These days, much ado is made about the turbocharged Mustang and Camaro variants, about what a great deal they are and the fuel economy they deliver. But the idea of a sporty Mustang with a turbocharged mill is nothing new; check out this 1979 Mustang Turbo here on craigslist, which the seller lists as having been locked away since 1996 after receiving a fresh paint job just two years earlier. 

This Mustang is a very similar recipe to what you can order now, with some eye-candy add-ons like the scoop and rear wing, along with a blacked out grill and side trim. This particular car combines the 2.3L turbo with a manual transmission, and currently has 125,000 miles on the clock. The car’s location in dry Kansas City has likely played a role in its preservation, along with long-term storage. The seller has recently performed brake updates but doesn’t elaborate as to what that included.

The woodgrain dash looks more like a Ghia trim than a plain-jane Mustang, but the rest of the interior is just as it should be: manual transmission, sport steering wheel, crank windows: all business, and very little that can break. The interior cleans up well and the seller indicates it’s the best part of the car. While there is no rust on the vehicle, the one previous repaint is likely to blame for the occasional paint blister the seller divulges.

Said to run well but not great, the Mustang will likely need some new ignition components or other tuning adjustments to sort out the rough-running conditions the sellers hints about. Overall, if you want an early four-eyed Mustang, it’s hard to go wrong with a manual transmission and the turbo motor. Throw in the clean paint and interior and it looks like a fair deal at $5,500.