"this mustang runs good needs a water pump and master cylinder it has a carb. 5.0 ho motor with a t-5 5speed has a brand new clutch asking $2000 obo or trade for a late 80s or newer sports bike
for more info or to make offer cal xxx-xxx-xxxx ask for owen"
I would never have responded to this ad, except that I've been meaning to get rid of the 1988 CBR and I happen to be looking for a 4 barrel carb HO motor and a T5. I figured it was worth a shot.
I showed up, and sure enough the Mustang was pretty rough. The whole thing was primered black, with a jacked up passenger side door. The interior was dirty and messy. The engine bay was the same way, but it seemed to have the right engine in it. I drove it around, and I immediately discovered the master cylinder. Stepping on the brake was akin to stepping in a bucket of sponge cake - you have to pump the brake to get pressure. The motor started right up, and had a really rewarding rumble. I drove it around San Leandro, finding that it was faster than the datsun (broke traction in first gear no problem) but definitely not as fast as the WRX.
There's a weird chirping sound coming from the car when you accelerate, which the seller attributed to the throwout bearing, although Joey suggested it might be a slipping belt, which is certainly what it sounds like it could be,
I couldn't decide whether I wanted the car right there, so I told him I'd have to do more research on how to ID the GT engine and told him I would call back. He did agree to trade the bike for the car straight across though, which sounded appealing, considering I had only put about 700 into the CBRh.
Went home and talked to an old friend, Mustang Pete, who told me that it was probably a good buy, if only for the T5 transmission. I decided to call him later in the evening. I was still vacillating a bit, since the CBR was a good running bike, but the Mustang would be difficult to sell if I didn't do the 302 swap (it hasn't been registered since June 2007, and I'm at least the second owner since then)...but at the same time, it did seem like a good value.
That night, I tried to move my CBR into a my apt parking spot. I started it up, rode it into the garage, then parked it near my spot. I then started up the Z and pulled it out far enough to drive the CBR in. Got out of the Z, threw a leg over the CBR, only to crank-crank-crank-crank-crank...nothing. I think I had ran the battery out by leaving the parking lights on. Crap. I get back in the Z, which also dies as soon as I try to start it. What are the odds!? Two vehicles with enough voltage to cold start once, then not enough to start immediately thereafter. Bollocks I say, bollocks.
Anyway that helped galvanize my decision to sell the CBR. I pulled the seat off and hooked the battery up to the tender.
The next day, I met up with Owen at 11. I looked at the car briefly, and decided to make the swap. I had been telling Phong about the car, so I decided to pick him up in my new white trash ride. On the way to pick up Aileen, we discovered some hilarious things:
1) The cruise control is controlled by teeny-tiny buttons on TOP of the left control stalk...one of two. There are none on the other side. You can turn on the wipers by lifting the second one. Actually, on the right side, there is one signal stalk, which doesn't do anything. It cannot be pushed, pulled, or twisted in any direction. Jeff said it's a "bonus stalk!" LOL.
2) There is a little drawing of a Mustang, with LED's integrated into it to tell you if your windshield washer fluid, fuel, or lights have issues. It looks ridiculous, like it's from Blade Runner.
3) The stereo deck's "forward" seek/skip button doesn't work.
4) There is a clock in the car. The buttons under it say "DATE," "TIME," and "E-TIME." What in the world is E-TIME?
5) Neither of the front seatbelts retract up against your chest. They're both loose. Contrast that to the Datsun's problem of both seatbelts being too eager to lock.
6) There's a giant oil spill on TOP of the hood.
But fuck. At least there's power steering.
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