Bruiser (the cruiser)

[mobileaudio219]

So about 2 years ago I was searching the local mustang fb page when I came across this car for sale. The guy had it listed as a one family car (couple owners within the family.) The car had 8x,xxx miles on it and was mostly stock. It did have a shift kit in the aod, 3:73 gears, and a "muffler shop" h-pipe with a flowmaster car back.

He wanted 2500 or something for the car. I sent him a messages and said I got 1600 bucks to play with, and that I knew it was a low ball offer.... but if he wanted to consider it, I'd be there in an hour with a trailer to pick it up, it'd be a no hassle type of deal.

He sent me replied that said he would take $1600 if I showed up that night. I loaded up the trailer and made the hour or so drive up to get the car.

The dude was super cool, and descripted the car pretty honestly from what I could tell. I never did run a car fax to try and confirm how many owners or the mileage.... but for 1600 I got a car that ran and drove fine, had good strut towers and torque boxes, and had ice cold a/c...

When I got the car, the rear shocks where a bit bouncy. Of course if I was going to upgrade the rear shocks, I might as well do the front struts, and while I'm there toss on some lowering springs. Of course that turned into a complete suspension over haul...

94/95 GT Front sprindles/Brakes/new hoses
New sn95 Ball joints
New front control arm bushing
Front sway bar bushings and end links
Koni orange shocks and struts
SVE caster chamber plates
Steeda sport springs
UPR tubular lower control arms
UPR adjustable upper control arms
Upper and Lower torque box reinforcements
Sn95 Rear with 3:73 gears


Then I pulled out the interior to clean it up a little. Plan was keep it simple, power wash it, let it dry, put it back in.

WELL... carpet it cheap, I decided to go ahead and order a new one. While I was waiting on the new carpet, I removed all the factory sound deadening off the floor so I could under coat it, that sucked! But I got it done.

The drivers seat had a tear in it, and the console lid was pretty rough. Decided to get some new front seats and do a console and rear seat delete...

Got that done, but think I'm going to change things up again....

Give me just a few minutes to stuff my face with some pizza, and I'll be back with some pics!

 

[PinkieT]

I love modding our cars. You got some good upgrades there, man!

 

[mobileaudio219]

So when the 86 was first posted, I was actually building a 95 GT (Tammy Lynn.)

I really liked the 86, because it reminded me of my first mustang... the car that really started my mustang obsession.

A little history on that one. I tried buying this car for years. It was sitting in this guys house just down the road from my uncles shop. The guy had a couple big dogs and I could never get passed the gate to knock on the door, and he never came out so.... Well one day I was out at my uncles shop and the weather turned crazy, a tornado touch down a few hundred feet from us, and it followed that rd the car was sitting on. The next day I decided to take a ride down there to see all the damage (out in the country, most just downed trees.)

Well, when I drove past the car, it looked okay, beside the hood was gone... but I noticed the guy was outside cutting up trees that had fell... so I stopped and talked to him. He said that he was down in his shelter and was watching the car when the tornado pasted by, at that point he remember the hood wasn't bolt down, and that's when it went flying into the air!

I asked him if he would be interested in selling the car, he said "yeah, but it doesn't have a motor or transmission, or a hood." I said that's okay, what would you want for it???? Oh, I don't know, would you give a $100 bucks? I said give me an hour to get the trailer and to go by the bank, and I'll be back to get it.

So While I was at the bank, my buddy Mark, who was also surveying the damage, seen the old man outside, and stopped. He had also been eye balling the car (I didn't know), and begged the old man to sell it to him. When the old man told him he just sold it for a hundred bucks, my buddy left defeated.

So I picked up the car and called my cousin, who had just bought a good running, but completely rusted out 87 gt from my buddy MARK (yep, same guy) for 300 bucks. I asked him what are you going to do with that car? He said Idk, do you want it???? so I bought it for $300 bucks and used the drive train for the 86.... When it was all said and done, I took the parts I needed off the 87 and parted the rest out and ended up getting all the parts I needed and still made a little profit on the rest of the car. lol

we did a few thousand donuts and burnouts in this thing before pulling the drivetrain for the 86... you know, to check everything out first.

So back to the story...

I was working on my 95 gt (tammy lynn) when bruiser first popped up. I really wanted it, but I already had a project... well my buddy came over and was checking out my progress, and well, he just had to have it.... and he had a big old wad of cash, so he got it.

So I searched for the 86 but could find it, so I bought this SUPER clean vert.

I loved everything about this car except that it was a vert. It had ice cold a/c, a really nice hotchkis suspension, great shifting t5, 3:73s, and basic bolt ons (cobra intake, cai, full exhaust, etc.) This car was the cleanest fox I have ever owned, but I couldn't get passed it being a vert. I should of learned my (vert) lesson back when I bought my last vert, a 90 7up car.

