My 1985 Mustang GT

[Pirate]

Screw the Stang, I wanna see more pics of the truck in the background of that first one!

I will see if I can find some at home....I built this truck for my Brother, and I was almost going to buy it from him, when he somewhat sold it out from under me.....

Specs:
1979 Ford F150 long bed, two-tone bright yellow.

302 specs: .040 over, forged pistons, Comp 260 hi-energy cam, 1970 302 truck heads (odd combustion chamber, brought compression up to 9.7:1 with the pistons I used), screw-in studs and guideplates, 351W valves, 1985 Mustang GT 4v intake (ported, maximum low-end torque), Holley 600 4v carb (tuned by me), ARP rod bolts, HV oil pump, Clevite rods, mains, and cam bearings, lined honed, decked, balanced, distributor recurved by me, MSD blaster II coil, FMS 9mm wires, hi-volume water pump, 4-core 460 radiator, electric fan.....however, with stock manifolds and single exhaust, he never got around to letting me finish that part out....

Tranny: I removed the ailing C6 from the truck, and built a nasty C4 to replace it....H-code shift servo, TransGo HP shift kit set on 'kill', converted over from single to two-piece driveshaft (a MAJOR pain in the ass, I ended up sanding down, and painting both driveshafts a bright pink to remember just how much fun it was to get a pair of shafts for that truck, since that truck didn't come stock with a C4 tranny...I also broke my left big toe during the search for these driveshafts, when a pile of them fell on my feet, I ended up using the one that broke my toe, oddly enough.

Rebuilt or replaced: Steering box, front end, wiring under the hood, rear end....

[87gtVIC]

ugha you had cruise control.

without cruise control steering wheels look a hell of a lot better imho.



and whats up with that chrome windshield trim??



UNchromed much stealther looking.

[Pirate]

ugha you had cruise control.

without cruise control steering wheels look a hell of a lot better imho.



and whats up with that chrome windshield trim??



UNchromed much stealther looking.

The black paint/coating came off for some reason or another...the back window trim was the same story....you know, I kind of miss this car now.

[87gtVIC]

ahh i gotchya. Yea it is a really nice car to have. Yours looked just like my dads. Luckily my dads floor board is not cracked or sagging whatsoever, so he shall enjoy it for many years to come.

[TomO]

Yours looks just like the '86 GT that I bought brand new and sold just last summer w/ 300,000 miles on it. Same color -- black, grey interior. Other than routine maintenance, I never did anything to the engine besides put a new water pump on it at about 100,000, and it needed a new ignition module right after I bought it when it was just a few months old. The only option mine had was A/C, but after a few years, the A/C system leaked so bad I stopped trying to fix it. It had manual windows, manual locks, no cruise, 5-speed, 3.08 rear. I never changed the clutch in it. Yep, I got 300,000 miles out of the original factory clutch -- I never would have believed it had I not experienced it first hand. I only changed the brakes once at 177,000, but it needed new rotors and drums. Had to put new axle shafts and bearings in it at about 240,000 miles -- you could move the rear wheels up and down about 1/2 an inch. Had to put new U-joints in about that time too -- the old ones were totally shot and were causing the car to vibrate. When I sold it, that poor old car was worn slam out. The paint was totally gone. The roof and hood paint had worn totally through, past the primer and was starting to get surface rust. The front facia was almost completely yellow from the plastic showing through. The rear spoiler was starting to look pink -- not sure if that was primer or the color of the plastic. The gas gage was starting to malfunction. Most of the dash lights didn't work. The center arm rest had completely fallen apart. The driver's seat back was so badly worn out that it was giving me a back-ache. Fifth gear synchronizer was worn out. The map light had fallen apart. Weather stripping on the door windows was starting to crack apart and fall off in big chunks. The rear end was starting to make clanking noises when I turned a corner. At some point above 250,000 miles, I was driving home from work and was just about to turn into my alley, when the passenger side tie-rod end completely gave out and the tie rod dropped to the pavement and started dragging. I can't imagine what where I would be today if that had happened on the freeway at about 65mph. It had a few door dings, but was never in any sort of accident. A guy gave me $1,000 for it, which I used to get my '89 MGM with only 108K and which is in a whole lot better shape than the Mustang.

[87gtVIC]

Thats a nice story TomO. My dads..in photos above..was also bought from new. Now it really only has 120,000 on the clock. That was his "first" car that he bought fr himself. Still has it to this day, and will never give it up. From day one my dad put seat covers on it, and everything is mint. Just had a full paint job last year. The car is looking real sharp. He is also the only one i have ever seen with a Dugan Racing sport back. Pictured below...



An insert in place of the back glass.

[TomO]

87GTVic -- Wow, that car looks like it's in fantastic shape. Your Dad must have taken very good care of it. Those look late later model Cobra wheels. I've NEVER seen a hatchback like that before -- that's really nice. If I'd known about those when I got my car, I'd have put one on too.

