How the time flies. These were everywhere back in the day, but that day is now almost thirty years ago. Good luck trying to find an unmolested one, like nifticus did. It’s even got the period-correct bra. I can just hear the growl of its twin exhausts. And feel the shifter for the T-5 transmission slide into first. And smell a bit of burning rubber on a brisk take-off. What do you see, hear and feel?
Thirty years gone in an eye blink .
The California Highway Patrol tried these as high speed pursuit cars and couldn’t find Officers who knew how to drive stick shifts ~ so they had classes .
I remember young men getting shot for these cars .
Cute and fun to drive .
-Nate
One was imported here recently ex California highway patrol for use as a pace car it handled so poorly it was too slow and required major suspension work just to be a pace car, straight line quick isnt fast.
Well Bryce ;
It’s just an American cheap Pony car , you didn’t really expect it to handle well didja ? .
I agree , straight line acceleration is no big thing , it’s easy to do .
-Nate
And let’s not talk about the brakes…
I remember young men getting shot for these cars
As do I. Even Hollywood took notice:
Theirs were notchbacks though, never the hatch. I remember looking at one as a potential used car purchase. Man, was it BEAT! I wisely walked away. But I am a fan of the LX 5.0 like the one pictured, great car, would have been fun.
rare find indeed. in germany those were ultra rare. all mustangs actually were.
I remember when they were introduced in europe back in 1979 and car magazines drooled over the “europeanized” looks. But they allegedly drove like crap thanks to their live rear axle. oh…and magazine journalists said that the “rear” window was a copy of that of the Mercedes R107 SLC 😉
Well how dare they copy Benz like that! Good thing journalists used valuable column space to point out that vital information, or else many potential buyers might’ve failed to notice.
I hope they were as critical of the Euro Capri’s live axle.
Actually, a lot of European critics were. The Capri Mk3 came out at about the same time as the Fox Mustang, but it still had a Mk2 Cortina floorpan under it and I think about the same “crude but cheap and kind of fun” reputation the Mustang did in the U.S. The late 2.8i had a surprisingly effective suspension tuning job courtesy SVE, but even its fans were pretty upfront about its limitations.
BTW, Ford could’ve played up its German Engineering (I’m getting sick of that cliché), since the 2.3 Lima engine was originally a German design & the 2.8 was German-built, while the 5.0 (actually 4.9) was probably too big for most European customers: if you could afford the fuel for that, you could afford more exotic machinery too.
Technically the Lima was “all new” though it shared the same basic architecture as the German OHC 4cyl.
I feel the ache of regret for choosing a VW GTI over a Mustang GT in 1985. Of course, had I actually chosen the Mustang, I would probably still feel the same pangs of regret over the GTI not chosen. The LX with the 5.0 came out a couple of years after I was in the market.
I also see and feel the cracks in the plastic dashpad and in the door panels which I expected to materialize after about 3 years. Also the dissonance between the retrograde interior styling and the beautiful engine and shifter that made you feel like you were in a 68 Mustang instead of a new one (and for all the right reasons).
Finally, I remember the enjoyment of the LX 5.0 convertible that Mrs. JPC and I rented while on hour honeymoon in 1990. Other than the automatic transmission, the car was total enjoyment.
I think you made the right choice in choosing the GTI, and I say so knowing the VW’s limitations. Then again, raw power isn’t my thing as much as “flingability.”
I sold Fords in the 80’s and struggled to not trade in my GTI for one.
In the long run the VW was a better choice as I would’ve likely lost my DL if I had bought a 5.0.
The Mustang far outsold the GTI but today there are more VWs still In existence.
My sister had a nearly new 1988 GTI 16V give to her as a wedding present by her father in law (yes he was on the wealthy side) He got bored with it after a year and bought a Porsche 911. I got to drive it and work on it quite often. It was fun to drive, and fast for what it was, but it never handled right. I still believe that for a handling car RWD is the way to go. I am a huge fan of air cooled VWs, but would definitely have taken a Mustang over the GTI. V8 engine and RWD says it all.
Working on that car was a nightmare, I mangled my hands every time I worked on it, and while she ultimately made it to just past 250,000 miles, it constantly needed something. I doubt many parts are still available for that car, while there is no shortage of parts for ANY Mustang, even the Fox and Mustang II models. Both my Pinto and Fairlane use a lot of Mustang parts. And Ford, unlike GM, uses the same part# for the same part, no matter what it goes on.
While checking the local Craigslist for Fox Mustangs, I found that about half of them are convertibles, and most of all of them are trashed. I did find several bodies that look like they would make nice drag race cars. IMO, both Fox Mustangs and ’82-’92 GM F-bodies make excellent race cars. Not only do they do the job well, but if the worst happens, it’s not like you just destroyed a real rare classic car. I’ve seen so many cars at the track that I thought should have been in museums, and I have seen a couple of them crashed.
agree with your assessment of front engine rear drive cars.
I would also add that a stick is mandatory. A V8 is not mandatory in my opinion. I like large displacement straight six motors designed for low RPM torque rather than high RPM horsepower. I like 2 door rear drive cars with useable back seats, long hoods, short trunks, minimal overhangs, and the engine placed behind the front wheels. This means the front wheels must be very close to the front of the car and the hood must be very long. The car should be small and light which means the engine and drivetrain should be a large portion of the vehicle weight. This will, by necessity, cause the interior to be a little cramped and the trunk space shockingly tiny.
What do I see, hear and feel? I hear Slaughter, I see biceps, and I feel… cynicism. It’s odd, but it’s taken an adult perspective to understand why these cars were so cool. When I was younger, they just seemed crude, with an appeal that was too obvious to fully embrace. That feeling still lingers, actually; I prefer a more tight, buttoned down experience, even if I’m dealing with a slower machine. But I can’t deny the appeal of that sort of torque in a cheap, small(ish), rear-drive package (that said, I’d prefer a pre-facelift model).
Purveyors of imported sport coupes should’ve taken the popularity of these cars as a sign that it would be worth federalizing their best engines and offering them for less money.
Slaughter! I think I saw them live once. So many wannabe (and actual) metal bands passed before my eyes in those days it’s hard for me to keep it all straight.
haha Slaughter! Ive actually been looking for the ‘Stick it to ya’ CD. 105.9 The Brew plays a lot of 80s buttrock. It hasn’t appealed to me since junior high, but for some reason Im revisiting it these days.
“Crude” is the perfect description of what I think a car should be. Crude, primitive, simple, unrefined. Definitely needs style, needs to be rock solid, needs to have a big V8 under the hood (pushrod or even flathead, no OHCs) RWD, Non independent rear suspension with leaf springs, and super beefy front suspension. Body should be made out of real steel, not tin foil, and there should be nothing on the car that does not make it go, turn and stop. And no electronics (I mean computer electronics, not an electrical system) no emissions crap. It should not be either smooth nor quiet, though I have no problems with comfortable seats.
Yes, this is pretty much the description of a home built hot rod. But, you have to ask yourself why so many go to the trouble and expense of building such a car from the ground up, when they could have just gone down the street and bought a new Honda Civic?
