3T cars should remain EFI 2.3T cars, their numbers are low and the attrition has been brutal, especially on NON-SVO cars.

Off-the-wall and oddball should be found and preserved as few examples may have been made and fewer still exist ( model year 1982 2.3T cars, for example, or N/A 4 cyl RS and Cobra variants - I've seen RSes but only heard of the Cobras, mind you).

The beaten and bruised can go either way for mods. Both my 85 GT and my 84 Turbo RS have seen rough days, both of them will be modified. However, the GT was born with a carb and with a carb it shall remain. The Turbo RS was born 2.3T and so it shall be forever more.

Anyway, I can get more specific if you'd like, and for the most part, I think the majority would agree with a lot of what I'd list off.

Common sense with a little bit of respect for the breed should be the guide, but that is all quite subjective.

[evlgt85]

LOL, here, I'll be merciful:

Low-mileage survivors who have made it these 20+ years should be left that way.

EFI 2.3T cars should remain EFI 2.3T cars, their numbers are low and the attrition has been brutal, especially on NON-SVO cars.

Off-the-wall and oddball should be found and preserved as few examples may have been made and fewer still exist ( model year 1982 2.3T cars, for example, or N/A 4 cyl RS and Cobra variants - I've seen RSes but only heard of the Cobras, mind you).

The beaten and bruised can go either way for mods. Both my 85 GT and my 84 Turbo RS have seen rough days, both of them will be modified. However, the GT was born with a carb and with a carb it shall remain. The Turbo RS was born 2.3T and so it shall be forever more.

Anyway, I can get more specific if you'd like, and for the most part, I think the majority would agree with a lot of what I'd list off.

Common sense with a little bit of respect for the breed should be the guide, but that is all quite subjective.

[twister]

personally, I think that there is a list that should be made...
1. Any ASC
2. Any Saleen
3. Any pre Ford convertible
4. Any Turbo GT
5. Any stock car under 10,000 miles
6. Crimson Cats
7. Black Magics
8. Any 90 point car
9. A REAL SS
10. Comp prep SVO
11.The 83 Convetible used in Stroker Ace

[twister]

personally, I think that there is a list that should be made...
1. Any ASC
2. Any Saleen
3. Any pre Ford convertible
4. Any Turbo GT
5. Any stock car under 10,000 miles
6. Crimson Cats
7. Black Magics
8. Any 90 point car
9. A REAL SS
10. Comp prep SVO
11.The 83 Convetible used in Stroker Ace

[83rsturbo]

twister you forgot one the RS Turbo

[83rsturbo]

twister you forgot one the RS Turbo

[twister]

twister you forgot one the RS Turbo

good call, also add Preditors and Twister II's

[twister]

twister you forgot one the RS Turbo

good call, also add Preditors and Twister II's

[gregpro50]

I dont see any reason why you cant modify any of the cars on that list to some extent. But where do you draw the line??

A stock car under 10k miles cant get a cat-back flowmaster set?

A turbo GT cant get an upgraded turbo and exhaust?

You cant put headers on a ASC?

Its pretty hard to define "modify"...

[evlgt85]

It's not hard at all to define modify/modifications: Any alterations from factory are modifications. Now, most of us in the Fox world scoff at those who have mod lists consisting of wiper blades and billet interior pieces and little else as these cars have been so embraced by the aftermarket. But, the fact remains, putting anything on it that didn't come from the factory is a modification of sorts.

This is where you get into "What constitutes low miles?" and other sticky situations.

I think anything under 75k for a 20 year old car is pretty low. That's where I'd draw a wide and fuzzy line for mileage. Anything under 50k is definitely low.

[twister]

Grumpy has a few good points, but if I had my car today with 10,000 miles and it was bone stock, guess what, it still would be bone stock! There has to be a group of car nuts that keep their cars stock to help show how things should be. Is it for everyone? No. Is it for me? It depends, but taking an ASC car with less than 100 made and putting on SN95 brakes and a huffer is not doing a rare car like that justice.

[gregpro50]

Yes but as I mentioned earlier this is where it comes down to taste and personal preference. We can all state out opinions on this subject but after all they are only just opinions.

[gregpro50]

It's not hard at all to define modify/modifications

But some modifications are much more well received than others. Technically a set of fuzzy dice hanging from your mirror is a modification. Painting a black magic purple is a modification.

We can have a 20 page discussion on modification ethics and still not get anywhere.

[79 Road Runner]

Would it appease the masses to add the fuzzy dice when driving around town and take them down when being judged at a car show?

A super-low mileage car should be stock. This is just the opposite in the (cruiser) motorcycle world... But we're talking Mustangs...

