The Great Beater Challenge is a go pending any further COVID-19 outbreaks and I, along with my three teenage sons, are registered. As some of you may recall I bought a 1992 Ford Mustang at a local auction at the end of September. It became my daily driver for several months before my middle son took over driving duties. Given that used cars prices have gone a little crazy lately and the garage is full of other needy vehicles (more details to come later) this is likely to be our ride for this year’s event. We just need a theme to go with it and I would be open to any suggestions in the comments.
Perhaps before we get into the theme discussion I can catch everyone up on the Mustang’s last several months. Unfortunately, some jerk hit and run the car leaving a rear fender flare damaged and a scrape running half the length of the body. I suspect it was an aluminum trailer by the lack of any paint transfer. We live in a newer community so trades trailers are a pretty common sight. I get that some people might view it as just an old, cheap car so the damage they did does not matter but it is my old, cheap that I enjoy and take care of. The whole incident was very frustrating and the damage is tough to fix properly so it has been left as is for now.
The middle boy with the Fiero drove the Mustang until we equipped his Fiero with winter tires which cannot be a common combination these days. In fact, the winter tires we used were the ones that came with the Mustang (as bought) on the unattractive stock 14″ rims. We managed to source a second set of factory Pontiac rims very inexpensively and had the tires swapped over. I do not know if it is the color, Fox-body love or general Nineties nostalgia but the Mustang to generated quite a few compliments from his peer group.
As far as repairs goes it has been pretty minimal thus far. The EGR valve was replaced which cleared the check engine light. The starter had always sounded a big dodgy which I had been ignoring up until the point it stopped starting the car. It was, however, good enough to give up the ghost next to the house. Interestingly, the car was not equipped with the factory original starter despite the low mileage (~85k kms/53k miles) but likely the starter had seen a hard life from its time in the North West Territories. Actually, the starter turned over just fine but the solenoid that engaged the gear to the flywheel no longer functioned. Someone had obviously been in there before as all the bolts holding the solenoid on to the starter itself were stripped. Luckily, a whole new starter was cheap enough to justify not bothering with drilling out the stripped hardware or facing any additional issues. An advantage of owning an older but once common car I guess.
You might assume like I assumed that changing the starter would be a breeze since the Fox-body Mustang housed V8, straight six, V6, turbo inline four engines as well as the regular inline four cylinder which was the smallest of all these options but this was not so. It was strategically placed that one could not even see it from up top but made effectively hard to reach from the bottom by the placement of the front suspension. In the end it was not that horrible of a job but not as easy as all the empty space in the photo above might have lead one to believe. Beyond the above (minor) issues the Mustang has proved to be an excellent car thus far. It is actually quite charming and I enjoy driving even if my wife rolls her eyes a bit (a lot).
This year’s Great Beater Challenge will not feature dramatic mountain landscape like in years past but instead we will be traveling east to Saskatchewan. Ghost towns, “bad lands” and prairie landscapes are all likely sights for a bit of a change of pace.
Getting back to themes my first thought was something related to the Mustang’s reputation for Cars and Coffee carnage … but perhaps that idea is lacking in taste. Given the long production run of this Mustang body style themes from the Eighties and Nineties are likely do-able. While I do not mind some modifications I will likely shy away from anything that costs a fortune as big expenses do not match the spirit of the event. I have also become rather fond of the Mustang over last the several months and would also be leery of any changes that would permanently wreak or de-value it to parts only status. Traditionally we have not done much theme wise except for in 2019 with our pig themed Tercel so I would love to step up our game a bit. So any ideas?
Further Reading:
Great Beater Challenge 2019 Toyota Tercel
Great Beater Challenge 2018 Pontiac Laurentian
How about swapping out those LX alloys for some steelies with wire wheel covers and skinny whitewalls. Bonus points for bias-ply though I suppose that’s pre-Fox era. Maybe an easily removable wrap job to simulate a vinyl top or two tone paint job … all to evoke a pseudo-Grande theme.
That would be funny. The Brougham Mustang. Not sure I am buying any bias-ply tires though.
Fox-body Mustangs are so associated with the 1980s and early 90s that it’s hard to recall now that when they first hit showrooms the brougham era was still in full swing, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack was still in the top 10, and personal luxury coupes like the ’77-79 Thunderbird were near the height of their popularity. As such, the early Fox body Mustangs did offer vinyl roofs, whitewalls, wire wheel covers, velour seats, and woodgrained dashboards.
A Lima-equipped Fox Mustang seems like an excellent choice for the Great Beater Challenge, with the main allure being cheap with an ample supply of both vehicles and performance parts (at least for the suspension).