HEY!
I resemble that remark!
Yes I am a recent purchaser of a Honda civic. It is my first ever honda.
The car I want does not exist. I make do with the best deal that comes my way that has the most reliability and reputation and fuel economy. That turned out to be a used honda civic this time around.
I see a car from a time that I miss very much. 1989 was my graduation year in high school and we had a total hoot that year. Parties, tires melting rubber, cool cars you could easily tell apart, lots of 2 door coupes in various guises, V8 engines rumbling away, cheap gas, wars, 911, floods and the 2008 mortgage disaster weren’t in anybody’s minds and there was just a feel of free spirit and much simpler times. Back then you weren’t held hostage in school the entire day and could leave for lunch or smoke breaks or a little fling in the bushes etc. There were no buses shipping us in. We walked, rode our bikes or drove our cars. Common core and incessant testing wasn’t even heard of and one’s biggest worry was passing all of his/her courses, getting those gym excuses in on time and having some kind of plan for the future. Oh and doing well on those SAT scores too!
And yes these were a very common site along with the F-body duo. You just weren’t anybody unless you had one of these or some old cool muscle car with a honking V8 back in this time era.
nicely summed up.
Love this account – could be my description of high school (c/o ’92). The sight of these latter-day Fox-body Mustangs instantly make me nostalgic for my teens and twenties.
Class of 89 rules! Nice sum up. My daughter is still too young for me to have much sense of what high school is really like these days, but I have a feeling I’d be shocked at how different it is.
C/O ’92 here so I got a taste of all that. A 5.0 or GM F body were THE cars to have on one hand, or a lowered minitruck. You had your choice of many lesser sport coupes also. Dodge Daytonas were a thorn in the side of many a 5.0 or F. I was one of the 4×4 guys with my ’78 CJ7 Renegade. It wasn’t the ‘in thing’ but no problem getting a honey in the front seat!
Even accurate for late 90s. It’s not rose colored nostalgia. I remember. I was there.
Yes, very similar times for me too (Class of ’90). A couple of my buddies and I had 5.0’s (’85, ’89, ’90 and later a ’92) an IROC, plus a few more had old Mustangs from ’65, ’66 and ’67 and last but not least a GTO clone ’68 Pontiac. Like you said, lots of fun times before “adult” concerns headed our way.
These were crude compared with a Supra, but they were so well balanced. Ford tuned the 5.0 for low/mid range kick in the pants and the T-5 was an absolutely PERFECT match for the engine and car. The engine felt super strong–it only had 225hp but it was tuned and geared such that if felt way stronger. Plus the fox mustangs were very light compared with a modern car of their size. Solid rear axle meant that it would take abuse and hook up in a straight line better than an IRS—which is all that 95% of buyers wanted anyway.
They also created a whole renaissance for the aftermarket and hence became the ’32 Ford and tri-five Chevy of their time. The only problem was that the entire package was closely matched to the engine interms of durability, so if you hopped it up you quickly exceeded the strength of its trans, suspension, rearend, brakes, etc. One of those cars that was easy to mess up without judicious control with the summit catalog.
I never owned one, but will one day.
When I graduated from engineering school in 1989, several of my classmates bought these, or the similar LX 5.0. The LX 5.0 had the edge, actually, because it was slightly lighter and slightly cheaper, but was 99% as much fun. The reason why these sold so well was because they were within reach of a young twentysomething with an entry-level professional job. My memory is that the LX 5.0 stickered at about $14,000.
One person I know took a four-year note on an LX 5.0 back in 1989, and after his first Indiana winter traded that car on something that wasn’t frightening on snowy roads.
A friend from High School got the 5.0 LX, with strategic perf. options, instead of the GT because he thought it would cost less to insure. Was it that easy to deceive actuaries?
Note how, in the hatchback pictured above, Ford tried to make the original heavy C-pillar look thinner using a larger quarter window.
No, but it might have been a tad easier to avoid drawing the attention of John Law.
Oh, rwd coupe light on tail in snow…
That explains why many gear head rather drives an A-Body Oldsmobile near dissolving or Buick with whitewall tires from the previous owner in that season. or Taurus, in a less hilarious way.
I had an ’89 LX coupe in dark blue, very pretty car. Wish I still had it. She was an auto tho, but the AOD was beefed up with a shift kit and upgraded ratios for 2nd and 3rd, and it was equipped with 3.73 gears. What a blast to drive! Luckily I never got pulled over in it, for I sure deserved it on many an occasion 🙂 !
Not a huge fan of the foxbody Mustangs, a little too boxy & ’80s squared for my taste, but these were vast improvements over the ’74-’78 IIs.
’79-’83 were foxbodies but still had that malaise-era taste to them, by ’84 they were fairly decent cars & towards the end run (’87-’93) they were great.
I’d rather a nice SN95
To me it’s exactly the opposite. The malaise era started when the govt. started piling things on cars that didn’t belong on cars. The more time went by, the more of this rubbish got piled on cars. So the very latest cars are the ultimate malaise mobiles. An ’83 is old enough to get collector car insurance on, so you could rip out whatever pathetic chunk of iron was under the hood, and drop in a real, four barrel, 500 hp engine, rebuild the steering, brakes, and suspension, and put some real tires on it (I mean 15″ BF Goodrich T/A Radials, not 20″ ghetto wheels) And you would not have to deal with emissions inspections, in AZ anyway. I don’t know any car enthusiast that would not be happy with such a car. You could have power, handling, and purity (it would be all 100% mechanical) and any halfway decent mechanic could work on it.
It depends on region to region, sometimes many older cars may migrate to another place, and gradually disappears for a certain model in a certain area ( dealers in rust belt are snapping many good used cars from Arizona, Texas, Kentucky… ) In Michigan, Fox mustang remains one of the most common sports car you see when the road is free of salt. As I drive through different cities and towns, 87-93 Mustang is not rare in general, except few variants. And many of them still does street racing on Woodward Avenue ( I’m pointing at Royal Oak police too. They are unfriendly to that, very unfriendly to non-Ford cars, and extra unfriendly to ricer Accord and such ) in June and July, with Firebird, Camaro.
However the rarer ones among the Fox mustang are the those with Lima 2.3 L4 engine in pristine condition. They usually appear as beaters, but somehow there are few forgotten survivors nationwide, and they don’t ( and shouldn’t ) catch high price tag in dealer auctions. Dealership particularly interested in such cars get them cheap and ship to where people are more likely to buy ( I don’t think there is any chance of selling a Lima Mustang in California, but here in Michigan it’s far better ) Ed Schmid Ford in Ferndale had one like that last year, a stripper ’93 2.3 L4 Mustang, in a very good condition. But I think most ordinary buyers walk away from a few thousand bucks car with crank windows when a nice Buick LeSabre lies next to it with full leather and power everything at lower price. Older used cars like fox mustang are the specialties. In the same dealer, they had a mint ’93 Chevrolet Cavalier wagon with black bumpers, also a nice late ’80s Jeep wrangler without AC yelling it’s from Ed Schmid, even though it’s a Ford dealer.
