When it came time to trade in the VW Rabbit on something newer, and nicer, I wasn’t exactly sure what car I wanted. I knew I didn’t want a new Golf; I definitely wanted something with more power and a car that was somewhat larger. The mid-eighties, at least to me, was not a high point of automotive design; things were starting to move out of the malaise era of the seventies but nearly all cars (at least the ones I could afford to buy) seemed both underpowered and bland.
One Sunday, Easter Sunday as it happened, my future wife and I were just out riding around after church, killing time until we went to her parents’ house for dinner. For no reason other than it was someplace to go we drove to Owensboro, Kentucky, a largish (50,000 people) town in the next county east of my hometown. I drove past the Chevrolet dealer to look at Camaros but none of them impressed me enough to get out of the car; did I mention that it was spitting snow, in the last week of March! On the way out of town we drove past the Ford dealer and I saw a 1984 Mustang GT; it was silver and had T-tops but what really caught my eye was the “Price Reduced” painted on the windshield. I stopped and gave the Mustang a quick look, enough to note that it had a 5 speed manual transmission, factory air and the AM/FM/cassette combo.
Although various friends and family members had owned generation one and generation two Mustangs, and I had driven them frequently, I had never owned an example of the original pony car. That was about to change; on the Wednesday after I spotted the Mustang I took the afternoon off from work to go car shopping. I really don’t know why the dealer had not been able to sell this particular car and it had lingered on the lot until the spring of 1985. It wasn’t painted an ugly color, it had all the right equipment, it didn’t have any body damage; for whatever reason it just didn’t get sold. This worked to my advantage as I was able to purchase the Mustang (which stickered right at $15,000) for $11,500 and the Rabbit; they allowed me $1000 as the trade in on the VW so the dealer was willing to knock $2500 off the sticker. If they were happy, I was happy.
Carol and I had only been dating for a few months at this time but we seemed right for each other. She was even interested in cars; her current driver was a fairly new Nissan 300Z, which had replaced a late seventies Corvette. Although she never came out and said anything I’m sure she was happy not to have to ride in the well-used Rabbit any longer. As the weather got warmer we began taking the Mustang out for longer and longer drives, on a couple of occasions we got caught in sudden showers with the T-tops off; you would be surprised how fast one can install these in the rain.
Finally, on Memorial Day weekend, we decided to drive to Lexington, Kentucky, about three hours away. She had never been there so it would be a chance for me to show her the town, the university, where I had lived, etc. It was semi-overcast when we left but we took the T-tops off anyway. We got to Lexington, I gave Carol the grand tour, we ate lunch and then started back home, tops off all the way. As we cleared the Louisville metro area on I64 she looked over at me and told me that my face and neck were getting red. Naturally I looked at her and she was beginning to turn a little red herself (we are both somewhat fair skinned). Did we stop and put the tops back on? We did not, two reasonably intelligent people with three college degrees between us kept on trucking. By the time we got back to Carol’s house we were both pretty crispy; a valuable life lesson was learned however, sunscreen is an important item when riding in any kind of open vehicle.
Having survived a short road trip we decided to plan a longer excursion; Carol was then teaching high school and I had a job where I could take a couple of weeks off, if I planned it carefully. We set off and our first stop was Chicago, where we spent a day just hanging out and then the next day went to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs. From there we drove to southwestern Michigan and spent a couple of days with my aunt and uncle. This led to the major portion of the trip, several days in Toronto and then to Warsaw, New York, where Carol’s best friend from college was then living with her husband and her two daughters.
We left my aunt and uncle’s house on Sunday morning for the drive to Toronto. We had decided to bypass the Detroit/Windsor area and instead enter Canada farther north, crossing from Port Huron into Sarnia. This was long before 9/11 and U.S. citizens could usually enter Canada and return with only a copy of one’s birth certificate to prove citizenship. We were waved through the border on the United States side but got stopped at the Canadian customs post. The only thing we could figure was that the one agent on duty (who looked to be about 18 years old) was bored and wanted something to do; in any case we had to pull over and unload the car while he searched for contraband.
After reaching Toronto we were able to park the car at the hotel and use public transportation for getting around. We were staying down the street from city hall and there was a subway stop within walking distance. Our stay in Toronto was interesting; compared to large cities in the U.S. it was clean and from what we could tell, much safer than Chicago or New York. I’m sure that one could have found some less salubrious areas but the downtown area and the lakefront certainly made a good impression.
We did have one interesting experience; one night we took the subway down to the lakefront to eat dinner. It was around 8:30 or so when we left the restaurant and we were the only two people in our car. At the next stop a cheerfully inebriated gentleman boarded our car and tried to join us in conversation. The only trouble was that he was an immigrant from Scotland (I was able to understand that much) and his version of English didn’t really jibe with the version I learned growing up in Kentucky; I could understand about every fifth word he said. This attempted conversation lasted until we reached our stop, some 15 minutes away. As soon as Carol and I got up to the street we both started laughing; we were still laughing as we entered our hotel and I’m sure the desk clerk wondered what was going on.
