We appreciate Patrick S bringing this beauty to our attention. It is a 1989 Ford Mustang LX equipped with a 5.0 liter HO engine and 5-speed transmission. The car is one family-owned and was purchased by a father and son who were worried that Ford was going to do away with a V8-powered Mustang and they wanted a fun car before they were gone. Well, fast forward 30 years and Ford is still making V8-powered Mustangs and the popularity of this generation of Mustangs is growing. The car is listed for sale here on eBay with 2 days remaining in the auction. The car is located in Panama City, Florida, and has been bid up to a healthy $25,100.
Under the hood is the original HO 5.0 liter V8 engine that was rated at 225 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque. This car was ordered to look like a sleeper and, if it had hub caps instead of aluminum wheels, it would look like a state trooper car. The owner states that the car is all original except for the batter and the air filter. The car has been stored in a hangar for most of its life and is currently not licensed.
The seller states that the car has not been detailed and the odometer reflects only 39,472 miles. His father originally bought the car and titled it in the name of his company. The eBay ad has a list of the repair history on the car which is basic mechanical upkeep and some new tires. Early in the car’s life, the front fend was dented and replaced with an OEM fender. The color is a little darker than the rest of the car but the fact that the owner disclosed it is encouraging.
After all these years, this car still looks great. This is almost like buying a new Ford Mustang. I have always liked the phone dial aluminum wheels. This car is a great color and appears to be in great condition for a new buyer.
I’ve pretty much spilled my guts on the negatives of my ’88, however, it’s quite uncanny to see, this was my car, only an automatic. I hated it.
Howard, did you hate it because of the automatic, or what issue?
The automatic was a POS. The 5-speed in these cars was a night and day difference. You cannot compare the two.
When these were new they were the performance car to have, they were affordable, fast, light weight and easy to modify. Their price appreciation is nothing new and should not be surprising to anyone, it follows the same timeline of 60’s and early-70’s muscle cars as well as late-70’s Trans Ams and Z28’s. Not many survived in pristine condition, those that have are now becoming expensive. This is the body style and transmission to have. These stand in their own merit and always have.
Steve R
Well stated.
I worked for a Ford Store in NE Ohio from1984-2004 and when the ’87 models came out the gent who stocked our inventory ordered up a buttload of stickshift 5.0 LX coupes with the only option being a rear defroster. These cars sold like proverbial hotcakes as they were right around $10K sticker. I was able to get one for myself and enjoyed every minute of ownership. Wish I had the $$ to get this one.
How can it be a sleeper with the 5.0 badging (not to mention the sound of the actual 5.0 under the hood)?
I would say maybe you could fool a kid these days with the engine off….but many of the younger generation knows what the 5.0 badge means…as they still put it on some Mustangs today.
They were never sleepers. We all knew what those twin chrome pipes meant…and even if the owner installed exhaust dumps there was no hiding the sound.
As someone who currently owns (for the past 20 years) an ’86 5.0 SSP, it’s nice to see clean examples command such a premium and these cars finally bringing some money. It’s been a while.
They’re great for nostalgic value but the performance doesnt really hold candle to even the most basic econobox of today. I got a police version of this and it was cute but I hated getting passed by everyone.
I had the exact same car back in the day . Absolute blast .Good Times
“Passed by everyone”?? When u have a 5.0??
The Over Statement of the Year award go’s to……….
True, a toyota camry has more HP and torque but that’s not the point. I will take a 5.0 pushrod 302 Windsor v8 any day and last year I did. I bought that Oxford white aero foxbody notch that was on ebay up in Reno. The car starts up first time every time and the sounds of the pushrod v8 are magical to me.
What a fun car, wifey hates it so that makes me love my notch even more.
Curious Mutt, what did the wife hate about it?
Motorcityman, it’s the over look of the car. Thinks it’s ugly. I mean I love the car inside and out, to each his own I guess. Gonna try to take her to that Woodard Avenue cruise probably next year on a summer road trip and I hope once she is behind the wheel she might change her mind. Have you ever been on that cruise ?
Understand something, 80s was a very dark time in the automotive world, I got rid of my 83 Riviera which was can’t use the word powered by, cause it was a stone, pushed by a 307, to a 5.0 powered Lincoln MK VIII, which probably had 225 hp, but after 150 hp, it felt like a car w nitrous, now 400 hp is a walk in the park
Mutt……the Woodward Dream Cruise the 3rd weekend of August is the largest one day car event in the USA…..400,000 vehicles.
If you’re a car guy you’ll be in Heaven!
No, never been yet, I left Detroit in 86, a couple years before they started it. Woodward Ave. was the First paved Rd in the country!
6 lanes and runs from the Detroit River in downtown Detroit 20 miles into the suburbs…they cruuse big time Friday and Saturday nights during the show weekend, people trailer in from all over the country……let me know how u like it if u go!!
The state trooper cars used the same aluminum wheels that are on this car, not hub caps.
The only difference was the trooper cars usually had the wheels or the center caps painted black.
The rivalry is sitting next to this 5.0 in my daily barnfinds list….a Buick GN, powered by a seriously modded race engine making 1000 horsepower?! It was all out war between the two cars, some very odd looking stuff graced the engine compartment of the 5.0 and GN, early nineties was the real high point of all sorts of aftermarket parts popping up, none all that smog legal yet but still, it was really great.
This car here was a base point to start with back then so yes, it is odd for me to see a bone stock never beaten on 5.0 Mustang LX…with a 5 speed. Fun cars.
The best cars I have ever owned as far as bang for your buck is concerned…well, since Mopars got out of hand, pricewise. In the late ’80’s-early ’90’s, this was the absolute, hands-down, best car you could buy.