Another Dirty Backyard Bargain

[madKE35coupe]

Yet another 'too cheap' to pass up oppertunity has been thrown my way yet again lol. Browsing sales pages on facebook as you do, i came across a dirty black ford tx5 for $150. Now as soon as someone mentions telstar i shut the hearing off asap, but $150 for a scrub basher didnt aound too bad. I spoke to the owner over the phone and went to check it out. When i get there i realise its the turbo model which perked upy interest a bit.....that is until i saw the state of the car. Cracked windscreen, covered in leaves and dirt, and the owners kids had decided to use the interior as a sand pit :/ to be honest i was ready to walk away there and then, and the owner obviously realised. It was at that point she said if you want it bring a trailer and take it i want it out of my yard. So long story short came back with a trailer, loaded it up, went to my mates shop and got it running and driving, cleaned it out and now awaiting more funds to get a new windscreen and get it on the road :) also i am a bit out of my comfort zone with this one as i don't usually do fwd or ford for that matter so any advice is definetely appreciated.

[altezzaclub]

Ford..?? Isn't that just the badge and its really a Mazdas 626??

 

All I've heard is that they run up gigantic mileages if you treat them nicely.

[madKE35coupe]

You would be correct altezza, they are basically a mazda 626 turbo badged as a ford tx5. Even the VIN plates in the engine bay have made in japan stamped on them. This one has a bit over 200k on the clock so lets hope the rumors are true :)

[Feral4K]

Put a new headgasket in it leave the boost alone and itll go forever!

[madKE35coupe]

Lol i was going to do the opposite : leave the head gasket alone and put a boost tee on it and see how long it lasts haha. But seriously i think that would be the way to go as i don't want to blow it up, plus it goes pretty hard as is

[madKE35coupe]

Got some free wheels from work so i thought i moght get a test fit photo :) these are from a mazda cx5, and the extra width and lower prifile tyre should help with handling and looks a bit

[Twincam16seca]

They look alright, how's the rest of the car going?

[madKE35coupe]

Progress is slow unfortunately :( have fitted a new battery and slave cylinder so its driveable at least. Need to replace the windscreen and tyres then it will be ready for rwc

[madKE35coupe]

Boost gauge, turbo timer and boost tee on its way 😄 tax time coming up so hopefully might have enough spare coin to get her on the road

[Mtopxsecret6]

I had an mx6, two door version of this. 

2.2 turbo 4ws. These are torque monsters. Gearboxes are week including halfshafts. The 4ws system fail alot. 

If you want more boost you will need to trick the afm, or run an ecu. They have boost and fuel cuts.

Great cars, don't waste your money trying to make it fast though, you need to spend alot for a smallish gain.