My best buddy back in the 80's "bless his soul" bought a brand new 1982 Mustang GT. Silver w/red interior. That car at the time "1982" was it. Drove the car many times. Great great car!
A friends mom bought a GT in '82... She let us tool around in it occasionally... For high school juniors, it really gave us hope that the Chevy Citation X/19 wasn't our future for performance...
@@deborahchesser7375 I had a mint 1976 customized Chevy Van that he would borrow. My friends and I would trade off our cars and motorcycles all the time back in the 80's.
The launch of the 82 Mustang GT is what started my love of Mustangs and motivated my first new car purchase of a Mustang GT in 1985. Thank you for the great video!
My first Mustang was a '85 GT. Seeing the foxbody released years earlier in 1979 I fell in love with the style even though I grew up in a Chevrolet family...I've owned 7 Mustangs since the 1980's!
85 1/2 was a good mid year with slightly hotter GT manual available with 215 hp plus SVO with 205 hp. 86 both were slightly de tuned with some automatic GT’s having even worse throttle body injection. in my humble opinion 85 1/2 and 89 are the most desirable of the Fox bodies with the 89 lx 5.0 and 85 1/2 manual GT being the quickest and the 8 1/2 SVO and 89 hatchback lx 5.0 being the fastest in terms of top speeds
@@jefferyrobertson7520 when 5.7 IROC z's cost 26000 but wouldn't run with a $12000 lx 5.0 it spelled the beginning of the end for GM and the Camaro. Camaro gone by 2002, GM being bailed out by the American people by 2009
You almost can't imagine the mix of cars in my high school parking lot. A lot of mid 70s mustang 2s, rusty chargers and Challengers from the 60s, Dusters, Darts. All the boats like late 60s Galaxy 500s, my own 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille included, older Lincoln Continentals, long hooded Ford LTDs. It blows my mind that I bought my Caddie as an 11 year old car for $400.All that to say many of us dreamed of buying a 1986 Mustang GT back then. After high school I ended up going Chevy and bought 1987 Camaro Z28. It had the 5.0 with a 4 barrel carb. It was fast enough but insurance and my changing lifestyle brought an end to my ownership of that car. Kind of wish I could have kept it maintained and stored or whatever. It'd kinda be a classic now.
My buddy back in 82 had one from his Dads ford dealership. It was such a fun quik car relatively speaking. My first mustang was a 1989 5.0 lx 5 speed. Its was so quik for the time. I'm on my 3rd gt500 now. Just got a 2021 gt500. Wow what a great car. I've had a mess of mustangs in between. Best bang for the buck. Sounds awesome. Thank you Ford.
When the '82 cowcatcher grill Mustang came out, I fell in love with it. The next year I bought the '83 GT with t tops manual tranny. Subsequently have had numerous new Fox platform GTs. Thanks for the memories.
@@centraltexasfoxbodies , if I do recall correctly, in Mexico, the Ford Mustang that was first sold there in 1979 also had a similar grille to the pace car as well.
The Mustang II saved the Mustang. People thought the 71-73 was too big and overstlyed. Sales were so bad, Ford thought about canceling the Mustang. Like it or not, people liked the Mustang II. We tend to think every Mustang sold in 60's and early 70"s had V8 power. Truth is, Ford sold tons of plane-jane Mustangs with base sixes( and later, base 4 bangers).
You are so correct on it saving the brand. Not sure if many posting here are old enough to remember those days but virtually anything performance related, (exception being the Trans Am, which Pontiac singlehandedly kept the performance flames alive) was seen as toxic, and almost criminal according to government and the insurance industry. Thankfully, Ford had the foresight to revamp the Mustang which kept it from falling by the wayside like so many other musclecars of it generation. Long enough to be around for the performance renaissance of the 80s and beyond. I remember those days and driving late 60s/early 70s screamers thinking those days would never return. Glad I was wrong. Thank you Ford.
@@patsfan8057 but here it seems like ford led the way. Ford mustang fell off the wagon since 72 or so making the mustang a tank. Then the mustang 2 was a pinto. Pure garbage....in 79 this model came out. Nothing impressive. The trans am had a 6.6 liter in it. 200hp. Not bad. The corvette was ok too in 79. The mustang brought itself back from close to extinction ....but did not lead the way. The 3rd gen firebird and camaro in 82 were beautiful cars.
It's been a year since you made this comment friend. How did it go? I know sometimes a car project can take a downturn unexpectedly. I sure hope you were able to get it on the road in the way you hoped. Maybe upload a short video? What color did you go?
@@JeromyBranch current progress is on my channel. I’ve still got some wiring to get done, fluids in everything, windshield and exterior. I’m really close but started taking on side work and had to put it on hold again.
In 84, I was up for re-enlistment. It was a toss up between 5.0 stang and 5.0 TBird. I chose the TBird. 205k miles later, still ran like a champ. That was when someone went left of center n totaled it in 95. That 5.0 was a strong engine!
