[jat70]

I’m in the market for another off season car. I’ve driven Thunderbirds for the last 13 years. A 4.6L which I got 240K out of. Currently have a 3.8L with 145K that’s just about done (at least for me. Tired of its engine codes). I spotted a 1995 Mustang GT conv with 28K on it. 5.0. It’s been in storage since 2006, and is a one owner. That’s all I could find out. Should I be concerned about jumping in a car like that and driving it daily? Should I expect leaks?
I also found a 4.6L T-bird with 58K on it. Same question on that one. My goal is to find a cheap car to drive when I’m not driving my chevelle. The Mustang doesn’t fit the profile, but I love it. I had really good luck with my 4.6, so for about $2500, the t-bird seems like a decent car. Just concerned about the low mileage on these, esp at $11K for the Mustang. I don’t want a headache, though. I have that already.

 

[Steve R]

It would be hard for me to pay $11,000 for a 95 Mustang GT, convertible or not. There is not, and likely will never be a collectors market for that particular year. I think the market for nice fox body cars, 86-93, will develope over time. Realistically, you would be paying an $8500 premium for a drop top.

I would either get the T-bird or spend the $11k on an 05 and newer Mustang GT.

Steve R

 

[LeoP]

IIRC, the 95 is the changeover to the SN95 body style/platform and the last year for the 5.0.

 

[jat70]

Thats correct Leo. Blue book is $11k on it but I felt it was overpriced despite the super low mileage. That's for me, at least. I could see $8-9k. It's a sharp car though. Black w/white top. Manual. Would be a shame for me to get it because I'd do 15k/year, drive it winters and then it would quickly depreciate.
Spoke with two local shops. One said to exPect gasket leaks. Another said not to. So I guess it's a matter of opinion

 

[71350SS]

On the mustang the pan won't leak till you put a bunch of miles on it at which time it may or may not need a rear seal.In this area ford oil pans like to rust through from the outside occasionally hi-mileage stangs will do that,just be glad its not a taurus.
The Mustang sounds like too much money for a D/D but the T-Bird is priced just right and those motors run long miles.The car service - limo guys will scoff up every Crown vic and Grand marquis they can find.

 

[jat70]

Yeah i always thought they were good motors. I'll go check the tbird out tomorrow
Thanks for the responses

 

[Andy's Auto Repair]

Nothing wrong with Fords last pusrod V8 if it has been cared for. The bigg issues in Florida cars and I am sure elsewhere are cooling system corrosion. Notorious for timing cover and intake manifold rot. Like any used car, get it checked out by a qualified tech.

And they circled the problem, right on the grill. Fords of this era, one of the last mechanical odometers. They had Henrys little secret. The odometer is driven by a nylon type gear off an electric motor. The gear simply melts and the odo quits and the speedo does what it should. So don't get hung pricewise on mileage. I fiz at least one a month for $106 out the door and nobody comes clean on how long it has been inop. Buy on condition and service history

 

[jat70]

Condition wasn’t good. Paint was rough. Ran well, though. Intake was recently done. Seller is a mechanic and said it was more common than the 3.8 for intake issues. My 4.6 never had a problem. It’s amazing how you can get such a variety of info off the same question depending on who is answering. After seeing this, I am happy to drive my 3.8 car a bit longer and keep an eye open for a replacement.

 

[jat70]

Oh, regarding the odometer…not sure if this is true of the 4.6 cars though I don’t recall it happening with mine, but my current 3.8 car…if I pull the dome light fuse, it disconnects the speedometer/odometer. If I weren’t an honest guy and didn’t care about knowing my speed, I could still be driving a 45K mile T-bird, as I bought it. I wonder how many other Fords are capable of that.

 

[YankeeRodder]

Oh, regarding the odometer…not sure if this is true of the 4.6 cars though I don’t recall it happening with mine, but my current 3.8 car…if I pull the dome light fuse, it disconnects the speedometer/odometer. If I weren’t an honest guy and didn’t care about knowing my speed, I could still be driving a 45K mile T-bird, as I bought it. I wonder how many other Fords are capable of that.

