Mustang Hardtop Convertible?

[NFSracer]

Anyone know if a hard top is sold for the 1989 or so mustang? I may be getting one from an uncle. A 4cylinder 2.3L 89 Mustang Convertible. Runs but needs a new windsheild, water pump, minnor body work and possible warped heads. But for $150 you cant go wrong... ^_^ And custom rims. lol. But i want put some body kit on it to make it look nicer, not a ricey kit. Like a subtle one. And paint it like a dark grey with metal flake. :cool: Just looking into whats available for it before i choose it over a S-10 or Dakota.

[VQ]

erm clean it up and sell it?

[blackice111288]

erm clean it up and sell it?
the best thing to do with it for sure.
and to answer your question, i haven't seen a hard top for the mustang, your best bet would be to get the top reupolster the convertible top man.

[Justin Martin]

I've never seen one on a Fox body Mustang, though that doesn't mean they don't exist. 94+ Mustangs had it as an option, but IIRC, it is extremely rare and was only available for a few years.

Even if you did find one, i'll bet they'd be expensive. Miata hardtops start at about $500 used, and they are relatively common. You're in Canada looking for what is probably a extremely rare hardtop, not a situation that leads to good deals. ;)

A possible warped head makes it a bit iffy for a fix and sell. You'd want to see how much the worst case scenario will cost (total engine replacement) and weigh that against how much the car will be worth fixed up. Water pump and windshield will put you up close to $500. If you don't do any bodywork, (which gets expensive fast unless you do it yourself) and fix all mechanical problems, I don't think it'd be worth much more than $1500, at least here in Texas.

[VQ]

stick a Jap motor in to upset the purists and get a quick sale :p joke!

Well otherwise, how much would a V8 or V6 conversion set you back?

[blackice111288]

stick a Jap motor in to upset the purists and get a quick sale :p joke!

Well otherwise, how much would a V8 or V6 conversion set you back?

i certainly hope u are joking. discracing a japanese motor like that.:eek:

id look for a old carbied mustang motor vs a 5.0 motor just cause u wont have to fool with all that rewireing

[Justin Martin]

Well otherwise, how much would a V8 or V6 conversion set you back?

Sticking a carburated junkyard V8 in it wouldn't be too expensive, the question becomes passing emissions tests. It doesn't do much good to replace a engine with a warped head with a engine that can't pass an inspection.

I have no idea on doing a "proper" V8 conversion, i'm not a Ford guy. :D

[Australian Made]

tell ya what, racer. put it in a container, get it loaded on a ship and address it to me (pm for details:P) and i'll take it off your hands. only because its a mustang and i looooooove american mustangs. muahahahaha

[NFSracer]

Well the 5L engine is an option with the mustang. But if i were to make this a daily driver i would probably find a 6cylinder to drop in if the engine was not good. But then again a new ford 4 cylinder gets like 120HP or so compared to the 86HP the current engine has. Woohoo... That'll burn some rubber...:rolleyes: Also a newer 4 cylinder also gets better gas mileage. I'm thinkin if i do something with it i would sell it in the end to make a few $$ and then put the money towards the mods on my S-10.

[VQ]

People have stuck Jap motors in holden Gemini's (made in Australia modifed by holden original design by izuzu) amoung other motors, like the Rb, someone has stuck a supra twin turbo motor in a HSV walkinshaw that had all the good stuff fromt he motor stolen, erm a 1jz has gone in a later model commodore too, a VG30DETT has gone in a VN and barely fit cos of the DOHC head, erm, the Lexus V8 in old kingswood utes, it happens.

[KyzrSoze]

Its possible that with a little resurfacing and the right head gasket you could get away with driving for a little while until you work out a V8 conversion.

You could also find a high performance head, turbo and intercooler from a 86-87 thunderbird Turbo coupe or 85-86 SVO Mustang. Those cars ranged from 175-190 HP (T-Bird) to 210 HP (Mustang). Also, swapping the rear end out of either of those cars would get you rear disc brakes as well.

Just an alternative to the V8 thing. :)

[VQ]

Or you could find a narrowed 9 inch and stick that in, even if it ony has bigger rear drums, better braking still.

[KyzrSoze]

A good engine transplant candidate.
Thunderbird auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6240&item=4519201458&rd=1)

Its got some good parts for you. :)

[blackice111288]

People have stuck Jap motors in holden Gemini's (made in Australia modifed by holden original design by izuzu) amoung other motors, like the Rb, someone has stuck a supra twin turbo motor in a HSV walkinshaw that had all the good stuff fromt he motor stolen, erm a 1jz has gone in a later model commodore too, a VG30DETT has gone in a VN and barely fit cos of the DOHC head, erm, the Lexus V8 in old kingswood utes, it happens.
thats different, holdens arent bad cars. i despise mustangs (not to critisize anyone elses tastes)

i saw a cool swap once on the internet, it was a cefiro with a 2jz from a supra. it was in thailand tho, i didn't know they raced in thailand. it was a drift car to......

