87-93 Ford Mustang 5.0 Please weigh in

[sugarwood]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mustang_(third_generation)

What do you know about these cars?
If space and money were not a factor, would you ever own one?
Why or why not?

How do these cars handle?
Are they part of the USA muscle "They handle marvelously....as long as you're going in a straight line" cliche?

Have any of you ever owned one?
What are the strengths and weaknesses?

Ignoring the Vanilla Ice association, this seemed like a good value back in the day.
302 V8 for under $12k back in the 1980s.
3100 lbs with 200hp

I think torque peaks at 3000 rpm. HP peaks at 4000 rpm.
As opposed to the 911, this would make it more forgiving when in the wrong gear, right?

[Nostril Cheese]

Notchbacks are lighter. Plenty of go fast parts.

[john70t]

Plus:
In high school, I was in a friend's fox body 5.0L which hit a delivery truck at 30-40 mph. All survived.
It was a hot chick-magnet car for its time.
Burnouts are easy. Along with buying new tires.

Negative:
All the weight is in front.
You can't drive up a curved dirt road without going all squirrely.

[mattdavis11]

One friend of mine had an 86 GT, 302. Always hunted for an idle. Probably a bad air flow sensor. Quick, but not fast. Handled like a brick.

Another friend had 2 '89 GT converts. Both were really tail happy, he wiped out a neighbors fence with the first.

Another had a 87 LX, former police unit. It hooked up and hauled arse.

The LX was a lighter car, or so I heard.

[dafischer]

Torque peaks @ 3200. Lots of fun to hold it in 2nd or 3rd @ 3000 when ready to pass, and then nail it. 70 in 2nd is possible before redline. We bought our 87 GT convertible new, and still have it. It's got 150K miles on the original clutch with my wife the main driver.
Burnouts are stupid, it's more fun lighting it up once rolling.

[strupgolf]

I never heard a bad thing about these stangs. I'd like to have one. That motor is great.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Always a big fan of the notchback 5.0, I would happily own one. They seem to be appreciating for the nice ones.

[Dantilla]

Used to have a 1990 Convertible with the 5.0.

Bulletproof reliability, nice throaty rumble at idle, quick acceleration.

Body structure was stiff as a noodle.

[911dean]

They are what they are, V8 rear wheel drive cars, available with manual transmissions. They definitely will provide some driving entertainment.

I personally prefer the Z28's of the same vintage and I wouldn't want either brand with T-tops.

[VincentVega]

Wow, back to high school.

Horrible brakes. Terrible ride qualitgy, handling, interior quality....

Lots of fun in a straight line.

This thread brought back some good memories.

[masraum]

Back in the early-mid 90s I knew a guy that had one. He spent most of his time going fast in a straight line. I road in it a few times. It was a blast to ride in and sounded really good. Under the right circumstances, I could see having one as a fun toy.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 911dean

They are what they are, V8 rear wheel drive cars, available with manual transmissions. They definitely will provide some driving entertainment.

I personally prefer the Z28's of the same vintage and I wouldn't want either brand with T-tops.

I am equal opportunity, but usually have a GM bias, but I'd rather have an older mustang than camaro. I remember thinking the IROCs were very cool back in the day, but by the time the camaro and firebird gave up the ghost, I was sick of them.

[Nostril Cheese]

Friend of mine in HS had the turbo 4 cylinder version. He'd done some work to it. Fun car to drive.

[Dansvan]

Had a 93 Cobra. Best of them all. Better everything. Camaro out handled it and was more confidence inspiring. But the cobra was a great car. After driving it daily for awhile and then driving a friends GT, the GT was horrible.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I never really cared for the GT body style of that era, it had way too much cladding for me. I always liked the Z28 and IROCs of the '80s and early '90s, but recall their interiors feeling even cheaper than the Ford's already cheap interior.

[ckelly78z]

I had an 85 carbed 302 5 speed in a GT Mustang and loved it at the time. It was more powerful than anything I or my friends had ever had before. Handling was just fine for where I lived (flat straight roads or Interstates) I never had the car get loose or do weird things on me. I also had a 95 GT Mustang with the last year of the 302 5.0L. That car was a great improvement over the earlier car with 5 lug wheels, 4 wheel disc brakes, and wider/better tires.

Unless you are carving canyon or mountain roads at full throttle, these cars will do everything you ask of them on a daily basis and are pretty bulletproof for the price.

[doublestuff]

I've owned two: an '88 GT and a '93 LX notch. I've toyed around with getting another, and in fact found my first Porsche while searching for Mustangs.

They're really fun cars, and the aftermarket is overflowing with ways to make them into anything you want - road race, canyon carver, drag car, whatever. As stock cars, I think they're pretty entertaining, easy to work on and pretty reliable. However, prices seem to be on their way up.

[lin7310948]

the notchback is one of my favorites. always amazed me that they were used in law enforcement due to size, braking, and handling. i am currently looking for a 93 SSP mustang. never cared for the hatchbacks!

[slow&rusty]

I have always thought fondly of the Fox body cars, very capable and take extremely well to mods.

[ted]

20 years ago I was looking at a cheap 928 and my Porsche mech told me to get a 5.0 instead.
Mine was the 1988 5.0 notchback.
Drove it as a daily car for a few years.
At around 200hp they are not that powerful.
It was reliable.
I found the 5.0 Mustang to be extremely unstable on wet roads.

I'd look for a 2000 to 2004 C5Z Corvette over the 5.0 (5 slow).