I am kind of looking for a 88-94 fox body mustang. One reason is because I like this body style and another is these years fall in my price range. were some years better than others as far as engine performance,reliability,etc? thanks!!

 

92s were the last year for forged pistons. GTs have slightly stronger suspensions than LXs. Police service specials are strong, but generally shot. 89 & up are Mass Air, save for Cali which got it in 88. If straight line is your thing, start with a 4cyl LX since you'll be ripping most of its guts & underpinnings out anyway.

I bought my 92 GT in 95 w/37K miles & it is possibly the least molested Fox in the US. At 125K now, it has been a reliable as a brick through a plate glass window.


On Edit:

If your search brings you only expensive built or worn out junk, you might take a look at late 80s-early 90s:

T-Birds
Lincolns
Fairmonts
Cougars

They all are a built on the Fox platform & most Mustang aftermarket stuff fits.

Good luck & good hunting.

 

You do know the 94 was a different body style right? 1995 was the last year for the 302. Went to the 4.6 in '96.

 

86 was the first year for the fuel injection ( well 85, but that was CFI )
87 was the first year for the different heads that would remain until the end of the 5.0L ( 95 )
89 was the first year for MAF ( in California anyways ) everything previous was Speed Density which made major ( heads, cams etc ) modifications difficult. BUT the SD cars where faster stock, then the MAF cars. ( stock )
90 left unchanged
91-93 are the years of Foxes that were the best IMHO. The only thing I didn't like was that Ford canned the T-tops in these cars in 87 or 88 and you couldn't get the big headrests anymore. 93 was the return of the Cobra and Cobra R

I had a 91 LX and the car flat out rocked.

 

well,I wasn't sure when the next generation started,I knew it was 94 or 95. thanks for the info everybody that responded!!

 

Yep.
The Lincoln Mark VII (84-92) is basically a Mustang in a tuxedo. They were never offered with a 5-speed, but it's a bolt on mod and very common. Most Mustang go-fast goodies are bolt on. The best part is, they can be found cheaper than their Mustang cousins. I have 3 of them.

 

IIRC, the '93's had 5 lug wheels, the older models had only 4.
I had a '90 5.0 LX 5 spd. Pretty anemic when compared to today's offerings. I also have a '79 (first year of Fox body's) it was originally a Cobra and had the 178 HP 302 4 spd OD(POS tranny). It now has a 357CI "Cleavor" motor, that is about 450HP, a 5spd, and a 4:10 rear-end.

 

I could be wrong, I do have a bad case of CRS, but I thought it was only the Cobra that had 5 lug in '93. Not positive though.

 

Actually (and I just did a quick google search to confirm this) in 1993, the only 5 lug mustang that was built was the Cobra R. The regular Cobra was still 4 lug.

Anyway...I've heard some people say '89 was the best year. First year of mass air, last year without airbags.

And, like scndsin said, other Fox platform vehicles can be good too. 5.0 Thunderbirds can be bought dirt cheap. Cons: "Low output" 5.0 (150-ish hp), 7.5 rear, auto only, mushy suspension. Pros: Fox platform so 90% of Mustang stuff will work (suspension etc), an HO engine is heads and a cam swap away, 5 speeds can be swapped right in (or you can build up the AOD if you prefer an auto).

There was a Fox Thunderbird/Cougar message board I was/am on, where there were several members that had some badass Thunderbirds that they had swapped over to a 5.0HO & 5 speed. I'd love to have one like that.

 

ghunt: your thunderbird looks awesome!!

 

the one and only problem with these cars is that every high school kid has one and messes with it and does lame things to them, so it can be hard to find one that isnt all jacked up. we have a 90 LX with a dealer instaled super charger (in 1990) and it is a blast!

 

Thank you sir

Unfortunately the pictures I have on my Cardomain are about 4 years old...the clearcoat has since decided to separate itself from the paint on my roof and trunk lid (shoddy repaint I guess)

It's in dire need of a paint job nowadays. Still runs like a scalded dog though!

Oh, and yeah, it's hard to find an unmolested Fox mustang anymore, but there are some out there. I've seen a few here.

The big thing to watch out for on them are whether or not they've been wrecked. The brakes suck, so a lot of them have been wrecked in the front and rebuilt.

 

im not too sure, but i thought the clearcoat on those cars wasnt the best from the factory. ive see tons of 'em with clearcoat flaking off.

 

Oh, my car's been repainted twice, according to the previous owner. So who knows how good the new paint job(s) were.

 

They are few and far between. A quick look underneath would show subframe connectors. How the doors open and close is another, provided the hinges aren't worn out. And if you happen to be looking at a fox bodied Mustang with a sunroof, check the roofline for dimples in the sheetmetal. Pretty much any fox bodied mustang without the dimples in the roof, no subframe connectors, and the doors work properly, is usually a 4 banger, or a granny car.

I'd still pick the one I had though, a black 92 LX hatchback, 5.0, 5 speed, lowered, and a factory sunroof. And it was new enough (back then) that it wasn't beat on when I bought it.