[VQ]

Yeah most American made stuff is junk, until you modify it to make it good.

[NFSracer]

Yeah most American made stuff is junk, until you modify it to make it good.

:? Wha?

[blackice111288]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vqcapricedude
Yeah most American made stuff is junk, until you modify it to make it good.




replace that with cars, or fords, and then i agree with u, although chevy and dodge make good trucks

[VQ]

Ford, GM and Chrysler/Dodge all made good cars in the 60's ok the quality wasn't that good, but it makes it easier to improve on it by street machiners compared to today when it's near impossible to improve a cars bodywork without slapping on a bodykit.

And Colin, a truck to me involves weighing more then 10 tonnes and carrying three times it's weight, and turbo diesel, what your talking about is a ute, though that's a stretch of the name to me because a ute would be like to you El Camino, or to us a Commodore ute or Falcon ute, which are passenger car based vehichles that are two door with a tray, based n the LWB chassis which is the station wagon of the model.

[blackice111288]

:confused: &( umm i'm talking about pick-up trucks, not highway haulers or el caminos.......:D

[TMiller]

I think that Ford/GM/Crysler make good pickups. It just depended on the day that it rolled out of the factory :) I don't think that fords have that many problems, but it does seem that a lot of people on this forum do ford bashing.

[VQ]

Actually i'm warming up to Fords now, I will always go in a Aussie Made ford, but I'll never go in a Nissan or a Toyota, most japanese car I've been in recently is a Ford laser, which is based on the Mazda 323 for the Australian market, the yanks got a laser based car in the early 90's the Ford Capri not to be confused with the one from the 70's that cam from Europe. :P this one really did suck.

A El camino is a highway hauler? Interesting, so if http://www.holden.com.au/www-holden/action/vehicleentry?vehicleid=15 that was exported to America as the El Camino, would people go to this instead of F100's and smaller pickups? In HSV form, the maloo set the record of worlds fastest ute, because it has aerodynamics unlike the pickups you have, so even the fastest F100 lighting couldn't beat it.

[blackice111288]

A El camino is a highway hauler? funny, i dont remember saying that.
"umm i'm talking about pick-up trucks, not highway haulers or el caminos"
thats what i said, i never said any where about el caminos being hyway haulers or highway haulers being el caminos or what not. highway haulers usually are 18 wheelers, and i cant recall seeing any 18 wheeled el caminos. we dont have f100's we have 150-250-350, all crap except for the turbo diesel dually, the maloo wouldn't touch the Dodge Ram SRT-10, seeing its the fastest stock pick-up ever produced, runs a 13.1 in the quarter, thats the same time as a WRX STI, Supra, or a Monaro, but in a pick up! thats american muscle for ya

i'll never buy a ford unless i have to (that includes Mazda, except for the RX-7,RX-8, cause ford had no say so in their developement) its all nissan, honda, toyota etc and dodge an chevy. well, thinking about it, Mainly Nissans, but also every car besides fords

[VQ]

Oh, thats what you call a Semi, an 18 wheeler, sorry, misunderstanding.

The Maloo ute, as all RWD VZ HSV's now have, are fitted with the Corvette's LS2 V8, with little mods for Australia, all motors basically run high 13's and i don't think it would take much to crack a 12, plus, what it doesn't have with it's missing 2 litres, it makes up for in aerdynamics and the fact it's based on a sedan, so it can turn corners well, they even have V8 ute races, called the V8 Brutes.

I was more talking speed as in top speed, like the F150 Lighting I guess it was hit 250km/h, a SS commodore ute can hit that, the VZ Maloo can hit 290km/h easily I reckon. considering a 235kw monaro can hit 280.

[Justin Martin]

Okay, to clear this and future discussions up, here's a lesson on American truck paralance.

18-wheeler, Big Rig, Semi: The big freight hauling trucks. Even though these are sometimes called trucks, generally, if someone just says "truck" and it's not obvious they are talking about an 18-wheeler, they are refering to something smaller.

Pickup, Truck: Any vehicle with a decent sized open bed. This bed may be seperate or built into the body.This would include "full-size" trucks, "compact trucks" and what you guys call "utes". We do not use the term ute, except when we're talking to you. :p SUV based vehicles with extremely small beds, like the Subaru Baha or Ford Sport-Trac, are usually not called trucks.

