I confess that I really like the Fox-body Mustang, and this one appears to be a beauty. It has traveled a claimed 13,000 miles and is about as clean as you could find. You will find it listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Lakeland, Florida, it is being offered for sale with a clear title. At the time of writing, bidding had reached $15,100, but the reserve hasn’t been met.
The seller claims that the car is in virtually showroom condition, and it is quite hard to argue that point. Finding any sort of mark or blemish in the paint is quite hard, and even stone-chips are few and far between and believe me, I’ve checked this one pretty closely. The underside of the car is nearly as good as the top. There is some surface corrosion on a couple of components such as exhaust flanges, but otherwise, it all looks really clean.
The interior is 100% original, and once again it presents incredibly well. As I said earlier, the seller is claiming that the car only has 13,000 miles on the clock. As usual, I always hope that there is documentary evidence to back this claim, but the condition of the interior trim makes the claim seem plausible. The car is fitted with a tilt wheel, power windows, power mirrors, power locks, power seat, cruise control and ice-cold air conditioning. The original AM/FM radio/cassette is also still present.
The drive-train is claimed to be just as original as the rest of the car. It features the 5.0l HO fuel-injected engine, backed by a 5-speed manual transmission and a limited slip rear end. That engine produced a rather healthy 225hp when new, and with such a low claimed mileage and careful maintenance, there is no reason to think that many of those ponies have escaped over the years. The under-hood presentation is good, but there are few signs of dirt under there that show that the car has actually been used.
The owner of this Mustang refers to it as being virtually museum quality, and the photos make it hard to argue to the contrary. Looking at what’s in the market, I found an almost identical car that has traveled 26,000 miles and is priced at $21,000, so it will be interesting to see where this one goes.
I like these too. They’re a lot of fun. But half the fun for me is that I can buy them cheap, so my fun with these may soon be over. This is actually a hatchback GT. The coupes seem to get all the attention these days, but I’m fine with either. Can you take those taillight covers off? Hope so.
GT taillights are totally unique and are one piece with regard to the ‘cheese grater’ look. A lot of people swap in lx taillights, but that takes away from the originality and look of the car in my opinion. Leave gt and lx taillights with their prospective body styles.
Nice, unmolested Fox if you are a fan (of which I am one). I have no problem watching prices climb on these as I own an 87 GT convertible. Nowhere near as clean as this one but I bought mine to drive.
Nothing to suggest miles aren’t legit, the interior looks great and from experience the cloth seats don’t really hold up under a lot of use. Admittedly just about everything on these can be made to look new with near-identical replacement parts. Not sure the wheels are original, I thought those were factory for 87and 88 (I had a hard top 88 GT also) and 89 went to the 5-spoke stars.
Also, not sure if Ford worked out the leaky heater core (100% failure rate for me) by 89 but whoever buys this may want to set aside an extra $1k (mostly labor) to replace. Easy job on non-ac cars (through the glove box), nightmare on those with ac, unless you are ok shortcutting by cutting through the hvac box.
Had 89 GT, same car, red interior. Those were wheels, 5 spoke came on the 90.
The days of nice, cheap fox cars are gone. Quality examples sell for $$$$.
Wheels are original to car, used from 87-90.
Very nice car, good colors and a 5 speed. = desirable combo.
Bidding on eBay has reached $17,700 as of early this morning with about a day and a half remaining in the auction. The BF author above mentions that he found an almost similar car for $21,000. What I find interesting is that while the reserve has not been met, as of today (Wednesday, October 24) the seller (a dealer) has offered a Buy-It-Now price of $19,000 which I interpret as the intended reserve. My guess is at this point, this desirable pony should sell quickly at what I believe is a reasonable BIN price.
I like the Fox bodies, too, but I never cared for the GT cladding. I prefer the LX 5.0, and even better, the notchback version. This looks like a very clean example, though. You don’t find many Fox bodies that haven’t been modified.
I always thought the 87-93 GT cladding was way over the top when those cars were new, even for that era. And IMHO, it hasn’t aged well, either. Still…Gotta respect a clean, low mileage example like that.
Having had close to 25 Fox body cars. This one is the real deal. If I did not have 3 right now I would be all over this one. And yes the prices are escalating. It is getting tough to find a cheap one now days.
I have only had to replace 3 heater cores in the last 33 years. A tech told me the short cut and I can do it in about 2.5 hours. ( I do have to crack the lid to get it out. But no breaking or cutting required.) it is a pain in the back to do it that way, but it works. (but I also have a bad back). Owners/buyers please take note if you plan on keeping the car. We all know about the subframe reinforcements that tie into the rear seat mounting and the benefits that are received. But I have found a problem on several cars that I have never heard of anyone else noticing. I found it when I had the carpet out of the car and a drop light laying under the car. The floor pans are spot welded to the rockers and supposedly sealed. I have found cars with no sealer applied to this seam. (underside and top side). When refurbishing a Fox body, and I am down to the shell. I always scrape and brush that seam and dig out the mig welder to strengthen the body and then seal. It keeps that area from flexing and seals the joint to help keep tin worms from finding a place to live. Just saying.
How do you guys think the Mexican spec Mustang would do in the US market.
The Mexican spec car had the 302, stick, Capri front end but with Mustang fenders.
Most had the bubble back hatch.
A lot came with A/C as well.
They can be bought fairly cheap in Mexico and since they are over 25 years old, they can be imported into the US.
I haven’t been looking at them because they are ’80s cars and tend to fall apart just being parked.
Miguel, thanks for the tip! I have always preferred Capri’s, but I’ve never seen the Mexico Mustang with the Capri front clip, very cool! I have to make some room in the garage, then I’ll be on the lookout for 80s fox from south of the border. Thanks again for the info! –Tony
Hi Miguel,
I am interested in what one of those look like. I prefer the bubble back hatch. What rear bumper/tail lamps did they use?
I think the time is just about right to start thinking about importation.
Please send me a picture ( particularly the back end) of a decent one and what they are going for now days. allentires@att.net.
Thanks!
Wayne, I sent you an email.
You will need to divide the price by the exchange rate which is about 18.00 right now to see what they are asking in USD.
Ok, thanks Miguel,
I have not seen it yet.
Not yet Miguel,
Leave the period off the end of the address.
I sent it to this address
allentires@att.net
I can post the message here.
Wayne, here is a link for car that are for sale in Mexico.
You can see the different versions that are for sale here.
A coupe was also offered with the Capri front end, Mustang fenders and the Capri or the tri-color Mustang rear lights.
They usually go for more money though.
The site Segundamano is not working at the moment but here are some Mustang from Mercado Libre which is our Ebay.
https://vehiculos.mercadolibre.com.mx/autos-antiguos/mustang#D%5BA:mustang,OC:MLM1745%5D
Sorry that some are newer and older than the one you want to look at. There is no filter to specify a year range.
Here is the link from Segundamano which has only the Mustangs from 1979 – 1993.
https://www.segundamano.mx/anuncios/mexico/autos-y-camionetas?q=Mustang&modelo=1979-1993&pagina=1
I never liked the GT’s styling after ’86, sweet running car but I think Ford was trying too hard to compete with the Camaro and Trans Am in the appearance department. The LX had a very strong following, many were heavily juiced up and driven into the ground.