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more 89 vert issues...

I'm pretty new around here and posted previously about mods I plan to make to my '89 GT vert. The responses that I received from that previous post both to this newsgroup and that I received in e-mail were phenomenal! Thanks to everyone!

However, since then, a couple of more issues have come up in my restoration/rebuild process with this car that I could use the group's help on. I've searched in google for past posts, but didn't seem to get hits for much on these problems. There's a couple of them and I thought about putting them in different threads so people wouldn't have to read through too much drivel, but I figured I'd get beat up for bogging up the newsgroup.

So here goes:

I'm noticing on heavy accelerate/braking that my driver's electric seat "gives" a bit, as if it's loose. Without pulling up all of the carpeting to see if the floorpan is cracked, I was wondering if it could possibly be the seat itself getting loose, and if anyone knows if there are any tightening adjustments that can be done on the seat. Doing a search in google through past posts, someone posted that Ford sold a bracing kit that can be installed in tandem with subframes. Anyone have any particulars on this?

Also, my gas pedal is sticking in the no-gas position. Not a big deal, I usually have to give it a bit of a stomp to break it loose and then we're fine; but if the car is still for some time -- either parked or at a long light (i.e., I'm not punching on the gas) -- the peddle sticks again. Anyone have any history with this?

My driver side mirror is also cracked and a bottom chip missing. The mirror's hardware is fine and works well, I just need to buy a mirror to be glued back in. Everywhere I've checked, though, lists just the entire mirror assembly. Anyone know of a source for just the glass? I took it by a glass shop, but they wanted 50 bucks to do a template and custom cut, with the edge bevel effect -- that's half of what I'd pay for just getting the whole assembly! Ford doesn't sell just the glass...

Finally, I plan on going the Kenny Brown route to grace the handling of the car. But it seems like this '89 vert handles much worse on cornering than my old '86 hatch (both GT's). Is that a vert vs. hatch issue, or did something change in those years for handling? And, yeah, those bushings will go urethane as soon as I can swing it.

Right now, I'm typing this covered to my elbows in crud, exhausted from a weekend spent on the stang, and I'm grinning big! Man, I'm loving being back on a pony again. Thanks for all of your help, folks!

Reply to
Steve
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For the seat, your eyeballs are your best ally.... for the throttle, I'd expect that someone has decided that they know better than the PCM and closed the throttle plates down. When warm, the aluminum throttle body expands more than the steel throttle blades.... as it cools, the aluminum traps the blades that are closed beyond the binding point. Bear in mind that adjusting the throttle blades to the required position may unmask a problem. Check with a glass shop..... I have had a great deal of success with replacement mirror glass for a lot less money than a new mirror head (I'm talking 50 or 60 happy customers - not "it worked for my sister-in-laws second cousins best friends exhusbands brother who is now in prison").

Finally, after you install the front end pieces, let us know what the alignment rack says for angles..... it's one thing to improve handling with firmer pieces but the icing on the cake can be in the alignment settings.

Jim Warman

Reply to
Jim Warman

Electric seat track ? (shouldn't be for 89) Check the seat tracks where they bolt to the floor, it is quite common for them to crack/break at this point. You can also check the floor pan at the rear mounting location from underneath to see if it has torn the floor which is also quite common. Another possibility is the front mounting which can and has torn on the cross piece as well. All of the above can be repaired with a mig welder, Once repaired A flat plate tacked welded to the floor under the carpet will help distribute the weight over a larger area and make it even more solid. As for your accelerator pedal, the cable could be either sticking or be frayed, I would inspect carefully and perhaps spray with some WD40 or similiar down the cable. For the drivers side mirror, I may have a glass available but will have to check.

I would HIGHLY recommend going with a GOOD set of control arm such as the Global West, Maximum Motorsports, or the like with the spherical bushings. The poly bushings will be tighter but not offer better handling due to rear end binding.

TIM -aka- MUSTTANGUY "at" AOL "dot" COM

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Reply to
Musttanguy

"> I'm noticing on heavy accelerate/braking that my driver's electric seat

On my 88GT I just had the front outer mounting bolt tear out on the drivers side, of course this happens while you're accelerating hard. You have to remove the carpet from around the mounting points to see the damage. The mounting location is made of some seriously thin steel and it fatigues real easy. I used a 16x2.5 inch weld plate bolted to the floor to re-attach the seat to the floor pan. On your car it should have come from the factory with the Ford bracing kit. It is composed primarily of two long 'Z' shaped bars that are pop riveted to the pinch weld that runs between the front and rear wheels on either side and four stamped metal plates that rivet to each corner of the floor pan. You have to remove these plates in order to weld full length subs in place. (You can notch the plates and re-install them after your done with the subframes.)

Does your car currently have an inoperative cruise control? The symptoms sound similar a problem I had. The end of the actuator cable for the cruise control broke of exposing the cable which would bind the throttle linkage. This made the peddle hard to push down. It also made the peddle impossible to lift up one day when it decide to jam at WOT. Had to kill the ignition and cost to the side of the road.

Can't help you here.

The only thing holding the front of the car to the back of the car is the floor pan and they do tend to flex. Full length subframe connectors with seat braces and a REAL Roll Hoop are needed to fix this problem. Welded not bolted, bolted is worse than useless. While you are down there you should install a lower 'K' member brace and upper strut tower brace. You really should do the chassis mods first as they make such a big difference in the way your car handles

I've owned my 88GT (vert) since new, I'm starting to get a little long in the tooth, but yes it still is fun to crawl under the car and make it better than it was before. One of the reasons I think is because the Mustang is such an easy car to work on.

Reply to
Ironrod

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