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7-Up Edition: 1990 Ford Mustang 5.0 LX Convertible

With interest in the Fox body Mustang seeming to be in full swing these days, here’s an unusual variant that might leave some enthusiasts asking why, but others may find it charming and delightful, with one thing for sure being this pony will no doubt strike up a fun conversation among your Ford friends.  What we have here is known as the 7-Up Mustang, a 1990 LX that we’ll delve into in just a moment.  But first, we’d like to give a big thanks to Barn Finds reader PRA4SNW for spotting this one here on Craigslist in Sterling Heights, Michigan.  And if you find the car interesting, it can be yours for $26,500.

The story goes that back in ’90, a big sponsor of the NCAA finals was, you guessed it, 7-Up.  So they must have figured what could possibly be a better way to get your product recognition out there than to give away 30 cars during the game, all in the same colors as their soda can, green with a white convertible top.  But as fate would have it, the competition didn’t see the light of day, and since the design had already been implemented and paid for Ford ultimately moved forward anyway, with the intent of making 5,000 examples.  Production fell short of that number, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000 made bearing Special Edition Package 562, as Ford officially named it.

These cars all got the 5.0 with more coming as automatics than not, and some good news here is this one has only traveled 38k miles under two different owners.  The seller claims the Mustang has been pampered over the last three decades and is still totally stock.  It’s also said to have been garage kept when not in use, with the body well-preserved and showing just some light cosmetic wear, including a couple of minor scratches and a small door ding.

The white leather interior is looking pretty good overall on this one, although the driver’s seat is showing a few cracks, as is the canvas top.  Buyers also got some nice amenities inside, such as cruise control and Ford’s Premium Sound System, the latter of which I can attest rocked for the time period as my ’93 came with this same equipment, including an amp under the passenger seat.  While it’s hard for me not to appreciate what I’m seeing here, $26.5k might be just a little steep for my budget on this one, though I do like the car a lot.  What are your thoughts?

Comments

  1. Avatar photo Bob_in_TN Member

    These “7-Up” models have a place in the world of collectible Fox Bodies. This was an attractive package, though the white top and upholstery aren’t easy to maintain. They are typically lumped with the “Feature Car” special edition convertibles (the red/white 92 and the yellow/white and yellow/black 93), which are also quite collectible. Prices for low-mileage examples of these special models are typically solid. And of course you get all those Fox Body attributes (fun to drive, simple to maintain, looks good, sounds great).

    Like 16
  2. Avatar photo Troy

    I have been seeing a lot of them pop up for sale on different websites or some are being posted in multiple places, I would like to have one but I would probably Diminish its overall value because I would be driving it top down on nice days all summer

    Like 8
  3. Avatar photo Rbig18

    Close to me, I love it. Would probably start nagging my better half if it was a 5 speed. Just can’t deal with an auto sports car. Seriously like it though.

    Like 9
  4. Avatar photo Sam61

    The “un-cola convertible” of the fox world.

    Like 13
  5. Avatar photo Stan

    Beautiful machine. Summer time⛱️ cruiser here, clean and nice.
    Luggage 🧳 rack ✔️
    Autoloaders came w a bit livelier 3.27 ⚙️ to help out.

    Like 9
  6. Avatar photo JW454

    A friend of mine had a similar car in dark blue. He wrecked it twice in less than a half an hour. After consuming too many adult beverages, he hit a tree leaving his front bumper cover with it’s attached front license plate behind. Then, a couple of miles down the road, he was passing a church where a wedding party was just leaving. He hit the car containing the Groom, Best man, Bride, and Maid of honor. His driving adventures were over for the day…. and the next several.
    I do like the feature car.

    Like 5
  7. Avatar photo John

    I had one with a 5-speed manual. Fun car to drive but sold it back in 2007. As with most collector cars these have also gone up in value over the last few years. $26,500 is pretty steep for this though. One just sold at Mecum Indy for like 23K with less mileage and it was mint. This one should be more in 15K range.

    Like 12
  8. Avatar photo C Force

    These were better with a 5spd.The borg warner T-5.Fords AOD tranny was a piece of S@#$%!At certain speeds they would limp in and out of overdrive when they went bad.Not a big fan of the plastic mustangs and the prices seem to be going too high.start putting miles on a 34yr old car and the maintenance begins,alot of it.

    Like 2
    • Avatar photo EJ KOSSL

      It wasn’t overdrive it was the lockup torque converter in third gear it was awful and almost all auto’s after I think 89 came with 3.08s slower than snail poo

      Like 1
  9. Avatar photo Frank T

    Sold mine last year in May for 13,500…Automatic and 90k miles on it…I was third owner…Transmission was rebuilt, did the upholstery and carpet, new struts and shocks, had the turbine wheels polished then found a set of white pony wheels…This car was at SEMA 2014 50 years of Mustang display..We just didn’t use it much over ten years so we let it go…

    Like 5
  10. Avatar photo Macfly

    There is no such thing as a 7-up edition. It’s a nice combination that was very popular in its time, and an instant classic.

    Like 1
    • Avatar photo Richard

      I don’t know any different. I always heard it was a 7-up edition. Nice looking car, would prefer a manual if it were mine.

      Like 2
    • Avatar photo PRA4SNW

      Macfly, you are partially correct, there was no official “7-Up Edition”, but it also is no coincidence that this particular color combination was produced in 1990.

      There are many articles on the ‘Net that explain how these came to be, here is a pretty good one: https://www.onallcylinders.com/2023/03/17/ever-heard-of-a-7up-mustang-learn-more-about-this-special-edition-ford-foxbody/

      Basically, they were produced for a cancelled promotion from 7-Up, but Ford decided to put them out anyway, as option package 562.

      Like 2
  11. Avatar photo RCinphill Member

    My wife and I bought a 1993 5.0 LX automatic convertible in 1996. Around the same time I picked up one of these 7UP convertibles with a 5 speed to flip. My brother and I decided to go race them. I had the automatic to the floor and my brother was passing me up and slowing down, bouncing the front end and basically embarrassing my automatic car. I sold the stick car not long after but still own the automatic car and it is still know as the Mustang dogamatic. The stick shift car felt 1,000lbs lighter.

    Here is the dogamatic at a car show last summer. It has 62k miles on it now and is all original with the exception of the HRE wheels and the lowering kit. Now that I am in my mid-50s I am just fine with the automatic. My wife does find it pretty funny that her old commuter gets the attention it does though. LOL

    Like 1
    • Avatar photo Al_Bundy Member

      Nice !!! We have an ’89 LX 5.0 we bought in September of ’95. Just under 60k, red, grey leather, 5 spd. Still have the original 10 hole “Phone Dial” rims. The ultimate summer time cruiser. We’ll keep it forever. If not, our son will !

      Like 2
  12. Avatar photo CCFisher

    You could order any Mustang convertible with a white interior, but these were unique in that the lower dash, console, and armrests were white. Those items matched the carpet color in other cars equipped with white upholstery.

    Like 1

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