This is my response to your "responce" to the question. Enjoyed the video. Keep up the good work!

Bless you for trying to get people to understand some really basic stuff here -- the truth will set you free (but first it will piss you off) LOL. Anyway, over the years I've seen people try and make sense of a Coyote swap from a financial perspective and when I'm talking to them they have these ideas that it's going to cost less than a new car at the end of the day... And I've seen some horrendous work on top of this by unexperienced shops to boot -- but you're not going to do something like that paying a shop and end up with something that costs less than a new car IMHO. It's all the basics plus the complexity of melding a computer into either a car that never had one or tying together two different PCMs to make things work with a say a new edge. If you're the kind of guy that wants to do it yourself it might not be super expensive if you're patient and willing to learn from others and take your time etc. But involve paid labor and the prices definitely go up and if you employ people that know what they're doing it's likely going to be a heck of a bill -- maybe one that's worth it if the car has some sentimental value etc -- but again, not everyone wants to hear this. They have ideas about what it should cost that are often unrealistic. Possibly watching some consent like this will help level out some of these expectations.

My reply got deleted 😂

Exactly! I’m 32 and owned 3 in my teenage years. I used to know nearly every nut and bolt size on the whole car. Most is 10 through 15mm lol

exactly I'm doing mine and it generally so simple after figuring out how it is built

Personally I wouldn't let anyone else touch my cars. Most of the fun is breaking it and fixing it anyway. Anyone can buy a fast car, but buying a slow p.o.s. and making it fast yourself is a little harder.

If you want shit out of the box then pay up front….if you build something yourself you’ll be paying way less and having way more fun anyways

@@localenterprisebroadcastin5971 Having built and worked on MANY project/build cars over the years - it is always cheaper to buy a finished product than to build it yourself. The myth of "you can do it cheaper yourself" is from guys who look at the raw cost of parts and think their time/labor has no cost, it does, in many ways. A clean, sorted example of what you want to build will always be less costly than doing the build. The cost is a larger initial, up-front ticket, so it _looks_ more expensive but it rarely is.

The younger techs wouldn't know what to do with it. They kinda did you a favor there. Old knowledgeable techs are hard to find, because if they can, they get out.

Anybody with an early 90s car full of electronics is in trouble, no one knows how to fix it and the OEM parts aren't in existence anymore.

Anybody with an early 90s car full of electronics is in trouble, no one knows how to fix it and the OEM parts aren't in existence anymore.

There's a level of dellusion in these people. I have several boat-loads of money, but that means I also have the time to work on my own cars and these guys just don't so they try to short cut the process or the cost and these conversations ensue.

We wouldn't have to do it ourselves if the "mechanics" weren't giving the public the impression that they actually fix shxt. The real mechanics wouldn't be getting shutdown for doing back yard work. They get that certification then screw all the repair work now they just pose in the way. Like doctors and lawyers. That become health advisors and case managers. Because the government insures a non competitive market so they don't even really have to work but they can still charge physicians rates to grease monkey at a comfortable pace.

Well i own 3 mustangs. A 03 cobra. 2015 mustang gt... and a 92 foxbody gt...I make good money but I work 12-16 hour days 5-7 days a week. So when I get free time I sometimes don't wanna work on my shit. I have a garage full of parts, built engine, transmission, 9in, suspension parts, pro charger F1 etc for it. I like learning and working on my own shit. I'm fortunate to have friends who are former mechanics to help me but they have their own shit to work on and families so their time is also hard to come by. This is why sometimes I have paid to have shut done just so it gets done so it doesn't sit unfinished for long periods. That said I love working on my own shit. If I've never done it I enjoy learning. My issue is time. Money and want to is not the issue

