How reliable is a 5.0
 

I am sick of my Civic.I spent alot on it last winter when I really wanted an 87-93 Stang.
Well now I can sell it for about 7000 and I want a good Fox body stang.
I like the looks of the GT,I really like the 86 Mustang GT,But I like the 87 up a little better.

Ok what kind of problems show up on this car?

Anything expensive?

What should I expect to run on a stock used 87-93 GT 5 speed?

My Civic ran a 14.7 with just the motor swap.I havent ran It with all my mods but Im sure I didnt shave a second off for alot of cash spent:(.

Also I know it asking alot,but what would the above said Mustang run with good headers,exhaust,Intake.I plan on getting those parts right off the bat.
Thanks
Dan

You can run a 14.7 bone stock with a fox body 'Stang. They are very reliable as far as mine has been. I have never been Found On the Road Dead (F.O.R.D.). They are inexpensive to fix, maintenance-wise. Replacement parts from Autozone are cheap like, starters, alternators, radiator, wires and stuff. Most of this you will probably upgrade. Alot of performance items are cheap if you buy from a big place such as Summit Racing. They sell so much mustang stuff that they can make the prices very cheap.

And most of all the low-end torque makes it SO DAMN FUN to drive!!!:D

Re: How reliable is a 5.0
 

86-88 (except 88 up CA cars) are speed density engines - no problemo if your not changing the airflow characteristics to much. If your gonna heavily mod the rascal then look for a mass-air car.

Ok what kind of problems show up on this car Anything expensive?

Theres nothing expensive about the car and the aftermarket has replacement parts for everything but the roof and firewall. So the wallet is the limit when it comes to this stuff (which bolt ons tend to be of the cheap variety but offer good value for the money)

If your going M5 then you've licked the biggest problem in my book, the DOA, which is a good tranny in modified form, but a bit weak stock.

What should I expect to run on a stock used 87-93 GT 5 speed?

14's should be easy in the M5 car

My Civic ran a 14.7 with just the motor swap.I havent ran It with all my mods but Im sure I didnt shave a second off for alot of cash spent:(.
I take it that you swapped in a v-tech?

Also I know it asking alot,but what would the above said Mustang run with good headers,exhaust,Intake.I plan on getting those parts right off the bat.

Nay my friend, get gears and pulleys and a tune up first, then maybe some exhaust. The former because they are the best mods on a stocker and the latter just for the sound (provided your entry into mustangdom hasn't been tinkered with prior) Save the headers and intake for when you get a set of heads and cam. Altough some shorties would look spiffy. If your gonna leave the motor alone a set 1-1/2 primary tube headers will work fine with an x-pipe and some straight-through mufflers. (ie dynomax bullets). Keep the exhaust dia reasonable to maintain velocity throughout (probably 2-1/4 from the x-pipe to the mufflers and them after the mufflers start bumping it up if you want the sewer-pipe look)

I think 5.0 Mustang & Super Ford magazine did an artible on bolt ons. Get it and judge for yourself as to the effectiveness of the different parts.

I bought mine in 92' with 6000 miles on it. All I've done is what you see in my signature. I dragged it at the track the first 4 or so years. Nothing major has gone wrong. I changed the water pump about 2 years ago. It has been a very dependable car with 137,000 miles on it now!
One more thing. I'm not anything close to a mechanic, but with some help of friends I do most of the work on my car. They are fairly easy to work on compared to other models. This car has taught me a lot about automobiles.

Brad

Oh yeah forgot about that part, the Foxbody cars are very easy to work on.

Do NOT get a...
 

pre 87 Mustang motor...

The stock heads are better than 85's but not as good as 87' on. After 86' they went with the truck e7 heads.

You will love the torque and hate the ride probably. But who cares, I hated these cars when they first came out. Now I freely admit I have a Mustangs Anonymous problem.

I agree with what has been said above, they are cheap to upgrade and maintain (relatively) and parts are everywhere.

Now, I think I am going to go and tweak something on my car...I need a fix!!

WARNING!!! If you are married your wife/girlfriend will possibly become extremely jealous of the love and attention you will give your car.
SYMPTOMS: Not coming in the house until midnight or so, getting yelled at because there is dirt/grease in every sink and bathtub in the house. You ruin most of your clothes because you insist on working on your car wearing your Sunday best.

I have worked on a number of civics, my girlfriend has one and my friend has a crx that we swaped in a jdm b16 vtech. I do all of the work on my car myself. I can tell you from the comparison, I would rather work on the stang any day. There is more room to work with and you don't have to be a contortionist. Enjoy the stang.

