Mustang Club of Maryland

ssp mustang · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 1479 Location: Maryland

Just wanted to throw out a question to our fellow fox body owners.
We wanted to open up this forum with a question of: What are your general likes and dislikes about the fox body mustangs? 3 gears

Boss281 · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 544 Location: New Windsor, MD

CarverSVO · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Perry Hall

I have a 93 LX hatchback for daily driving and (obviously) an 86 SVO that just went in the shop.

In general I just like the fox body mustangs because they stand out among normal everyday cars, unlike the newer models that I see every ten seconds on the road. And they make for great project cars because they are cheap to start off with and don't need as much constant attention (and money) as the classics. Plus, I can't wait to embarass my friends by beating them with a 4 banger. I have yet to drive, or learn to drive, my SVO.

Now then, where to start with the dislikes...
The biggest disadvantage to having a fox is that they're getting to the point where you can't just buy one and start having fun. They do start to fall apart after a few seconds of buying one. So you have to expect to spend a little more than you would with a newer car. And they're not too kind when it comes to adverse weather. Snow = my worst enemy. I could just keep on going with this

5.7Lmustang · Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 861 Location: Brooklyn Park

I have a 89 LX, which now looks like a 93 Cobra. I bought my car right after I graduated from high school on July 4th, 1996. Was my daily driver for 4 years before I took it of the road for two years for new drivetrain and interior. I think the 5.0L fox mustang revived the mustang and jump started it into the 1990s and we all see how many 1994-2004 models are on the road, there everywhere. I love the styling of the fox body and how almost everything is interchangable. They are also easy to work on, changing plugs are a breeze. Some cars you can't even see the plugs. The downside is they are getting old and as I look at newer models(94up)the fox is like a low option muscle car, I guess thats what made the fox cars so great, they were cheap and fast.

Bane · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Severn, MD

Hi everybody, just registered here. I have a 90 GT Hatch thats about to go udner the knife this summer for a AOD-T5 swap :)

ssp mustang · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 1479 Location: Maryland

Welcome!!!! Nice GT. Glad to see another fox body.

DGI · Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Reisterstown, MD

Another Fox fan here... There isnt much i dislike about the fox cars... even the difficulty to find parts and, sometimes, constant attention is fun. Nothing like shiftin the T5 with a good short shifter and listening to exhaust. big thumbs up

ssp mustang · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 1479 Location: Maryland

Welcome!!!!!! Glad to see another fox body member. 3 gears

bobrules · Joined: 23 Apr 2006 Posts: 2 Location: denver pa

I love both of my foxes cheap easy and they are always ready to go!
I have a 1983 and an 87 hatch. The 87 caught fire because of the alternator but other than that never had a complaint from either.

sparky1423 · Joined: 10 Nov 2006 Posts: 13 Location: Bel Air, MD

New member, great to be aboard! Had a 93 in the past, just purchased triple white feature 93. In the process of inspected. I have always been a fan of the fox body. Not too many dislikes, tranny is "lanky", no place for the morning coffee! The likes...just an overall beautiful car. Maybe its just me, but their is something mystique about a fox body with 5 stars.
The 302 is great little powerhouse, and once you bolt on the off road and flows....its a beautiful sound. I myself like the stock look, once the welds and cow hoods are installed, I think they loose their beauty

ssp mustang · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 1479 Location: Maryland

Welcome Aboard!!! I'm glad to see another fox body in the club. big thumbs up

atlantic image · Guest

the best thing is the availability of parts, the worst is the damn seats, they break easily and if you are 6ft tall or taller you are pretty crampped

morgan · Joined: 16 Aug 2006 Posts: 14

I agree with the other posts here. The biggest dislikes stem from the good points - inexpensive and light. The stock chassis is a flexible flyer. In 1997, when I had decided to keep my O.O. 1986, I had subframe connectors installed. During that, we discovered a crack in the transmission tunnel, and the car still had the stock 200 hp motor. Guys who hopped these up in the late '80s would pop the windshield out at the 1/4 mile track starting line.

The answer is to support the chassis to the max. These mods are not very expensive, compared to having to junk the car. Mine has Kenny Brown parts, super-sub connectors, jacking rails, matrix braces, upper and lower front strut tower braces, rear shock tower brace. They make the chassis much more rigid, have a tremendous positive effect on steering response, etc. I added the Trac-Kit in the rear, which consists of a panhard rod and relocation of the control arm mounting points. This eliminates brake dive, acceleration lift, and keeps the rear behaving in a predictable way.

As a testament to the value of these mods, in January I was rear-ended by a (horrors) F-150. A stock car might have been totalled. I suffered a little over $1000 damage.

ssp mustang · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 1479 Location: Maryland

Bump!

91Fox · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 151 Location: Forest Hill

I love the fact that you do not see too many of them around anymore. When you do see one, it is a great conversation opener. My one dislike is the difficulty getting parts other than the internet. As with any car in that age group, things do breakdown and need fixed or replaced.

BobT · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 9:09 pm Post subject:

I love mine!

HCOR · Joined: 03 Aug 2008 Posts: 137 Location: Forest Hill

I might as well chime in here, I still have my 84 vert GT that is in the process of getting rebuilt for this years cruising season. Got a few goodies in her, she ran a first time out 11.88 and they would let me make any more passes, lol- No roll bar.
Recently sold my 87 vert, and am always looking for a good deal on other foxes.

John

the92foxbody · Joined: 06 May 2010 Posts: 22 Location: Boyds, MD

Likes about the Fox: Everything.
Dislikes about the fox: Nothing.

Ford did a good job big thumbs up

Ziff · Joined: 21 Jun 2010 Posts: 12 Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Probably need to write a book on this issue, but the major shortcomings are the brakes, uni-body (unless you keep the stock power-train, and T-5.

Still love the body style and parts availability. My first car was a 1979 that came stock with a 302 4 speed. Also owned a 83 convertible, 88 and 90 GT, and currently a built from the ground up 88 LX coupe.

WHITE KNIGHT · Joined: 28 Mar 2008 Posts: 34

Some of you may know, some may not. Last year I found an original owner factory ordered 1986 GT. Black in color, sunroof, power windows and locks, grey cloth interior, and 208,000 miles on the ticker! Brian Sams was instrumental in the buying process, as he tried desperately to find fault with the car. No luck there! I got lucky. It was in need of a rear diff pinion seal. So I pulled the rear out, rebuilt it, and threw it back together with new steeda control arms and sway bar. The original owner had already done lowering springs ala BBK. Anyway, not to bore everyone to tears, it has ALL the documentation from new! I will try to show it at the Bob Davidson show, although it will be as a work in progress. It was bought from there, and I figured it would be cool to take it back after all these years. Who knows, maybe the salesman who sold it originally still works there?
I love all Mustangs, and my plan is to own one from every ten years. I have 1986, and 2006 covered... any leads on 1966, 1976, 1996? That should be about right to have one from every iteration of the platforms sans new edge, but they are not so disimilar from SN-95s. One day, pictures won't be such a challenge for me, and I will post some.