Foxy Fox: 1988 Ford Mustang GT
The Fox generation Ford Mustang didn’t just replace the great selling Mustang II (seriously, the ’74-’78 IIstang holds four of the ten top model year Mustang sales figures) it also replaced the Maverick and the Pinto to a certain extent. It did this because it was a competent chassis with a wide variety of available powerplants sold for a reasonable price. Not much has changed since then. Find this 1988 Ford Mustang GT here on eBay
bidding for $4,550 with a few hours to go, located in Glen Burnie, MD.
Although I find myself somewhat attracted to the funky quad headlight early Fox mustangs (I’d love to get my hands on a Mexican market 81-84 that uses some OE Capri body parts) the later 87-93 restyled Mustangs certainly look more modern.
Powering an 88 GT is Ford’s legendary 5.0 V8, rated at 225 horsepower and 300 ft-lbs of torque — not big numbers by today’s standards, but plenty for a cruiser like this automatic equipped version. This Mustang has only 39k miles on the odometer and looks like a great buy.
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I really like the Fox bodies. Hard to get that kind of performance (and even greater potential performance) for that kind of money. They are honest cars, and dead easy to work on. Looks like someone is going to get a bargain. Too bad about the automatic.
Didn't the LX have the same 5.0 without the ugly cladding?
Yes it did. I also prefer the LX. But at this point, it is all about condition, so a super clean GT might trump a worn out LX. But it has to be a 5-speed for me to even think about it.
A 5-speed swap in one of these things isn't exactly difficult…but make sure to budget for the 3.55 gears, too. Oh, and while you're at it don't forget the SN95 front suspension and the Ranger 5-lug rear axle shafts. And the Cobra brakes. A torque arm is nice too. Koni coilovers? Wrap it up in some nice 17×9 '95 Cobra R wheels and…well, then you can start on the engine.
Yeah, I do think these are going to be collectible. They were a huge part of why Ford even survived as an automaker, and a generation or two of greasy-knuckle types grew up with these.
They were engineered down to a price (see 4-lug wheels, drum rear brakes, lots of other stuff they didn't get), by modern standards that 225HP 302 isn't anything special, and most of the 5-speed cars went out the door with 2.73 rearend gears that made you work really hard to outrun that Civic in the next lane.
In the fall of '92, my wife and I bought a brand new '93 5.0 LX 5 speed, loaded with everything but leather (I liked the tweady black cloth material), in Electric Red with the 5-spoke pony wheels. It stickered for right around $16k. I much prefered the 5.0 LX over the GT – it had all of the same performance goodies without the boy racer body kit. That car was a hoot to drive, especially with the 5 speed. So much down low grunt and long legs at the top end, with the signature 5.0 exhaust burble. It just loved to run. We kept it for ten years but it's still in the family, put away in my B-I-L's garage.
In the fall of '92, my wife and I bought a brand new '93 5.0 LX 5 speed, loaded with everything but leather (I liked the tweady black cloth material), in Electric Red with the 5-spoke pony wheels. It stickered for right around $16k. I much prefered the 5.0 LX over the GT – it had all of the same performance goodies without the boy racer body kit. That car was a hoot to drive, especially with the 5 speed. So much down low grunt and long legs at the top end, with the signature 5.0 exhaust burble. It just loved to run. We kept it for ten years but it's still in the family, put away in my B-I-L's garage.
In the fall of '92, my wife and I bought a brand new '93 5.0 LX 5 speed, loaded with everything but leather (I liked the tweady black cloth material), in Electric Red with the 5-spoke pony wheels. It stickered for right around $16k. I much prefered the 5.0 LX over the GT – it had all of the same performance goodies without the boy racer body kit. That car was a hoot to drive, especially with the 5 speed. So much down low grunt and long legs at the top end, with the signature 5.0 exhaust burble. It just loved to run. We kept it for ten years but it's still in the family, put away in my B-I-L's garage.