@@randymajor362 Trust me when I say this, the mechanic isn't the one making physician money to 'grease monkey' at a 'comfortable pace.' In fact the only ones making money are doing it at break neck pace, but even they aren't making physician money. And the reason we don't do backyard work? I spend 45 to 55 hours a week working on cars. No one commenting in this thread, not a single one of you, has enough money to spend to convince me to do it one hour more on the side where I don't have a lift, don't have but half my tools, have no air to run the tools that require shop air, have to work outside in the beating sun sweating like a streetwalker in a cathedral during Mass, just to be married to your ragged out old car so you're calling me every time it breaks saying, "You were the last one to work on it, this is your fault." Nah, you can bring it to the shop during business hours and have the writer make a ticket, then get in line behind everyone else. Or you can learn to be your own 'grease monkey.' Maybe one day you'll figure out how insulting that is to a skilled technician.

Truth. Moral of the story....Do it yourself!

As the inherited owner of a C2, I can personally attest to this.

Definitely true! In the process of replacing a failed water pump on a 1991 ZR1. The original hoses are failing as well. The customer is happy that my shop is the only one in the area that will work on his car.

Ha! Same here, got a 96 vette and man it def applies to all older cars. Wanted to murder my corvette when it was time to remove the cat on that thing. Who the heck designed the bolt positions on that exhaust line...

I'll keep my 68 charger.

No, the ultimate is the Ford GT. Everything else fails in comparison

I have four late 90's GM trucks. I have GM shop manuals for them, it's a must have.

yup

Yeah my car is a 96. Finding parts is a struggle.

@minibikemafia I am not saying older vehicles are hard to work on. They are much easier, that is why I have so many. Having shop manuals makes it even easier.

@@rodshop5897 Finding parts for my late 90s OBS trucks is easy. Some items require a trip to a junk yard. That is getting a little harder. Lots of people are picking them clean.

You said it. Labor is so nuts its nit worth having a old car that needs repairs if a shop has to do it.

30k? What did you buy? Everything?

@JMac85X hopefully that wasnt just to make it stock 😊 . Stuff really adds up though. Built motor 15k easy, trans redo 3 to 6 easy, complete performance suspension 6k plus easy, Bkk 5k easy, ecu complete kit with harness 3.5k easy, rins tires , rear end, boost.. 30 to 50 easy. Its all very EASY, lol. U pay one way or other.

I'm still a carb guy so I'm a dinosaur. I'll stay with the older cars as long as I can. Yes, I have a 2001 gt , and I do 90% of my own work. I think people's money will start to dry up for these crazy rebuild/tune jobs.

Long story short is you have a better chance of getting a gal with a fox body into a Corolla than Rosy O'Donnell into a Mustang II suck sessor.😂

Start out …🤔and continue with the simple stuff … change your own oil / fluids / lubricate everything yourself ( fluid film all cables ) . Like others say: know the car! ( zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance) . Maintain the paint / inside … Instead of tv or looking at ur phone. Got kids ? Include em as soon as they can hold a hose( plenty of laughs) . I got three adult girls that maintained my shortbeds they drove in H/S n college they actually were on top of when to rotate the tires.. it was a three hour job ( with breaks lol) wash n wax insides ) ( even with steelies) . Worked with me on bed removal , changing alternators, batteries, starters… ect. Knew / know how to use tools. One changed the power window motor while I watched ( got to love utube that painters tape holding the window). Two times last few years I had an oil change done ( by the dealership ) . They were the first ‘free’ ones …. Yeah I know u get what u pay for… but jeeze u think at the dealership they won’t screw up a simple oil change!!! Wrong. First in 2017 didn’t screw filter tight enough ( thankfully I brought it straight home n saw puddle on floor of garage ,, only over quart low. Half twist to tighten filter. Second time new 2023 sierra .. wrong oil.. they thought it was the 2017 tahoe ( that’s how they wrote it up) shure didn’t look the same as last vehicle I brought in 6 years b/4… missed by service writer n mechanic ( plus he took the oil cap off and it said which oil on it) .. been changing my own oil for 40 years since 16 yr old…. Not as much fun rollin around on concrete floors as it use to be though.