Probably all low mile Fordz. What's wrong with getting a GM daily driver?

 

[jat70]

Haha, could be. Just surprised me it was so easy to shut down the odometer.

Okay, here we go. Lol. I’d like to say nothing is wrong with low mileage GM, but I owned a ’91 Lumina Z34 in 1997-98 and it ruined me with the brand. I love old GM and am now partial to newer Fords. The electrical problems that car had were unreal. It would just shut off while I was driving it. I’d have to throw it in neutral, start it, and put it in gear again. That was always fun when I was on a date. I was sapped for $1000+ trying to resolve it before I gave up. Ended up in small claims court and lost. It was the hottest looking car I ever owned (before the Chevelle) but the biggest POS. A true lemon. The brakes were awful and the electrical was a mess. It’s been 15 years and I am still afraid to own a GM with any kind of OBD system. Might be unfair, but I can’t help it. After that, my in laws Malibu had electrical problems, my mother’s Grand Am, and a few others, too.
I’ve had lots of engine light issues with my t-bird, but it never ran poorly or failed to start. I just ignore the light now when it goes on unless it needs a sticker. Now that I’ve corrected all the O2 sensor codes, I still have an M1131 code that seems to be vacuum related. Car runs great, though, still. My only fear now is head gaskets.
For the record, I was always a GM guy. First car was a’78 Monte. Then an ’85 Cutlass I drove for 5 years. Loved that car. Then the Lumina. 18 months and I wanted to drive it into a river. After that I tried the Thunderbird and never looked back because of the comfort, ride and reliability…until 8 months ago, that is.

 

[jat70]

the Z34

 

[Andy's Auto Repair]

Haha, could be. Just surprised me it was so easy to shut down the odometer.

Okay, here we go. Lol. I’d like to say nothing is wrong with low mileage GM, but I owned a ’91 Lumina Z34 in 1997-98 and it ruined me with the brand. I love old GM and am now partial to newer Fords. The electrical problems that car had were unreal. It would just shut off while I was driving it. I’d have to throw it in neutral, start it, and put it in gear again. That was always fun when I was on a date. I was sapped for $1000+ trying to resolve it before I gave up. Ended up in small claims court and lost. It was the hottest looking car I ever owned (before the Chevelle) but the biggest POS. A true lemon. The brakes were awful and the electrical was a mess. It’s been 15 years and I am still afraid to own a GM with any kind of OBD system. Might be unfair, but I can’t help it. After that, my in laws Malibu had electrical problems, my mother’s Grand Am, and a few others, too.
I’ve had lots of engine light issues with my t-bird, but it never ran poorly or failed to start. I just ignore the light now when it goes on unless it needs a sticker. Now that I’ve corrected all the O2 sensor codes, I still have an M1131 code that seems to be vacuum related. Car runs great, though, still. My only fear now is head gaskets.
For the record, I was always a GM guy. First car was a’78 Monte. Then an ’85 Cutlass I drove for 5 years. Loved that car. Then the Lumina. 18 months and I wanted to drive it into a river. After that I tried the Thunderbird and never looked back because of the comfort, ride and reliability…until 8 months ago, that is.

Jay, not unfair. Been in the trade my whole life so I was there getting a queasy stomach when those front drive GMs got towed in. Is it a module, is it a crank sensor, is the PCM junk? And it was of them. The Luminas, Bonnevilles, anything with a 60 degree or 3.8 v6. At least when a Ford got towed in with a spark issue you walked up to it with a new module and tools in your pockets. My favorite junk issue on the GMs were the intermittent shutoffs and no starts.

Then GM went to BS intake gaskets on the 60 degrees. Plastic. Joy. So why are the GM replacements still plastic and the FelPros were metal? Taking a page from Henry Ford himself??

The 3.8 Ford issues were only the arbitrary head gasket and the broken cat rack. Any 3.8 Mustang that makes it my way gets the exhaust flange at the manifolds loosened then retightened. Never had one break after that little procedure. But the amount I have removed, welded the headpipes back on would blow your mind. Ford wants $2200 to replace them. I'll knock out the reweld for $200.

