New to the SC, couple questions.

[TBirdSC89VA]

Bought me an 89 SC 5-Speed today, with 170k miles. Has a blown head gasket, and needs a few other minor fixes. $600.

I'm used to dealing with Ford's worse creation, Ford Probes. What can I expect out of the SC. What performance options are available without killing the normal person's wallet. What can I do to make the car reliable? Did I get ripped off for buying it with a blown HG?

Appreciate any input.

- Rick

[Still Crusin]

Best bet is to browse through the various forums. Generally speaking, you spend more on a SC with lesser results for it than say a Mustang. A lot of it is due to insufficient aftermarket parts available for our cars. However, that is improving as these cars get older. Ford also doesn't support this car well, as they have already discontinued some parts. For example, you can't get a brand new rear bumper or new auto ride control computer from Ford. You might get lucky and get a new, discontinued part from someone else, but chances are slim.
If you have certain mods/budget in mind check the boards and see who else has done what you want to do. Check with more than one person though. If you're wanting a cheap car and not have to spend much to get a 12 sec or less drag car, then the SC is not what you want.
My car is stock, with a couple of minor exceptions. I also drive it daily, therefore reliability is an issue. I've owned mine since new and have been very happy with it. Yes, it does seem more expensive to maintain than other cars, but at least it's paid for and I have no intention to ever sell it, barring any bizarre circumstances. Welcome to the SC community, there's a wealth of info here to tap into.
Good luck with your car and hopefully you can restore yours.

[aplvlydrtybird]

$600 is pretty cheap condisdering everything on the front of the car and on top needs to come off. check the links on this site for performance parts and yo should get a rough idea what to expect for pricing, it isnt all that bad, but it isnt like building a 5.0L or a 5.7L

whats your plans for your sc??? do you want a beast of car or a daily driver, if you build it right and maintain it, it should be a good car to rely on.

also check the FAQ posts to see what are common things wrong with the t-birds.

good luck

[ben04]

i started off with simple, discreet mods such as a K&N pannel filter....put royal purple 5W30, always 91 oct. or higher gasoline (usually 92). get high flow cats and a magnaflow resonator as well, frees up teh restrictive exhaust we have. i just recently got a B&M ripper shifter, so much better than the stock shifter :D....keep us posted on what u do and congrats on the purchase :cool:

[TBirdSC89VA]

Thanks for the replies guys. Right now I'm just looking to get it running again. I'm through with my Probe, and selling it for $500.

When I first joined, I remember finding a write up for doing both the head gaskets at once. Anyone know where I might find this write up again?

And look forward to seeing some pics soon :)

[TBirdSC89VA]

Ok, I found the write up again. The only thing I'm worried about locating are new seals for the supercharger. Anyone know where these can be had?

[z90sc]

Ok, I found the write up again. The only thing I'm worried about locating are new seals for the supercharger. Anyone know where these can be had?
If you are asking about blower snout seals check ebay,you can usually find snout seals/rebuild kits on there or check the "for sale" forum on here.If you are looking for the sealing tape used to seal the blower/IC joints check www.supercoupeperformance.com........
z

[Mike8675309]

At that number of miles expect to have lots of issues you need to address. The head gasket just being the cheapest of them.

Shifter $50 (rebuild parts)
Clutch $250?
Harmonic Balancer $300+
ABS Master Cylinder $700+
Shocks $400
Rear Wheel Bearings $300?

This is assuming the previous owner did nothing with the car.

I'd plan on doing all the above before planning on throwing too much more money into go fast parts. Otherwise you're reliability is going to be shot.

[93SuperCoupeBoy]

Contact Victor @ Spinningwheels for things you may need, new and used parts. Just tell him what you're wanting to do and he'll probably have the parts you need!

I just got my SC the beginning of this year, and it has 133,000 miles on it now. So far it's run no problems for me. It was going to be a daily driver, and would have worked fine as that, but I fell into a 93 Escort for $1, so couldn't pass that up as a beater instead. They're nice fun cars that aren't EVERYWHERE, you'll love it once you get it running!

Nick

[TBirdSC89VA]

I would love it a lot better if I didn't just find out that my heads need valve jobs/cleaning/magnafluxed, and all that good stuff. Another thing is, I'd hate to put practically new heads on, and have the bottom end go out. 175k miles just worries me.