​@@Jimthechevywheelmanit sounds like you don't know a damn thing about tuning fox body fuel injection 😂

If you live in a free state pull the computer stuff and put in a carb and distributer.

We will do what ever you got the $ money for ! Also its a customer and car inspection before we will take any customer or car in for work!

100%... Too much eBay universal junk, wire nut splices, bolts siliconed into fuel return lines, multiple fuel pumps, mystery parts from other cars with no knowledge or history... You lose your ass on project cars with more than half of customers that have them.

Goes both ways, mechanics are typically good at working on current year Camrys, and terrible at diagnosing and working on sports cars.

The customer is 90% the problem

If you legally have to be certified and licensed to run a shop you shouldn't be able to turn a customer away. You, and I do mean YOU the mechanic, create a situation where people cannot get their cars fixed anywhere when they otherwise might have been able to do so. It's despicable.

You gotta cut us guys over 40 a little slack, when someone says "10 years ago" our minds think that was 1998.😆

@@dustingermain7037 yep, I just turned 50. It sucks. Lol

Lol! Yeah, it feels like riding a bike down a hill with no brakes!😂

You take that lie back! Foxbodies are only like 15 years old!

I was doing math when he said that too. Lol 😅

Lawsuits are pretty rare. Law suits are expensive. People that don't have money to properly repair their cars aren't going to be able to afford a law suit. Shops that are willing to deal with older cars charge that because fewer and fewer shops do, so they can command a higher price due to demand. Simple supply & demand economics at it's finest.

My thoughts exactly. Upgrading an old car causes a domino effect of "needs" and "shoulds" and while it's sad to say, restoration of ANY car is an expensive proposition.

Back in 2021, I took a road trip to bring home a 1988 Ford Bronco II, purchased over 2,000 miles from home. Flew there; drove it back. (Crazy, I know. Done for the thrill.) When I ran into some issues that I couldn't take care of in a hotel parking lot with the December wind whipping me into -10°F, I found out that most of the shops nearby were plenty busy without working on something over 30 years old. Almost everyone I spoke to said, "An '88?! No, we don't work on anything that old." I think one shop even refused it on the grounds that it was pre-OBD-II.

alot of shops' techs don't know how to work on older vehicles now too.

Yup

💯 that’s why people just need to work on their own stuff because I know first hand how tough it is to get a shop to work on your stuff and if they do work on it it’s an arm and a leg just to get it done

yup, he said it at 2:30. my take: more power from the engine = reduced transmission life no matter how new it is

I don't think it's a "We don't work on Fox Body mustangs" as much as it is, "We don't work on 30 year old project cars. Or project cars in general."

Yep, I haven't had any problem getting work done on my 91 Colony Park (I am disabled and prefer not to get in over my head these days) but I am willing to replace any worn out bits that come up. It is still cheaper than a car payment.

thats what people dont get. foxbody are long just "bolt on" cars unless you bought one from a grandpa and it sat. but then if it sat, that's another set of issues. you really have to go to specialty shops that restore cars, not just bolt on stuff. but its gonna cost money.

Yup. Once I figured it out, I’ve done all my own alignments, and I do nice things like make sure the wheel is centered.

I just had this happen to me on my 1995 thunderbird, I just wanted new tires, and they did an alignment withought telling me, and charged me for it. Now the car pulls to the right, the steering wheel is turned to the right little, and it pulls right when I brake. They tried to fix it twice, but it's exactly the same. I wish they didn't F with it, I didn't ask them to do it. Now hopefully I can find an old school mechanic who can align my old car.

You missed out. These things are the last bang for buck straight line machines. Mine was not mint, but it was solid enough for me to stop for parts and just rebuild the entire brake/steering/suspension system. It took a full weekend, but that's cause I mostly replaced bushings and kept all the stock components I possibly could so they wouldn't end up in a landfill.

@@josephfigueroa3527 They are cool and you appreciate a car more when you get your hands dirty.

That was the first car I ever wanted as a kid. I walked by one everyday on my way to school. Looked so mean just sitting there.