My '86 GT was my first brand new car too. I was still single and about 3 or 4 years into my first engineering job out of college and was making great money. In fact, I think if you take inflation into consideration, I was probably making the same as, if not more than, I'm making now -- 23 years later. I think that's pathetic, but of course, that's another story.

My family had not had much money as I was growing up and I think that ended up making me very thrifty. My first car was a rust bucket basket case my uncle gave me when I was a senior in high school. When I got the car, I found out my uncle had been driving it for who-knows-how-long with NO AIR FILTER IN IT!! It would lay a smoke screen so thick it was unbelievable. I had just enough money to put new rings and bearings in it, and I did all the work myself. I ended up driving that car half way across the country to college and drove it for a year or two. Anyway, I owned a succession of cheap used cars that always seemed to have some sort of problem. When I got my first job (the engineering job) I bought a '75 Buick Skyhawk (like a Chevy Monza) from a friend for $900, which seemed like a lot of money at the time. I probably could have afforded a nicer car, but being thrifty, that's all I wanted to spend. I drove that for about 3 or 4 years until the timing chain broke. It had a 231 V6.

That was just about the time the '86 models were coming out. I had been doing some research and what attracted me to the Mustang was not the looks (I actually never really like the way it looked), but rather, the mechanics. It had stuff that was fairly new and cutting edge for a new car at the time, like a 5-speed overdrive transmission, sequential fuel injection, factory-equipped stainless steel tubular exhaust headers, factory roller lifters, factory double-roller timing chain, forged pistons, aluminum valve covers, 60 series tires, alloy wheels, rack-and-pinion steering, and dual exhaust. We were coming out of a time when most American cars were real clunkers, so the '86 GT literally seemed truly radical -- like a factory built hot rod.

Anyway, I was making almost twice as much as when I first started the job, and I needed a car. I think what tipped the scale was the fact that the car had true dual exhaust. That was pretty much unheard of since the early 70's for a car to have factory duals. I believe the '86 GT was the first car since then to have duals. I know the '85 had a single Cat and dual tail pipes from the factory, because I remember looking under a brand new one the year before. Anyhow, at 26 years old, I decided to take the plunge and buy a brand new car. I remember that I really wanted either a white one or a silver one. But, it was late summer of '86 and there weren't very many around anymore because the new '87's were coming out. I saw a picture of the '87 GT and immediately decided that I did not want one. I thought it looked horrendous with all that ground effects on it. So, I scrambled around looking for an '86. I called some dealers and one dealer said he was expecting a black '86 GT to be delivered and that would be all she wrote for '86's. I told him I wanted it. He called me a few days later and said it would be delivered the next morning. I had a friend drive me to the dealership, which was about 50 miles away. I got there before they opened, and the car carrier truck was sitting there getting ready to offload the cars. I saw my GT on the top deck. I watched the driver take the cars off one by one -- finally the GT. Man -- even though I really didn't want a black one -- that car looked nice. The black paint was so shiny, it looked wet. I don't even remember doing the paperwork, but I do remember driving it home. When I took possession of it, there were only 3 miles on the odometer. I was so nervous, I was almost trembling. It cost about $13,000, which was way more money than I'd ever seen. I remember it drove really quietly except for an ever-so-slight exhaust rumble. It was really tight too. It steered like a go-kart -- it was amazing.

Anyhow, being very frugal and conservative, I babied it as best I could. I never raced it, always coasted up to stop signs and red lights, down shifted while descending hills and was really easy on the clutch. I had driven diesel trucks earlier and learned to engage the clutch without giving the engine any gas. That's what I did throughout the life of the Mustang. I think that's why I never had to change the clutch -- it just never got any wear.

I LOVED to drive. I drove it everywhere. The first year I owned it, I put over 30,000 miles on it, which isn't a lot nowadays, but back then it seemed like a lot. I drove it across the country several times. It was always my primary transportation, up until I sold it. So I had to balance preservation of the car with utility, and utility often won out, since I had to use it for daily transportation. All I really cared about was whether it ran and how much it cost to maintain. It turned out to be a very reliable, fun, relatively low-cost vehicle. Toward, the end, though, I began to realize that you really had to love a car like that to drive it every day. It had become quite an uncomfortable car. It was noisy, it was hot in the summer, and it was about the roughest riding vehicle that I've ever been in. To put it simply -- I was just tired of it. Plus, it was simply worn out as I mentioned above -- after 23 years of being driven nearly every day. I remember when I bought it, I thought I'd never sell it and that I'd someday restore it. But, at the time I sold it, I was actually sort of glad to get rid of it. It's not that I disliked it, it's just that it was time to get a more practical, and more comfortable car.

Sorry for the long post -- just thought somebody might enjoy reading it.:slug:

[87gtVIC]

I did enjoy reading it. You really got your moneys worth out of it and thats great to hear.

And yes those are 93' Cobra wheels on my dads Mustang, he had ten hole alloys as well. But i must say he was around 19 when he got the car and in no way babied it like you did, but it still does look good. Maybe one day TomO you will find the time to purchase a 86' and restore it to your taste.