Thanks for the video, I was in the Air Force at the time when I bought my 82 Mustang GT Black on Black. Just after the purchase I got orders to go to Italy and took the car with me. Drove that Mustang for three years in Italy, everywhere I went the car drew a crowd, the Italians loved Fords and especially one with a V8. It got to a point that I had to plan on extra time any place I went so I could pop the hood and show the 5.0 V8 off. The Italians sure loved that car thanks for the memories!
@@kamilkamil3382 When I left Italy I got stationed in Denver. I brought the car back with me and ended up selling it (big mistake). The Mustang was not the right car in the Denver snow. At the time I didn't know the 82 was a game changer for the Mustang's future. I had a little 4 cyclinder Mustang that I took to the dealer for an oil change and while I was waiting they had just got in the 82 GT and it was sitting on the showroom floor. I told the manager don't bother returning my Mustang after the oil change I'm taking this one home lol, what car it was!!
Yup, I had an '89 GT, bright red, red interior, and as you said, 225hp. though I think it was much more. That car could move. totally fun car to drive.
@@DominatorGarage Some swear that the '87 and '88 (49 state) Speed Density 5.0 HOs ran better than the later Mass Air cars. And still a few others will tell you that the High Swirl 1986 5.0 HOs with their oddball pistons ran better than '87 and '88 (49 state) Speed Density cars. '82 was 157 HP with the flat tappet cam and 2V carb. '83 and '84 were 175 with the 4V Holley, and '85 jumped to 210 with the roller cam. I think I've heard 215 for 1986 also. I've also heard 215 for 1993 5.0 HOs.
I had an '88 LX convertible with the 5.0 and a 5-speed; bought it new in the summer of '88. It had the factory leather seats, and I had the 140-mph speedo and the leather wrapped shift grip installed at the dealership. I didn't like the ground effects and spoiler on the GT, so I opted for the LX to get the same performance without all of the extra "bling". I removed the "LX" badge on the trunk lid and replaced it with the same "5.0" badge as on the fenders, and installed the factory fog/driving lights. It was a great car that I loved driving, and someone actually approached me to buy it. I was getting married and needed the money to help buy a house, so I sold it. Strangely, I still occasionally dream that I still have it, LOL.
Great video. I remember when it was coming out and with a 2 bbl 150 hp v8 and 8 second 0-60 was state of the art. It did save the Mustang and we probably wouldn't have it today but for the 82 stang.
I bought a 1982 Mustang GT brand new in '82. I still own the car to this day, it has gone through many different engine/transmission combos and currently has a 351W stroker to 392. Love the car and it is part of the family now. Both my kids will end up fighting over it when I am gone.
Back in 1982 with new car emission laws in the United States seriously denigrating performance, the Mustang GT was one of the few cars that offered excellent performance for its time. This car was quick and had a respectable top speed. Keep in mind this was at a time when Chrysler's k car and General Motors J car were barely capable of reaching a top.speed of 100 mph..
When I was 16, I bought my third car, a 1986 Mercury Capri ASC McLaren convertible. I loved that car, and recently found the current owner and its still a project car still after 13 years since I sold it. Lol. Although I had it for 3 years, it needed too much work to be a daily car. Even though I know a bit about it, id love to see a full detailed video on the ASC Capri.
Bought one of these brand new off the showroom. Red GT with the rear lovers and Michelin TRX tires. Found out they were the only tires that would fit on the rims at that time. It wasn't 60's fast but the hp to weight ratio was a step in the right direction. Then winter came and it snowed. You could not ease the clutch out slow enough to keep the rear end from spinning. It was front end heavy. But I loved that car. Still do and always will.
So I gave my son a 1984 Mustang Ghia for his 16th birthday. (transferred its title anyhow) Which was back in april 2021. We spend the last nearly 2 years together restoring it and making it into a decent but somewhat budget show car. And it isn't like we cut corners, it was done properly and we took our time to do it all right. But we didn't go into any expensive resto-mod territory with it. Other than mildly camming the engine and new manafold and 4bbl. Otherwise it was kept quite stock. He also paid for a good chunk of the parts himself as he had a part time job, and did a lot of the work himself as well with me and some good friends guiding him through the whole process. He opted to have it painted a slightly different shade of metallic blue in a multi tone scheme and also found some very nice modern looking 16" wheels for it. Yet nothing too flashy. It is just a great looking car. The thing that I am impressed with is even though he still has his learners license, he really does take care of it immaculately. He is only its 3rd owner being as my partner bought it from the original owner about 3ish years ago, and after a few months ended up getting a different vehicle to suet their needs. When my son got it back on the road this year we took it by the original owner who garage kept it for over 30 years, and showed him everything he did to it. And it was a fascinating afternoon hearing stories about the car and its history. And it is a good bet my son will hang onto it for as long.