We finished our vacation and began the trip home from New York. During the drive I came to a couple of conclusions; one was that any car used for extensive highway driving really needed to have cruise control. Not long after this I bought and installed an after-market cruise; it worked well except that it would not disengage by tapping the brake pedal, you had to manually turn it off instead. The other conclusion was that if Carol and I were going to be married (and we were shortly after this), it would be a good thing if she could drive a car with a manual transmission. After we got married I made several attempt to teach her how to operate the five speed but didn’t have much luck; I suspect that I was making her nervous.
Eventually we decided on a system that would work; I was in the Army National Guard then and had duty on at least one weekend per month. She would take me to the Saturday morning assembly and then have the remainder of the weekend to practice driving the Mustang. She was able to progress from backing in and out of the garage, to driving around the neighborhood, to driving the car anywhere she wanted to go. It didn’t take her long to progress to the point where shifting gears was second nature and not something she needed to think consciously about. Carol got comfortable enough operating the five speed that her next driver was a Celica coupe, with the five speed manual. Of course the irony is that for the rest of the time we had the Mustang we never took it on any kind of extended road trip.
Joe, Those early 5.0 mustangs were always alluring. One lesson I did learn the hard way was to never EVER try to teach one’s wife (or soon to be wife) how to drive a car with a manual transmission. You, being smarter than I, got off very easy on that one.
My wife taught ME how to drive a manual transmission but her motives were entirely selfish. When we met she had a 5 speed manual Pontiac Vibe and I had only a 2004 F150 standard cab. Her car ended up being taken on long trips and she got sick of driving all the time.
I always liked this generation Mustang. I remember when they were 1st introduced I thought how European they looked compared to previous Mustangs.
I liked the Fox body Mustangs but then the C4 is my favorite Corvette design as well. Viva 80s!
I don’t like Silver vehicles but the car here looks very sharp .
Did the T – Tops cause squeaks / leaks / rattles as the car aged ? .
I like the Fox Body Mustang and should have bought one when they were cheap and in good shape , the few I see any more are all used up .
Good article ! .
-Nate
While I obviously don’t know Joe’s experience with his, I can offer what my aunt had with an ’81 Mustang with T-Tops.
They squeaked. Later, they leaked. The leaking was cured with a heavy coat of silicone and never removing the T-tops again. The squeaking remained.
That Mustang had such a mixed personality. T-Tops on a car with the 200 cubic inch straight six, wire wheel covers, and a hatchback. But it was stout as it traveled many miles on gravel roads with no ill affects.
The T-tops in my Mustang didn’t leak but they did tend to squeak, especially as the car got older. I compensated for the squeaking by just turning up the stereo.
I really liked the 5.0/five speed combination on this car; enough power to feel sporty but not highly strung to the point it felt like a chore to drive in stop and go traffic. As they went farther down the food chain most 5.0 Mustangs ended up in the hands of younger drivers and got used hard. It is rare to see one today that hasn’t undergone the full hot rod treatment.
Thanx Jason ;
I remember a few 1970’s GM sleds with horrible squeaks , rattles and leaks , good thing i was living in Sunny Southern California , they must have been awful in the East or Mid West….
I had no idea the i6 was still available in Fox body Mustangs .
When did they go to V6’s in the cheaper models ? .
That should make for a fun sporty if not overly fast car .
I remember the CHP’s 5 speed Fox body Mustangs , 351 (?) V8’s .
-Nate
The base engine in all Foxbody Mustangs was the 2.3 four, and in 87-93 was the only choice other than the 5.0. In the 79-86 years you could get the Cologne V6, then the straight 6 and finally the Essex 3.8, which in 94 for the SN95 generation became the base engine.
No Fox Mustang came with the 351. The CHP cars (SSP) were basically LX 5.0 notchbacks with a few Police car tweaks like the certified 160mph speedometer, oil cooler and a few chassis tweaks.
Irony is, the Fox engine compartment had more lateral space than the Falcon platform thanks to those hybrid struts, thus better access, yet it was the Falcon-based Mustangs that offered bigger engines. Not that I’m complaining.
I was intrigued enough by these that I seriously shopped one in 1985. In my feverish young mind, I planned to keep my first new car forever, and that matte black hood decal was a deal breaker. In fact, I kept the car I actually bought (VW GTI) for a mere 2 years. Passing on that Mustang has been the biggest automotive “what if” of my life.
One thought on why your car sat for a while. It may have been a late 84 build. The 85s got a good bump in power and an attractive new front fascia making the 84 look a bit bland in comparison.
Either way you got a heck of a deal!
