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91' Mustang GT 5.0 Donor

The donor car is in OK shape. There are a number of things that would need attention if I were restoring this car:

Front and rear bumper skins are badly scuffed and/or cracked due to cement chock run-in's. Top of the car, some of the paint has faded off; white haze all over the top. There are some dings on the passenger side door and feneder but all very managable. On the driver side, the front fender is in very good shape but the quarter panel close to the door is dented in, as if someone was trying to pry open the lock.

Both door handles are very loose as if they were jimmied. Thankfully, they works. All 3 keylocks are loose. The interior is a red cloth with red vinyl. Definetly not my taste! Various plastic interior trims are cracked or missing, as is the stereo and speakers. The speedometer jumps around a lot; tach is steady. All other gauges look to be working. Out back, the spoiler has some paint flaking off the leading edge. Both headlights and tail lights are NOT cracked. The fog lamps are missing the lenses. The hydraulic lifts for the hatch are completely shot (he gave me a lenght of 2x4" to prop it up.)

In the engine compartment, it's not as bad as I was fearing. I did check under the car prior to buying it and no leaks were detected. But I did note that the exaust pipe/tips were missing immediately after the mufflers, the rear had been outfitted with air shocks, and the heater was plugged up (inoperable). AC required recharging. Reportedly, it has a new clutch and it's likely, a competition clutch as far as my left leg can tell. It was very stiff!!!

The engine did sport what appears to be an aluminum pulley in front of the harmonic damper, and BBK chrome equal length headers. Of course visible are the MSD 8.5mm wires. Air filter appeared to be new. Overall, it's ok. The brakes could use some bleeding though.

Donor Theory v.s. Fact
(orig. written in mid-October, 2003 - revised on 12/13/03)

Back in 1995, when the Smith brothers conceived of this new method of building a kit, they decide upon the old F-Body Mustangs to happily give their guts to a higher form. And in 95' it made a lot of sense. The donor date range was 87-93. If you figure the average car takes on 12,000 miles a year, the oldest donor will likely have about 72,000 miles on average, while the 93' car would have 24,000 miles on average. But here I am in 2003. I was just "lucky" the car had only 103,000+ miles. Alas, during a test drive by a friend of mine, we heard what he felt was a con-rod knock. This was not great news.

But in the back of my mind, knowing that a 91' model might have some hard miles on it, I was already prepared for a short block rebuild. I initially had plans to simply swap the motor in if it was in good shape, and do a complete rebuild later. I guess now would be a better time. I do not know how much longer it will last.

With cars this old with this many miles, I did ponder the "all new components" route but I feel that the donor concept is not totally a waste. For one, I feel I can still get the car "built" within budget and on time as long as it's understood the power adders can be bolted on later. The bottom end is where things get real ugly but if it's addressed early, I can deal with everything else later on. And while some would say that X-component costs $800 to rebuild but would cost you only $1500 to buy new, the fact is, that is still $700. And realistically, rebuilding with new parts is ok with me.As long as the casing is solid, in the long run, it will still be less expensive to rebuild than to buy new. Just my own opinion for now. Only time will tell.

The plan I have is to use the donor parts but to refurbish/rebuild as needed and hopefully bring down the costs of the project and stilll have a strong car in the process. I consider it a semi-donor build. However, I have decided on a few things that I will replace immediately since a rebuild would be in order: the first are AFR heads. With this, new cam, rockers, and pushrods. For now, I'd like to reuse the original manifold and intake plenum, as well as the throttle body and MAS. These 4 donor parts will eventually be replaced but for the sake of money, they are coming over. The BBK's will be sold along with the body /shell to sweeten the deal when it's time to sell it off.

12/13/2003 - If you viewed this page back in Oct. through mid-December, you will find I've totally revised the whole project. In a nutshell, I have decided to first go with a carburated setup. This was a personal decision based on keeping a somewhat period look in the engine bay, and partially because of the wiring. I did not relish the experience of ripping out the harnesses and then doing the wire-diet and subsequent rewiring. Not having an EFI eliminates probably 40% of the wiring; this of course counters my original plan in the paragraph above.