Revell made several good kits out of Fox Mustang too, by simply changing the front clips and doing modifications, in the exact same way how Ford did it. Really smart for them!
( sorry for the sloppy headlights assembly, the fit and finish has a lot to improve )
In Northern California rust is never an issue. The issue here is the owner. Most of these have had a last owner from shall I say the “younger” crowd who have modded them for one. Some of the mods are reversible at considerable expense and so make the car worthless. Also those examples tended to have the crap beaten out of them which would make the engine, transmission, suspension and drive line very suspect.
When you do find a nice one, and I have looked, it is never one with the 5.0L engine. I wonder why.
Yes, that’s another side of the story. Usually the high performance version tends to draw the attention from younger crowd, and usually becomes more likely to be hard driven ( especially the failure of transmission ) and as a result they would have shorter life. That’s the negative effect from being high performance, except those fall in hands of more mature owners. ( and then usually garage kept, eliminating the rust issue with benefits of lower mileage too in surprisingly good condition )
Buick Park Avenue Ultra on the other hand, even though it does share more often occurrence of failed transmission and I can imagine why, Park Avenue in general looks too senior special to draw much attention from the young crowd, and the protection from younger crowd is reinforced when fit with white wall tires. Buick Regal GS is slightly less so fortunate, maybe it doesn’t look senior enough.
Buying a car from a senior sounds like a better bet than from the young, either Park Avenue Ultra or Mustang with 5.0.
Lean mean driving machine…
What do you think to the 2015 Stang?. to Euro perhaps? We get them in the fall with RHD and a 4cyl ECOTEC engine so Ford UK are going to market it as the next Capri..
The Probe bombed…
But see http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/NewMustang
It would create serious buyer confusion to rename it now.
BTW, they should make it clear: The Fox Mustang was exported to Europe before, as pointed out above.
Oh yes ,1st as the Turbo Ghia that had the performance of a 2lt Capri then the
3.3lt straight 6 slug.Never big sellers.
Why would Ford sell a car with a GM engine?
Actually the 2015 model looks too Asian to me.
I could easily put up with one a 6 or V8 only please.It’s still nicer than the Camaro
looks entirely too big and heavy to me
I wouldn’t ever buy a Mustang with a 4 cyl. My love of Muscle cars was cemented growing up because every rice burner in my subdivision had an obnoxious blaring fart can, but when a V8 car, usually a Mustang, drove by it pretty much heroically drowned all of them out in that burbly V8 symphony. Needless to say hearing that sound coming from a Mustang is akin to that scene in the crying game.
Aesthetically though it’s not too bad, from the cowl back I like it much more than the 10-14s but the front end I just can’t warm up to, I don’t know why people like slanted headlights so much, it looks like a clown grinning at me. My biggest dislike is more the overrefinement, It’s one thing to use nicer materials and get rid of squeaks and rattles in the interior, but turning it into a Lexus like isolation chamber takes away so much of the Mustang’s character. They should be loud and brash, and piping in sound effects through the stereo doesn’t count.
My favorite car of the ones that I’ve owned was a 1988 Mustang GT convertible. We purchased it new in late 1988 and it was my daily driver for seven years. As several people have stated this edition of the Mustang seemed to be the right size. Mine was plenty quick and fun to drive, even with the AOD transmission and 3.08 final drive. I still regret getting rid of it; the drive train was still in good shape but the front end needed to be rebuilt and, of course, the top leaked. I should have just bitten the bullet and spent the money to fix it up.
Ice, Ice, Baby.
Dang, my friend had a brand new 89 exactly like that with the 5-speed, same color too. I loved driving that thing, it was so much better than the hand me downs I was accustomed to as a starving student.
As fun as it was in the summer it was indeed truly terrifying in the snow. After one winter he bought a beater to drive in that season..
I live in Kentucky and I still see plenty of these cars in varying condition mostly decent but plenty of ragged out cars but still running. I will say that the part of Kentucky I live in should be considered the southern part of the salt belt. Cars rust here and except maybe this week since I’m looking at about 17 inches of snow in my front yard, salt is usually dumped way out of proportion to the weather.
If someone is selling a Kentucky car, find out where in Kentucky it comes from. If it is basically north of I-64 check the car closely.
One of these days, I’m going to run a COAL of my dad’s ’88 GT convertible that he bought in ’90 and still owns. I got to drive to to high school occasionally, where it was easily the coolest car in the parking lot. It’s an automatic, however, and it’s amazing how much slower the autos were than the T-5 cars back then. It was like night and day. Time has changed, because the new automatic 5.0s are in lock step with the sticks, if not a little faster.
There was a big horsepower gap between the auto and stick versions of these. My memory says that when the stick had 225, the auto had only 175, so you lost 50 ponies by not shifting for yourself. It was my understanding that the engine was detuned because the AOD was not strong enough to handle what the engine could put out.
I don’t think there was a power difference after 1985 anymore once all 5.0 models switched to fuel injection.
That’s correct; from ’86 up, all 5.0s had the same power rating regardless of transmission. The sticks were so much faster because of far more advantageous gearing. I think 1st in a T5 was something like 3.35:1, and an AOD is saddled with 2.40:1, and no torque converter is going to make up for that difference when you’re pulling a 2.73 axle ratio. Honestly, my dad’s 5.0 is a dog off the line, but picks up from there.
Thanks for the update. After I passed on the 85 as a new car, I kinda stopped paying attention to these.
JP, I’m not sure if there was a power difference so much as a difference in the rear gears. It seems like the automatic had 2.73 gears in the back vs. 3.08 or 3.23 range for the stick. Of course, I’m going off memory and haven’t verified this.
I used a 79 for it’s front end when turning my FWD into a RWD. =I will always be able to buy parts for it.
Very nice. The 1987 facelift along with the 5.0 made for the most appealing Mustang in long time. JPC’s reference to 1968 is apt, this car was finally again true to Mustang roots if only missing some of the styling cues.
I test drove a 1989 5.0 LX and really liked it. I think “crude” is too easily thrown at this car. By 1989 this car had seen 10 years of refinement, and keep in mind it was produced by the same company that was producing the Taurus, the post 1982 Thunderbird and the considerably refined Panther cars. Ford was producing quite a bit of desirable product in the late ’80s, this was no exception.
Handling was actually pretty decent by my standards, I was used to older mostly full-size cars and this was tight, tossable, and grin inducing when you stepped on the gas.
Our test drives led to the purchase of a 1989 MN12 Thunderbird, but the 1989 5.0 LX would have been a good fit in our lives at the time – before children. While we enjoyed the Thunderbird for several years, passing on the 5.0 may be my biggest automotive regret.
If time allows, a H.O 5.0 in ’91 Tbird would show up. I really want it but it’s no longer easy to find
I think “crude” is more a comment on the specifications than the actual execution; in that sense, they were certainly an improvement on the contemporary F-body. The F-body was a more dramatic styling statement, but the Fox Mustang did a better job of being a functional car.
