1979 Ford Mustang

FUN!FUN!FUN! Other

8 - Cyl.

Manual

NORUST-LOMILE-ROD

Gasoline

1979 Mercury Capri / Mustang / Fox body This auction is for my son Zach’s car. He bought this car in September of 2009 when he started his senior year of High School. It was purchased from an older guy who had several cool hotrods including a built 70 Mustang fastback sporting a full roll cage, mega dollar aluminum motor, slicks etc. You get the idea. He was working on his latest acquisition a 63 Ford station wagon that he was making into a vintage AF/X drag car ala “Dyno" Don Nicholson. He had purchased this car from a guy in Colorado who had filled it with really good hardcore parts. The previous owner (now enamored with his latest project) had every intention of putting a roll cage in this car and using it as a fun daily driver/street/strip machine. It didn’t hurt that he lived just a couple miles away from Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove WI. However with the purchase of his wagon his plans changed and he decided to concentrate his efforts on the 63. To that end he began to pirate some of the parts from this Capri. Those parts included a dual quad tunnel ram setup complete with carbs. A pair of aluminum heads and lastly the early Toploader 4 speed and Hurst shifter setup that were on this car. He replaced the tunnel ram with an Edlebrock Performer intake and Edlebrock carb. A fresh set of early 302 4bbl cast heads and a SROD 4 speed that was missing 2nd gear. That is when my son acquired this car. OK so that’s the car’s early history. Once he bought/limped the car home we figured out a game plan to get it in good condition so he could drive it for senior year. Every HS senior needs a hot rod right? Lucky for him his dad (that’s me) is a retired journeyman ASE certified master tech with nothing but tools and time on his hands. Long story short there was quite a bit of work that needed to be done including gathering parts, working many days, nights, weekends and spending lots of money. My son always looked at me with shock and awe in his eyes as I told him to search eBay or the internet for this or that or head over to NAPA or AutoZone to pick up a part or fluid. “But Dad….That costs money!” he would whine neglecting the conversation we had about a million times before he made this purchase that it WOULD cost him some money and he WOULD be the one paying for everything. This car taught him some lessons. Like “I have to have a job if I’m going to be able to insure this car and keep its gas tank filled up.” Or Dad’s told me a hundred times “It’s not a race car. If you want to race it you will go to the drag strip, pay your entry fees and do it safely. Don’t let me catch you driving it like that or get reports from neighbors, school or the police because if I do it will become MY car!” This car makes AWESOME POWER from idle to redline. It will burn rubber with ease and will get sideways without much effort! It must be treated with respect! Well happily he was VERY responsible with it (Thank You Zach!!! Your father LOVES YOU!) And he was extra fortunate that during the time that his car “was in the shop” he was driving my brand new car (more on this in a moment). So why would my boy want to part with his dream car? Well he really didn’t want to. But he enrolled in college in San Diego and there was no way this car would EVER pass a California emissions test. It would have to have been built prior to 1975 in order to make that work. So we spent a couple of months looking at project cars to transfer all the hard parts. 60s Fairlanes, Mustangs, Comets and Cougars. Found some real nice ones too. Zach couldn’t swing the money involved so time for plan B. Unfortunately for me Plan B includes Zach driving my new car out in sunny San Diego while I hang back in miserably cold Illinois and put the finishing touches on his baby then eBay it for its next Lucky owner. That could be YOU! If you’re still reading thanks! I’ll try and move this along. Let’s talk about the current condition and features of the car. I will break this down into three categories. Number one will cover all the cars good points. Number two let’s call the facts. Neither good nor bad just the way it is. Number three the bad. That said….THE GOOD: 1) This is a 1979 Mercury Capri RS. It is a FOX BODY Ford product and shares interchangeability of mechanical parts with the 79-86 Mustang. One of the neat things about it is the fenders are wider than a Mustang so it has a wide-body look to it. This car also has a sunroof and intermittent wipers. 2) The body is RUST FREE! There is virtually NO Rust on this car. Unfortunately some (insert derogatory remark of your choice here) thought it would be a good idea to paint the entire car in a flat black primer. It’s really too bad because underneath the white paint and bodywork were/are pristine. The color does give it a fitting Rat Rod/Hot Rod vibe. 3) The wheels are factory aluminum 10 holes with spun aluminum Cougar caps. The tires are decent too. The rears look like new and the fronts have plenty life left in them. The big/little stance works well for this car. 4) The motor is a fresh (less than 1000 mile) rebuilt 1983-302-5.0 punched .060 over with flat top pistons; crankshaft has been ground and polished. 5) It has a Summit camshaft and lifters kit. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K3602/ $110.95 this cam was installed and chosen for the dual quad setup. If you look at the specs you can see that it is meant to make power in the 3500 RPM and up range working with steep gears. It works pretty well in its current configuration due to the 4.56 gears. 6) The heads are stock early 302 4bbl with a fresh valve job and new matching springs. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRN-36308-1/ $152.95 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRN-99097-1/ $27.95 7) An Edlebrock Performer intake, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-2121/ $159.95 And Edlebrock 1405 Carb, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-1405/ $269.95 And Edlebrock Pro Flo Air Cleaner, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-1002/ $16.95 Complete the intake package. 8) Ignition consists of a Billet Distributer, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-850071/ $212.95 And Summit Ignition Box, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-850610/Application/?prefilter=0 $149.95 And Mallory Ignition Coil, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MAA-30440/ $65.95 And Accel ignition wires, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ACC-4058/ $33.95 9) Pete Jackson Gear Drive in place of a timing chain 10) Dynomax headers, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WLK-85048/ $137.50 11) Zoom Clutch, Pressure Plate and Throw out bearing, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ZZZ-HP48-1/ $279.95 A BULLET PROOF McLeod Racing Bell housing, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MCL-8660/ $469.95 And Modern Driveline Clutch Lever M-401-2002-L $86.50 12) An 8.8 inch rear end carries 4.56 Richmond gears, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-6903121/ $205.95 Cross pin, http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RMG-8002731/ $39.95 Eaton Traction Loc Posi Unit for 31 Spline axles, http://www.justrearends.com/ProductDisplay.aspx?ID=ebce7547-636d-4298-9bc0-9455ea50a973 $450.00 Bearing Kit, http://www.justrearends.com/Catalog.aspx?category=8e090023-5e17-419c-aad9-e5a9112ea597&sub=9e039a0c-100b-49d5-93dd-ffb5c29eb118 $100.00 31 Spline axle kit, http://www.thegmrstore.com/79mu4lugev.html $224.00 13) Car has a Borg Warner World Class 5 Speed, eBay purchase $330.00 14) Car has a brand new Sears Diehard battery $54.95 15) It has a new water pump, hoses and anti-freeze $100.00 16) It has a new clutch cable. 17) It has a battery quick disconnect (also works as a theft deterent). I just stopped to tally up the new parts so far and NOT including any of the machine shop work or parts in the short block the total is in excess of $3500. ($3680.25 to be exact and that doesn’t include new spark plugs, oil and filter, wheel balancing, bulbs, hardware, misc etc). OK so now some FACTS: 1) So as you can see there has been quite a bit of money already spent. That is money you WON’T have to spend! You can get in this car and drive it like you see it or restore it as you drive it or garage it and work on at your leisure. The GOOD NEWS is you don’t have to do anything if you choose not to just get in and GO! 2) The car is a Hot Rod/Rat Rod. That means its’ noisy! As in loud. If you have infants in your house you will wake them from their sleep. It’s not super obnoxious but you know when the car has been started whether in the garage or driveway. You won’t sneak home with this one but rather announce your arrival. In style of course! 3) Due to the nature of the beast the gas mileage is negligible. We’ve never really kept track but we do know it likes plenty of Dino juice. 4) The 4.56 gears make it a ball to drive but also cause the motor to rev quickly. Be prepared to shift often. 5) The interior has had the soundproofing removed as well as the rear seat and carpeting (in preparation for a roll cage) this leads to vibrations and harmonics at certain speeds usually speeding up or slowing down slightly will eliminate this phenomenon. 6) Speedometer is not accurate. Zach’s plan was to replace the speedometer and tachometer with an aftermarket set and the proper speedometer gear for the t-5 transmission and 4.56 gears. Bruce at Modern Driveline can help with this. 7) The hood is from a Mustang. It fits (kind of) the original hood is available if you want it. But it does have a large hole cut out of it for the tunnel ram setup. 8) The car has a manual choke. And Finally THE BAD: 1) The interior could use some finishing. It is missing small parts like the adjustable mirror mount (inside plates). And the rear view mirror. 2) The rear seat is missing but easily found on Craigslist or eBay. 3) Of course the paint sucks! But under that primer is solid Colorado car! That about sums it up. Here is a short video and lots of photos. We’ve started the auction at a low initial price with no reserve. I do however reserve the right to end the auction at any time as I have the car for sale locally as well. So if you ever wanted a Hot Rod…………. I live 1 hour North of Chicago or 1 hour South of Milwaukee. If you would like to see the car in person just contact me through the eBay link. Leave your phone number if you want to speak with me. (I will not post your number) A $500.00 dollar non-refundable deposit is required at auction end. The remainder can be paid in cash on pick up or through PayPal. NO CHECKS! I will assist in shipping if necessary however all shipping costs are the responsibility of buyer. I have sold several Cars and Motorcycles through eBay. So I’m no stranger to this type of transaction. I provide plenty of photos; video and detailed descriptions so be sure that this is an item you want and all other decision makers are on board with your purchase. Check my feedback and be sure you are comfortable as there are no returns or refunds. There is no warranty and the car is sold as-is where is. Ask any questions well in advance of the auction end as I do not live on my computer but will try my best to address any questions or concerns you may have. Thank you for looking and God Bless.