Hello all,
Well, I am finally a Mustang owner again. And this one was my Dads. Last weekend I drove my 89 Ford F250 to my parents home in NY and picked up his 89 Mustang GT. When Dad bought the car in 1996, it had 31k miles. It was strictly a cruzer, used on weekends or a quick trip to the store. Over the years Dads numerous projects increased as his health declined, nothing major, but the Mustang has done more sitting and more sitting as his "to-do" list got longer. So much so that since 2006, he only put about 1K miles on her for a total of 56,210 original miles. It has pretty much just.... sat.
And we all know what happens when a car just sits. Things just dont work right anymore. Not quite a barn find, but close. It wasn't running, the passenger door is stuck - can not unlock it, the drivers door can not be locked, drivers seat is bent some how, paint is flaking, minor rust on hatch, cracked spoiler, fog light missing a lens, non working alarm system from the early 90s, tint turning purple, the list goes on.
When Dad offered the car up to me, I, of course snapped it up! There has not been a Mustang in my garage in many years, so to have one that was my Dads was a fantastic opportunity! This is not a new Mustang that I'd buy new and throw a bunch of money at to customize and make fast - like the Marauder. This is a project. Something my boys and I can work on and have fun with.
There is some nostalgia that goes along with this project also. After all, it was Dad who, way back when bought a brand new black 67 Mustang GT 390 4sp, fastback and modded the hell out of it. I spent my formitive years traveling in that car. Probably explains the reason I enjoy Mustangs (and Marauders).
Anyway, back to the present. So the 89 GT was dead. Stone cold DEAD. Turn the key nothing. Charge the battery - nuthin! Lights, bells and everything else - 'cept no start. We jumped the starter solenoid and she cranked over very slowly. Looking over the battery, it was old. Terminals were crap. Figured, hell with it, get a new battery. Quick trip to Auto Zone and that did it. Though we had to jump the solenoid to do it, she was alive - barely.
I took her for a spin around the block. This car needs love! The tires have very low miles, but were almost like squares! The brake pedal was hard like a board and the car stopped very slowly. Frozen calipers probably.
But she is alive!.
I drover her up onto the U-Haul car hauler and dragged her home Saturday night. Sunday came and the work began. So far I have done the following:
- Removed the POS alarm - cause of the no start issue.
- Oil change
- Fixed vacuum line
- cleaned MAF and air box
- Repaired various wires, mostly due to the alarm
- Began work on the doors issue.
Turns out the drivers power door lock actuator is forzen. Once removed, the latch worked fine. I am assuming that is the problem on the passenger side. Tricky part will be removing the door panel with the door closed!
Pics to follow soon.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by seabreeze
(#6178 in black per FPIC)