So I little history on the 7up car. I was searching the local mustang fb page, and I came across this 7up vert. The guy was asking $2200, of course I didn't like verts, but I figured I would throw him a low ball offer in my typical "I don't need this, but if I can get it cheap enough I'll take it" fashion. I send him a message and said "he, I know its a low ball offer, but I got $1600 and can be there with the truck and trailer in about an hour, and if the cars what you say it is I wont kick the tires.... I'll just load it up and it'll be an easy no hassle deal." Dude sent me a message back and said OK.)

This was a really cool car. Decent suspension, 3:73 gears, T5, long tubes, spintech catback, and ice cold a/c. I thought the car was super cool, but couldn't get past it being a vert. Should of learned my lesson there.

Anyways, when I sold the 95 "tammy lynn", my brother n law so disappointed, he got super into the build and I didn't really realize it. When I bought the red vert, he was really getting into mustangs.... so one day the 86 popped back on, so that's when I sent the guy a messages. I actually bought the 86 for my brother n law, and he was going to buy it from me (via payments.)

So I got the 86 and my brother n law took it over, mean while I really loved the vert, except that it was vert...one day my cousin from Wisconsin messaged me and said he just had to have the car.... so I loaded it up on the trailer and took it to him...

Mean while, my brother n law never really got into the 86, hes more of an sn95 guy.... so I bought it back from him (it never really left me anyways, I had the title the whole time....

 

[mobileaudio219]

Okay, so that's kind of the story of how I got started with mustangs, and a few that I've owned since.... I'll post some random pics of other mustangs I've had along the way real quick, because this thread hasn't bounced enough already. lol I don't have pics of all of them, but I've owned a LOT OF THEM!

Lets see, I bought this 94 mustang for $800 bucks. The guy he just had new heads and headgaskets put on the car, and it just blew another headgasket. I got it home, and found that the computer was bad and it was keeping a injector open. Bought a $20 computer from a buddy of mine, and had it running great in about half and hour. It was just a 3.8 with a 5 speed, but after replacing an oring and charging the a/c, it made for a great daily driver.. Should of kept it and 4.2 swapped it.

The interior was really clean.

Got it home.

Agghhh, I could not deal with those wheels, so I upgraded.

This was the car that really got me started on sn95's. I loved the way it drove. Strangely enough, my aunt wanted to drive it one day. She LOVED IT, and ended up buying it for here daughter.

 

[mobileaudio219]

Then on day my buddy posted up one of his mustangs. It was a 95 gt, ported gt40p heads, ported explorer intake, comp cams xe270hr, 24 lb injectors, 70mm tb, 3:73 gears, tuned by stlmustangs, mac long tubes, o/r midpipe, and STOCK cat back. Strangely, it was the best sounded mustang I've ever one. This car was a sleeper. And kind of the reason I ended up with tammy lynn… My cousin ended up talking me out of this car.

I loved how unperfect the engine bay looked.

 

[mobileaudio219]

One day my cousin called and said his buddy gave him a foxbody for some money he owed him, and he wanted me to ride with him to go get it.... turns out it was in Arkansas, about 5 hours away... The car was just a roller, but on the way home I kept looking at it, before we got back home I had bought it from my cousin.... $800 bucks! I knew where there was a potential donor at. I tried buying the car before when it just needed a fuel pump.... but it had recently been wrecked... so I stopped back by and talked to the kids mom. She said that he fixed the fuel pump and had it running in the driveway, well he didn't set the parking brake and it rolled backwards into a tree... lol

He wanted like 500 bucks for it, which was a good deal. but the car wouldn't start, kept telling him the jumper cables he was using were junk, but he insisted they were new... so I gave him like 400 and said I would gamble on the engine (which he thought might of locked up because it wouldn't crank over.) Got it home, put the battery charger on it and she fired right up.

The car originally had some terrible racing seats and a racing steering wheel. I traded the steering wheel for the one you see... and took the seats out of the parts car and sold the racing seats. I sold a ton of parts of the parts car before scrapping it, when it was all said and done I had less than a grand into this car (seen I made profit on the parts car.)

 

[mobileaudio219]

I bought this car from a buddy. I think I gave like 800 bucks for it. It was a 5.0, 5 speed car. Had a big old cam it it, like a f303 or something on a other wise stock engine. Might of kept this car a week before my uncle talked me out of it. Never really liked the car, the cam ruined it.

 

[mobileaudio219]

So at some time I sold the white 86 to my buddy mark (yep, same mark mentioned above), I was going through foxbody withdraw and it had only been a day... I stopped at my uncles (same uncle who I sold the black car above to), and he had this car. It was a beater with a heater. kind of ugly, but the best driving fox I've ever had. I bought the car for a 1000 bucks and drove it for a long time (for me.)