Hey from Montreal Canada 🇨🇦 Great channel, been subscribed for 2 years. Just for info, I bought a ‘72 Ford Maverick with the 302, with a 2 bbl, rated at 150-160 hp, but I zoomed it up with total intake manifold polish and cleaned up the exhaust manifold, then got rid of the single exhaust and put true dual exhaust, with turn downs over the rear axle. Next was switching the differential from a 2.76 ratio to a conservative 3.23, which really helped the old lady get up a bit quicker. That old dog scared a few ol’ boys around town for awhile, until I sold it to a young lady who promptly, 3 weeks later, wrapped it around a light pole( she was ok). I knew I should have kept it!😡
my best friend actually own a 86 svo, we dream so much about this car when we were teenager and he said often "i promise you fred, one day i will own an svo!" and as always he stand to his word 👌
I saw a red SVO a couple years ago and it was clean! No idea if it was an unrestored/low mileage example or restored. I've owned a lot of Mustangs in the past 35 years, but never a Fox Body. I like the notchback version.
Although the 1982 Mustang GT was important in reviving the rear wheel drive pony car, the 1974-1978 Mustang II was also important. Yes, it was based on the Pinto, though significantly reworked, so it really wasn't just a fancy Pinto. Though its main objective, at least in the first few years, was to offer a small, stylish and fuel efficient car (thankfully still RWD as FWD had not yet caught on in a big way with American cars), without it continuing the Mustang name and spirit (and even some "performance" and arguably muscle towards the end of its run, without it, we would not have received the Fox body 1979 Mustang. And of course, that lead to the 1982 Mustang GT to help it climb out of the Malaise era. People noticed, and the Mustang was becoming more powerful and popular. That lead to the 1987 refresh to breath new life into that body style until 1993 - several years more than Ford had planned. Due to the incredible resurgence in popularity and flood of letters Ford received, the "front wheel drive" Mustang for 1989 was named the Probe and the rest is history! The only negative I see is that now the Mustang has become somewhat of a halo car, with high prices to match. We no longer have a budget priced, stripper Mustang LX 5.0 coupe. Mustangs are now premium priced and well equipped, but at least the legendary RWD Mustang lives on!
The Mustang II was never intended to have a V8 Lee Iacocca hated what the high performance Mustangs had become and the Mustang II was intentionally designed not to accept even the small 302 V8. It's first year 1974 was the only year the Mustang did not have a V8 option. Ford screwed up and had to go back and redesign the Mustang II from the firewall forward to fit the V8 in 1975. You can tell a '74 because the panel the grill mounts in that extends back to the leading edge of the hood is much wider and the hood much shorter than the '75-'78 Mustang II. Ford had to bring the V8 back to the Mustang by popular demand even in the fuel embargo years.
@@glenn1035 I never noticed or knew that about the firewall redesign in order to fit the 302 V8 in it. Yes, even during the fuel crisis, people still wanted a V8.
What I credit Mustang II with was breaking the trend in the years up until that point for Mustangs to get bigger and bigger. A 1973 mustang was basically a mid-size, even by 1970s standards. It had a hood you could land a small plane on! It was clumsy through corners and needed an immense engine to make any kind of speed. Who knows: if that trend continued, maybe by now they'd be building Mustangs on the F-Series chassis! -yet there hasn't been a Mustang built since Mustang II that was bigger than a sub-compact.
@@Narrowgaugefilms Until the Mustang Mach E, now we have an electric crossover Mustang. It wouldn't surprise me if they came out with a Mustang pickup. Might as well have just named the new almost full size Ranger or compact Maverick a Mustang instead.
When Ford was developing the Probe with help from Mazda, in 1987, its original intent was to market it as a Mustang. But 'Stang fans went up in arms over the idea, and wrote a barrage of letters to Ford to demand they keep the Fox-body 'Stang as is. Ford listened, but development of the Probe was almost complete so they had no time to set that car aside. Instead, they looked at the sales numbers for the never-loved EXP two-seat coupe (which sold well only in its first year, 1982), and deleted that one from their lineup after the 1988 model year was over.
I owned a 1982 Mustang GLX Bivouac Convertible. The car was wonderful. the 5.0 Liter engine was so nice and the 4 speed manual transmission was so much fun to drive.
Thank you for this video and the great memory. My brother bought a new Mustang GT in 1982. Black with red interior. He picked me up and took me for a ride the day he bought it. At 14, it was the first new car I was ever in. He always had great cars (70 Firebird, 72 Camaro, 78 Celica and then the Mustang). Thanks again for the video.
I said this a thousand times before: the Mustang might not have gotten where it is today were it not for the Mustang II! And here we are in 2021, and Mustang is the only non-truck, non-SUV, and non-CUV being sold here by Ford in the U.S.A.! (As for the Mustang Mach-E, that is, if you'll pardon the pun, a horse of a different color.) (10/22/2021)
Yup, the Mustang II in a lot of ways helped save the Mustang. Without the Mustang II Ford would have just had the Capri which would have been replaced without complaint by the Probe. Of course, without the Mustang in the way the Probe could have had much more aspirational halo models and that might not be a bad timeline to live in either.
@@penguinsfan251 To be fair, Ford still sells those cars in Europe; Ford also builds trucks and Mustangs in America. FoE wasn't going to be folded to help FoA make more cars in the NAFTA zone to export to other markets. Ford's history in the UK and Germany is so deep they're viewed as domestic brands by fans of the brand in those markets.
