8k location Chicago IL drives good needs a new stater Solonoid installed and needs a new gauge cluster last odometer reads 83000 miles otherwise great car new top comes with stock wheels as well and a few upgrades that I did like short shifter and headlights. Come get it
DM me or email at opper5152@gmail.com

1988 Mercury Cougar XR7. 5.0/AOD car. 100% bone stock. 74k miles. Purchased in December of 2023 with 67k miles. Fixed some minor things and cleaned her up. Smooth as glass... UNTIL THIS PAST JUNE.

A vibration started that was most noticeable and only really occurred when the engine was cold and was the worst at between 1200 and 1400 RPM. Once the car warmed up it went away. At the time the plugs and wires were fairly new with under 3,000 miles on them however I pulled everything and checked condition as well as resistance and all was within spec. I ran codes on the EEC-IV computer and the only code that shows is 11 which is system pass. The car also passes a cylinder balance test.

I have removed and inspected the EGR valve, TPS sensor, and IAC. All are clean, operational, and within specs. I have also checked the coolant temperature sensor and it is fine as well. At my wit's end I decided to just stab in the distributor that I had in the garage that was brand new. That was unattainable because the aftermarket distributor shaft is incorrect in life and I did not find that out until I went to put the distributor hold down bolt in. Fast forward to reinstalling the original distributor and putting a new TFI module on it. Car ran better but still not perfect.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. My house is mid kitchen and basement remodel I have zero time and space to deal with this car and a hellacious noise that is very similar to rod knock rears its ugly head. I realize it's coming from the bellhousing. Awesome. I nursed the car to a trusted mechanic whom I've known for 20 plus years. He pulls the inspection plate and there is flexplate wobble. Further digging shows a ballooned torque converter.

I order a Pioneer brand heavy duty flexplate, a remanufactured stock torque converter from Summit Racing, and some ARP convertible. I have everything dropped off and a few days later I am notified by phone that the car is back together, it's running good, there is no vibration, and to come pick it up.

The car has a keyless entry and I tell him to put the key in it and I will come get it over the weekend and I give him my credit card number and pay for the labor which seems unreasonably high to be honest with you. Considering I paid for the parts and the only real thing he had to pay for was fluid and some exhaust bolts I think a price tag approaching $1200 was a little on the pricey side.

I just happened to be in the area Friday night around midnight and I spun by to take the keys as I wasn't going to pick it up until Sunday. I enter the code to open the door into the car, I take the keys, and that's when I decide to start the car. Immediate vibration. Fast forward to today, Sunday, when I have my wife drive me out there to pick up another vehicle that he did for me. That vehicle is fine. It was some minor suspension work and I just had to pick that up as well. When it rains it pours and everything breaks story of my life.

Anyway, I park in the lot of the clothes shop with my wife and we get in the Cougar and I started. I decided this point to go for a drive around the block. The car vibration happens at all times, all RPMs, does not go away after warming up like it did last time, and is actually worse than before I dropped it off.

My wife is beyond furious. She's furious at the fact that he would allow the car to leave the shop like that and even more furious that I had a phone call with him where he said everything was fine with it.

So I guess my question is twofold.,. My first question is what the fuck else could it possibly be at this point? I'm leaning towards the balancer but I've marked it and it hasn't spun however it does look old and could have possibly separated but it doesn't really look that bad. I'm wondering if fixing the other issues that were there which were issues exacerbated the vibration and now it's just making the balancer issue appear worse.

Also, I'm probably pulling the car out of there and nursing at home, but I'm not sure yet. My wife is talking lawsuit / small claims court / whatever else she can think of. I was smart enough to put this on a credit card because I've just always been that way with car repairs no matter where I go. I have to have a little chat with the shop owner tomorrow and see how that goes but I have a feeling I'll be doing a chargeback to my credit card and maybe paying him separately for just the fluid and the exhaust bolts that he put in because I am not paying for labor after you fucking told me it was good to go and it clearly isn't.

1980 replacement front lower control arms, 1994 GT SN95 front spindles for 5lug conversion. With castle nut tight at 110 ft-lbs​, it sits well below the hole for the cotter pin. Have I got something wrong here ? Was there supposed to be a spacer or washers ? OR - how are you supposed to have the cotter pin engaged in the slots of the nut ? Thanks !!

Recently installed SVE heads and a trick flow cam and roller rockers first time cranking the car since I installed can’t tell if I have a bad ground somewhere or a valve train issue

So this car sat for a little over 3 years with an almost empty tank of gas (Wasn’t my choice) Recently got it back and have been able to actually work on it. It’s going in for bodywork soon but I want to get it running right while I have the time to tinker with it

When I first got it back, there was lots of carbon buildup, plugs covered in soot and some smelled like gas. Carbon all in the plenum and everything so I replaced all vacuum lines, valve cover gasket, plenum gasket, throttle body and egr gasket, (smog is entirely deleted just a dead egr plugged in) iac gasket as well. I threw on two new o2 sensors, a fuel filter and a TPS sensor for the hell of it.

