new member from northern indiana

[count floyd]

Hello Mustang enthusiast .I am jack and new to the forum. I am attempting to restore a one owner 1983 mustang convertible 3.8 auto transmission. I have owned many Mustangs and a couple bronco II's over the years and was a former Honda Auto tech . I have retired from the automotive industry 5 years now and I am looking forward to reading the forums getting help and helping when I can. I love all the classic cars and trucks. when I was a kid back in 1980 My dad bought a brand new 80 mustang cobra (at that time was supposed to be the last year for the cobra)with t tops and v8 black and green I was a fan the very first time I laid my eyes on it, still am , so here I am , thank you

 

[broncojunkie]

Welcome to the forum! I'm a huge fan of the older 4-eye cars. I had an 84 v6 vert many years ago. I swapped it to 302 of course (because racecar lol) but that was one of many fox bodies I had over the years. I'm in West Virginia. Like you, I know rust is the biggest problem. How solid is your car? Any major body work required?

 

[count floyd]

I took it to the body shop there they found no rust at all on the body until you lift the car. the floor pans are cracked pretty bad and one small hole where the floor pan curves up in the driver side floor pan right where your left foot would rest.so I am going to replace the entire floor. the drivers door has a big dent in it where it got hit by what looks like a trailer hitch. I have checked and checked online you can not find convertible door skins or shells any where. theres a small dent in the r r quarter panel too but nothing a stud welder and slide hammer cant get out

 

[broncojunkie]

The good news is that convertible doors are pretty easy to find. I just bought a rust free set cheap, which I need for a t-top conversion on my 82gt. I could have just cut the frames off (which is an option for you, if you happen across a good door from a hard top) but I also needed some hard top doors for my 86. So I'm swapping those over.

 

[count floyd]

when I'm done with this convertible I'm going to look for a 79 -82 mustang hatchback gt or a pace car so I can make a cobra replica out of it. the reason I didn't swap out for the v8 is even though I like my mustang and I got it so cheap its not quite the one I want to keep and the engine has been rebuilt already . I put headers for a 94 v6 on it and it has the 4.2 crank, I seen you can buy a 99 to 04 v6 engine and really beef them up. you swap the oil pump timing cover and buy the 4 bbl intake and cam it you can crank out over 200hp with no turbo. thinking back the old 80s 302 had about the same output. the problem with the v6 is the head gasket and then I still like the rumble of a v8 and the parts are way more available

 

[count floyd]

is there a face book fox body mustang page?

 

[broncojunkie]

I have a good pace car scoop if you're interested. $100 plus the ride. Back edge has a ding on it, but easy fix. Also, I think a buddy of mine is selling a pretty nice 79 cobra 4 spd v8 car.... black with black interior for around $2k. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if I didn't already have 5 foxes lol

 

[broncojunkie]

Lot's of FB pages for fox body. I like the "foureyedpride" web forum and fb group for our older foxes!

 

[count floyd]

oh that would be awesome, I live in the city and i have 5 vehicles and 2 trailers in the drive way as it is LOL . does he have any pictures of the cobra ?

 

[broncojunkie]