One thing to note, SUV is sort of a semi-seperate sub-category of truck. People sometimes refer to SUV's as trucks because they are more like a truck than a car, and truck is easier to say than SUV. But like with 18-wheelers, if someone says truck and it's not obvious they're talking about an SUV, then you should assume it's a truck in the F150/Ute sense.

Full-Size truck: Generally, fullsize trucks are trucks with at least a 1/2 ton weight rating and are wide enough that you can put a standard 4'x8' sheet of plywood in the bed with it fitting completely between the wheel wheels. This would include trucks like the Ford F150. Within fullsize trucks, there are three common weight ratings, 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton. Judging by the Holden website, these ratings are different than what you use.

1/2 ton: Ford F150, Ram 1500, etc. Generally, these have a towing capacity of around 2500kg to 4500kg, and a bed capacity of 750kg to 1250kg. A Holden One Tonner is a 1/2 ton in the US.

3/4 ton: F250, Ram 2500, etc. Roughly 4500kg to 5500kg towing capacity.

1 ton: 5500kg to 7000kg towing capacity. These often have dual rear wheels, which is refered to as a "Dually".

Compact truck: These are trucks like the Toyota Tacoma/Hilux, Ford Ranger, Chevy El Caminos, Utes, etc.

[DCsplash]

What! No Lorries? ;) :)

Very simple terms in the UK, Big lorries, Little lorries, vans, and then those little things that are usually in the way, cars.. :D

[Justin Martin]

LOL, no, we don't use the term lorry. ;)

Speaking of which, a enclosed vehicle like a Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit is called a van.

[VQ]

Or Volkswagen Transporters :p ok, the Ute can hold 740kg's which is 3/4 tonne (metric) in non SS form, and the SS holds less then 500kg's because it is lower and has 18' performance rims, but the majority of people who buy them now don't care, they lower them and put on different rims rather quickly, it's the cheapest V8 powered Commodore you can get into so people do.

Ok, compact truck is the one I'm confused by, because, a toyota hilux, Nissan navara etc, are all ladder chassis based, I'm guessing a El Camino would be too? Or is it monoque?

We also have the holden Crewman, which is the longest ever Holden made, it can tow 2300kg's or so and hold 750kg's in it's tray too, hence why the rear is up so high, it has no real competition down here, but the closest would be a Holden Rodeo or a Toyota hilux crew cab, but the Crewman is a lt more comfortable and has a lot more power to boot and is based on a passanger car, but like all holdens, they are damn strong.

Sorry, that turned into a bit of a Holden add...

[Justin Martin]

Ok, compact truck is the one I'm confused by, because, a toyota hilux, Nissan navara etc, are all ladder chassis based, I'm guessing a El Camino would be too? Or is it monoque?

Yeah, El Caminos and Rancheros were ladder frame based because the cars they were based on then (Chevy Chevelle/Malibu and Ford Falcon/Torino) had a ladder frame.

They and the Holden and Ford Utes would almost certainly be called compact trucks if they were sold here today. Their trailer and cargo weight ratings may approach that of the low end full-size trucks, but in overall size they're definitely compact, and that is THE end-all determining factor in compact versus fullsize.

Toyota learned that the hard way with their attempts at the fullsize market. The first attempt, the T100, had close to the same towing capabilities as a American 1/2 ton, but was noticably smaller. It looked like a slightly larger Hilux, and IIRC they didn't have a V8 at first. Good truck as long as you didn't mind the narrow bed and didn't need a big V8, but it didn't sell.

Their second attempt, the Tundra, looks like a softened up '97-'04 F150, has a much stronger V8, and has sold better. It's still slightly smaller than a American fullsize, and no doubt they'll copy the new Nissan Titan next time. The Titan is Nissan's first full-size, and is very obviously as big as an American full-size, has a 5.4l (I think) V8, and very brash styling. It has sold quite well.

[KyzrSoze]

This is the type of truck/ute that Americans are driving nowadays. I am used to seeing this type of vehicle among my contractor friends, but it amazes me how many people buy these for commuter vehicles. :eek:

Dodge Ram 3500

Cummins Turbo diesel - High Output 325 hp / 610 lb.-ft. of torque
Towing capacity of 16,300 pounds
Reduced maintenance/350,000-mile engine overhaul

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/31/31039/folders/27238/205007Ram1.jpg

[VQ]

Why bother? our Commodore utes are enar 5 metres long, so they aren't small, they are bigger then a Hilux or anything.

Hmm the Ranchero was based on the Falcon eh? we had a falcon ute, like the holden utes, it's a Wagon basically with out the rear doors or cab and a tray. but that was Ladder chassis.