I had a 1974 Mustang II Ghia V6 with a sunroof and 4 on the floor and loved it. Gas was scarce at the time. The 17 mpg around town and 20 + mpg on the highway was important. Thousands were sold. It was the right car for the time and kept the Mustang alive.
I had a friend who had a black foxbody GT with saw blades on it and that thing would get somewhere. Mustangs have always been light in the rearend so you had to know how to hold that steering wheel.
I had an 1986 Mustang GT, and the salesman told me the same thing, he especially warned me to be careful in wet weather or I would wind up wrapping it around a telephone phone. I really loved that Car, and looking back that’s the only vehicle that I wish I still had.
currently have a 2019 Mustang GT 5.0 in orange Fury love how powerful the engine is and fun to drive. Just have an axle back and PP1 wheels beautiful car
Thank you for this video. This was my first car back in 2004 or so, $1600 and ran like a mess. Was supposed to fix it up with my pop but it never happened. Still though... what it lacked it reliability it more than made up for in fun and style, and it taught me a lot about owning a car that my peers today don't even know. Sweet memories :)
Yeah I bought one of these used when I was 24 years old. Fun car to drive hard and handled well but only because the suspension was sooo stiff. I remember running the front tires at about 25 psi because I was afraid the dash would fall apart. And this had traction bars, right? Must be the only car ever to come with traction bars. But you are right about the reliability - everything went wrong with that car inside and out and at about 100k miles I drove it to the junkyard because I could not imagine selling it to anyone. The driver seat actually broke through the floor pan and the dealer told me this was a recall issue but they would not fix it so I drove around with drivers seat tilted over and a hole in the floorpan. In fact this car finally made me swear off domestic cars forever not so much because of the quality issues but because of really poor customer service.
The Fox body chassis saved the Mustang where the Mustang II nearly killed it. I remember when those '82 GTs hit the streets. They had a tuned exhaust and sounded awesome. The big challenge is to find one from 1980 or 81 in original condition. By the late 80s and early 90s you could get one of those for peanuts. Most had their 4 or 6 cylinder engines taken out and had 351s dropped in.
Love this article. I loved the 82 GT bodystyle, it was awesome. But my only opportunity for a Foxbody car was the 1991 Mustang LX 5.0 Convertible. ...and I have no regrets. But I would love a mint condition 82 GT if I ever find one.
I have one of the FIRST ONES off the assembly line. Ordered it in October 1981 picked it up from my dealer on January 4, 1982 AND I still have it. 40 years ago this month sat and placed order with dealership and there were at that time not much in the dealers book on it for option packages, and was not suppose to ship, from Ford, till early spring 82.
Thanks for the video, it brought back memories. I remember the slogan "The Boss is Back". It would a few more years until I bought a fox body Mustang, mine is a 1989 GT, a car I still own today.
@@LandofNope Maintenance shouldn't be too expensive as there was way less electronic control stuff then. Also, aftermarket performance parts are very widely available for any Fox or later Mustang platform.
I was 12 in 1982 & it was a great year for cars... Not because of raw power or performance but because designers had new tools and were going for new looks for a changing market... My parents sold their house in the South and moved to Dearborn Mi. for work in 1982. They bought a Silver Z28, with a Cross Fire injected 305...When you punched it, two hood flaps slammed open on the hood right in your face, it pinned you to the seat and the sound was magic... Knight Rider hit in late 82 or 83 with "Kit" the edgy & awesome black Trans AM... Moving to Dearborn, I was in Ford Meca & saw & heard my first 82 Stang (think it had glass packs) ...It was Maroon & sounded glorious... Thats where I got the Mustang bug as a kid and then I fell in love with many mustangs. After High School, I bought a Black 91 GT... Great Car memories!
When I was 21 I purchased the 82 Stang GT in silver with black interior, brand new off the lot, cost me 10 grand. I removed the 2BBL carb and the intake manifold, installed a Carter 625 AFB electric choke 4 BBL with a Edelbrock Performer manifold, Woke the Stang up, she ripped, also removed the convertor and installed a test tube, back than the test tube was 25.00 at any auto parts store. I also had my buddy cut the coil springs, 2 coils and this lowered the car 3 inches. Also when the tires went bad I stepped up size to the 220 55 390. I drove the car for 96k miles no issues. sold it to gal.
I really did like both of my rear wheel drive Mustangs 71 Mach 1 351 Cleveland 4 speed 77 Mustang 2 4 speed got ridiculous gas mileage. I don't know why everybody knocks them, considering the Mustang was almost taken out by the Maverick.
Such a good video. Love all of your stuff! I had a 1990 5-speed 5.0 and a 1988 AOD 5.0. Loved them both. Really awesome cars that responded well to minor mods.