I had read the road tests of “new” 82 Mustang GT in high school and was impressed (though I knew the 79 Mustang V8 TRX was essentially similar: 302 V8 and 4-spd. In 1980 and 81, you could only get the 255 V8–an emasculated 302–with auto. The 1983 302 was mildly tweaked to put out 157 hp, vs the 79’s 140).
However, as some one who had learned to drive a Fairmont 88 hp 4-cyl and a Pontiac Ventura (Nova) with a 110 hp V8, when I test drove an 83 Capri RS V8 (same as author’s Mustang essentially), I was blown away! I couldn’t afford it then.
IMO, the Mustang GT and 83 Rabbit GTI marked the dawn of a golden era (the 1980s) for cars.
Eventually, when I had the money, I test drove 85 and 86 Mustang GTs, and was even more blown away. However, when I asked the Ford salesman “how come these 1-yr old Golf GTIs are for sale?”, and he answered, the weren’t, one was his, that was the deciding factor and I bought a VW GTI as my first new car.
The Mustang GT was awesome though–quick and cheaper than the GM pony cars, and the best speed per dollar value!
HaHa, passing on the Mustang GT for a new VW GTI – you and I lived parallel lives. Did you by chance replace your GTI with a 66 Fury III? 🙂
@JP: I never had or even rode in a GTI,or a Mustang GT, but I DID have a 66 Sport Fury!! 🙂
I’ve always liked the Fox-body Mustangs – especially once they started bumping the power closer to what it should be for a Mustang. I prefer them with a stick as well. My brother-in-law has a later GT (a 2001, I think) with a 5-speed, and it’s lots of fun to drive. I tried teaching my wife stick once on my old Nissan King Cab. Considering that my wife is a trucker’s daughter, you’d think it would come naturally…but no such luck. She prefers an automatic. Oh well. If we ever own two vehicles again I’ll make sure one of them has row-your-own gears. And chances are good it’ll be a Mustang.
Nicely told story, Joe.
I would have loved to see your crisped faces from your Lexington trip.
Your conversation with the Scottish chap reminded me immediately at Robin Williams’ explanation of how the sport of Golf was invented. Youtube that!
My wife’s first car was an ’81 Mercury Capri with an inline 6 under the hood. I liked the looks of these cars but I had trouble adjusting to the steering wheel so close to the chest. I suppose it was intended to mimic NASCAR drivers’ ergonomics.
You visited Toronto…one of my favorite big cities. There is so much ethnic variety and though the neighbourhoods are separate, the blend with each other at the “boundaries” is very friendly.
You can walk from the Waterfront area at Toronto Union Station to City Hall through the lower levels of underground malls, connected by passageways, and only come to the surface once, where a subway line prevented building another passageway. That’s very handy in winter!
Nothing to do with cars, true…each time I have arrived in Toronto by train, with shoe leather and the Toronto Transit Commission for transport, only renting a car to get out into Ontario.
I’ve always liked these cars, the girl before the girl I married had a silver one virtually identical to the one pictured. It was a great car in summer, but more than a handful on northern BC’s winter roads. She eventually traded it for, of all things, a Topaz largely due to it’s spooky handling on slippery roads.
The GT version of this generation Mustang with the 5.0 was one of the first indications that Detroit was back in the performance game. For a few years it replaced the Camaro Z-28/Firebird Trans-Am as the car to have for young people with a decent job, and they were literally everywhere. Ford must have sold a ton of them !
Regarding your story of the “conversation” with the gentleman from Scotland, in the summer of 1972 I was hitchhiking in Scotland and came to the southern edge of Edinburgh. My plan was to catch a bus into the center of the city and then transfer to another line toward St. Andrews. The conductor on the first bus spoke with such a strong Scottish accent in response to my question about where and which line I should transfer to that a young girl had to translate between our versions of “English”.
I was a first generation Canadian of Scottish parents. One night in my teens I had a good friend over who had spent a lot of time at our house and knew my parents well.
They had had another Scottish couple over and as we went out they were all yacking at the kitchen table and having a few “wee nips” of whiskey. my buddy said when we went out “you never told me your parents spoke gaelic!” I had to explain to him they were still speaking English, just that whiskey cranked a Scottish accent up by the power of 10!
I had an ’86 hatchback that I bought new. It was a pretty good car. Unfortunately I cheaped out and got the 4 banger. At least it was a stick. I enjoyed it while I had it and put 92K miles on it in the two years before I traded it for a new Ranger. My daughters wanted me to keep it for them to drive, but they had to settle for the Mustang II that we bought for them. After a series of small trucks I ended up back driving Mustangs again. My V6 ’03 that I had and my current V6 ’09 sure drive better and are more fun than the ’86
I had an ’84 GT after some years with an ’80 2.3. What a difference twice the motor makes. As others have mentioned though it was a handful in the winter, prompting me to eventually trade it off for a Probe GT which was a better all-around car.