Blue Steel. All you need is a carpet of Derek Zoolander’s spikey black hair on the roof.
Interesting …
I think people are complimenting your 4 cylinder Fox because they think it’s a 5.0 with the “5.0” aluminum wheels on it!
Although those wheels were optional on the 4 cylinder Fox’s in the last few years.
There are ton’s of 5.0 parts that will bolt on to your 4 cylinder Fox if you desire.
Front and rear sway bars, springs/struts/springs, much larger 5.0 front disk brakes.
Swapping to a manual trans is super simple on these cars if you want.
The V8 T5 is very differently geared than the 4 cylinder T5.
Of course dropping in a V8 is super simple also!
Just my thoughts as one drive around the block with the 4 cylinder/auto trans would have me getting my engine hoist prepped!
It is worth fixing any damage and rust on the car as the car will hold it’s value.
Of course after fixing the damage and rust, it would be highly recommended to avoid driving it in the Alberta winter.
Good luck with your Fox! I bought one in 1989 and still have it!
I believe the V8 swap is very involved. The engine, transmission, wiring, mounts, suspension, brakes, and rear axle all need changed. From what I saw to make it work you really need a close to same year parts car.
I wasn’t aware that a “taste” component was involved in the GBC….You need about four mannequins wired to various parts of the body along with a few dozen coffee cups. Or just “chalk” taped outlines of the bodies with the coffee cups and there’s your Cars’n’Coffee theme. But if taste matters then you surely need a few “Taster’s Choice” coffee cans too to show awareness.
Either way, whatever you decide I’m looking forward to reading about it.
PS: Your opening pic is stellar! (And I don’t mean that in the Hyundai way)
Well … one does not wish to get “cancelled” in our very politically correct world.
I did have that coffee can exhaust one the Civic but I think it got lost along the route. 🙁
Thanks on the photo – near sunset a few minutes outside of town.
I say go all in on something truly bizarre. Of course you should do it in such a way that all the “decoration” can be easily removed.
In case you need suggestions for bizarre here are images from recent Houston Art Car Parades. Surely there is something that appeals!
https://www.google.com/search?q=art+car+parade+houston+texas&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS934US934&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjI5PHq35LyAhWYHc0KHXulAkwQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1280&bih=577
Definitely good for ideas. Some look a little less highway ready than others!
Mustangs were big in Highway Patrol during the late malaise era (for traditional police cars, anyway) of the mid 80s. Some black and white wrap (or maybe even 3M stripes/decals on your blue car) and lots of highway trooper stuff (mirrored aviator sunglasses for all!) and you have a theme. Albeit one that could get you in trouble with the law if carried out too faithfully.
Wow, I cannot believe this will be the 5th go-around for you. Time flies.
There was a mini one day version in 2020 that we missed (freshly broken shoulder for me). We did show up for the start with the boy’s Fiero. https://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/albums/72157715752137443
Would bring a new meaning to having your car “CHiP”ed..!.
Obvious choice in California would be to rattle can paint it black with white doors and roof so it looks like one of the ex California Highway Patrol cars. They sold quite a few retired ones that got hooned all over the place until the motors gave up.
Wouldn’t work. AFAIK, all of the CHiP Mustangs were two-doors, colloquially known as ‘trunks’.
I have nothing like the time or skill to do it, but I’ve long been intrigued about all the relatively easy parts interchangeability between Fox-platform cars, especially dashboard and interior swaps. I’ve seen several SN-95 dashes swapped into Foxbodies, which is actually more difficult since it requires chopping the forward extremities to make it fit behind the taller windshield, as well as the ’85-88 T-bird dash swapped in, but those are too normal for me. I’d love to put an 82 Lincoln Continental dash into a Mustang because it’s my favorite Fox dashboard, and because it’s just so wrong as far as looking brougham luxury instead of sporty. A 80-82 Thunderbird/Cougar XR7 dash swap into a ‘Stang should be easy, since Ford themselves put it into the 83-86 LTD which is just a facelifted Fox Granada, which itself is a facelifted Fairmont, and both of the latter used the basic 79-86 Mustang dash. The Mark VII dash is quite attractive too, though that looks more difficult. I’ve read that all of these just bolt right in, though 79-82 steering columns are a bit different, and you must be careful with things like auto shifter position indicators moving from the console to dash if you do that and such. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge of this stuff in online Mustang forums.