The other part of is the decision to go with an IRS out back. My original thought of a 5 lug and disk brake rear is what drove me to this point. On the live axle, I was planning a 3-link package; this added $1,000. To get a 5 lug axle would cost another $258 (FRP M-4235-G). A disk conversion around $395 (FRP M2003-G). So what we have is a $1,653 upgrade to the rear. In contrast, the IRS option from FFR is $2000 and the actual IRS pumpkin and spindles along with a pair of calipers is $345. The $700 difference is significant but there is an upside: the IRS should be more comfortable on the streets which is where 80% of the time it will see duty, but can still handle well the other 20% on an autocross.

In some respects, I believe the final product will be a vehicle with a dual personality. The body, engine and suspension will maintain the look of the original with better components... just as FFR explains in their literature. However, when I'm driving, I want the cockpit to reflect a more modern aspect of a Hot Rod that reflects what I want - after all, that's what it's all about! Here, the dual roll cage and high-back seats will be the most evident departure but I feel they add comfort and safety for any passenger I may take with me. Also, the Autometer gauges IMO, is much easier to read quickly and adds the modern touch I like in these gauges. Same with the shifter. The rest of the interior isn't going to be an exact replica and this will be no exception. I billet knob atop of a Steeda Tri-ax short shifter will top the T5. Additionally, I will likely install a heater and fresh air

A few things may get upgraded after the car has been initially completed. Things such as an aluminum pumpkin and a Flaming River quick ratio rack will come later as this would add over $1,000 to an already $35K+ cost projection. Same with the brakes. While I would love a set of aluminum calipers, I just don't have the approx. $2,000 for one. Of course the timeline allows for changes to any part of this plan! For example, early Dec., I took advantage of a repo for a pair of slightly used Edelbrock Performer RPM cylinder heads with Comp Cam 1.6 ratio roller rockers. This combo is $1400+ new and I got them for just $500! While AFR would of been nice, you simply can't beat this price!

In recent weeks, I've been on CA Fords forum/classifieds (local NorCal forum) and have found two eager buyers of the leftover Mustang for $1,000 so this is pretty much taken care of as far as getting rid of the carcass. And with the engine hoist, stand and cradle in my garage, I'm now ready to remove the engine and tranny and whatever else I need. I've slated 12/23 for the removal and notfied my nephew of the event. Look for more updates after Christmas!

12/25/2003 - Merry Christmas! The donor is 3/4 stripped; engine, transmission, radiator and fuel tank have been removed on 12/22-12/23. See my December Journal on the details. The last pieces I intend to remove is the brake MC, front brakes, lower control arms and spindles, and the steering column and rack. At the moment, the car with about 800 lbs. removed from the front, looks like it's taking off!

1/5/2004 - The donor strip-down was completed on 1/3/2004. Happy New Year!!! Here are the "after" pictures now:

"Houston, we have lift-off!"

The shell is now missing the following: Engine, transmission, clutch, bell housing, cluch cable, throttle cable, pedal box assembly, acceleratror pedal, parking brake lever w/T, brake master cylinder and distribution block, front brakes, upper steering rod, lower steering rod, and steering rack. I've decide to leave the LCA and spindle for SN95 spindles and possibly bite the bullet and get tubular LCA's. :)

I will have one more entry for the donor page: the day I sell the shell. I'll keep you posted on what I got for it.

2/21/2004 - Today, the 91' GT was finally sold for $550. Keeping in mind I did sell the BBK headers for $50, what did I get for my net of $1,950?

• Gas tank w/filler neck, plastic under pan, straps.
• Gas filter bracket
• Driveshaft
• T5 WC transmission
• Parking brake lever
• Steering components ( upper and lower steering rods, and rack. )
• Radiator shroud with overflow tank
• Pedal Box Assembly (brake, clutch, quadrant)
• Master cylinder
• Accelerator pedal and cable
• Speedometer cable
• Clutch Cable
• MSD 8.5mm spark plug wires
• Starter and Relay

However the biggest thing that came out of this was the permission that was granted to go ahead with this project. In that respect, the donor was priceless.

This entry concludes the "Donor" page.