One I’ve always wanted. I had an ’89 Mustang with the 2.3 and an automatic.
That was a RWD coupe which was great in the snow.
Ditto on the “always wanted” – I had an ’88 LX hatch with the 2.3L paint-shaker 4-cyl. and a 5-speed manual. Oxford White exterior with Regatta Blue cloth interior. I washed, waxed and took care of it like it actually was a 5.0. About a year before the MY ’94s came out during the fall of 1993, I had chrome pony emblems installed on the front fenders. Subsequent cars I owned were better technically, but my slow Mustang remains my favorite. It would have been “impractical” for me to have bought the 5.0 as a 19 year old, as the insurance rates would have killed my bank account and made me house-poor during college.
Yep, that’s exactly the same reasons I had the 2.3. It was as reliable as the sun, I wore out the carpet beneath the accelerator, and it got maybe 24 mpg. When I got my ’96 T-bird with a 4.6 it got the same fuel economy with a lot more power.
Very similar to a car my friend drove – 87 four-cylinder auto bright-blue notchback.
The funny thing about that Mustang was the window sticker said it was a V6 (either through error or fraud, nobody knows). They didn’t discover it was a four banger for several months, but they liked the car so much they kept it and didn’t make a stink. Even without the power, it was still a fun car to drive.
I do know of one unmolested 5.0 Fox Mustang. Back in 1967 my aunt had just earned her nursing degree. If I remember the story correctly, she and my uncle (who she was dating at the time) had gone to see The Graduate and after the movie he made a promise to her that if she ever earned her MSN he’d buy her a red Alfa Spider.
Fast forward to 1992. My aunt finally got her master’s. As promised, my uncle looked into buying a new Spider, but the prospect of having to go at least 60 miles for the nearest shop with any Alfa experience convinced him to buy something else – a ’92 Mustang GT convertible. Red, black top, black leather interior and every available option. It’s always been garaged (usually under a car cover) never driven in winter and rarely driven in rain. It’s also been immaculately maintained by the same small town Ford dealer that my uncle ordered it from. Other than having the original Gatorbacks replaced with a different tire and some slight wear on the driver’s seat it looks like a new car.
There is one that looks just like this that parks in the same lot as me at work, except it’s not a V8. Skinnier tires, single exhaust, no 5.0 badging.
I never cared for the notchbacks, but the hatches are still pretty good-looking cars. Though Ford sort of shot themselves in the foot by styling the ’90s Escort so closely to these–it ended up devaluing the Mustang rather than bringing up the Escort, at least in my opinion. Pretty dreadful interiors also, looked cheap rather than the perhaps intended sporty/minimal.
It really all depended on the options though. Two female friends in college had Mustangs and they were completely different stories–one an ’89 Notchback, auto/4cyl, slightly faded red with this same wheel design. and while the badges said Mustang, everything about it felt like an 2-door economy car. No acceleration, depressing interior, didn’t even look sporty. Another had a ’92 hatchback LX 5.0, dark blue metallic with the 5-spoke Pony alloys, stock except for subtle chrome tips on the dual exhaust. And that car was nearly lust-worthy. It helped that it was in perfect shape, but it was night and day between variants of the same car.
I had an 87 LX 5 speed – sadly only a 4 cylinder though. I was pretty nervous about the insurance costs of the 5.0, even in LX form. Too bad, I probably could have afforded it. It was my first new car, and it served me pretty well, still running fine at 110k when I traded it in. It was certainly slow, but I did really like it. Great memories of my cross-country move and subsequent road trips to explore my new home state of California. But brand new, there was an issue with the paint – the blue pigment seemed to make spots under the clear coat. The dealer claimed it was due to acid rain while on the transporter. I got them to agree to repaint it, but then I moved and kind of let it fall through the cracks. Oddly, as it aged it became rather less noticeable, and I didn’t ever have any rust issues, even after living right at the beach for a year.
Eventually I traded it on a 4-door Cherokee (also with a 5 speed) in 1996 when #1Son arrived.
I see an IROC-Z pulled next to me with its Jersey Shore like inhabitants.
I hear their freestyle music thumping from their Kicker box . I also hear my 5.0 hitting redline.
I feel my Mustang fishtail sideways after I dump the clutch and eventually leave that ‘Roc in the dust!
What do I feel? Dread! The Washington State Patrol used a coupe version back in the 80s.
Yup as an unmarked car.
While many point to the early seventies as the final hurrah of the musclecar, the last, cheap 5.0 Fox-body Mustang was probably closer to the true end. Like the sixties’ musclecar, with the Mustang, it was still possible for just about anyone to get one of these. Even a used one was within the means of someone with a McJob. New, retro, V8 bloat-mobiles are over $30k these days (and, in some cases, way over). No burger-flipper is going to be able to qualify for the payments on one of those.
And, unlike the unwieldy big-block beasts of yore, the Mustang, although tail-happy as ever, was still controllable enough by any wet-behind-the-ears kid that he wouldn’t immediately kill himself in one.
But, then, a couple of years after the SN95 Mustang replaced the Fox, the more expensive and lower torque OHC 4.6 V8 wiped it all out in a blink of an eye.
These Mustangs make me think of Menace II Society:
Thank goodness car bras went out of style. I had one on my ’80 Mustang when I was young and dumb, it ended up doing more harm that good. And in retrospect it looks absolutely horrible. Even with my cool-at-the-time smoked headlight covers that necessitated pulling over and taking off when it got dark out.
I also had an ’84 Mustang GT 5.0 5-speed and it was everything people here say. Cheap, fun, and fast for its day. Not the greatest handler, but who cares? Midwestern roads don’t have many curves. And yes, there was Slaughter in the tape deck. With MTX boxes in back.
I wonder if they didn’t go out of style so much as enough people learned that lesson the hard way. I’d suspect the one on this car’s still around because the damage has already been done.
Bras look worse than unprotected hoods with a few dings in front.
Along similar lines with dashboards, I’ve never had a cracked dash here in the Sunbelt, as I always put up a windshield shade while parked outside. Those carpeted covers are unnecessary.
Maybe the next new thing will be covers for floor mats.
We already do that in the snowbelt, I use thick rubber floor mats placed on top of the carpeted floor mats during winter months to prevent salt stains. I usually take them out in the spring/summer months though
Watch out, putting floor mats on top of other floor mats leads to fiery death.
I don’t really get why, especially in pickups, vinyl floors aren’t more common. Most truck owners I know throw in Weathertech or some other large rubber mat to protect the carpet.
These were a dime a dozen in my high schools parking lot (class of 2000)
Saw a blue one exactly like this recently with yellowing bumpers
One thing no one has mentioned so far was the brakes on these cars. They came equipped from the factory with small disc brakes in the front, and drum brakes in the rear. Considering that these cars had 225 HP it was criminal to put such crappy brakes on these Mustangs. Going fast is optional, stopping is mandatory.