I am so sorry to read that someone sideswiped your Mustang! I would be so frustrated. I’ve liked it since you first posted about it. If I returned from somewhere to find the damage, I might have been like, Listen – it may not be high on the list of many people’s favorite Mustangs, but it’s *mine* and I’ve taken good care of it as best I can.
So how did the scrape _really_get there?
Just kidding. Don’t paint it, its a great blue.
As others have already suggested, I think a highway patrol car theme would be a good idea. Might be a good way to get your competition to drive slower, if they’re constantly seeing the po-lice in their rearview. I saw a fox-era Mustang the other day on I-5, done up more or less as a fake Washington State Patrol car, with dog dish hubcaps and an oversized antenna. No writing on the doors, though. I suppose that would get them arrested by the real police. It looked pretty good, except I don’t think the antenna was exactly authentic. It looked more or less like the giant whip aerials that were common on cop cars in the 1960s. However, I’ll admit I didn’t get that close of a look at it. It really flew past me! I sped up to catch it and get a closer look, but traffic was too heavy for that. A rare instance of a fake cop car causing someone to speed up.
LMAO on that last picture David. I resemble that remark… kidding… mostly…
Even my lowly V6 of that vintage has surprised me when I’ve pressed it too hard pulling out onto the road.
Actually, our Cars & Coffee has a strict “Don’t be a Dumbass” policy.
Most folks comply.
As to the Challenge? How crafty is your wife? And does she have a device called a Cricut? If so, she could cut out decals that could easily be removed with a “P-51” Mustang theme.
You know, Air Force insignia, numbers, etc. You could even do some creative “Nose Art” that could be removed later after the GBC. You all could dress up like WWII aviators and such.
Not a bad idea. She does have a Circut …
Tell her to be careful not to use the “Permanent Vinyl”. It should be easy to remove the decals afterwards.
To expand on the P-51 Mustang theme of RetroStang Rick, maybe expand it to the “Greatest Generation” theme with a Rosie the Riveter. You could tie this into the body damage and add a few rivets and also a Rosie picture. Put on some other World War II type items such as canteens, etc. Make sure they are reversible. Raise some money for Veterans Organizations with sponsor if allowed or a local air museum. Might be a good idea.
It’s a late 80’s early 90’s theme I’m thinking of. Possibly some sort of hair band theme.
White snake lots of bright colors. Some cheap big hair wigs and lots of spandex and muscle tank tops? Big goofy sunglasses. And anything neon Take the idea and run with it since the 80’s seems to have made a comeback
It’s a Fox body Mustang,.. Can you take the Toyota pig themed Tercel to the next level with a “”FOX”” Mustang???
Well, I was hoping for the “do a road trip and sell it to DougD for his student car” theme, but since that hasn’t panned out.
It’s blue, it’s a Mustang. How about a “Blucifer” theme honouring the mascot of the Denver airport?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mustang
Just be very careful working on the car, you don’t want it to fall of a jackstand and kill you!!!
Leave it as is on the outside and put I went to cars n coffee along the scrape.
David your “GBC” content is some of my favorite on here, probably because I too love me a good cheap old beater to mess with. If I was closer it would be awesome to partake in these shenanigans. As it is, I sort of do a “one man beater challege” in that I find cheap old cars to fix up, and usually end up taking them on a 8-10 hour road trip to visit my brother in Central PA or parents in Ithaca NY as sort of a final test of the car before I end up selling it. This spring it was a ’91 Buick Park Avenue that I had picked up for $400 that had one foot in the crusher. Did an awesome road trip in it through Appalachia to do some backpacking, then sold it for $1800. Now, I just picked up a ’99 Forester for $300 that was a crank no-start (rodent chewed crank position sensor and an intake leak) and needs some rear brake lines, oh and it has typical old subie leaking headgaskets (only leaking oil externally, but a good amount). Originally bought the Subaru to run it at the local paved oval in a enduro race, but it’s cleaned up too nice for that, has a clean title, and even working AC. I have too much mechanical sympathy. I might hang onto the Subaru until the winter to do some winter hill climbing up some forest service roads at my brother’s in PA.
Do a Mad Max theme. Take off the hatch and put in some empty barrels and add a fake supercharger. Rattle can the paint if you dare. Save the hatch for reinstallation.
Hmmm. The Mustang hatch was considered a possibility for Doc Brown’s auto based time machine after they abandoned the idea of using a refrigerator, and before the idea of using a DeLorean. BTTF is definitely 80s. Should be easy to find proper clothing and hair to have you be Doc brown and your son as Marty McFly. Cardboard and foil mockups of the flux capacitor and the exhaust ports in back and you are ready.
I second the “Back to the Future” idea.