1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

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Basement Paul
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1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

So this is the car that was buried in the storage bay that we're liquidating. Since the keys were in the car, I brought my new battery from the white Mustang to see what happened. This car has a weird security system and the lights started flashing immediately but the hazards weren't on. Eventually with some screwing around I was able to turn off the alarm and get the car to crank over and see oil pressure, but would not start. The fuel pump is normally loud on these cars and I can't hear this one at all so I tried to reset the inertia switch in the trunk to no avail. At this point I was done screwing around with and decided to offer the lawyer something much lower than I would have if it ran and she took my offer. Tomorrow I get the title.

This car is color code 1K which, depending on who you ask is Dove Grey, Light Grey, or Smoke. Nevertheless it's apparently some super rare color on these GT cars. Anyway, it's an automatic 5.0 with gray leather interior and 68k miles. It's not quite as clean as the white one but still a very solid car. I have Kevin set up to tow it away at some point and get it running since I won't have time for this until sometime next year. My plans for it are still up in the air, but the price was right.

More to come at some point...

-BP
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Blue_69_malibu
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

I'd roll to Valley Villa in that.
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

I delivered this car a week or so ago to Kevin's garage to get it running for me. He removed all the security system wiring and was able to get the car to fire on ether. He deemed the fuel pump dead so I ordered a new one, but when he pulled the fuel tank, he found a rusty mess. So I ordered a new tank and a different, complete fuel pump assembly, a fuel filter, and some fuel line to replace a broken piece outside the tank.
Those parts will arrive today at the local O'Reilly Auto store, and I should be able to get them delivered to his shop. I'm guessing it will be running by next weekend. After seeing the varnish in the tank, I'm glad the pump never turned on, to keep from pumping all that crap into the system. Before he starts it, he is planning to backflush the fuel lines.
More to come.

-BP
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MostMint
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by MostMint »

Regular old car stuff. I will be surprised if the injectors are salvageable. I would replace the fuel filter as well.

It’ll come around
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

It's getting a new fuel filter, but I expect it to run ok after that. The Fords tend to store a little better it seems. I'll let you know.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

When I was there today, I was able to get some pics of the underside since it was on the lift. It's so clean underneath.

-BP
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Maverick
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Maverick »

Amazing!!
Maverick
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Blue_69_malibu
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

This is Vice Grip Garage - Lake and Geauga County style.

That car is SOOOOO clean underneath.
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

With the weather being ok today, we picked up the Dove from Burton. It ran a little rough on startup, but the car made it the 20miles home without incident. There was only five gallons in the car cuz that's what I gave Kevin to put into it along with some injector cleaner. So when I got near home I put another 9 gallons of 89 in it. It was running well by then, and smelled of sitting for 10 years.
The tires are SHOT! The wobble at 45mph was insane. At 50 it started to smooth out some, but on this drive I didn't dare take the car over 50. Just wanted to make it home.
Now for some light clean up and some plastic parts reassembly.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

I dug into the gray Mustang this weekend. I had a bunch of trim pieces laying all over the place, a couple big mouse nests to clean up, and other misc things I wanted to do. And as it turned out, the passenger's door wouldn't open up.
The first thing I did was lube every hinge and lock. Then I topped off the power steering fluid and put new wiper blades on. Kevin left the rear seat bottom loose as there was a BIG nest under that, so I got out the shop vac and took care of that and the one in the trunk. I reinstalled the rear seat and treated the leather seats.
I went into the trunk and took all the trim pieces out and also the spare tire to give it a good cleaning. There was a aftermarket CD changer laying in there and wired so I removed it and all the wiring to the front and under the dash. Now the trunk is put back to normal and looking and smelling decent again.
I did try the power too and that seems to work as designed. The top itself is in mediocre shape, but it does function and the rear glass comes out like it's supposed to. I lubed ALL the pivot points for the top too.
Then on to the passenger door. I had to pull the seat so I had access to the door skin. I could see someone tried to pry the door open from both the outside and inside at some point. It took a lot of lube and some careful tapping and whatever was holding it from locking and moving broke free and now functions correctly. I will reinstall all the parts this week, and then have to do this same thing to the driver's door as it's stuck in the unlocked position.
More to come.

-BP
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Fred32v
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Fred32v »

Looks like you had a fun weekend, that Mustang just keeps gettin' better!
Fred32v
GMC Canyon Crew Cab Short Box 4x4 V6!
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

Today I put the passenger's side back together and got the lock freed up on the driver's side too. I retreated the leather, and got the rear window area cleaned out and zipped back up. I noticed that the fan blades have cracks in the plastic so I'm ordering one of those shortly too. Once I get that and the new tires it should be ready for a detail job and ready to sell IMO.

-BP
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Fred32v
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Fred32v »

GmJohn has plenty of storage, just sayin'.
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

The cooling fan had cracks in the plastic, and since I didn't really want it to come apart and take out all sorts of other things, I ponied up the $33 and bought a new one. It got installed today, and I also did some touch up on some bigger nicks, scratches, and the surface rust under the trunk lip.
At this point I just need tires and a detail job and it should be ready to sell. I drove it around the block and it seems to run tiptop.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1989 Mustang GT Convertible #57 Dove Gray

Post by Basement Paul »

New Uniroyal Tiger Paws installed and I cleaned the wheels too. They're not perfect, but there's no clear coat pealing or anything like that. The weather should be good enough this week to take it back to storage and hopefully get the detail job done.

-BP
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