in search of a good,cheap,reliable mechanic

[KingFlirt1]

Hey Guys i just joined this site as well and whats a best site to join from people in your own state. i need some help here, since i assume your all mustang owners and i know some of you are mechanics or know of a good reliable and cheap mechanic, i need to get my foxbody on the road again. im from elizabeth nj....any help would be greatly appreciated. thanx

[JohnnyGunz]

Cheap is a realitive term. in my opinion, you get 3 things
1. Fast
2. Reliable
3. Cheap

The caveat is you can only choose two. Thats the way life is. What do you have and what are you looking to get done? How much is your budget?

[KingFlirt1]

im not looking for a engine rebuild or anything like that. thats been done late last year by crazy horse racing but since he moved further away, i cant take it to him. the car was over heating alot when i got it back but we didnt know why. but i bought a bigger fan, high flow waterpump, a bigger radiator fan and a 200amp alternator. 4 weeks ago i was taking a slow drive since im still breaking it in (put away for winter) and it over heated. the next day it didnt start. i noticed the number 4 plug with coolant in them. to make a long story short, i replaced the headgaskets with no issue. and it still doesnt want to kick over. it has spark and good pressure fuel. im waiting for my noid light to come in to check pulse of the injectors. one thing i forgot to do is mark the distributor when i pulled it out. i did the tdc on compression and pulled the rotor on plug one and it still wont kick over. i just dont want to get overcharged for someone doing something small and stupid.

[Stangman Jonathan]

Hey welcome, Johnny is one of foxbody guys, so hopefully we can all help you.

[KingFlirt1]

thanx jonathan, have a pretty good feeling about this site already

[JohnnyGunz]

when you drained the oil did u see coolant in there? you are gonna have to remark the distributor for correct timing. i would get it running before adding the rest of the goodies.

[KingFlirt1]

yea it was kinda milky and i put fresh oil in it, once i get it running i will change the oil again after 30 min of running. as for the distributor, i had forgot to mark it. i been reading alot online on how to put it back in on the tdc but some places says to advance it 10 to 14 degree btc. now if i do that, i still have to put on the rotor to the number 1 plug? i appreciate your help. thanx p.s. it already has all the goodies in it, i just had to go and mess it up. lol

[HACKGT350]

i would of brought the car right back to crazy at the first sign of over heating, they must have done something wrong. when you pulled the heads did you check them to make sure they werent warped or cracked or anything? was the head gasket blown out?

stabbing the dizzy is cake as long as you have a timing light which you do need. get the #1 cylinder on tdc of the compression stroke. mark the side of the dizzy where the #1 plug wire goes on the cap. draw that line up the side of the dizzy and into it that way you can line up the rotor when you drop the dizzy in. drop the dizzy into the whole and make sure the rotor lines up with your mark. put the cap on, hook up the wires and tighten the dizzy down so you can still turn it. i dont remember which way you need to turn it to advance it but turn it slightly as someone cranks the car over and its starts. turn the car off pull the spout connector and get the timing light set up. start the car again and set your timing to 10* before tdc. if you want to advance it start with 12 unless you have 93 octane fuel then you can advance it to 14*. if you are running any kind of boost or spray i would suggest leaving it at 10*

[KingFlirt1]

Well the heads were taken to a machine shop before installation, almost everything else was brand new. i couldnt afford to keep the car there any longer. i bought everything and just brought it to them for building and installing it. when i cruise in it, it doesnt overheat but when i step on it does. until i blew the head gaskets so i replaced them myself with high performance head gaskets intead of the stock gaskets he used. when i pulled the dizzy i forgot to mark it. so i put it on number 1 compression and on tdc, drop the dizzy then rotate it to get 12-14 btdc? im not a mechanic and never messed with the timing. thanx for your help

[HACKGT350]

it almost sounds like they put the head gaskets up backwards which will stop coolant flow and cause the engine to over heat. i would have had the heads checked one more time because after major over heating like that it can cause them to warp.

here is a great article on how to put the dizzy in right. how ever if you dont have a timing light dont try setting your timing by ear, you can destroy the engine that way. harbor freight sells them for cheap if you dont have one.
http://mustangforums.com/forum/5-0l-...stributor.html