One Saturday evening in 1985 when I was a senior in high school my best friend stopped at my house after coming back from the nearest big town with a 1982 Mustang GT. I was so jealous but being the best friend he was he let me drive it often. Then about two years later when he and his brother were heading home and they hit a patch of ice and went in the ditch and totaled it after hitting a tree. The insurance company found him one exactly like the one he wrecked. They both looked just like the one in this video. I still to this day think it was a sharp car. I ended up buying my senior year a 79 2.3 turbo mustang but had nothing but electrical problems with it. The turbo went out so I dumped it about 6 months after buying it. A college buddy had a silver SVO Mustang which was a fast car. I haven’t had a sports car most of my life until I bought an SRT Challenger. My high school best friend also had a Probe GT I think it was and a Merkur with same engine as SVO. Guess I can’t complain because at 21 I got a 1970 Chevelle which I have had 33 years and still have to this day.
my little brother bought the 82 mercury version, the Capri 5.0 with 4 speed .I bought an 85GT with a t5 in 1989. loved those 2 cars, today we both own 2012 GTs sadly with Automatic trans.
This is Ted from Texas. I've always loved Mustangs. In 1982 I got my first 5.0. It was a Mercury Capri. The very next year I got a 1983 Mustang GT. I kept it for 30 years and now my brother-in-law has it. I currently own in 1984 Mustang GT350. She does need some work, but it is on the road and driving
So true! I remember being in High school and wanting one, my mother wouldn’t Co-Sign for me to get it, I bought with her help a Grand Prix, but wanted that Mustang!! Years later I bought an 89 Mustang GT 5.0, loved every minute owning it, alas it got stolen!! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!!💭❤️❤️❤️
When I graduated college, I ordered an ‘84 Mustang GT convertible. It was identical to the one in the movie “The Goonies” but I ordered it with a white ragtop instead of a black one. First thing I did was put big sticky tires on it & bigger jets in the secondary 4bbl. It was a screamer at the time, and I loved that car!
Looking back nearly 40 years these horsepower numbers and 1/4 mile times seem anemic. I, however get OCM's point taken in the context of the times. Thankfully Ford made a "performance" rear drive decision that we can all be thankful for.
God I was only 10 years old in '82 and I remember seeing this cars on the road and wanted one when I got my license but unfortunately I never did. Great video
seen the ad for an 83 mustang, got the brochure, and I wanted one. bought a near new 83 GL mustang (6700 miles) that had the 5.0 5spd manual, 3.08 rear gear. Same as the GT drivetrain but not a GT. I still have that car today. I got really involved with the 5.0 craze of the 80s and performed many modifications. It was fun times.
@@allenthomas182 yes and I sent the carb off to "the carb shop" which offered a rebuild and modification to the original carb boasting 1/2 second improvement in quarter times, after installing it and running it, it was like it was a different car. pulls harder in second, really woke it up. At the time it was the thing to do in many magazines. then I started to get more into the car, B303 cam, (great sounding cam) edelbrock intake, nitrous kit, shorty headers, fiberglass front and rear bumpers, changed rear from the 7.5 to 8.8, updated trans to a newer T5 which had a lower geared 1st and a taller 5th. sub frame connectors were added, then switch to a motorsport 5 lug conversion with axles and rotors. Next came aluminum heads, lightweight tubular sub frame, and conversion to manual steering...... then life happened, got divorced, bought other cars, and now the car just sits. great memories.
My sister bought a new 82 Mustang GT. It was fun to drive and more feisty than the track times suggest. And absolutely, the 82 GT triggered the musclecar wars of the 80s to the present day.
You missed the benchmark 1985 Mustang GT…Holley 4 barrel carb (last year for carbs), 5 Spd Borg Warner trans, quad shock rear end, high flow cats, true dual exhaust, factory headers & stainless steel exhaust, and a roller cam-rated at 240 horse power it represented the end of an era of carburetors and the switch to fuel injection.
I read an article about the '82 Mustang GT in a car magazine: I took notice. A couple of years later I was standing at a light with a '68 Torino GT Coupe: a guy pulled up next to me in a new Mustang GT: he must have heard my exhaust: he took off like he was being shot out of a canon! I took notice again! In 1988 I was tired of noticing: I went to the Ford Dealer and ordered a brand new one! I waited 10 weeks because they had to build me one. I had to bring a friend to the dealer to bring it home because I couldn't really drive a stick just yet. (I learned pretty quickly.) It was a great car: I drove it 25 years. It was super-reliable, got respectable fuel economy (all things considered...). If it wasn't such a handful in snow, you might call it "near perfect"!
I had an 82 Capri 5.0 4 speed. I have a 74 Charger Rally 440 and to me, 74 was the last year of any semblance of performance before the Capri/Mustang. The Capri was spry and handled well but the Michelin TRX tires weren't good for stoplight encounters. I then had an 84 1/2 Mustang 20th anniversary convertible 5.0 and then an 86 5.0. So yes 82 got us heading back in the right direction. To put the 82 5.0 in perspective, I could outrun my friends 75 Corvette.
My first car at age 19 that my dad helped me buy was a red with white vinyl top 4 cyl 1974 mustang. I kept it shiny and clean and it didn't have any power but I kept it for 5 years and the only problem it gave me was the flywheel went bad. Later on I bought a new 1987 4 cyl mustang LX and my husband and I put about 350,000 miles on it when the valves locked up. Finally about 3 or 4 years ago I bought a 2003 100th anniversary mustang GT convertible. I finally got something that can keep up with the freeway traffic! 😁😁😁 I loved all of my mustangs!