But the more mileage a car has, the more likely things are going to wear out and be replaced... like exhuast, radiator hoses, spark plug wires, tires, etc... But mileage shouldn't be the only factor in determining whether a car remains stock, should it?

If I bought one of those pace cars brand new, you bet I'd be driving it regularly! That's what they're meant to do... and I'd leave it bone stock. But with others, so long as you can "go back" I don't see what the problem is.

BTW I like that list...

[79 Road Runner]

Would it appease the masses to add the fuzzy dice when driving around town and take them down when being judged at a car show?

A super-low mileage car should be stock. This is just the opposite in the (cruiser) motorcycle world... But we're talking Mustangs...

But the more mileage a car has, the more likely things are going to wear out and be replaced... like exhuast, radiator hoses, spark plug wires, tires, etc... But mileage shouldn't be the only factor in determining whether a car remains stock, should it?

If I bought one of those pace cars brand new, you bet I'd be driving it regularly! That's what they're meant to do... and I'd leave it bone stock. But with others, so long as you can "go back" I don't see what the problem is.

BTW I like that list...

[gregpro50]

If I was to buy a bone stock '86 GT with 9,000 miles. I would put a flowmaster cat-back system with stainless tips on it. Some would do this and some wouldnt. If its your car its your choice.

Some people think painted on pin-stripes are ugly. Those are definitely a pain to get off to go back to original.

What about putting in subframe connectors on an ASC? Thats definitely a modification and one that is not easily removed.

What modifications are OK to make to a car and what ones arent? Who is the person who determines this? Its the owner of the car IMO.

[gregpro50]

If I was to buy a bone stock '86 GT with 9,000 miles. I would put a flowmaster cat-back system with stainless tips on it. Some would do this and some wouldnt. If its your car its your choice.

Some people think painted on pin-stripes are ugly. Those are definitely a pain to get off to go back to original.

What about putting in subframe connectors on an ASC? Thats definitely a modification and one that is not easily removed.

What modifications are OK to make to a car and what ones arent? Who is the person who determines this? Its the owner of the car IMO.

[mutantcapri1979]

so i have maybe 2 questoins...i thought i checked my vin and thought it was just a base 79 capri then i saw the comments on a 4-cyl capri w/ a RS package? it has a RS interior (I.E. door panels and dash and i know its not hard to swap/ so i will re-check the vin) and its previously modified w/ and 86 stang EFI V8

My 2nd question is if it would piss off the general masses here at 4EP if i took a ASC Vert Capri and got rid of the bubble style bumper and replaced it w/ a 79-82 capri style bumper and tail or a 79 mustangs tails and bumper? tell me but i don't hate the bubble just the tails and bumper!

[mutantcapri1979]

so i have maybe 2 questoins...i thought i checked my vin and thought it was just a base 79 capri then i saw the comments on a 4-cyl capri w/ a RS package? it has a RS interior (I.E. door panels and dash and i know its not hard to swap/ so i will re-check the vin) and its previously modified w/ and 86 stang EFI V8

My 2nd question is if it would piss off the general masses here at 4EP if i took a ASC Vert Capri and got rid of the bubble style bumper and replaced it w/ a 79-82 capri style bumper and tail or a 79 mustangs tails and bumper? tell me but i don't hate the bubble just the tails and bumper!

[Travis T]

LOL

Good to see you're checking up on me!

I already have a fair idea what I want to do with the car... But I thought others could benefit from this discussion, too.

Keep the 2.8, I had a parts car with one of those. If it is a manual, or if you convert it to one, you'd be surprised at what you can get out of that engine. I have a friend who has a 74 Capri (German Ford), and it has that engine as well. With some carefully planned mods, his car has been able to outrun many a 5.0 Mustang.

[Travis T]

LOL

Good to see you're checking up on me!

I already have a fair idea what I want to do with the car... But I thought others could benefit from this discussion, too.

Keep the 2.8, I had a parts car with one of those. If it is a manual, or if you convert it to one, you'd be surprised at what you can get out of that engine. I have a friend who has a 74 Capri (German Ford), and it has that engine as well. With some carefully planned mods, his car has been able to outrun many a 5.0 Mustang.

[Sellis1012]

There has to be a group of car nuts that keep their cars stock to help show how things should be.

My 79 California emissions Turbo Cobra is such a car. I may be the only one who knows you need to read not only the vaccum diagram on the hood, but a diagram out of a non-California emissions Cobra as well because the one on my hood has a discrepancy that if followed, renders the timing retard inoperable. The reason I know that almost put me in therapy.