Caymon

I spent under $3500 total including the purchase price of the car to run a 13.991 with horrible wheel hop on street tires, now i'm getting serious and bought $2000 worth of stuff and should be able to hit 12's with slicks....then i'm getting a nitrous system on top of that. I've had no problems other than a bad alternator wire, which was a bad connection at the alternator (stator wire i think) anyway, i've had 3 mustangs and i've loved them all and i'd say if you get one with relatively lower mileage or mostly highway mileage you'll be fine.
Good luck on your purchase!

5.0 all the way baby I was running mid 13's with a mildly modded 88GT vert @3000ft last year.

I am dropping the 88GT vert powerplant and tranny into a 90LX body. I should be able to hit 12's easy.

I have never had a mechanical problem with my stang.

Later,

Just an option!
 

If your thinking of getting a stang, look for one that has some good mods already. Things like pulleys, exhaust, shift kits, and gears usually don't wear out and you can find some mustangs dirt cheap with lots of money stuck into mods. Just watch the papers and talk to some poeple here they'll let you know if the mods on a car you find are good or bad. Good luck I'm sure you'll like a Mustang, "not the best, not the worst, but once your hooked your hooked!"

Looking for a Stang that has already been modified would be good for getting a good jomp on the bolt ons, and probably save you a little cash in the long run. But if it were me I would look for a car that hasn't been modified. That way you know what's been done to it, and chances are you won't be getting a car that has been abused as much. Fiveohpatrol (Drew) on this board ran some really good times on his car with very few mods. Talk to him.

As far as reliability, I have never had a 302/5.0 go bad on me. I have owned a few, and every one of them was put through hell. I pulled the heads off of my last one and with over 100k miles it still showed the crosshatching in the cylinders. They are a very reliable engine.

$7000, will get a 5.0, and an 11sec slip. Just for the record that ricer you have would be king of the hill over here at the local rice camp. These boys suck, matter fact while I am thinking of it I am going pick up the KING today and give him a ride just to blow his mind.

i PMed you...

For the overall cost of the car, and the mods plus the simplicity, you cannot beat a 5.0. The aftermarket for the 5.0 is enormous, so they tend to be cheaper to mod than most cars. Ive had two of them, a 91 gt, and now my 89 notch. The notch is by far my favorite, even though it wasnt at first. Ive had to replace only 3 things total on both cars combined. Each one took a water pump, and the notch threw the harmonic balancer. I cant remember what the water pumps went for, but all 3 parts prob. didnt equal over 150 bucks. Pick yourself up one man, the first time you fishtail it back and forth down the road youll be hooked. - John

That's no lie. The first time I drove one, I raced a Z28 in my friends 87 gt, bone stock except for the flowmasters, and spanked him. I got sideways in second, caught traction and flew by him and I was hooked. Get one, you'll love it. Good luck in the hunt.
Caymon

Noy trying to divert anyones decision, but the heater core's are crap, other than that, all i had to replace was 1 fuel pump.

i have been running my car at the track every week since i got it years ago, the motor just keeps pulling along, but im sure oil isnt quite flowing like it used too. 190K+:D

Yeah I guess the heaters arent the best, but I live in the fl. keys, so I never have to use it anyway. If someone wants to swing by and yank it out from under my hood, its yours:D

:),I know about fishtailing,My previous car was an 87 Buick Grand National.On that car I had a filter and 3inch maf pipe and a chip that upped boost to 19.It was quick but not like the Civic.The car got stolen from me and I still miss it.
My friend just backed into my bumper and put a scratch,Now I really wanna sell.
Come to think of it,I see myself in a 5 Speed 89-93 LX of any kind but Idealy a notch with no spoiler and possibly some weld prostars.

If I put Intake?,Headers Exhaust,Fpr,pullies,H pipe,chip and drag radials on an lx 5 speed what times am I looking at?

I want a 13.0 with that,will I get that?
Thanks alot guys
Dan

slicks and 4.10 gears with the mods in my sig'll get you 12.7s or so. it's done 13.3 with 3.55s and street tires. *hint* :D

You would be looking at a low 14 IMO. Throw some 3.73 gears in that combo and port the exhaust side of your heads and low 13's can be had.

The best bang for your buck is GT-40P heads and GT-40P intake with exhaust and gears.

Or you can do a butt load of weight reduction like 88workcar did and run mid 12's all day with mild mods.

Later,