@@DanEBoyd , and yet people not only, gasp, actually WANT the Fox Body Mustang, but that the Fox Body platform was one of not only the most versatile, but also best built, as well as most widely used, vehicle platforms that was ever made by ANY vehicle manufacturer worldwide, plus it was also built FAR better than the Mustang II, the parts for Fox Body vehicles are far easier to find than the parts of a Mustang II, the Fox Body mechanical work is super simple, and the Fox Body allows for more body versatility as well, oh, and they are also SUPER cheap to buy, as well as to restore.
Sounds silly, but I thought the slapper bars on the '82-83 looked very cool. Hard to believe a car with relatively low power back then needed them, but I liked them anyway. The one stock picture in the video (that I've also seen elsewhere) has the rubber snubber missing on the right slapper bar. They went to the quad shock rear system in mid-84.
My brother bought a brand new 1982 5.0 Mustang GT. Black with red interior which I didn't like. But I did love that car. He had 3 foxbody stangs. He got me hooked. I couldn't afford one at the time. But in 2012 my wife and I got a 2012 GT Premium. It was black. I loved that car. The coyote is what I liked. After that one we got a 2015 GT. Blue with white stripes. That was a fun car also. So then in2016 I ordered a GT Premium with the track pack . Race red with black on the hood and hockey stick stripes on the door. This one is staying with us.
I helped buddy in San Diego with his custom 'Stang build. 1982 body, convertible. 1990 interior. 1993 5.0 engine/power train. He added a Saleen kit & painted it himself. Turned out sweet. Got in some magazines. Someone stole it. Luckily, LoJack was a thing, and he got it back. Sold it & bought a boat.
'83 or '84 "TRX" suspension package Stangs had that 390mm rim & tire option, only Michelin that tire,not cheap,either.Many Stang owners wound up changing back to 15 or 16 inch rims.
@@DominatorGarage '79-'82 was 190/65/390 or something like that, while '83 and '84 were 220/55/390. They now, or at least were, making replica TRX wheels in 16" size, so tires are more available. I didn't like the TRX look back in the day, but I liked that they appeared to be more 'deep dish' than the ten-hole wheels.
I was hired by Ford in 1982 as junior executive when they released the Mustang GT and it FLEW off the line. Dealers and Drivers loved it and it revived the Division. It was definitely a bold move because at the time factories had to meet CAFE requirements and could not afford to lose power on profitable truck products. Paired with the aggressive marketing of the Ford Ranger and Bronco ll the company single handedly rescued the American muscle car and inspired a new generation of light truck buyers and SUVs. Really a case study in engineering and marketing done right.
My first car was this and the same color/wheels. I have a ton of memories...It was first my dad's car originally and he said I could buy it when I got my first job. He had a 1968 Mustang GT , so this 82 was probably a redheaded stepchild "so to speak" to him Anyways all summer I worked from 8-5 for 2 1/2 months and my dad took all my paychecks. Occasionally he would throw me a ten (I was like"dang"). And he would have this smirk as he handed me 10.00 after I worked outside all day, Mon-Fr. But at the end of summer he had it all cleaned up and gave it to me and I remember how good it felt finally getting it. And I think most everyone thought he gave it to me but I definitely paid for it albeit he gave me a good deal looking back. And I felt a good pride knowing I worked for it. This exact car is full of so many memories, stupid choices, and lessons learned. I know mustang fans..."I wish I still had it". Lol
In 1989, my buddy John had a Mustang SVO. That car was crazy fast for a four cylinder. Who knew back then that the engine in that SVO Mustang would lay the groundwork for 2.0 eco boost engine in my Ford Bronco Sport.
I am 53 yrs old and the fox platform Mustang was my 57 Chevy. Opened up the world of the car hobby and racing for me. Got no respect way back in the day until people saw the potential and your tail lights. Fox4Life
The '82 GT was a glimmer of hope that was fully realized with the '86 GT SEFI/roller cam combo. Only wish Ford had gone ahead with the 2.3 16-valve in the '87 T-bird and SVO.
Miles Rains. I believe there was a handful of prototype 2.3 16 valve heads made, probably a couple got in the hands of Jack Roush. He showed in road racing what the 4 cylinder turbo was capable of in his well developed Merkurs.
If Ford wanted to rebadge a Mazda to replace the Mustang the FC platform would have been a better starting point. If they were really smart the Fox platform would have been an international platform from the get-go with the same IRS the Sierra used, which would have given them a way more sophisticated platform than the rewarmed Monza platform Chevy was calling a Camaro. I know the Fairmont came out a few years before the Sierra but it's not like Ford didn't know they were about to replace a bunch of similar sized cars in both their NA and EUR markets.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 Oh, the Fairmont. My family had several of them and one of the absolute bare bones models with a 2.3 liter 4 and a park bench front seats was actually a decent little car. And yes, I the IRS would have been an improvement, though some would probably disagree.
