Do you ever tell yourself that you’ve figured out which kind of car or truck you like, and that your life will be much simpler if you just stick with that genre of vehicle? That’s how I justify many of my purchases, but there’s still a very loud part of my brain that wants to own a notchback Fox Body Mustang, similar to this LX 5.0 found here on eBay.
The seller is asking a heady $19,500, but also lists the mileage as an impressively low 23,668. The condition seems to back this up, with lustrous paint and black trim that still shines as new. The classic “Pony”-style wheels are the best stock look on a Fox Body like this, and like everything else on the car, they present as new.
The interior is far from exotic, and one downside to the LX trim is the recliner-like front seats. I’m sure they’re comfortable, but you want the more thickly bolstered bucket seats from a GT car in here instead of these fat-bottomed seats. The automatic is a serious bummer, as a notchback with the stick is my dream combination. Still, at least the cabin appears downright minty.
The venerable 5.0L isn’t a monster by today’s standards, but it’s no slouch, either. In fact, the simple construction, vast aftermarket, and pleasing response to bolt-on modifications make motors like these a breath of fresh air in today’s tech-laden vehicles. This 5.0-powered notchback may be ahead of the market price-wise, but it will look like a bargain in the not too distant future.
Nice car. It has become fairly difficult to find clean, unmolested Fox Body cars, especially notchbacks. Prices for Foxes such as this have been moving up steadily over the past few years…. the price may not be far off the mark.
Pet peeve: for such a nice, clean, stock Mustang, let’s ditch that gaudy Interstate battery for a more-appropriate Motorcraft battery.
Thanks for the write-up Jeff..
“Pet peeve: for such a nice, clean, stock Mustang, let’s ditch that gaudy Interstate battery for a more-appropriate Motorcraft battery.” nit pick much? LOL I am willing to bet that if you offered the seller his asking price, you might could negotiate a battery of your liking.
Say what you will about the interstate battery, but I bought a “97 328 1c bmw off of ebay several years ago. A couple of months ago the car did not seem to be turning over as fast as it should. Had the battery checked and the tech said that it was a little weak, but there were no bad cells. I decided to replace it anyway. The date code on the battery was from 2007. It was a 12 year old battery and still working.
Pray the heater core doesn’t leak. Big job changing those on A/C cars. On mine, an ’88, I was told the dash had to come out. Me and Mr. Sawzall took care of that in short order, it was kind of a beater anyway. Mine was an LX as well, had plenty of steam, handled lousy, iffy brakes at speed, not really a very nice car at all. My ’95 V6 was a much nicer car. Car of choice for drag racing. When I advertised mine, a guy said, he had one question, was it a notchback LX? I said yes, he was there in 15 minutes, and took it away. He had planned to race it. Say what you want about an automatic, but I had a neighbor with a fastback, 5 speed, and it was unpredictable, at best, accelerating. Automatic kind of smooths that out. It’s a lot of power for a little car.
Automatics are typically faster in acceleration due to consistency, but a standard trans is waaay more fun! The introduce more feedback to the driver, and allow more input than a “slushbox”. This is coming from a guy whose last standard trans equipped vehicle was a 1993 GMC K2500 with a NV4500 5 speed. I am currently working on a 1955 Chevy 1st series pickup on an s10 chassis with a 1997 Vortec 350 and a world class T5 5 speed, though. Before anyone interjects, I’m aware of the T5’s limits. I’m going to keep it under 300hp, as the T5 will be at it’s limits. It’s not going to be a drag truck or anything.
Bought one of these new in 1990 for 11,200 out the door. Its a hard car to drive slow, I went to Pagosa Spgs (3.5 hour drive) and had to remind myself a few times to take it easy its not a race thru the curves. But a wonderful drive in a great car.
😢 slushbox. What a shame.
This is the only car I can think of that the lesser sporty trim is now worth more than the sporty trim. Currently, this same car in a GT would be worth less. LX are more desirable.
Some of the explanation is that the GT did not have any hotter engine than an LX. You got the same engine in the GT as the LX when you ordered the 5.0 in the LX. This is not the only partial explanation but one of them.
Other cars I can think of the same engine but the sporty package is more valuable. A 68-70 Dodge Charger, same 440, if the car is a RT, it is worth more. First generation Camaros the same. Even recent Mustangs.
Why?
The only problem is I don’t think they made a notch-back GT so if you want a notch-back your stuck with an LX or one of the police pursuit cars.
