Shopping for a replacement Mark VIII

It's been 20 years and the design is inherently quick to wear. It relies on multiple angles of support to keep a harmonious system. One section wears strangely for whatever reason and it'll trash the rest of it lickity-split.

From the factory you could expect to rebuild the front end of the MN12/FN10 at 100k.
 
Came up to Va from NC to get the 94. I was hoping it would be in better shape cosmetically-oh well. The body is dent-free. There's a small strip of corrosion along the driver's side roof/door seam. Rear window trim is cooked and cracking. But, headlights are literally LIKE NEW.
Interior is......eh, mostly good (7.5/10) except for driver's seat leather: left side of back rest.
Tires are very good tread and showing very early signs of dry rot along the side walls. Snow flakes are showing some corrosion (this car lived in VaBeach many years)
Driving: engine and trans are perfect-like new, dry as a bone underneath, no abuse here. Air is A-OK, steering/braking? Ready for rebuild no doubt, 87k miles not 78k, definitely pulls to right when braking, steering has resisitance returning to 12oclock.
At this point I'm thinkin it's worth the 7-$800 to have my 96 recovered from the tow yard so i can pull the cobra rims and brakes, tires that are one year old with under 10k miles, front hub bearings, exhaust, black interior in vgc, soft eatc, pcm, and strutmaster coils....then I should be able to sell the car for the drivetrain with 200k...then do a ton of work, get windows tinted, maybe new back glass, eventually get it painted and have a sweet ride again...finally
 
Beautiful red garnet glaze 94. I used to have one, I love that color.

You won't be able to swap the PCM's as the 96 is an OB2. The 94 had a great PCM anyway, the 93 PCM was even better.
 
got it washed today, 73 deg in Cary, NC
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drove 214 miles back home highway miles, averaged 29 mpg; quiet ride, no unusual suspension bangs, clunks, or grinds. it just pulls a little to the right when braking, most noticeable at lower speeds. The susp rebuild can wait a little while I'm thinking. Definitely need some tires asap. Former owner tried to identify and resolve this problem a few years back, the mech did an alignment, then gave a thumbs up to the rotors, pads, calipers and suspension. He indicated that it's probably pulling because by the ABS is faulty- delivering too little fluid somewhere. But, the ABS light is OFF.
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The ride was quiet because the radio comes on, the antenna is up, but it's dead silent. There's a dedicated circuit in the pwr dist box for the amp/cell phone which has a good fuse. Previous owner said the radio antenna wasn't working right so they either unplugged something or pulled a fuse. The cigar lighters are also dead but the dedicated fuse for those is good now, it was blown. The lighter at the shifter is disconnected from it's wire, so maybe that prevents the one in back from working? Also, the pass seat electronic control is not working. I'm thinking the stereo's power amp is toast, dunno on the cigar lighters.
:feedback
 
yeah, that's not how the abs system works.

and sounds like you have some wiring issues to find.
check fuses, and that everything is plugged in.
 
should also mention that the previous owner had someone 'disconnect the alarm system'......
:Bang
 
dnsherrill said:
drove 214 miles back home highway miles, averaged 29 mpg; quiet ride, no unusual suspension bangs, clunks, or grinds. it just pulls a little to the right when braking, most noticeable at lower speeds. The susp rebuild can wait a little while I'm thinking. Definitely need some tires asap. Former owner tried to identify and resolve this problem a few years back, the mech did an alignment, then gave a thumbs up to the rotors, pads, calipers and suspension. He indicated that it's probably pulling because by the ABS is faulty- delivering too little fluid somewhere. But, the ABS light is OFF.
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The ride was quiet because the radio comes on, the antenna is up, but it's dead silent. There's a dedicated circuit in the pwr dist box for the amp/cell phone which has a good fuse. Previous owner said the radio antenna wasn't working right so they either unplugged something or pulled a fuse. The cigar lighters are also dead but the dedicated fuse for those is good now, it was blown. The lighter at the shifter is disconnected from it's wire, so maybe that prevents the one in back from working? Also, the pass seat electronic control is not working. I'm thinking the stereo's power amp is toast, dunno on the cigar lighters.
:feedback
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ABS has nothing to do with physical symptoms of pulling to one side. It is an active management system meaning most of the time it's inactive. Well guess what, if it's not working it's certainly still inactive. Who employs these chumps, jesus. Apparently the new thing among mechanics is "if I can't explain it then it's some computer system's fault alright move on next please".
 
previous owner lived out in the woods and the alarm was going off in the middle of the night (presumably from animals crawling on the car) so they somehow disabled the security system without affecting the drive train, air ride, heat/ac, or lighting.
Any ideas on how they disabled the alarm? All the fuses at the driver's door panel and pwr dist box are present and unbroken
 
behind the glove box this little 2 pin connector was open, i didn't find a matching, open connector nearby
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so...the interior on my new 94 is "okay" not nice, but okay. the black interior from my 96 is niiiice, plus the tires are good and the rims are good 98 Cobras.
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thus, I'm gonna pay $500 to get the wrecked 96 out of storage then pay $125 to have it towed 45 miles to my step dad's housein Hampton, Va...then drive up there on the weekends and take the tires/wheels (10k miles/ 11 months old/ under warranty) and interior for the swap. Maybe pay someone to swap the back glass?. Then sell the car for the eng/trans and/or scrap metal after I take what I want. Hoping to wrap it up in 2-3 weekends as nobody wants a wrecked car in their driveway...
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fwiw, the estimate I got to bring the car to me in NC (160 miles) was $890
 
regarding hub swap, the wrecked 96 has mustang hubs on the front with about 10-15k miles on em, should I plan to swap the front hub/bearing assemblies from 96 to 94, and 94 to 96)? or just leave the ones on the 96 and buy new ones for the 94?
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regarding rear hubs, should I plan to swap half shafts from 96 to 94 (and 94 to 96) or just redrill the 94 and leave the 96 alone, and get cehap mustang rims tires so it will roll?
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regarding drivetrain? will the 96 eng/trans still be valuable if I take the PCM from it?
 
driller said:
The engine and trans will sell on their own value, no PCM required.

The '96 PCM will only work with the '96 models.
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I have an SCT XCAL2 with a tune matched to that PCM, soon to be for sale as a package, also have IMRC's, VCRM, and another PCM for the 96....soon for sale
 
Update: swapped all calipers/pads, rotors, and brake hoses...no more pulling to the right with braking
 
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