@@arevee9429 Yeah, I can see why guys who want to mod their cars for drag racing might have been a little skeptical of IRS in that era, I'm not sure if it costs more but there's definitely plenty of examples of cars with IRS that work well for drag racing, including Sierras so I think they'd have gotten over it, just like they did when the 6th gen Mustang finally showed up with IRS. I've always liked the looks of the Fairmont, but I like Chasers and Soarers and Cressidas too so maybe that's just my inner old man.
@@richardkaltenbach3961 108 HP was enough to be competitive with Civics and AE86s and Golfs. It's a shame the RS Turbo was never an option in North America. They were an also ran in Group A but they were still pretty quick as a road car.
I worked for Ford back than…I remember the Mustang getting several questionable changes…not so good back than…luckily the all the Fox bodies are really popular today for performance upgrades.
The 5.0 Fox Body was and still is a very popular car. Its power output and acceleration were amazing for its time. Its classic car value has started rising faster in the past few years now.
I bought a new 1983 Mustang GT, 175 horse Holley 4 barrel 5.0 with 5-speed overdrive. Dark red with black stripe on hood and red vinyl interior. Didnt have the metric wheel/tires. Loved that car. Paid $9,800.00 brand new. I could put rubber down in first to fourth. Fourth gear was a chirp at 85-90 mph. Owned it 9 years. Brought both my kids home from hospital in it when they were born. Sold it and bought my wife one of those newfangled Explorers in 1992. Regret selling it but thats water under the bridge.
A excellent video on a important modern muscle car that made the 80's that much cooler then & it started bringing performance back to Ford! I loved the early 80's GT & test drove one each year from 1982 until '85 when I finally decided on a Black with Silver striped 1985 Dodge Shelby Charger with it's 146 HP 2.2 Turbo which was quicker off the lights than the GT V-8 then which I enjoyed testing many times! The following year I bought the new '86 Dodge Daytona Turbo-Z but always loved that Fox body Mustang GT & had numerous friends who had them, yet for some unknown reason I never bought one myself out of the 92 vehicles I've owned until now.
Its does not exactly follow the traditional design style of Mustang quality and it did appear a bit square and box-like but I do agree it was an important turn in muscle car style and performance from 1982 to the present day. Good feature indeed!!
It didn't follow traditional Mustang design language but it definitely nailed the standard Ford design language of the era. It looks like the lovechild of a Sierra and an Escort (which isn't really a bad thing).
@working_country ___ No, I'm a fan of vintage racing and one would have to have lived under a rock in the 80s to not know about the Ford Sierra RS500. Over here the Sierra was sold as a Merkur.
@working_country ___ Yeah, they had the Pinto turbo engine without an intercooler but the Cosworth models had a better 2 litre engine with an intercooler. Same block, but with a Cosworth DOHC head. The Cossies didn't have the split window either so they look better than the XR4ti and other models with that bodyshell. Those engines have great aftermarket support and since they were made for Group A they're incredibly durable just like the other Group A engines (3S, 2JZ, RB26, 4G63, etc). The Sierras made as much power as the Mustangs Ford teams had been using but weighed less and had IRS so they handled better. I was born in the 80s too and I really wish GM had have made a Camaro or Firebird for Group A, it'd be an excuse to do a proper 302 equipped Z/28 homologation model.
In the last street race at the Mexican border on 1320 video, 60+ percent of the cars were foxbodys. Most of those with Chevy power train. They're extremely popular.
My best buddy back in the 80's "bless his soul" bought a brand new 1982 Mustang GT. Silver w/red interior. That car at the time "1982" was it. Drove the car many times. Great great car!
He must have been a super cool guy to let ya float the Stang around 👍🇺🇸
My first cousin had one identical to the silver stange in
This video. Such a cool car.
A friends mom bought a GT in '82... She let us tool around in it occasionally... For high school juniors, it really gave us hope that the Chevy Citation X/19 wasn't our future for performance...
Silver was always my favorite color on these cars.
@@deborahchesser7375 I had a mint 1976 customized Chevy Van that he would borrow. My friends and I would trade off our cars and motorcycles all the time back in the 80's.
The launch of the 82 Mustang GT is what started my love of Mustangs and motivated my first new car purchase of a Mustang GT in 1985. Thank you for the great video!
Right with you. My first new car was also an '85 GT!
@@KenVic02 Great choice :).
Very COOL, 85'
I had an 85 with Ttops and a 5spd. I loved that car, did a lot of upgrades to it, learned a bunch working on it and made a bunch if great memories
85/86 is my favorite body style, especially the gt with the black body clad with gt engraved in it. Love 4 eyes.
My first Mustang was a '85 GT. Seeing the foxbody released years earlier in 1979 I fell in love with the style even though I grew up in a Chevrolet family...I've owned 7 Mustangs since the 1980's!
Owned an '82 GT in high school- still my all-time favorite car i've owned.
You must have never owned a good car
The 1985 Mustang GT was rated at 210 hp, with four barrel carburetor, roller cam and headers. I had one.
