80's Models Mustangs

[Mustanghater2]

I have to ask you Mustang fanatics a question or two. I do not know much not in the car world but in the website. I know I lean more toward the G.M. vehicle's but, i'm not the type to just like one vehicle maker. Mustang's are like the Chevy 4x4 Z71 everbody's got to have one but, thats cool with me. Even though I don't think the Z71 and regular 4x4 are much diffrent. I have a 78' Ford 150 Ranger LWB with a 429(I know what yall are thiking who is this idiot they did'nt put 429's in old Ford trucks) I know I do not know how my papa stumbled upon the motor or the truck all I know is that it is out there. I thought about making a project car for me and my friend Joshta. I thought about a 80's model Mustang from a junk yard. I just want the body. I got the motor I want to put in it. I like that body but, if any of you Mustang fanatics know of what the lowest weight out of the 80's model Mustangs is please reply. I want to make a drag and I want to go the lowest possible weight out of the 80's body style and, I want the Mustang because I don't want to put a Ford motor any anything else besides a Ford.

[90Stangjc]

I have a 79' lx, its very light. I would consider it if i were you because its not the prettiest of cars but ow well, you wont show it, you will race it. Mine doesnt have any ground effects, no backseats, no passenger seat, no carpet, no ac,ps,radio,no pw,pd or anything. THAT car is a awsome drag car, if i had the money to put an engine in it.

[84Mustang5.0]

Lx's are the lightest of all fox body's.... try n do wut he did and find one wit no power anything, if it has an AC get rid of it, take out the seats and everything you don't need. But the body's aren't the prettiest, if u want to just get a gt cuz the weight difference is very minima;
minimal

[HiFlow5 0]

Coupe's are the lightest. When you guys say LX, you need to be more specific, because LX's can also be hatchback's as well as coupe's. It really doesn't matter what year, cause if you plan to drag the car, then you will be removing any of the dead weight the car has first. So now you basicly have to decide what Fox Body style you like the best? 79-86, or 87-93, then go from there.

[90Stangjc]

I dont believe Ford made mustang coupe's in 79' but i'm not sure. That's why i didnt say coupe because i'm pretty sure all they made was hatchbacks. But your right, coupe's are faster.
P.S.- I could be wrong about the coupe's in 79' so correct me if so.

[HiFlow5 0]

Coupe's, or Notchback's were made in 79.

[90Stangjc]

K, you learn somethin new everyday.

[MustangRoadRacer]

actually the lightest was the SVO mustang which was made with special equipment.
it has a 2.3L turbo motor and a great suspension.
good luck finding one however.
86-92 LX notchbacks can be found for as little as 3k (4 cyl) and 4-5k for an 8 cyl.

[litlmustangmoody]

Pawn shops and repo lots are great for looking for mustangs. I bought a 91 coupe a couple of years back planning on making ANOTHER 5.0 conversion from a 4 banger but it ran way too well to mess with so now my girlfriend drives it everyday. The body is perfect and the 4cyl is great and the fact that makes it all worth wile is the fact that the car was only 1500$ and that is the going price for one around here all you have to do is take your time and look for the right one. Since you are going to make a race car out of it yoiu really don't need one that runs that well so you will probably be able to find one even cheaper. I know where 3 coupe bodies are for less than 500$ right now!! good luck and have fun MUSTANG MUSTANG MUSTANG

[HiFlow5 0]

The SVO is only light because of it's lighter 2.3L motor, then it's V8 counterpart. Shell vs. shell, the coupe will always be the lightest. Now that I'm looking up #'s, the 86 the SVO had a shipping weight of 2881 lbs, while the 2.3L coupe had a shipping weight of 2538-2646 lbs. Actuallty the SVO was the second heaviest in that year, followed by the GT vert at 2921-3043 lbs.

[speed23lx]

Is one year faster than the other? Like, a 2.3 from '81 vs. a 2.3 from '91?
Also, why are they called fox bodys? I've done a lot of work on my 'stang, I know it inside out. But the "fox" part eludes me. Lastly, anyone know where I can get a 5 speed 50 in AZ? (cheap) And which would be the best year to get? (factoring in weight, performance, fuel injection, etc.)


Thanks for lettin' me join the community.

[spy604]

as far as i know, the reason its called a fox body is they took the chassis and frame design that ford was already using on other cars, and built a mustang on it. the chassis design was known as the Fox platform. i beleive it was first on a 78 fairmont. as for design, it was full unibody/chassis, 100.4 wheelbase, modded macPherson front suspension, live rear axle w/ trailing arms and coil springs. alot different than the 78 stang

[speed23lx]

It's nice to see somebody here who knows what their talking about.
Now, another question.
I read in a mag that the '87 5.0 was redesigned to put out about 250 horses (as compared to the earlier 80's models of 150 hp)
I'm very interested in an 87' stang, but would a more recent year be better? I'm looking into tuning a second car (my 2.3 88' four bangers an auto so it'll be my around town car.... with KICK) similar to these fast and furious wanabe imports, with 'NOS' and the like. Can anybody reccommend a good year and type for such a thing?
Also, as if my post wasn't scattered enough, what are the differences in engine, body, and weight of the gt's, svt's, and 5.0's?

Thanks.

Bear with me, I'm an excited little boy.

[speed23lx]

Woah, and just so everyone knows, everyone on this thread seems to also.... so chill.