Those competent technicians don't want to lose money working on your project car.

That’s the truth I’ve been with the same shop for over 30 years. When I first started going to him it was the owner and a helper or 2. He did an excellent job on all the cars I’ve taken him over the years. Now he has 2 shops and bunch of guys who don’t know what there doing. I took my Daughters Buick there and he took 3 months to get it back to me and it feels 60% fixed. And when I go to the shop, it seems he’s spending most of his time telling his mechanics what they need to do. Like someone said, PARTS CHANGERS .

The flat rate life is throwing a part at it and shipping it. Gotta make those hours 😅

@@Alss383 when you have to fix it for free if you're wrong it doesn't pay to work that way

@JMKady76 it doesn't and it shouldn't but unfortunately not all shops are like that. Alot of places now teach techs that the more you know the less you earn.

yah if its open checkbook, its no problem.

An informed customer is one you can't take advantage of

@@rwdplz1 An informed customer is also easiest to work with, since they'll already understand they're driving a 30 year old ragged out beater that needs a full restoration because it's on it's 8th owner and the last 5 didn't care about the car. At all.

It's not just Fox body people - it's PEOPLE in general. I have a LOT of customers I fired.

​@CaptainSeamus profesionalism, too. Lots of diyers with a license to work on peoples houses.

And what your friend ran into is precisely why I never do side work.

No mechanics allowed is all I'm hearing. Because being a mechanic means work and if just pretending gets you paid. Let the customer loose their tranny on the way home on the highway. They should have fixed it themselves right?

​@@randymajor362I don't think you know how mechanical things work, do you?

@@3644Darrell He certainly doesn't know how being a mechanic works, I can tell you that.

This is the correct answer!

I had to do that on my LS1 into a truck project lemme just say it was all in the prep stuff

That's the only way to do it, you have to at least understand older cars before getting into the hobby

They dont have a frame and if the unibody is solid and rust free, a mechanical restoration and freshening of the interior and seats should be plenty.

@@hendo337 That’s why the term “frame off” is in quotes as it refers to how we used to (and still do) restoration of pre-unibody cars.

I loved my 1992 Firebird Formula 350. You can't find affordable cars like that nowadays.

What is a Pontiac?

Millennials? Try gen Z. Most of us 90s kids still know how to turn wrenches. We were the first generation imho who could turn wrenches and easily understood efi

Sorry bud it’s just like for everything else,one bad apple ruins it for everyone

​@@rayman1230 the 90's were wild for these things. Especially in rural ohio. The hotrod guys all had giant carbs on top of their engine. They acted like I was some sort of rocket scientist smoking their big block with that fancy fuel injection 💉 🤣 😂

Shut up boomer

@@aaadamt964 😂 right. Lmao who you talking to about Ohio?! Summit Portage Trumbull Mahoning county are my stomping grounds! Grew up 15 mins from Summit Racing.

And yet the mechanics don't want to work on them either per this video lol. I'm more inclined to say, if you don't have the cash, you shouldn't own one.

yeah and car owners are cheap asses and dont want to spend money when its worn the hell out and a piece of shit, you forgot that part..

And they cannot diagnose that a 200,000 + mile car needs a tuneup just by listening to the engine misfire and vibrate when it starts (and perhaps clean/replace the fuel injectors - although that is more rare today than in the 1980's and 1990's). Not to mention all kinds of other car noises that indicates issues. In the case above (my wife's car) I took it to an independent shop where the mechanic started the car and muttered to himself - It needs a tuneup and I understand why the customer (myself) requested new plugs - possibly new coil packs, and any other work (including potential fuel injector work) as needed. 2 coil packs were bad and the plugs were obviously worn. No fuel injector work was needed.

Most of what he talked about had nothing to do with engine work. A scanner is pretty useless on 90% of what can be wrong with your car.

@@--_DJ_-- Agreed. You need to get it up on the racks, inspect underneath, inspect the brakes, move things, and test drive it.

