I've got a 65 coupe sitting in the front yard, black with pony interior, automatic trans, and the fairly rare factory 4 piston front disk brake option. Engine and trans aren't stock anymore. I swapped out the '65 289 with a '68 302 after stretching the rod caps (7000+ rpms one time too many on stock rods), and the trans is a built up C-4. 2650 lbs is fun with around 300hp at the crank. I should be finished with the body work I want to do on the ZX's soon, then I'm going to start working on the Mustang again next summer (I haven't driven it in about 14 years). I'm going to pull the 302 out and put in a 331 or 393w stroker, looking for somewhere around 450-500hp at the crank, and going to swap out the rear end for lower gears and a locking diff of some type. I also might swap in a built AOD trans. Should run somewhere in high 10's when it's done.

 

In my opinion the only 80's mustang that was worth anything is the Turbo charged SVO. Now that car easily competes with the 5.0

 

Yeah my best friend bought a '86 SVO when it was new. It ran good for a 4 cylinder, he used to run 15.7 in the 1/4 with just an adjustable cam pully, top speed on the freeway was 145mph. He got rid of it before the aftermarket really took of on the 2.3 turbo engine. Where that car really shined was in the corners. It handled easily as good as any Corvette of that vintage, and way better than the 5.0 Mustangs, or Iroc Camaro's.

 

Man... this thread is still going? All the mid 80's American sports cars were crap... Vettes, Camaros, Stangs, etc... The 80's was the era of fuel economy and low emissions, not high performance.

Tonsoffun, if you are absolutely DYING to buy this crappy Rustang, go for it... It's your money. Maybe you could fix it up and sell it to another sucker. Oh... but you'd have to wait to pay it off to get the title to be able to sell it (which is a great situation to be in).

 

well then tell me what you would do?

 

It's going to be your car. Just take it for a test drive and see if you like it or not. You can decide for yourself if it's a gutless, smog choked pig that doesn't handle as others have claimed on here. Also just for giggles look under it and see if it has nearly as much rust as most of Z's and ZX's you've seen on this and most other Z sites. For the record even though the mid to late 80's Mustangs GT's were not quite up to todays sports car standards, they still out performed almost import cars (excluding the European exotics) during those years in all categories other than gas mileage, which was still over 20mpg as long as you kept your foot out of the gas and used the OD.

 

so you are saying to go with the gt?

 

Are you saying it's up to other people to make this decision?

 

no but i just need whats best for me now

 

That's something you gotta figure out on your own.

 

i know but i want both

 

This thread is giving me a headache...

So buy it and have both. Do you not have a job???

 

Die Mustang, Diiiiiiiiiiiiiie... Just keep the Z... Poopstains are a dime a dozen... Look on Craigslist, you will find a hand full of 5.0 for $500- $1000 all day... BTW What/ Why do you want to sell your Z??? I would take a Z any day of the week... I buy and sell 3-7 cars a year, and yes I'll sell my Z, but I'll buy another one... or, 3, or, 10...( to keep the Z"'s on the road)Ram as my D.D. and my Harley as my D.D. in the Summer... I fix up the cars, drive em for a short time, and sell it, ... this is the 1st car in a long time that I like to drive... I think my next car (that I'm looking for a good deal on) is a 90+ 2+2 TT??? auto... yes...yes... I know, but if I get a Auto 2+2 (hoping for a TT) then I can keep it for ??!!??!! a long time... (wife needs auto, & we have 3 kids) 1st thing 1st, got to move to Medfrod OR in 2-1-08... then I'll look for my 90+ Z... and nooooooo... I'm not taking this one 4X4ing...

 

i want to sell my z cause i can't fix it and i need a car to get to work and back.

 

??? Can't fix it ??? Waht's wrong with it???

 

i have no clue i had it running fine then i found 6 vaccume hose leaks so i replaced the hoses and now it won't stay at idle. my uncle thinks it's my air fuel mixture he says i need a new exhaust.

 

??? is this a 300zx or 240z ??? and year if it's a 300zx...

 

it's a 73 240z and it was running great before it depresses me to look at my car and know that it dosen't run

 

Got to be an ez fix... I got to sell my Z to help pay for the move to OR. and that it's not a 2+2... I can't realy have a 2 seater with the kids... 95% of the time I only use it for work... soooooo, is it getting gas??? Fire??? Timing good???

 

no such thing as a Z32 2+2 in a TT format in the states. and if your getting a TT dont get an auto, that ruins the sport part of the car and auto trannies suck, they are complicated, heavy and rob you of power and you have no control over them.

 

Thanks Smw... you killed my dream... LOL ... but, to keep a car (for me) a long time, it will need to be auto and seat no less then 3... I like to have a 5-speed, but the wife wont learn drive one... soooooooo great, no TT long term fo me... See if it's not auto & seat 3 or more, then it's only a toy ... my life

 

thats PERFECT! i dont want my gf/wife driving my Z's. and i dont like weighing my sports cars down with excesive amounts of people lol. 2 seats manual tranny. that way im keeping the women in the passenger seat and then we can be alone

and i love crushing dreams

 

LOL Don't get me wrong, I do get (and keep the car longer) if it is a stick... ... That's why I'm putting the vg30et in the 510, and yes snw... it is going to be a 5-speed and yes it's a 2 door... but yes I'll have 4 seats... and a 1000 or so less lbs... (Damm it... can't get a TT 2+2... thanks... )

 

yeah the svos were kool but my 88t-bird t/c kicks them 5.0's all day long...

 

Seeing how this is a Z enthusiast board, most of the people are going to be biased towards that car man. If you went to a Mustang board, it'd be the exact opposite. Honestly, just test drive the car and see if you like it. From the sounds of it, fuel injection might be for you since it seems like you're not too keen on carburetors. If your '73 Z was running and tuned to run with the vacuum leaks in place, you probably just need to resynch your carbs now that you got rid of the leaks.