I bought one of these brand new in early 1987; it was great. Mine was the exact same color scheme as shown, although I never had mud flaps or a bra. The one shown is an 88 or 89 model because it’s got the same bolstered seats in plaid tweed as the GT. In 87, the 5.0 LX had the same interior as the four cylinder model, including the plain seats and door cards.
In 87, 5.0 LXs were very unusual; all the dealers had were GTs and I had to special order mine. Starting the following model year, though, they were much more common. I recollect that I paid about $13k for it.
I had been working as an civil engineer for about a year in 1986 when I decided my job sucked. So, I went back to grad school for my Ph.D. My assistantship paid enough that I could afford beer and the payments. I had previously bought a Honda Accord and it, like the job, turned out to be a mistake. I had wanted a Mustang all along, but the insurance for a single, male, 25-year old Mustang 5.0 driver in the Atlanta area was crushing. However, when I went back to school in South Carolina the insurance differential was vastly lower for some reason.
I have many, many pleasant memories of that car, which I sold eight years later. It rode like a buckboard, probably because the hatchback body structure was so willowy and the suspension had to be rock hard to compensate. Various flimsy plastic interior trim pieces rustled continuously. But the powertrain was classically great and at 3100 or so pounds the car was lightweight by modern standards. The T-5 was notchy but very direct and, compared to the Honda, the clutch felt like a Nautilus exercise. I think my left leg was probably an inch larger than my right by the time I sold it. I never had a lick of trouble with it in the 8 years I owned it and the former coworker I sold it to still has it, so I see it occasionally. It’s no longer his daily driver, but he is keeping it as a collector’s item.
At this point, I guess I should say that I wished I had it back and all, but I got to drive it again around 2003. As with former lovers and great restaurant meals, sometimes it’s best to just leave things as cherished memories. I had a 2000 Corvette Z51 six-speed by that point and the Mustang felt just awful (except for the shifter, which was crappy in the Corvette.) It creaked, it rattled, the seats felt formless and lumpy. The clutch was still a pain.
So, what do I hear, see, and feel? Driving alone on an empty, twisty two-lane road somewhere in the north Georgia mountains on a beautiful spring day, blue sky, and green trees all around, windows down, the La’s playing on the cassette deck, working the T-5 up and down and putting the spurs to the 5.0 when I can – it’s one of my best driving memories of all time. It was crude and rough and not terribly stable above 80 mph, but fun, fun, fun. Thank you for bringing it back to me.
Hmmm. Maybe I should go sit in a new Mustang GT sometime….
The LX 5.0 5 speeds(especially the notchback) were such sleepers in their day. They looked exactly like the ridiculously slow 4 cylinder Mustangs, minus the badges and the alloy wheels(the 16″ GT pony wheels made standard in 91 kind of killed the sleeper trait but I thought they looked good).
I remember when I was maybe 8 years old the family went on a road trip to New Mexico and we got stopped dead in traffic jam in the middle of nowhere due to a bad accident and helicopter rescue a few miles ahead. After about two hours sitting completely stopped(not exaggerating, many motorists, including my Grandpa, got out to stretch and get some fresh air) the scene was cleared and traffic got going. A few miles down the road as the road largely cleared, I was looking around and saw a Calypso Green LX 5.0 hatchback just screaming towards and past us in the right lane to get off an exit – clearly an act of mild road rage, but man oh man to an influential young me hearing that 5.0 exhaust note fly by in a green blur sure exited me. It’s funny too, we say all sorts of interesting things on that trip including Pueblos but the only thing I clearly remember was that Mustang. I’ve loved Foxbodies ever since
Paul,
You are not kidding about how popular the 87-93 Mustang was and quickly these disappeared.
I don’t really remember seeing many pre 1987 Mustangs around but the 87-93 were everywhere(it is like the modified SVO front end ushered in a sales boom)
Then they just were gone starting around 1998 or so.
I would think there would still be a lot of those 4 cylinder (aka insurance specials) ones around.
There was something iconic about those aluminum rims. Such a clean design and so simple looking.
I feel like I need to wash my eyes with a Firebird Formula. GM got the looks right during the 80’s.
+1
Why all the comments about the less-then-stellar handling? I owned a 1983 LX convertible with the 5.0 and manual 4-speed (yes, that’s what they had in early 1983) and it was a kick. Great acceleration for the day and the closest thing one could get to a ’60’s muscle car. California freeways, wide-open deserts of Arizona, and long and flat roads in West Texas was where I did my driving. Really, how many winding mountain roads do most of drive? But putting my foot into it at 70 and still having plenty left – I’ll take it. Nothing like a torquey V8 and the sound of the 4-barrel kicking in.
People tend to take things out of context. Did this handle well compared to a 2006 Civic? Nope. But compared to its contemporary Monte Carlo or Crown Vic it certainly did. These were a great all-around performance value back in their day.
Just last night I was watching a quiz show on TV. One of the questions was “Name an American car”. Good question, as we only get a few Chrysler models here – but obviously not many people know it. Mustang was the top answer, with Chevrolet second.
Funny, was just watching a video on the Drive youtube channel where they say that these cars should appreciate in value in the years to come.
I seriously doubt it. They are Japanese, not American or European. The only Japanese cars I have ever heard about being even halfway collectible were the Datsun Z cars through ’77, and the Datsun 1600 Roadster. These particular cars are too modern and complex to ever make it as collector cars. Except for something extremely rare, I doubt computer controlled cars will ever be collectible. Collectible Corvettes pretty much ended with the 1982 model. In most cases, the late ’70s marked the end of true collector cars. Many people in the business put it back as far as ’72.
I didn’t watch the video(I HATE youtube car shows) so I really don’t know what cars were mentioned besides the 300ZX, but that’s ridiculous. People will collect and seek out whatever they like, and there’s a HUGE chunk of people who do indeed like 80s and 90s Japanese cars, or cars from the 80s/90s in general. Unless your definition of collectible is massive overinflation of price most Muscle cars are at now(which will likely plummet in coming decades) I don’t see those cars being shunned, not the least of which for being computer controlled.
They recently had the Barrett Jackson auction here in Scottsdale. The only Japanese cars I remember were, of all things, first generation Toyota Land Cruisers. The ones that looked almost like a Jeep CJ. It’s not just muscle cars. Collectible cars go all the way back to the Model T. They include thousands of makes and models of all types. Very few 4 doors after 1930, and almost all of them are American and European. The DeLorean is becoming collectible, as well as the Bricklin SV1. Nobody is even collecting C4 Corvettes, not even first year models. They are still available dirt cheap, many are trashed. And Corvettes have been among the most collectible American cars.
High tech cars are to difficult and expensive to restore, and there is a parts availability problem. Nobody makes reproduction computer parts. And technology is not what drives the collector car market. It is the lack of technology, especially electronic technology, that most people want. Most car collectors have smart phones, but they don’t want that kind of technology in their hobby cars. Most want to work on their cars.
There is a sub species in the collector car business, several steps below the common cockroach, that does not care anything about cars at all. They buy and sell them purely as financial investments. It is that type of scum that is ruining it for those like me, and many others, who actually love cars.
