Ok, so I am looking through the classifieds, and I see a 1985 stang for sale. It has new paint, headers, nice rims, and new gears w/posi. I know it has a V8 and a 5-speed. Heres the thing that caught me. $2300!!!! The only thing I can think is lots of miles, which is alright, since I would plan on rebuilding the engine anyways. So, I am thinking, I can rebuild the engine w/a few performance upgrades. then, while surfing I see the holley commander 950 multi-port FI unit, and I know that that is what I would want to put on it. The only problem is I dont know if it will pass the darn smog tests out here, so someone, tell me, is there an easy way(besides bribes) to get this car to pass smog?? I know companies make California special cats, so I was thinking about putting true duals on with 2 of these cats per pipe, but I dont want to go on all this with a tight budget as a student, and have it turn out that I cannot drive it. So basically, what can I do to insure that I will pass smog? The unit comes with software that you can connect to a PC, so I am optomistic that I can run it a little lean when I take it in for smog. Any other suggestions?

Thanks, Steve (and sorry for the long post)

 

i had an 85 gt. last year for carb? anyways that thing was pretty quick with the carb. i bought a 94 a few years later and it was a dog compared to the 85. whats your reason for ditching the carb? personally i would keep it.

 

The 85 has a carb from the factory. What makes you think you'll have a tougher time passing emissions with an FI unit? An 85 Stang is 20 years old. I've seen them much cheaper then $2300. I paid $700 for one last year. Of course it didn't have new paint though. Check underneath that car real good for rust and obvious damage.

 

I know the usual. But, my '96 f-150 easily passed smog, and yes I know it is 10 years newer, but my '83 hurst/olds cutlass always has to be fixed to pass smog. Also, I have had really crappy luck with smog era cars. I like fuel injection a lot better because It is a lot more reliable, and the system I want lets you control by laptop which is awesome. Also, I am much better with computers/wires than I am with mechanical things. I could easily tune that via computer, whereas with carbs you have to mess around with screws and stuff. Also, because I am a student, I cannot have more than 1 car, and I think I can get better milege with FI. I know it is more expensive than a carb but if it gets even 2-3 mpg better, it will pay for itself in a few years. Also, side note, the other vehicles mentioned say that they are mine, but they are really other peoples in my family, I just do that for simplicity.

 

I'd shop around too. I got my '91GT for $3200 a few years back. $2300 actually sounds high to me. If it had less than 50K miles, then it would probably be a buy. I'd get one with Fuel injection, and get the mass air instead of the speed density. I think the mass air was on 89+ and speed density was 86-88. There are way more performance upgrades, and resto's for the later foxes too. If you find one with around 100K on the ticker, you can easily just spend money on heads,cam,intake, and a few other small mods and have around 350HP without having to pull the motor.

 

I had an '85 GT, great car!
It sounds like the car you're talking about is not a California car. I think the CA cars had CFI in '85. I don't know what it would take to bring the car up to CA standards. Do they look under the hood when they inspect, or is it just tested at the tailpipe?
It might be a bigger project than it is worth. Find out for sure what you will need to pass CA testing before you buy. Sorry, I don't know much about CA smog rules, but I'm told they're tough.
You might want to add up the cost of the car and mods you would need, and compare the price to what you could buy that's already CA legal.

 

i also had an '85gt w/T tops i loved that car 140,000 hard miles and all i did to it was intake manifold gaskets. anyhow check you local smog laws i know here in colorado if you put and older engine in it, ie the block is from lets say a '70 302 than you can get an emissions exemption because its a pre emissions engine. i dont know but it may work?

 

It is about what is in the car. I dont think that they inspect it, cuz as long as it passes the pipe, I dont think It matters. The problem is, around here, this is going t be one of the better deals. I am not sure if it is an original california car. I also love how this car looks. IMHO I think it looks better than the 90-93. I will read up some more about this. thanks for all the opinions.

 

Check out stangnet

They'll be able to help ya on what the car would need. I'd call about it and find out the milage etc. It may be lower milage than you think. I'm not sure, but you may be able to swap the EFI stuff off of a later model mustang to make it EFI. It may be cheaper, but it may be more of a hassel too, I don't know. I think as long as you put cats on the car, you should pass emmissions. I know some guys in other states, not as strict, but they will pass without cats, but they can't pass the visual. I havn't got cats on mine, but I don't have emmisions testing to deal with either. And like you said, some guys go in lean to pass. They also throw some seafoam or something in the tank to help too. I'd still think with new cats you should be alright with FI. I'm not sure if the '85's have a smog pump setup, I imagine they do. A good tuneup will go a long ways too.

 

When I was in CA a couple months back for my Aunts funeral I seen lots of cars priced realy low compared to here in CO. I'd suggest you keep searching for your EFI stang. I did see a real nice 93 vert 5.0 stang for $3300 at a dealership. I should have gotten the car I could have sold it for 6K here without even trying but its a long drive in strange car.

Anyway if your dead set on this one, a carbed car shouldent have any problems passing emmision testing as long as its in good tune and hasent been messed with too much. Yes they do check under the hood and can nail you even if a single vac line isnt routed properly. I do know some of the EFI conversion kits do have a C.A.R.B EO number and are leagal for use in pollution states. OR you could find a doner OEM EFI setup and swap it in. It's not too hard going from like car to like car as long as you have the complete harness.

 

Personally, I'd look for one with FI. Carb/computer cars of that era can be a real PITA to make pass emissions.

 

I just think this (doing the FI system) would be a great project, and since these stangs are cheap and plentifull, it just kinda sparked me. Thanks to all. I think I eather need to set my sights on a certain car, or get a really good deal on something.

 

Keep your eyes open. You should be able to find a good deal on a good fox body. They're around. You get a lower milage EFI car under 100K, put heads intake and cam in it'll give you something to do, and the results will be awesome.

 

I've had an '89 5.0 LX and an '83 5.0 GT carbed. The '89 was so much faster than the '83 and it had a better transmission. I'm not sure if the '85 has the newer or the older transmission. Anyhow, like the other posters, I'd recommend getting the '86 or newer. The '86 and newer have the EFI. In theory the '83-'85 cars should be OK with the 4 barrel carbs, but there are some other differences other than the injection. With the '89, it was hard to stop the tires from spinning when leaving the stop light. With the '83 , I'd have to mat it and spin the clutch a bit to get a good burn out. Both cars handle poorly, but the '89 was much better in the handling department. BTW, price for the car you mentioned seems OK, so long as the mechanicals are good. Look at the person's smog report and see if it looks OK.

Chris
'93 F150 5l 4x4

 

I'd also recommend an EFI car. 87-93 would be your best bang for the buck. The '86 had some sort of wierd high swirl E5 heads that arent worth a poop, and If Im not mistaken, they may even require a piston swap if you go with a different/better head.

Speed density was used in '87 to mid '88. These cars arent quite as "mod friendly" as the later MAF cars, but tuners have gotten a pretty good grip on them. If you're looking for a mild street car (13.0's-13.50's) dont rule out these.

Also, due to emmisions regulations, Ford made several subtle changes to things like the cam grind from 87-92, which was why they changed the power rating eventually from 225hp/300ft/lb tq down to 215hp/285ft/lb tq. Not a big drop, but just an FYI.

And, if you plan on using the jug, '92 was I believe the last year for the forged pistons.

If I can think of anything else that may be of use Ill post, good luck in your search!