 

[mobileaudio219]

So my buddy had this really clean notch, always loved the car. One day he posted it for sale, at that point he de-modded it, but I jumped on it anyways.

Here's what it looked like before he sold it... and how I wanted to return it, but never did... because I don't keep anything (I know that's what you're thinking.)

 

[mobileaudio219]

I bought this white ranger for $500 bucks. The drivers side bed panel and rear bumper were trashed. Bought both off craigslist for 50 bucks, then sprayed it yellow (rustoleum.) Turned out, eh, decent. I didn't do any body work, just scuffed and shot it... had a little orange peel, but for a back yard (literally) job, it came out good. Traded it for the yellow new edge your about to see. The guy I traded cut and buff the paint and it came out really nice from what my uncle was saying?

I got the car for my wife, she didn't really like it... and neither did I. Sold it to my cousin.

 

[Shaggy]

Wow. Nice collection of cars you had over the years. So what do you have now? Is it brusier?

 

[mobileaudio219]

Digging through pics I found a video of a burn out contest I entered.

I was working at my buddies shop when one of the other workers came in looking for some used tires. He said he was going to enter a burnout contest. I was like "cool, I wish I had my mustang done so I could go to."

He was like, no ford would ever win anyways. haha, oh really?

This dude had a lemans, had a "built 350", which was basically stock with a big cam and huge car, stock convertor and gears. lol

So I went home early. Finished the motor swap, and met the dude there.

3rd gear and never lifted. blew the back tires off, literally. When youre out to prove a point, and you just don't care how you have to do it.

 

[mobileaudio219]

Okay, back to Bruiser.

I don't know about you guys, but anytime I get a car, the first I do is ripped the interior out and power wash it. I don't like sitting on other peoples crude, and possibly their unborn children. Freaks me out. lol

Cleaned the exteriors.

Then comes the fun part, ripping out that interior.

Ewwww, cuddies.

 

[mobileaudio219]

the plan was to just pull the interior, power wash/clean it up real good, put it back together and drive it... how naïve!

So I got the boys to help me pull the interior, and clean it up.

They're used to help their crazy dad rip interiors part. here they are helping tear apart the 7 up vert.

I have a very understanding wife.

 

[mobileaudio219]

We always have fun. Like on day we washed the 7up vert with water guns.

Then things started turning ugly.

Then my wife came out to bring me something to drink... and feel victim to their assult.

 

[mobileaudio219]

Anyways, you get the idea. lol, I think I have adhd today.

Removed the factory sound deadener and uncoated the floor pans. You can see I have a few holes (3"x3" squares) cut out and ready to be patched.

Patches welded in and sound deadener down.

 

[mobileaudio219]

Decided to order a new carpet, because well, why not?

decided to do a console delete.

The stock seats looked pretty good, but had some tears. it bothered me, and since this is a budget build recovering them just wasn't in the budget... so I picked up some v6 new edge front seats, and will be doing a rear seat delete.

 

[mobileaudio219]

Interior still needs to be finished, but I'm thinking about making some changes.

With that being said, I'll asking for some opinions.

1: keep trucking on the route I'm on. Continue with the dark and light gray two tone theme.

2: ditch the light gray, replace carpet (and door panel carpet) with dark gray carpet.... and get some new seats.

3: go all black, sissy.

 

[mobileaudio219]

Wow. Nice collection of cars you had over the years. So what do you have now? Is it brusier?

Just bruiser... for now! I plan on keeping him for my oldest boy.

I'm about to start on the engine build, among other things.

 

[mobileaudio219]

One day somebody posted some 94-95 spindles and brakes for sale. He was asking 100 bucks, I offered 70 cash and be there in an hour (haha, that's my thing, if you haven't noticed.) He accepted.

A few days later, a guy was selling some brand new in box upr adjustable upper control arms, and upr tubular lowers for 150. I was able to get him down to 125.... while I was getting those, he said he had a 8.8" complete with 3:73 gears for $200.. so I got that as well.

I picked up some used sr springs for $60 bucks. They were a little to low for my liking, so I picked up a nice used set of steeda sport springs for $100 bucks.

I order the koni orange struts and struts from LMR. They were having a sell on them $310 bucks. At the same time I ordered new spring isolators, and pretty much every other bushing in the suspension (PROTHANE.) Also ordered some SVE adjustable caster camber plates... Of couse, if I was going to go that far, I need subframe connectors and torque box reforcements (uppers and lowers.) This was about the time I ordered the carpet as well... Needless to say, LMR TOOKS MY MONIES.

Then I jumped over to rock auto, and ordered all new rubber brake hoses for the front and back...

That pretty much much completed my suspension and brake upgrades.