You don’t think people work on 87-93 Mustangs? There’s plenty of other mechanical components to physically work on on a computer controlled vehicle, I doubt collectors only collect so they can rebuild a carburetor every weekend.
Plus you don’t need reproduction solid state computer parts, since they basically don’t fail. Sensors, actuators, sure but there’s an almost universal multi-decade interchange with those components for any given company it’s a non issue. I’d be more concerned as an old car guy about sourcing Carburetor parts and 14″ tires in the future
http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-toyota-4runner-sr5/
There are plenty more lots of cars from the 80’s are becoming collectible. Corvettes are still cheap but they hit a floor and I know several collectors who have started buying some of the more rare C4 vettes. (My father bought an 87 as a summer driver cruise show car last year)
People will collect and seek out whatever they like, and there’s a HUGE chunk of people who do indeed like 80s and 90s Japanese cars,
As an example, I can’t imagine how the CRX and DelSol could miss being desirable as collectables. Cheap, light and responsive has it’s fans. Civic level reliability doesn’t hurt either.
Then there are the people with a vintage Miata tucked away for better weather, right JP?
Toyota 2000GT
http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068237
And that’s just the start.
I recently spoke to the middle-aged lady who bought this non-rotary for $200 from a neighbour in the 90s. She gets pulled over by people wanting to buy it from her ALL the time. One guy begged her to take it to his rotary specialist mate who then offered her $5k for it. She declined the offer as she’d just been offered $8k. She still hasn’t sold it BTW, she’s far from a car nut but loves this little baby.
Collectible can be defined by market demand, and prices for Japanese cars are skyrocketing.
It can also be defined by ‘in-the-eye-of-the-beholder’. That’s my bag and I love Japanese as well as US and Euro.
80s and 90s Japanese cars? Unmolested R32/33/34 GTRs come to mind.
d’oh
I never knew that car (Toyota 2000GT) existed. If it weren’t for the mirrors, I’d probably say Ferrari.
People are constantly trying to buy my ’72 Pinto wagon. It makes a very nice daily driver, but I don’t see it ever being collectible. I keep it because I like it. I have taken it to the car show a couple of times, and it got a lot of attention. Mostly from people who could not believe one still existed. You see a lot of beautifully restored mid year ‘Vettes and ’57 Chevys at car shows. people expect that, they’ve seen them over and over. But a stock Pinto throws them for a loop.
I find a 72 Pinto appealing because of the thin bumpers, and I like the wagon version more. Nothing more fun than throwing carsnobs for a loop.
I’d say the right Pinto is already collectible. But it won’t necessarily give you massive capital gains.
I think there are two definitions of “collectible” here. There is collectible in the sense of “worthy of interest because of financial appreciation” where the car is essentially a speculative investment. Many cars never reach that category and those that do are, as you’ve stated, commonly 2-door vehicles, sports cars, muscle cars, etc.
Then there is collectible in the sense of “worthy of interest of a collector or someone who has a passion for old cars.” That one casts a much broader net.
about 19:20 mark
There’s an old lady who lives down the street from me who has a mint 2.3L version. Garage kept and I rarely see her drive anywhere. Her’s sounds like they all did with the power steering whine and laboring 2.3 engine. Add a squeaking chassis and you have a Ranger pickup aural signature.
I hear sirens, see flashing gumballs in the rearview mirror and an expensive exhibition of speed ticket.
I still do not like the looks of the Fox body Mustangs. They had good engines, and I for one did like the live rear axle, something the Mustang kept all the way through 2014. They do make excellent drag race cars, I see a lot of them at the track, from mild to wild. IRS does not work for drag racing, it is weak and easily damaged. Even on street cars it often requires alignment and/or repairs several times during the life of the car. The 5.0 Fox Mustang was never intended to be a handling car. It was a factory hot rod, like the muscle cars of the late ’60s and early ’70s.
I remember the first time I drove a Hemi Charger (’69 model if I remember correctly) I remember it so well because of how much fun it was. Sitting still, the whole car shook, and it had a deep rumble. I drove it around the parking lot a couple of times, then pulled out on the main street and floored it. WOW!!! Scared me to death. The engine sounded like a top fuel dragster (well, almost), the car shook violently and slammed me back in the seat. The rear tires went up in smoke, The rear of the car fishtailed all over the place. I heard the loud tire squeal and smelled burning rubber. For several seconds I thought I was going to lose it, but couldn’t take my foot off the gas. It finally smoothed out as it gained speed and the tires got some traction. I let off the gas and pulled off the road, and just sat there for several minutes. That has to rank right up there with one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. Modern cars make a lot more power (like the Challenger Hellcat) but they do not come close to providing a thrill ride like that. That old Hemi totally overwhelmed the skinny tires and primitive chassis. The resulting near loss of control is where all the fun came from. I have been a drag racer most of my life. Nothing you can do in a car (in the front seat) is as exhilarating as accelerating really fast in a straight line from a dead stop.
Keep in mind the solid axle was pretty unwieldy in the Fox chassis, Ford themselves had to band aid it with quad shocks to prevent severe wheelhop for pretty low power levels and the upper control arm mounts are notorious shearing off on drag cars(look up battle boxes). IRS primarily suffers in drag racing due to bushing compliance, but poly/delrin are very common upgrades and largely solve wheel hop issues which is generally what causes the self destruction they’re known for. And alignments? Any shop that can align a front suspension can align an IRS
Depends on the design. I spent over $1200 having the rear suspension rebuilt in my former ’77 Corvette. New leaf, all new bushings, including the front bushings in the trailing arms, wheel bearings, and new stainless steel calipers. I could have done all of it other than the trailing arm bushings, which required some grinding and use of a hydraulic press, but didn’t have the time back then.
The Corvette (through ’82) actually had fairly strong rear suspension. It was originally designed to handle a lot of power, long gone by ’77. What really gets bad is the IRS, and in some cases, IFS on FWD cars. It is not hard to bend parts on a roadrace course or a skidpad. with flimsy lower control arms and struts.
The exhaust is yet another thing I liked on the V8 Fox Mustang. I liked how you could see them from the side. But they did not point out, they pointed straight back. Ford went to the effort of “tuning” the exhaust on these cars. They had a beautiful exhaust sound right off the showroom floor.
I guess when you actually got down to it, the Fox Mustang GT was a pretty nice car with lousy styling.
While parts availability may be an issue on many old cars, it’s not likely to ever be on a Mustang. Any Mustang. My Fairlane uses a lot of early Mustang parts, including the engine, transmission, brakes, and steering and suspension parts.
13″ tires are already becoming an issue. I have only been able to find one source for 13″ car tires for my Pinto. Primewell blackwall tires from Firestone. At some point I may have to go to aftermarket 14″ wheels (probably 14″x6″ chrome smoothies from U.S. Wheel) I’m not worried about the availability of 14″ tires, to many vintage cars use them. Places like Coker Tire will always have them, though they may not be cheap.
“Nothing you can do in a car (in the front seat) is as exhilarating as accelerating really fast in a straight line from a dead stop.”