 

[jat70]

Wow! Your customers must be appreciative of those savings. I just had the cats replaced on my car. The intake gasket leak destroyed one cat over time (I believe). I bought the cat system and bailed on doing it myself because I knew I’d break off studs.
Truth be told, I don’t want any of these “modern” computer controlled cars. I’d love to pick myself up another 80’s cutlass or monte, but anything nice is a shame to drive year round. I couldn’t justify using anything 70’s or 80’s like that at this point.

 

[jat70]

just because I feel like I slighted the other aforementioned cars. no one may care to see them, but I loved these cars. Unfortunately never got a good pic of the Monte. I only owned it 6 months due to an engine knock.

 

[the heckler]

owned a 95 gt 5.0 convertible for about 8 years. bought from my mother who bought it new. it was always a pampered ride. I have to warn you - it has OBD I on it (last year as it changed in '96). Counting flashes when the multiple times the check engine light came on is nearly impossible. replaced nearly every sensor on it and that part finally worked out. then the 'ol ABS light came on and stayed on. we could never (including a pro mech) get it to go off. the last straw was the converters being plugged and the car ran like a crippled dog for years. bought a kit from summit to just do away with them altogether. it helped a bit but I was never really impressed with the car. also at 77k miles the auto trans let go. mom loved it so much she bought it back from me last year. she had it cleaned up and put a new top on it. looks great but for all the hiccups I had with the car - still got offer a - don't buy it - warning to you.....

 

[jat70]

Thanks. Yeah, I remember the counting flashes. That car is too high priced for me, though I do love it. The one good thing about it being a pre-97 is that in NH it doesn’t have to pass emissions. Still…not worth $11K to me.

 

[YankeeRodder]

Haha, could be. Just surprised me it was so easy to shut down the odometer.

Okay, here we go. Lol. I’d like to say nothing is wrong with low mileage GM, but I owned a ’91 Lumina Z34 in 1997-98 and it ruined me with the brand. I love old GM and am now partial to newer Fords. The electrical problems that car had were unreal. It would just shut off while I was driving it. I’d have to throw it in neutral, start it, and put it in gear again. That was always fun when I was on a date. I was sapped for $1000+ trying to resolve it before I gave up. Ended up in small claims court and lost. It was the hottest looking car I ever owned (before the Chevelle) but the biggest POS. A true lemon. The brakes were awful and the electrical was a mess. It’s been 15 years and I am still afraid to own a GM with any kind of OBD system. Might be unfair, but I can’t help it. After that, my in laws Malibu had electrical problems, my mother’s Grand Am, and a few others, too.
I’ve had lots of engine light issues with my t-bird, but it never ran poorly or failed to start. I just ignore the light now when it goes on unless it needs a sticker. Now that I’ve corrected all the O2 sensor codes, I still have an M1131 code that seems to be vacuum related. Car runs great, though, still. My only fear now is head gaskets.
For the record, I was always a GM guy. First car was a’78 Monte. Then an ’85 Cutlass I drove for 5 years. Loved that car. Then the Lumina. 18 months and I wanted to drive it into a river. After that I tried the Thunderbird and never looked back because of the comfort, ride and reliability…until 8 months ago, that is.

I guess that would cure me too. I heard the early 90's GM's had torque converter issues that would stall the engine like you mentioned.

 

[jat70]

The shop that tried fixing it never mentioned that possibility. I know I ended up with a new PCM. Can’t recall what else was done to it. Whatever was wrong allowed the problem to persist after an engine swap. Not surprising, given most of the components remained on the car. I had work done on the car once. Don’t recall what it was, but the engine was opened up and a clamp dropped into the intake. Shattered a piston. Used motor went in, car still stalled.
Another issue I had with the car was it bucked. Fortunately I bought a warranty. Thought it was transmission related. Transmission shop agreed, got it covered by the warranty, rebuilt the trans. Issue persisted. Changed the spark plugs and the problem went away. Ah, the memories. They’re all coming back. haha