Life getting away from us can have myriad impacts. We see our friends less often, we find it difficult to create opportunities for exercise. The project car almost inevitably gets put on ice. The seller of this 1991 Ford Mustang LX convertible had all the best intentions of getting this strong-running droptop back on the road, but he admits that child rearing is the priority at the moment (as it should be.) The Mustang comes with all the critical parts to complete, but I suspect there’s still a fair amount of parts sourcing to be done. Find it here on craigslist with a very reasonable price of $2,500.
That’s a truly fair price for a 5-speed Fox body with the preferred 5.0L V8 under the hood. The convertible will always go for less, but if you’re not taking it to a road course every weekend, the lack of structural rigidity shouldn’t phase you too much. The luggage rack on the trunk lid is a classic 90s convertible detail, as you’d find them on everything from a base model Cavalier to a Saab 900. How many people ever actually used these things? And were they ever functional, or purely decorative? One has to wonder what designer felt this was an attractive detail to add, and to drill into the trunk, no less.
The seller took the interior apart and doesn’t explain why; regardless, it’s all included. Perhaps he was planning to refinish them, or paint every component, but the reasoning is not explained. Some owners go to great depths to rid interiors of filth and stains, so perhaps that was the motivating factor here. Regardless, what I’m seeing doesn’t appear to be in great condition; usable, yes, but far from perfect. But that also fits with the Mustang’s overall condition, which does look slightly tatty. Both the front and rear headlights and turn signals show signs of damage and will need replacement.
However, those are enormously easy fixes. You can find replacement headlights here on eBay all day long. The paint will clean up with a proper buffing and this Mustang will look significantly better without oxidized paint, smashed lenses, and a missing interior. The seller could have likely asked for more if he had taken those simple steps. The 5.0L V8 and its 225 horsepower and 300 lb.-ft. of torque should still help this Stang move out smartly, especially with 3 pedals providing the motivation. The seller has priced this Mustang to move, and I think there may even be some potential upside for the next owner. What do you think the next phase of this project should be?
The whole dash being apart is a deal breaker for me. I’m not up for standing on my head for 3 weekends to put it back together. Let a young guy have it and start enjoying a low dollar cruiser.
The price will likely entice someone. The secondary market for used parts is strong, this could be a budget friendly way for an industrious person to get into a 5.0 LX 5spd convertible Mustang. These are fun cars, that’s why their popularity never waned.
Steve R
If I had the garage space, buy the car and a FFR cobra coupe kit and have fun.
That was my first thought too but it looks too nice to tear it apart. The seller already started the disassembly so it’s tempting and would need to just toss in a driver seat to test drive the drivetrain but would hate to pull apart that car when it’s still in decent shape.
If it had a bunch or dents or rust, that would be a different animal.
“The luggage rack on the trunk lid is a classic 90s convertible detail….And were they ever functional, or purely decorative?”
Don’t know about the other cars cited but on the ’86-up Stang verts it was there to help integrate the new, federally mandated (starting with the ’86 models) third brake light, aka center high mounted stoplight (CHMSL), Elizabeth (Mrs. Bob) Dole’s contribution to automotive safety. So it’s decoratively functional, I’d say.
The luggage rack also disguised the external trunk hinges.
Center brake light was used in an experiment by a Dr. Voyvodsky (spelling correct?) He was/is a doctor of behavarioral science. Back in the late ’60s early ’70s they installed center brake lights (amber) that flashed faster with increased braking intensity. On San Francisco taxis. It cut rear end collisions by over 60%. However the taxi company didn’t like them because they made money on getting rear ended. The feds adopted the idea but deemed the variable flashing as being to complicated. He went out on his own selling them but the product was not received very well. It mounted to the license plate mount using the same holes as the plate. I still have one and will install it on my Ford Durango when done with the car. Because all the rear end parts except the rear bumper are unobtainium.
Ford Durango? Dodge?
Matt Webb, Google “Ford Durango ”
Only 212 built.
For $2500 if someone wasn’t interested in the car itself the drive train is worth that if someone wants to update an old falcon or older mustang.
It looks to me like a weight reduction program was in the works. Also the seller is including drag racing 8″ slicks. (There is a drag racing class for those tires.) And the drag racing style roll bar installed is why it hasn’t sold yet. (Looks too tall for the top to go up!) Dash apart, tail pipes in the trunk, etc. Looks like weekend drag racer to me. If closer I would snap this up.
This roll bar wouldn’t be legal for drag racing, tech would treat the car as if there wasn’t one. Its presence might be a deterrence, but it would only take someone with an electric grinder and cutoff wheel about 20 minutes to remove.
Steve R
WHAT A HOT MESS!!!
Somebody got turned loose to strip the interior, no bagging, no pictures. And the lights.
Then that mess of a rusty useless rollbar.
What’s the top look like?
This will take weeks to get back together, if all the parts are present and have survived disassembly. Fasteners?
What’s missing?
Was it running and driving when it got parked?
Look on the bright side, you get a free cat litter box in the deal.
Oh yah, the trunk .mounted luggage rack. There was one installed on my MGB when I got it. I wasn’t crazy about it. But since there were holes in the trunk lid, I decided to keep it. But even with a space saver spare tire, there wasn’t room for the wicker picnic basket in the trunk. So the rack on the trunk was pressed into service. And then there was the time that our local sports car club had a scavenger hunt only using garage sales. We came back with the winner strapped to the rack. A fire hydrant! Good thing that MG made a tough “boot lid” because the hydrant was heavy!
this person needs to have all their tools taken away from them. ripped apart made a mess out of it then stand there and say life got away from them. may be good for a driveline transplant or a parts car.1k most i would be willing to give.
Not sure if its just me but the upper plenum seems to be oddly colored. I know these are tough motors and seen some abused, yet I have never seen looking so cooked. JS
upper intake plenum is not stock. Its not the gt40 intake but I think its the trickflow. The runners are square and the stock and Gt40 are round. To get a better look right click on the c-list pic and open in a new window. If the owners pic is bigger it will show in the new window tab.
You are correct about the upper intake. And it might have an upper intake temperature insulator between the upper and lower intake as evidenced by the wear pattern in the hood insulator. (Been there done that.)
Also, I wouldn’t think about drag racing this car without sub-frame connectors. And not the cheap ones. But use the ” ladder style” ones that not only connect the sub-frames but reinforce the body through the rocker rails.
Even though Ford did supply reinforcements for the convertible. They are not adequate for drag race application.
I see the remains of white leather seats in one of the parts photos. The wheels don’t look white, but could this have originally been a “Summer Edition” Mustang?