Try doing exactly what you described in your comment but add a second identical car right next to you trying to do it better than you and both cars have open headers. The noise alone is pure ecstasy and chaos simultaneously.
Try braking from 140MPH to 65MPH in a late 1960s Mopar with 4 wheel drum brakes, no vacuum booster, with nearly-bald bias ply tires… just before a curve marked 45MPH.
Try doing 100MPH on a motorcycle and not knowing you have a flat tire until you slow below 75MPH and very quickly figure out as long as you stay above 80MPH you can control the bike but below 75 the flat tire makes things suicidal. You gotta stop some time. How long do you want to procrastinate?
I have never tried to drag race a motorcycle, nor do I ride sport bikes. IMO simply too dangerous. And I’m 56 with a lot of orthopedic issues. Just sitting on a “crotch rocket is painful”
But as for the rest of it, I do it several times a month. Not in a vintage Hemi Charger, though I would love to own one. I drag race a 1993 Chevy S10 truck with a 383/five speed. It runs mid elevens at just over 120 mph. It does have front disc brakes, custom differential, stiffer rear springs with traction bars, racing shocks, all poly bushings, the front end is all aftermarket but nothing crazy. Stiffer shorter springs, tubular control arms, all urethane bushings, and the biggest change from stock, a lot more positive caster. This setup is perfectly adequate. No point in spending big money on suspension for a vehicle that does not go any faster than this one does. There are also concrete walls on both sides, if you do crash, you are going to hit the wall, not another car.
But this truck has never scared me like that Charger did. It’s not as fast, though with an open exhaust it sounds about the same. It has a streetable cam in it, though that and the extra caster make it a lot more effort to drive on the street. The suspension and steering, though on the primitive side, is plenty strong and capable of handling the power. The thrill is still there (this is my 5th vehicle built for drag racing, 4 of them have been street legal) it kind of becomes an addiction. But I still wish I had a chance to wring out more of those old muscle cars. I would pick a safer place to do it. It would not be a dragstrip, because of the way those cars slid all over the road, there would be to much chance of destroying a rare and valuable car by hitting the wall.
I have never owned a Mustang. If I live long enough to need another race car, a Fox body Mustang should make a good one, if there are still any affordable ones around. I see SO many of them on the track, that may be why they are disappearing from the street.
I have long admired several things about these cars that were at best, crude. First, the designer of the tailpipes, those pointed straight out stainless wonders, should be worshipped as a god. (note minor god, as opposed to the real God). Second, the 5.0 and T5 combo. you could have put it in a wheelbarrow and it would still be a legend. Third, its distinctive sound, which was a revelation after the bad days of the late seventies and eighties. Ok, i know there are criticisms, but they were cheap no bull fun cars, like the early 70’s 340 Dusters. Crude, yes. But fun, Hoooboy!
I always liked the exhaust pipes, subsequent Mustangs have progressively covered them up with lower and lower bumper covers with little showing except the tips only visible at the very back. Bleh. I think you pretty much nail what makes these appealing, the styling is pretty unassuming but they had such a raw functional appearance with the 5.0.
I do miss cars like these, Mustangs now are way too image conscious and overrefined.
I have to agree with that. Especially the overrefined part. I have never even ridden in a Fox Mustang 5.0, but I can see how it could be a lot of fun, with a 5 speed, the windows down, and the snarl of those pipes. But I still can’t see myself owning an EFI model. Like I said, I do like those pipes, but I want a four barrel on the other end. Something I can tinker with and tune without a computer. To me, having a computer is a part of being overrefined. Not the only part though. The driving experience is a really big part of it. I do not want to be insulated from the driving experience in any way. I love the raw, visceral experience you get from vintage muscle cars. I want the noise, the feel, and the feedback. I do not want a car that it would do any good to put a stereo in. The roar of the engine, squeal of the tires, wind noise, and just the feel of tight steering and stiff suspension. Another car I have never driven is a 427 Shelby Cobra replica. But from the ones I’ve looked at close up, and the videos I’ve seen of them, they should be one heck of a thrill ride. And totally unrefined.
Sadly, I have seen a few with EFI engines in them. This makes no sense to me. Since they are replicas of pre emissions cars, you don’t have to deal with emissions tests, and since they are also hobby cars, you would think their owners would want to be able to work on them. Working on the much maligned carburetor is one of the easiest things you can do on a car. Such cars are beyond the means of someone like me, and maybe some of their wealthy owners don’t want to work on them. But you would think that such a person would not want to drive one either. Looks like a lot of effort to me, and if you make a mistake, they could bite you hard. And there is certainly nothing even resembling comfort.
I actually have a 1990 2.3L/auto coupe sitting in my driveway with 128,000 original KM on the clock, it’s a survivor that has spent it’s entire life here on the west coast and spent almost it’s whole life with one owner.
I have it for nostalgic reasons… runs like a top, interior is almost flawless, outside of a couple of bruises on the passenger side, the body is great too. I always preferred the look of the coupe over the hatchback and it also reminds a lot of “the one that got away” which was a 1981 Zephyr Z7 that I owned and adored years ago.
I was going to do a story on it at some point, maybe this spring once I get it back on the road again for the summer!
One owner is a big plus, a big reason why it was kept in a way it should be.
Somehow, I preferred the Capri version, the early ones, before they stuck the bubble back window and rounded rear on an otherwise square car. But I was too traumatized by the POS Zephyr to consider another FoMoCo product.
A coworker had a 79 Mustang coupe, silver like the POS Zephyr, 302, like the POS Zephyr, which ran just like the 302 in the POS Zephyr: blowing vast amounts of carbon out the exhaust. The Mustang had a trick the POS Zephyr didn’t have: plastic “turbo-vane” wheelcovers that would crack and fall off after a few months of use. iirc, the dealer replaced three before the 12 month warranty was up. The Mustang was gone in a year, replaced by a Triumph TR-7, and the coworker was much happier.
This generation Mustang looked best as a 5.0LX notchback with quad headlights…
so like 84-85 vintage I guess
Now ^that is something I haven’t seen in ages. There are still “four eyes” Mustangs here and there, but all of the refresh ones with the mail-slot grille like the one above seem to be hatchbacks. I don’t know where all the notches went but they seem to be extinct.
I never did like the 80s GT stangs or even the plain hatches. LX5.0 notches were the sh!t as far as I’m concerned. Especially with those stock 1985 GT style aluminum 15″ rims and 4 headlights. My preferred color for that car would be metalic powder blue, plain white, or plain silver. It has GOT to have the 5 speed stick and limited slip. I think I prefer the interior to be dark red vinyl.
http://southcoast.craigslist.org/cto/4916589591.html
STOPPIT!
I already have too many vehicle and not enough garage space. I wonder why that car has those ugly 90s vintage rims? Why no pic of the grill?
sonuva…
I’m imagining that car with a modern 4.6 and a stick shift swapped into it
I hate you
Its even one of my preferred colors
I’ve since warmed to these Mustangs.When new I ignored them and preferred the F bodies.Sadly a lot were horribly butchered or gutted of their engines,I see quite a few of these engines transplanted into early Mustangs(and the odd Falcon and Cougar)at shows or in magazines.