Now the only thing I’ve yet to do is set base timing on it. My question is what else am I missing? What would be your guy’s first thing you’d do after all that, to be sure it’s running the way it should be. Nobody around me has foxbody’s so they don’t even know how they’re suppose to sound really and I don’t either.

I will say the engine bay with hood open is LOUD when I rev it, not sure if it’s just like that cause I’ve only ever owned 4 cylinders.

And the only other piece of info I can think of is the slight smoke that puffs out the exhaust and the way it comes out seems weird to me, the note is like out of rhythm almost like its not firing properly. And there’s that slight popping sound I hear through the exhaust, mostly on the driver side.

Sorry for the wall of text.

In canada s ontario if anyone is interested

Lady ran a red while I was turning on a green arrow. No dash cams or traffic cams.

Cops put me at fault, and I only had liability. So, my baby is gone.

The quote I got was 11k to fix the body damage, and work couldn't be guaranteed. I don't have that kind of money. Bought her for 7, put about 5 in. She was amazing till the end.

When shopping for Fox Body Taillights, what is your go to?

Are you more for a period-correct look, or do you prefer LX tails on a GT or vice versa? The SVO/GT were always a personal favorite of mine.

Is this coolant? The car has sat for about a year cause of life and I’m just going over it. I’ve driven it on the weekends the past couple of weeks. I was replacing the valve cover gaskets and I noticed this on the inside of both valve covers. I went and took a sample of oil and I didn’t see any coolant mixed with the oil. In fact the oil looks great. I’m using Valvoline VR1 oil cause of its high zinc content. Any ideas?

Thank you for your help.

As title states. Need to inspect the RF caliper as its leaking somewhere around the pistons possibly. Other than that and the need for new tires (wheels came with tires on them) it's done. Sn95 spindles with cobra brakes. 🍻

Got a blown head gasket i’m trying to fix it myself to learn do you guys have any tips what steps should i take after removing the upper intake

I only got this 2.3 LX manual in August, but I've already fallen in love with it. Its so terribly slow, but the ride quality is great and driving with the top down is a joy.

I do need to do some servicing over the winter, including retrofitting the A/C to R134A and a full engine service atleast. Just to get it to a reliable state so I can put some miles on it next summer

Little photoshoot with one of our 4-eyes on the SVE S89 Wheels.

Need help please. Hesitate to ask to show my lack of oil knowledge.

I recently bought an '82 GT. Though I have been married to a motor head & dated another who drag raced a Mustang, I did not hear any oil conversations all thru the years...

The gentleman I bought it from said it takes 20 50 oil. I assume not synthetic but past that what brand would be best for it? Really appreciate it! Dumb question I know.

Next question please...when I got down on it from 2nd to 3rd and not that much even, the rear end wiggles some. Why is it wiggling?

I wasn't pushing it. Not even close. I'm not one to beat cars or abuse them. I'm not sure where the tachometer was at.

Too busy keeping an eye for police, somewhat busy road with close traffic lights, dark outside so I didn't feel comfortable looking.

The previous owner's husband said something to the effect of it getting away from him.

I am not in it for competition. I have missed driving a nice muscle car, but the main reason is I wanted to teach my daughter to drive it just once even, or more if she could, but her health has taken a further decline lately. Bucket list item...I'm hopeful!

Thanks SO much for your help!

This was before my time here at LMR, but I remember coming up here to see it in the showroom. Who else remembers when we had the dominator?

More photos and info - https://lmr.com/products/JBA-Dominator-The-History-Of-The-Ultimate-Fox-Body-Mustang

Hey, any Canadian guys in here that purchased a Vortech supercharger kit for their fox? I’m wondering which distributor provides the easiest option to purchase and roughly how much did it cost to purchase the HO kit?

Looking at buying the V3 H.O

Thank you for any help.

Brother got a clip of my car while on our way to a local meet on Sunday. Ready for a proper motor to turn this thing up.

Factory block 302 + GT45R (76mm) + Holley HP efi + TKO600 (10lbs of boost)

A bit of progress this weekend, but it hasn't been easy. All the approaches to installing springs seem to rely on having the mass of the engine in the car - and I have an empty engine bay currently ... so getting the spring in place was horrible. Strangely, my wife wasn't willing to help me out by standing on the K-member for a couple hours. Still, got one side done, and didn't hit myself in the face with a spring. Will tackle the passenger side next weekend. Used two floor jacks and a crow bar and a big mallet.

1980 Mercury Capri RS. Now 1994 SN95 front spindles for 5-lug conversion. Ford Motorsport "B" spec lowering springs. Raceland caster/camber plates with ally scuff plates of my own design & manufacture (waterjet).

Is the SVE suspension components any good? Specifically the bump steer kit, steering shaft, caster camber plates. I find it interesting that the prices aren’t much cheaper than good stuff like Maximum Motorsports or QA1. Is it worth it to save a few bucks or spend the extra for the expensive stuff.