Bring it Back to Life

Myself and a friend went to drag the Rustang home from its resting place. We got it back to my parents house and hosed off most of the dirt that had built up. Since the car had been running when it was parked, we decided that we should try to get it running. So we headed to Napa for a battery and a serpentine belt to get it going. We installed both of those items, but the car would not turn over with the key. I used a jumper wire on the Ford starter relay, and the motor started cranking with good speed, so we assumed that something was wrong with the ignition switch. 

As it turns out, Fox Body Mustangs had a recall on them because the ignition switches had a tendency to fall apart, which mine had done. My car had been parked for so long it wasn't in the DMV computer when the recall was sent. Here's a picture of what I found when I pulled the column over off. The new switch is on the right for comparison.

Once that was replaced, the car would crank with the key like it should. So we made sure it was full of oil, poured some gas in the carb, and filled the radiator with water. And after 20 years of sitting, the car fired up like it had only been a day. I was cheering, until I saw the puddle of water forming under the car and the squealing sound started under the hood. The puddle under the car was caused by the steel freeze plugs that had rusted until they were paper thin. The squealing I thought came from the alternator, but closer inspection showed that it was actually the belt on the water pump pulley, the pump would not turn.

So I was still happy, but I knew the motor would have to come out to replace those freeze plugs. I was ok with this, the motor was a mess and I wanted to clean it anyways.

So, I towed the car to my house in Yuma and proceeded to pull the motor out.

More coming soon!

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/127933-1984-quot-Rustang-quot-GT-(Slow-Build)