The interior was your basic L level trim, vinyl interior with nothing special. The front seats of course where mostly worn out and cracking. Someone at some point had glued a felt like fabric across the top of the door panels and dash top.
The rear seat surprisingly was still in good condition.
The motor was no prize winner either. A stock 2.3L 4cyl rated @ 88 hp. and 118 ft.lb. torque that had emissions systems by-passed and showed many signs of poor maintenance and hacks to just keep it running.
These pictures where taken at the time I was getting it ready to remove the motor from the car.
Digging deeper into the mechanicals of the car I pulled the front wheels off to inspect the brakes. The drivers side brake showed bad wear on the inboard brake pad where someone at some point had gone metal on metal destroying the rotor. Thinking this was the only reason it was pulling hard to the left and not stopping well I checked out the right side front brake.
When I pulled the wheel off I could not believe what I saw. Someone had totally removed the brake caliper and had a machine screw threaded into the brake line to try and block the brake fluid from squirting out! I was dumbfounded that anyone would be so stupid as to drive a car around like this.
I was EXTREMELY Lucky that I did not get rear ended towing it home!
While I was deciding what to do with this basket case so I didn't feel like I wasted my money I had a light bulb moment. Sitting in the yard was a 1990 Ford Ranger rollover that my Dad and brother had purchased with the idea of fixing it up for my sister to drive. When they decided it would cost too much they had started to part it out, then decided to just give it to my sister anyway for her to sell or have parted out.
The transmission had been sold but it still had the 2.3L 4cyl this rated @ 100 hp. and 133 ft.lb. torque.
The plan basically was simple, I would buy the motor and engine control systems out of the Ranger and transplant them into the Mustang. This same motor had been used in the 1991 & later Fox Body Mustangs so should be a straight forward swap.
The execution of the plan was not so straight forward and simple.
While discussing my plans for the car with my GF at the time, she asked if I would be willing to build the car for her and she would help pay for the parts needed. At the time this did sound good to me because she lived in a non-emissions area at this time and I could register the car there making the conversion easier, so I agreed.