It’s amazing how much a bodystyle can help to improve your perception of a car. Take the notchback Mustang, for example. We obviously know the eight-cylinder notch is one of the more sought-after Fox bodies out there, but even in humble six-cylinder automatic form, the perception of the car isn’t that it’s a dog – it’s enormously cool because of that abrupt roof life. The Mustang listed here on eBay is a 1982 model listed with no reserve, and the seller notes he’s only letting it go due to health reasons. It may not be the hot rod you’ve always dreamed of, but that can be addressed with an engine swap.
See, this is what it’s all about. That view from the rear quarter makes all the difference, as so many of us are accustomed to only seeing Fox bodies with the hatch-style rear-end treatment. The seller’s car looks tough on those black-painted wheels with the silver hubcaps, giving off a serious police car-spec vibe. The cream-colored paint and black rub strips further enhances the potential “sleeper” factor, especially if you go the engine swap route. Given some of the other cars in the background, it’s clear the seller likes the coupe bodystyle, and I doubt he intended for this Mustang to be a six-cylinder forever.
Under the hood is a naturally-aspirated 3.3L inline-six. And after putting my reading glasses on, I see the seller intended to do exactly what I mentioned above and swap in a Coyote 5.0L V8, which would have been seriously cool. The engine as shown is quite pokey, producing under 100 horsepower and around 160 lb.-ft. of torque. Could you enjoy this as-is for an indefinite period while the engine swap plans came together? Sure. Paired with an automatic transmission that’s said to shift smoothly, I’ll assume the auto ‘box would also be coming out with an engine swap of any significance.
The seller notes he has performed some recent maintenance, which is surprising considering he didn’t expect to live with this engine for very long. The listing notes that the Mustang benefits from new plugs, wires, fuel pump, electric fan and tires, so you could absolutely drive it as-is for the summer as an easy-to-live-with cruiser. Heck, I might even go so far as to swap on the wheels I intended to use post-swap along with a suspension kit and at least have it look the part while I scraped together the funds to buy a motor. If nothing else, the six-cylinder cars seem to benefit from not being abused, so you’re likely starting with a strong platform with this notchback ‘Stang.
My 1st thought was a converted SSP, and I’d have to ask Bob, ever see one of these with an in-line 6? I haven’t. To be honest, I like it. My biggest gripe about mine was the V8. The in line 6, a 200, (and 170 and 144) were just the best motors. Not the peppiest, but spin forever. Kind of funny, we’ve come full circle in that regard, with in-line 6s coming back.
And a quick note, changing the heater core on these is a snap,, :)
A college classmate had an inline six Mustang like this. The only one I have ever seen.
Let’s see….
The notchback Fox Mustangs do have a “cool factor”, and have become quite the blank canvas for modified builds, usually involving a 5.0. Even the four-eye cars respond well to this treatment. This example looks well-used but isn’t abused or rusty.
On the other hand, as seen in the pic above, there are a few folks who are enthralled with stock condition cars…..
Thanks Jeff.
Most like the hatchback version of the foxbody style but I prefer these notch back ones better as they are better looking to me
Those wheels on that body just scream for a paint job… black with a tan roof, rear deck and rear quarter tops. Leave the six with the AC and just cruise along in the right lane, ‘specially in FL, and see how many will whistle past you in the passing lane at 20 over the posted speed!
Who needs “go” when you’ve got “street/highway creds?”
Yeah, inside joke… FDLE has (had?) a bunch of those in that livery.