I think a big part of my lack of interest was that it looked a bit too much like the Ford Escort and not “Mustang enough” for me.
What I see, hear, and feel are the not too distant memories of my favourite car ownership experience to date. In 2010 I moved to America from Australia for a few years for a scenery change and some soul searching. I bought a 1989 Mustang LX convertible that turned out to be a big part of those crazy times. It was white with a white top and had the 5.0 and AOD auto. It was very original and unmolested. I bought it for $1700 and put more than 20,000 miles on it over a year and a half. It was super reliable and required just minimal maintenance. A very easy car to work on too. I sold it for $1500, so I definitely got my money’s worth.
I somehow survived my first ever winter of snow driving with nothing more than worn out summer tires. I once got caught in a snow storm on a mountain pass when worn threading on the driver’s side wiper arm caused it to fail. I also got to a lot of camping and fishing spots where a mustang probably wasn’t really meant to go, thanks to a generous ground clearance. That burbly 5.0 made a delicious sound, especially with the top down. I managed a best of 135mph on a deserted highway in the Utah desert, and lots of playful drag racing with camaros and other mustangs made commuting to and from work more exciting. The ladies liked it too.
I would love to own another one eventually. A similar LX vert in really good shape with a manual preferably. I’m preoccupied with resurrecting a 1972 Pinto at the moment and I just went back to University, so it might be a while.
In the early eighties a classmate’s dad had a Ford Mustang III. About the same color as this CC. It had a V8, I don’t remember its displacement.
The 2005-2014 Mustangs were never officially imported (unlike the older ones). Yet I see more of those than I’ve seen any previous generation before. Now and then you come across a Dodge Challenger (no official import either), but recent models Corvettes and Camaros are ultra-rare.
Remember these (and the bras!) well from childhood and early adolescence. All seemed to disappear sometime during Bush’s second term.
“Nothing you can do in a car (in the front seat) is as exhilarating as accelerating really fast in a straight line from a dead stop.”
This is laughably absurd and points up how those who believe this never , _ever_ take me up on a spirited ride in the Mountains / Canyons , even if I pay for lunch…
If you’re afraid to really drive fast or can’t , it’s O.K. ~ just admit it .
-Nate
Is there something wrong with me? I always liked the go fast stripper (like the LX 5.0) concept over the loaded up luxury/performance cars. I think rubber floor mats & roll up windows are a plus.
” I think rubber floor mats & roll up windows are a plus.”
exactly!
don’t forget the vinyl seats, AM radio, and lack of A/C.
@ Bob ;
That’s because you’re a Driver/Enthusiast instead of a poseur .
-Nate
I would want the 2 door notchback, loaded LX, with the exact same mags in the photo, with tinted rear windows, in dark navy steel blue, 5.0, and the automatic. Bone stock everything – especially the radio. I really do not like aftermarket radios even if they sound better. Really cheapens the car and tells me a lot about the user.
Amazing – these cars were a dime a dozen and now you NEVER see them……I know there are some stashed away in garages somewhere in mint condition, or maybe the proverbial little old lady is still driving one that she bought 30 years ago as a little sporty runabout, not knowing what she was actually buying…..
My only real memory of being in one of these cars is very dark. A neighbor’s 19 year old son special ordered a 1989 LX 5.0 notchback, black with black interior. He made sure the car had absolutely NO options, not even a radio. He wanted it to be as light as possible to be as fast as possible. Well, he waited for 2 months for the car to arrive. His father told me he and his wife were so against the purchase, but the son had saved money for years to buy one so it was his choice. When the car finally arrived his son brought it over to my house to show me and take me for a ride. All I remember is that car feeling like a rocketship. I remember thinking it was scary it was so fast. Sadly, he was nearly killed in that car only a week after he bought it. He was racing a friend and lost control, totaling the car after hitting a pole. He was in critical condition for several weeks, and to this day has many issues because of the accident. His father had the worst vibe about him getting that car and sadly it was true.
@ Tom C. :
This is precisely why I sent my Son to professional riding school when he was 14 ~ I’d already bought him his own Moto to ride to High School and it was obvious he was seriously into speed , I made sure he understood how to drive fast correctly not teach him my ‘ old school ‘ (whatever) ways…..
By the time he graduated from Motos into cars , he’d seen a lot of mayhem and others crippled by foolishness .
He started off in Imports and in time bought a ’67 Buick GS and raced that , he never wrecked his vehicles and still races competitively , drags as well as track .
Both of us like to screw around and do foolish (?) things when behind the wheel but knowing the physics and other factors involved means one can make better choices about when and where to cut loose .
-Nate
Nate, you are so right. People do not realize they are getting into a machine that can kill them in an instant. Good call on the driving school.
I am so very lucky I wasn’t killed by my foolishness and Teenaged stupidity , I’d have been a very bad parent to have done anything else .
Interestingly , I got him his first Motocycle when he was in the 9th grade as a teaching of responsibility thing , he passed with flying colors , he never got stopped .
Parenting is tough and a double – edged sword .
-Nate
I used to have the Majorette brand dinky car toys of both the hatchback and convertible version of these Mustangs. I remember seeing one of these driving in the snow and fishtailing all over the road about 15 years ago. I have never driven one but the 5.0L badge has always intrigued me. I did know an older gentleman who still hung on to his ’86 (or older) Mustang with the quad headlights, but the burgundy paint looked faded and the suspension looked like it was sagging when I saw it a few years ago.
A older guy at one of my Summer jobs in 2004 also drove an old red Mustang notchback with the 4 cylinder engine and auto transmission. The paint was faded and a little rust was showing. He said that it could be insured as a compact, but I was thinking that a 4 cylinder engine defeats the point of owning a Mustang. He said that he had another one at home that was standard.
What bothers me is that these cars used to make some nice, descent, cheap and fast wheels or projects cars. They could be picked up used in the $3000 range at one point. Now everything has to be an expensive “classic” with good examples priced at $10,000 or more.
An ’87 convertible with 2000 kms (1200 miles) selling for $32,900 (Canadian):
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ford/Mustang/Toronto/Ontario/5_20256062_ON20080116103724750/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=1_15_12
An ’89 GT with 11,620 km for $23,995 (Canadian):
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ford/Mustang/Toronto/Ontario/5_22126574_ON20080116103724750/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=2_15_12
Don’t tell me that, my friend sold her 1991 GT convertible with 58,000 one owner female owned all stock for $3200 just 4 years ago. She should have held out for more.
Saw a primered white white 79-82 hatch today, now those have REALLY disappeared.
1985 Capri RS 5.0 4-eyed Fox; worst car I ever owned. Great beater for the shipyards, tho…
I used to think these were so ugly and didn’t see the appeal. Then I went to the street races in my town (this was in the mid 90’s) and saw these things run like crazy. But what really appealed to me was the sound! Something about that ford smallblock with the roller cam and flowmasters!