I think he chose the 93 anyways.
93' LX 5.0 V8 vs. 97' LX 3.8 V6
- Thread starter Jeff Junk
- Start date
The 3.8 N/A cars had the 7.5” diff, unless they also had ABS. The 7.5” housing does not have the mounting provisions for the wheel speed sensors, so if you got ABS, you got an 8.8.
I knew some later model 3.8’s had 8.8 pumpkins!
The 93' 5.0 has drums.. Anyone know if it's a big deal to switch them to discs..?
Did it have drums all around - or just the rear? What all did you have to do to switch them to discs - do they still sell the parts to do it..?
AdamG
SCCoA Member
Only drums on the rear. You just need to swap spindles then new rotors, calipers and brake hoses bolt right up. You will also need new e brake cables (most or all can be found on rockauto). You might be able to source most or all from a junkyard, depends on budget as to how much new stuff to get...
Spindles in good condition may be a pain to find.. Do you think just upgrading the front rotors, pads and calipers and leaving the rear drums for now would cause any issues..? Or cause the breaking to be off balance..
If you swap spindles make sure there’s no play, sometimes the bearing can be bad or the whole spindle can be bad.
Would it be difficult to drill the exact spot where the bracket needs to be mounted?
It will be fine, as long as you get it pretty close to center. The bracket positions the pads on the rotor, so if you are off by a tiny bit, they may sit a little further in or out on the rotor, but as long as the pads ride on the machined part of the rotor, it’ll be fine.
Won't the conversion require a different master cylinder & proportioning valve also?
AdamG
SCCoA Member
I didn't swap either on mine nor did we on my buddy's cougar and another buddy's lx. I'm running cobra calipers and rotors up front with the brackets and cobra rotors in the rear (same on the cougar), they are probably the best brakes I've ever felt, no fade at high speeds, no nose diving either, solid but not stiff, about perfect in my opinion. My master cylinder is a non abs with 4 ports so each line goes directly to a caliper.
I took a look at the 93'.. There were some electrical issues and mice poop.. The dash lights and
I checked out the car.. all you mentioned checks out.. The only issues I found were electrical.. The dash lights wouldn't come on, nor the passenger visor light.. the button to pop the truck in the glove compartment wouldn't work.. And the passenger window wouldn't work.. The tail lights had some cracks too.. I found mouse poop.. so the electric must be related.. The engine and transmission were golden.. no issues whatsoever.. They are asking $11k.. I thought I would make an offer but require them to fix the electric.. The 97' V6 the seller is asking $6k.. What do you guys think..? I'll still need to do a tune up, upgrade the suspension and brakes.. and change all fluids.. It doesn't need any of that tomorrow.. like I said it's running and driving perfectly.. but just because of age.. and if I want to drive it I know I'll need those upgrades..
electrical issues can be a nightmare , can be something as simple as a bad ground or in this case just as likely mice tearing up the wiring which is alot of work to track down and verify it will not leave you stranded or worse burn the car to the ground .
But if the car is that clean , meaning a true 30K . mint perfect interior and not a spot of rust over or under the chassis then well worth investing in , 11K is more than ambitious though for a 5.0.. if it needs a clear coat or worse a full paint then the 11K is just a buy in to the real expense of all the upgrades planed later ... not saying don't buy it , I have the exact same car that has a mint chassis and interior with around 50K miles on it [ 77K Klms ] and thought it was well worth investing in .. that price seems to be more like an asking price of a fully loaded SC of the same year and Klms that has " issues " .
Value is of course subjective , I would be considering what the SC versions in your area actually "sell for" , factoring in the cost of upgrading the 5.0 car to the perks of the SC , like suspension and brakes etc .. then factor that into the 5.0 cars more realistic selling value .
Dave.
Ya, could be a gift of a car, but its not an SC in value by any stretch , sitting can cause all sorts of issues as well but a clean rust free chassis is a gold platform to start with .. could even swap in a full SC drive line etc from a rusted out unit if that was desired .
There is what seems to be a pretty clean 108Klm 91 HO in BC , guy started out at 20K like a year ago .. ugh .. down to 8500CDN . its a bit " pimped " with chrome fender lips but could be a nice car to build from .
Being a non SC [ although I like the 5.0 engine better anyway ] with wiring issues and mice issues my guess is 7K US and that would probably be being generous .
Obviously could be way off, just throwing a number dart.
There is what seems to be a pretty clean 108Klm 91 HO in BC , guy started out at 20K like a year ago .. ugh .. down to 8500CDN . its a bit " pimped " with chrome fender lips but could be a nice car to build from .
Being a non SC [ although I like the 5.0 engine better anyway ] with wiring issues and mice issues my guess is 7K US and that would probably be being generous .
Obviously could be way off, just throwing a number dart.
I mentioned to the seller that I had two offers in mind, one with the current electrical issues and another for if they are able to resolve those issues.. I haven't given him any numbers yet.. While I was looking at the vehicle he did say.. if my offer is "unreasonable, then don't waste your time because we'll just put it back in the garage..".. I haven't heard back from him yet..
I've noticed this with sellers of these vehicles.. The sellers usually get the car from an older individual (either a grandparent or from an auction) they know nothing about these cars.. and they turn around and try to sell them as a Collectors Item.. The seller of the 97' V6 said something similar "we will not take anything under $6k.. so don't waste your time coming out to look at it unless you're going to pay what we want, or else we'll just keep the car rather than sell it"..