Some guys will put anything on the rack and take your money. Some have ethics and won't align a worn out suspension. Just because a control arm isn't about to fall off doesn't mean there isn't anything wrong with it.

@@--_DJ_-- Yep. And some people just plain suck at being a technician. Someone brought their car into our shop for a state inspection. The fella next to me was the one that got it. He found the power steering rack was leaking, and told them it would need the rack replaced to pass - I saw the leak, it was a legitimate and correct diagnosis. Customer says to reject it. Takes it to another shop for a second opinion. They put an inner tie rod boot on it, and pass it. The inner tie rod boot isn't there to contain power steering fluid, it's there to contain grease around the inner tie rod and keep dust out. Customer call back claiming we were trying to rip him off. No, but the other shop who gave him a slipshod repair that didn't fix anything definitely did.

@@cavalieroutdoors6036 he would know the truth soon enough when the new boot fills up. They probably just drained his old one and cleaned it on the outside and charged him for a boot. No drip while the inspection is done is technically a pass. Hack job though, I do inspections and wouldn't do that even for myself.

A service advisor could sit down and have a ten or twenty minute phone conversation with you about the who what when where how and why, or he can politely tell you, "I'm sorry, we don't work on vehicles that old." And then go write up something in an age range they *do* service. If you were paid on commission, meaning you make absolutely nothing while on the phone, and another writer will be getting tickets that pay while you're talking to someone that is not making you money, which one would you do?

Well... sounds like you shoulda' said NO once you saw the car !!!!

I have a 1993 f150 also, I am recently finding out that parts are no longer being stocked by third party parts companies like they used too. I love my truck, and would like to keep it as long as I can, but you know "planned obsolescence"...

"You replaced my power steering pump and now my car has a leaking break line, it's all your fault!" Thanks, but no - I'll pass on that headache. Seen it enough.

Accurate.

I would tell my cheap customers to go down to the dollar store for duct tape. I don't build junk.

I really don't understand why a shop has to make a $1000 a Day Out of a Customer.

@@jasonnorthcutt3771 because it costs a lot of money to stay in business

@JMKady76 It don't cost 365000 a year for 1 bay. Gonna have to call b s on that.

The only thing I take my fox into my favorite shop is for work I simply don't have the tools to do the job myself. A/C work is about it, I don't have the tools to evacuate and refill the system. I did take the block in to have it bored .030 over, but beyond stuff like that it's my job to keep my car nice and proper.

@@1991pony i cant do exhaust and im hit miss on the air conditioning.. i build my own trannys motors rearends just whatever i need done ill do .. but its fun to me so i dont mind putting in the hours and money ..

​@@1991pony I hate doing tires, and will take those to a shop. But that's about it.

​@@ThaumazzarI forgot about tires, yeah, that job sucks and I don't have a tire machine.

I know what you mean. I don't trust anybody to work on my baby either.

The time and effort is 1/10th of what they make overcharging insurance companies to replace panels they can buy brand new and half-ass into place.

Body shops work for the insurance companies now.

Man, that's wild to think about. When I first started it was slightly after the transition to OBD II, but we still saw a lot of first gen EFI cars. And now with cars being hybrids and EVs, I'm ready to tap out like those old carburetor guys were when I got into the business. But the reason is a little different...I understand how to work on them. I'm not interested in getting shocked & taking the forever nap so someone's overpriced RC car can keep rolling.

I had a mechanic that did that for all repairs new or old. The estimate was for the absolute worst case. At first he lost some business but after awhile word of mouth worked in his favor. Nobody ever gets pissed and band mouths you when you come in under the estimate and people started thinking he was actually saving them money or giving them a deal

@@leadpilled5567 I agree. It helped me weed out the people I really didn’t want as customers. I can afford to pick and choose.

The issue isn't doing the work. It's like you didn't watch the video.

Even if they plugin a computer they can't figure it out. I think the computer is programed to cause most of the problems. Manufacturers are nothing but crooks.