The LX was the sleeper hot rod of the bunch. The quickest Fox cars were LX coupes with no AC and the 5 speed.
Rarity and perception. Try comparing a factory Ram Air 400 1970 Formula Firebird or non Judge GTO with their more famous Trans Am and Judge brethern.
Why are the nice ones always automatics? Oh, thats right, they suck, so they don’t get driven. NO THANKS.
LS swap, er I mean T56 swap! I knw there was a swap involved, I just get some carried away with “LS SWAP”! LOL
Seems pricey to me, even with the low miles.
Have owned a number of these, including the current ’86 LX SSP coupe which I own. With the right shift kit, it’s surprising how well the AOD will perform.
So many of them were beat up and modded throughout the years. Good to see the numbers climbing on the unmolested, low mileage examples.
3:27 gears with a wide-ratio gearset out of a 4R70W, a 2200 rpm stall converter, an “A” OD servo, and a Lentech valve body would turn this into an animal.
Wheels are not correct for a ‘90 but who can blame the owner, I also have these 16” Ponies on my ‘90 GT!
Those are correct wheels for the 90 lx. I owned an 88 lx 5.0 in charcoal grey. Two years later I was checking out an lx 5.0 hatch with those wheels which was new for that year.
Nice notch! This will sell for what he is asking or at least close. I own a 87 SSP super fun to drive and if you know how to drive these are a blast!! Tough to find one that hasnt been beat on or drag raced.
My’89 lx had the silver ponies.
The 1990 LX used the old 10-hole rims from 1985-90. The pony rims did not appear until the 1991 model year on both the GT and LX 5.0.
Priced way too high regardless of miles.
Spend the same money on a first generation.
I had a 1992 white hatch model 5 litre with a 5 speed. It had only 8,000 miles when I bought it. Ran strong but at very high speeds drifted more than my Iroc. Was a fun car but I never liked the shifter. Had the pony rims like this one. Oh the good ole days !
A Fox-body Mustang is the poster car of growing up in New Jersey during the early 90s. I came close to buying one*, and my friends had several. Seeing a clean one—ESPECIALLY a LX 5.0, since I always thought they were cleaner than the GTs—always brings out the nostalgic fuzzy feelings.
*Back in 1991, as I was starting my senior year in high school, I needed a new car. The local Ford dealer had a new LX 5.0 notchback that was seriously tempting—black, red interior, 5 speed, and a $11,250 price tag (!!). I wound up passing because, for a 17 year old kid, the price and cost of insurance were just a bit too much. But I still remember that car all these years later!
Funny how people still find ways to slag the Fox Mustangs over power/braking/handling even after all these years. The market is moving upwards on these and the LX coupes are money in the bank, this car will sell for that number, no problem. I mention pretty frequently I own a 91 LX 5.0 coupe 5 spd with 3.08’s, 201KM, and with a cold air kit and an MSD6AL, welded subframes/battle boxes/shocks/springs and drilled/slotted rotors with Hawk black pads this is a 13.76 on street tires car, I trackday with it in WA at SIR, PIR and The Ridge and get 26+ mpg driving the thing. It brakes hard enough to do this but does warp the rotors eventually, and sticks to the track well enough with me behind the wheel that I can tangle with the newer cars in the advanced class on track. What’s not to like? I know I wouldn’t part with the car for less than 15K CDN, now tell me a modern musclecar that can do all that for that kind of dosh. And go……………right. Still waiting………GLWS…………
I have a 90 Mustang LX with a 2.3 turbo swap from 84 tbird with computer, injectors, and vam from 88 tbird. It has 5spd, 3 stage clutch, and 255/40/17 tires front – 275/40/17 tires rear; just a liittle bit wide though. I haven’t driven it much because of other car projects. But I liiiike it. It originally was a 2.3 non turbo with ac.
Beautiful Mustang in good condition with my favorite sporty red car color. Love the boxy notchback roofline easier for a big person to get into without bumping my head. The automatic would be my only choice for effortless cruising to car shows, restaurants like Culver’s that play 1950s and 1960s music and summer drives. Just wish I could spare $20 grand!
Never cared for these in notchback guise. Always reminded me of Chrysler K-cars of the same era. The hatchback was much nicer looking with it’s fastback styling. I’ll take the extra 60 lbs of the hatch and lose a tenth in that quarter mile to look better!
And this seller must not realize AOD cars are worth considerably less.
I always thought these cars looked best in either a black of hatchback with ten hole rims or a triple white lx convertible…