Update - I was driving the Tempo home today, and the engine seized up while accelerating under 1/2 load. I found a wrecker who would take it and they hauled it away after I pulled the stereo out. :(

Good news is that I bought a '86 Ranger that's in really good shape about a month ago... watch out for a page on that soon maybe.

RIP

1988 Ford Tempo

Welcome to my car's online home! This page has been completely redone as of 4/24.

Stats
* 1988 Ford Tempo 4 door 2.3L HSC auto
* Bosch plugs and ignition
* Functional cold air intake on hood
* 92000 original miles
* Straight pipe exhaust
* Shaved emblems and trunk keyhole
* Shaved side trim
* Half height shaved tail lights
* Custom paint - white with full black bumpers, black striping on edges and door frames
* Super Clean!
* Rebuilt frontend, soon to be redone
* Sound system - Audiovox head, Optimus amp/EQ, stock 6" premium speakers, 10" subs driven by Coustic amp

Future Plans
* Rebuilt frontend (custom fab grill, headlight mounts, etc.)
* Replace/remove catalytic converter
* Tint
* 1-2" drop

Our Story
My boss gave me this car in October of 2002. It was originally his daughter's car, and it had been in a collision with the trailer hitch of a truck which had taken out the front left headlight and grill. Rather than repairing the car, and suspecting frame damage, he instead decided to just get rid of it. At the time I had an '85 Chevy S-10 which has since been sold (more on that at the bottom), and I was going to fix the Tempo up and use it as a secondary car.

I started by removing the entire front grill/headlight assembly, which was pretty much beyond repair. There was also a large chunk taken out of the top part of the bumper. I filled the chunk using fiberglass, popped a pair of round headlights onto the frame, mounted the marker bulbs, and mounted the salvaged front grill. The end result? Not too pretty, but functional. I plan on building a more thorough front assembly soon.

After driving the car around for a few weeks, the starter died, so I replaced that and replaced the battery as well. The car had only 80,000 original miles on it... and much to my surprise, the spark plugs and wires were original! The wires had "Motorcraft 1988" printed on them. I replaced the wires, and tried to replace the plugs, only to find that 2 of the plugs (left and right sides) were frozen in place. I was able to break the first one off and remove the thread with a screw extractor, but on the second one, my screw extractor broke off in the hole. eeeeeehhh... not cool. I was able to limp it to the repair shop and, 200 dollars poorer, all the plugs had been replaced.

As of right now, this car is my primary form of transportation. It's in good shape for its age - starts up with no problem every morning, does 0-60 in around 9 or 10 seconds, and is fun to drive.

Pictures

NOTE - new pictures coming soon. A lot has changed since these were taken. Mainly, the pin stripes have been removed, the back has been shaved, and there's a hood scoop.

Side angle shot

Another side angle

Inside

Half height taillights (crappy nighttime shot)

1985 Chevy S10
My former car was an '85 S10. Lowered frontend, tint, matching canopy, stereo... too bad I wasn't able to see it through to completion. I was driving in some thick rain on a winding highway when I rounded a corner at 20mph and hit some water on the road... I ran into the solid rock embankment and took out the driver's side pretty bad. This was a month after I had gotten the Tempo... good timing, I guess!