As performance clawed its way out of the malaise era that began around 1972, 0-60 times of 16 seconds were not unheard of, and sporty cars could get by with breaking the mile-a-minute barrier in anything under 10 seconds. Against that backdrop, Motor Trend had declared “The Boss is Back,” after 1982 Ford’s Mustang GT laid down a 6.9 second 0-60 time, powered by a 157 HP 5.0L (302 cid) V8. Nearly anything with a turbo or six or more cylinders can beat that number today, but those were different times! For 1983, Ford massaged the 5.0 to produce an even more rousing 175 HP. This 1983 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 in Lawrenceville, Georgia may be the nicest example I’ve ever seen, and I was driving in ’83! Offered for sale here on eBay, the listing for this 44k cream puff has enticed at least eight bidders to raise its value above $13,000. Thanks to Car And Driver for some details.
New leather sport seats with red stitching look supple, inviting, and altogether proper in this immaculate pony car. Power door locks and windows would have been rather uncommon in ’83. This three-owner car is listed as having a four-speed manual transmission, which may make this an early ’83 as most received the Borg-Warner T-5. Perhaps our Mustang experts can chime in on this topic in the comments.
The listing describes “new” 16″ TRX wheels and tires. For a while, the unusual TRX tire sizing made them a red herring that complicated the lives of many enthusiasts. Thanks to a lively aftermarket, they have become less of a pariah over time, and they certainly look perfect and correct.
Beneath the dual-snorkel air filter housing should reside a factory-installed Holley four-barrel carburetor. Aside from the old-school air filter housing and traditional low-volume fuel filter, fans of the later fuel-injected Fox-body Mustangs will see much of the same equipment in the engine bay of this Four Eye’d ’83. What’s your favorite Mustang?
As to the 4 speed versus 5 speed I had an 83 ex WSP mustang and it had a 4 speed. In the Ebay add you can see a close up of the shift knob and this one is in fact a 4 speed as well. The one I had was a good driving car. It is also one of many that I regret selling.
My Uncle bought one of these new in ’83. His was charcoal grey, maroon interior, and fully loaded including T-Tops. I got to drive it a few times as a teenager and it was a fun car to drive. The only reason he sold it is he was buying a boat and needed a truck to tow it with. I know it had over 100k miles when he sold it, and the only major issue that occurred was the heater core started leaking. And yes, he kept the TRX wheels on it. The horsepower jump is why he did not purchase a 1982 version.
Very nice. The solid bidding illustrates how clean, low mileage Fox Body Mustangs are increasing in value.
To clarify the TRX comment, the original metric TRX wheels were 15.35″. You can still buy tires for them from Coker, but they are “for display only” (which I suspect means they were manufactured years, if not decades ago). Within the past few years a look-alike TRX wheel has been reproduced in a 16″ size, which opens up lots of possibilities for tires. I’ve seen several sets in use, they look good and aren’t terribly expensive. Just a little bigger.
I doubt very seriously if the naked eye could tell the difference between the originals, or the 16″ repops. Nice fox body!
I think it’s wrong to list this as a “survivor” seeing that it’s been repainted and reupholstered. I have a true survivor 43k mile 1983 Mustang GT convertible, with all original paint and interior and mechanicals…that’s what a survivor is.
Any 5.0 mustang that survived the 80’s and 90’s is a survivor
Anyone who survived the 80’s and 90’s is a survivor :)
And backwards baseball cap wearing youths… :-)
Saw the car in person , amateur restoration at best. Color change , Replace cloth seats with leather. Paint job is not up to par. $7600 car at best. Hopefully whoever buys this car won’t be disappointed with there 12,000 + purchase
Any car or truck that did not end up in the crusher is a “survivor”.
So tired of the over use of “survivor”, “barn find” (except for this wonderful website!), and “vintage”!
These terms have now effectively joined the oft-used “rust free” term which to me I always joked that “rust free” meant that seller was not charging more for the rust but offering it for free and the over use of “original” when it had new paint or a rebuilt engine, etc. Semantics….yes…grating to see these terms over used…YES!!!
Yes the 5 speed was available in 83. I bought a used 83 convertible for my son to drive back in the day.
Five speed cars were late availability..after December as I remember.
Beautiful car. I had this exact car in high school, down to the color and the 4 speed, and it never looked that good. The early production 83’s had the 4 speed, and they switched over to the 5 speeds later in the model year. Wish I didn’t live 700 miles away and was able to actually see this car.
my aunt boght 1983 gt convertible,5 speed manual,4v carb,maroon,matching interior,white top,she still has ir,around 80k miles on it,all orginal suvivor car,i had a 83 t top car,but it had the 4 speed mt,also had a 85 and 86 capri,and a 93 gt over the years,my 85 capri was my favorite of all of them
The provided Marti Report and dealer invoice confirm this was an early production 1983 with the 4-speed. Later in the model year, the 5-speed became standard. This GT looks like it came right off the showroom floor.
This is a nicely kept specimen! Looks great and I hope they get a good sale price. Four speed was a very early model. Black interior is nice.
I currently own a red/black 83 GT Convertible with red interior T5 trans. Garage kept now has 102k miles and while it is in pretty nice condition it’s not as fresh as this hatchback. I still have the original TRX 220/55R390 (15.35″) Metric wheels with Michelin tires on good tread mounted. Not looking to sell. Hope to get it spruced up again to go to some shows once this Pandemic is over.
Halfway through the production year in 1983, they started putting Borg Warner 5 speeds in the GT. I actually had one of the first in 1983. It actually had a letter from Ford Motor Company that indicated they had used the car for testing on the track. Unfortunately, I sold the car, around 1989. Stupid mistake.
1983 was the first year for the 5-speed in the Fox Mustang and was standard with the GT package. Per the brochure, however, you could order the 4-speed instead and get a credit. The 4 speed was the SROD (single rail overdrive) unit where 4th is overdrive and 3rd is direct. Not the best transmission for performance use and less desirable today to Mustang fans than the 5-speed.
Gathering by the comments, most of us have fond memories relating to these cars back in the day. Getting farther behind us seemingly all of the sudden. I always wondered, even back then, why the front end treatment was lacking, i.e. no spoiler/air dam. The ’82s looked good and then a by ’85 the front end styling improved.
The 6.9 seconds from 0 to 60 was from a prototype model. Here are the real numbers for the car. Car and Driver (October, 1981)Car and Driver (8/82) 8.1 0-60, 16.2 @ 86 mph.
Road & Track 8.0 0-60, 16.3 @ 84 mph.
The 1982 model had a 2-bbl carburetor and 157 horses. The 1983 model got a 4-bbl and output went up to 175 horses. So the ’83 should be quicker.
So this 5L high performance Mustang only has 4 lug nuts holding each wheel on? Well, I know they were made that way but, in my opinion, it makes the whole car look cheap.
SOLD for $15,900.
Last night, I saw the movie “The Goonies” for the first time, and they had a convertible version of this car, same color but a convertible. TRX wheels made me think it was an ’83 or ’84.
I would love to have it.