That flat black paint on the hood was a PITA. Couldn’t really do anything with it…no buffing, wax, etc, so it was just chalky and oxidized. I used Black Magic trim restorer to make it presentable for a couple weeks at a time.
Yup, I saw that problem with the flat black trim coming. I had seen enough awful flat black trim on early 70s cars after a few years. “They make it better now” was not enough to convince me. Just like every few years since the 50s, the owners manuals would tout that a new car’s special paint finish “never needs waxing.” Yeah, right.
I’m not so sure the hood was any worse than all the black window trim and plastic on the cowl and sail panels. At least it would be easy to re-paint I suppose.
My F-150 has the same problem with black plastic trim. New ones appear to have about as much. Nothing changes, Ford uses materials that look ok through the warranty period and calls it good. And of course Ford’s not alone on that.
I don’t know of any plastic that doesn’t look awful after a couple yrs. of sunlight, so it’s not corporate cynicism, it’s just carbon molecule UV degradation. And aren’t biodegradable materials a good thing?☺ Subaru ads boast about their recycling program now, to suck up to Beautiful People customers.
Best solution is for industry to revert to chrome trim, which probably won’t happen because back in the ’70s, Europe taught everyone that Black is Beautiful & chrome is tacky. And it makes cars go faster, too.
Just a slight correction. The ’82 GT was the first 5.0 HO with the 2 BBL carb and 157 HP. The ’83 5.0 HO got the Motorcraft Branded Holley 4 BBL carb and bump to 175 HP. 🙂
I bought a 1984 Mustang GT brand new, for about $11,000 or so back then (On an ‘X-car plan). My old man had always drilled into me about not getting into debt, so I was reluctant to borrow very much ( I was a sophomore in college at the time). I remember my car loan was $2500 and the payment were $75/month. I had a nice chunk of money saved up by then from working since I was 12 starting out with mowing lawns and saving everything.
Mine was dark charcoal metallic, but to save $$$, I didn’t get too many options. I had the base seats, which were not very comfortable, no tape player (which was fine, because I soon put an aftermarket cassette tuner and power amp into it), no T-tops, etc. It had the TRX wheel/tire combo.
I ordered it from the dealer and waited and waited for it to come in. Right about this time, it had been reported that the engine was going to be upgraded with tubular exhaust headers and hotter cam (which eventually arrived for 1985 I believe) and I was hoping that the delay meant that I would get that. No such luck. But, my car did arrive with the Hurst shifter that was only used for the Mustang SVO at the time, surprisingly. I never found out why I received that shifter, maybe it was due to a shortage at the time of the standard shifter?
The GT was much, much faster than my previous car, a 1981 Cutlass Supreme with the dog 260 V-8 ( a complete mistake to buy that I was very pleased to be rid of) but as others have noted, it was a terrible car to drive in the Michigan winter. I got stuck the first week I had it and promptly scratched up the bottom of the door panel with a shovel trying to dig it out. It had that paint treatment at the bottom supposed to protect against scratches ( we lived on a gravel road then) but I found out when I had it painted that the bump shop was never going to be able to match that texture to the factory treatment. So from then on out, the two sides of the car never matched in that area, which constantly bothered me.
I could always beat the same era Trans Ams and Z-28s in drag races. But, I got tired of the Mustang after less than 2 years and ended up selling it so I could buy my dream car at the time, a 1972 Buick Riviera! Yes, I went from a new car to a 13 or 14 year old car then, which my father thought was crazy, but I was not to be deterred….
And yes, that flat black center section of the hood always looked like crap, especially with our hard well water that I washed the car with; it would always have water spots on it no matter how quickly I dried it off. Never looked good. The build quality wasn’t that great on it either. When I first got it, I could see daylight in the rear view mirror at the tailgate when it went over big bumps. But I figured out how to tighten that up soon.
Myself and 3 other friends drove it to Florida for Spring Break 1985, and that was a trip that only youth can handle. There was not an inch of room to spare with 4 guys and their luggage in that car.
I still see a few late 80s/early 90s Mustangs of this generation around, but almost never see any of the 79-84 models. They seem to have vanished for good.
I had a few foxes in the 80s-90s when I was younger (a 79 turbo pace car, an 85 LX 5.0), but my favorite one was the dark charcoal 1984 GT I bought about 10 years ago. I was a chance to revisit my youth and I loved it. It had every option except T-tops (which I was thankful for). It even had the sport seats with the halo headrests. It looked and ran great.
175 hp doesn’t sound like much, but in a light car with good torque it moved pretty good. Once I upgraded the exhaust, intake, carb and a few other bits, it was actually pretty quick by even todays standards.
I wish I still had it. Nowadays, you have to spend top dollar on a fox mustang. They’re not the bargain they once were