I Like Buick Regal Turbo In 1987
85 1/2 was a good mid year with slightly hotter GT manual available with 215 hp plus SVO with 205 hp. 86 both were slightly de tuned with some automatic GT’s having even worse throttle body injection. in my humble opinion 85 1/2 and 89 are the most desirable of the Fox bodies with the 89 lx 5.0 and 85 1/2 manual GT being the quickest and the 8 1/2 SVO and 89 hatchback lx 5.0 being the fastest in terms of top speeds
@@ro307805 Buick And Chevrolet Totally Amazing Modern Muscle Car 80s and Early 90s
@@ro307805 Yeah, in '86 the hp dropped until they got it figured out in '87 with 225 hp in the GT.
@@jefferyrobertson7520 when 5.7 IROC z's cost 26000 but wouldn't run with a $12000 lx 5.0 it spelled the beginning of the end for GM and the Camaro. Camaro gone by 2002, GM being bailed out by the American people by 2009
You almost can't imagine the mix of cars in my high school parking lot. A lot of mid 70s mustang 2s, rusty chargers and Challengers from the 60s, Dusters, Darts. All the boats like late 60s Galaxy 500s, my own 1974 Cadillac Coupe DeVille included, older Lincoln Continentals, long hooded Ford LTDs. It blows my mind that I bought my Caddie as an 11 year old car for $400.All that to say many of us dreamed of buying a 1986 Mustang GT back then. After high school I ended up going Chevy and bought 1987 Camaro Z28. It had the 5.0 with a 4 barrel carb. It was fast enough but insurance and my changing lifestyle brought an end to my ownership of that car. Kind of wish I could have kept it maintained and stored or whatever. It'd kinda be a classic now.
My buddy back in 82 had one from his Dads ford dealership. It was such a fun quik car relatively speaking. My first mustang was a 1989 5.0 lx 5 speed. Its was so quik for the time. I'm on my 3rd gt500 now. Just got a 2021 gt500. Wow what a great car. I've had a mess of mustangs in between. Best bang for the buck. Sounds awesome. Thank you Ford.
When the '82 cowcatcher grill Mustang came out, I fell in love with it. The next year I bought the '83 GT with t tops manual tranny. Subsequently have had numerous new Fox platform GTs. Thanks for the memories.
The grill from the 82 gt came from the 79 pace car.
@@centraltexasfoxbodies , if I do recall correctly, in Mexico, the Ford Mustang that was first sold there in 1979 also had a similar grille to the pace car as well.
Yes indeed, my buddy had the ‘83 capri (much similar) with the 5 spd - wow that was a pretty fast car
@@kellismith4329 Same cowcatcher too. Diff. hood. Actually. those first ones were pretty slick.
The Mustang II saved the Mustang. People thought the 71-73 was too big and overstlyed. Sales were so bad, Ford thought about canceling the Mustang. Like it or not, people liked the Mustang II. We tend to think every Mustang sold in 60's and early 70"s had V8 power. Truth is, Ford sold tons of plane-jane Mustangs with base sixes( and later, base 4 bangers).
The mustang II was the worst mistake ever. I remember. No one like those mustangs...the firebird and camaro from 70 to 79 ruled the 70s
I had a '74 Mustang II it was a very serviceable economy car, but it wasn't a Mustang.
@@BELCAN57 mustang ii. = pinto
You are so correct on it saving the brand. Not sure if many posting here are old enough to remember those days but virtually anything performance related, (exception being the Trans Am, which Pontiac singlehandedly kept the performance flames alive) was seen as toxic, and almost criminal according to government and the insurance industry. Thankfully, Ford had the foresight to revamp the Mustang which kept it from falling by the wayside like so many other musclecars of it generation. Long enough to be around for the performance renaissance of the 80s and beyond. I remember those days and driving late 60s/early 70s screamers thinking those days would never return. Glad I was wrong. Thank you Ford.
@@patsfan8057 but here it seems like ford led the way. Ford mustang fell off the wagon since 72 or so making the mustang a tank. Then the mustang 2 was a pinto. Pure garbage....in 79 this model came out. Nothing impressive. The trans am had a 6.6 liter in it. 200hp. Not bad. The corvette was ok too in 79. The mustang brought itself back from close to extinction ....but did not lead the way. The 3rd gen firebird and camaro in 82 were beautiful cars.
I’m almost at the end of a ten year journey restoring my 1982 mustang. Absolutely love this car.
It's been a year since you made this comment friend. How did it go? I know sometimes a car project can take a downturn unexpectedly. I sure hope you were able to get it on the road in the way you hoped. Maybe upload a short video? What color did you go?
@@JeromyBranch current progress is on my channel. I’ve still got some wiring to get done, fluids in everything, windshield and exterior. I’m really close but started taking on side work and had to put it on hold again.
@@-gearsgarage- cool beans blue jeans.
In 84, I was up for re-enlistment. It was a toss up between 5.0 stang and 5.0 TBird. I chose the TBird. 205k miles later, still ran like a champ. That was when someone went left of center n totaled it in 95. That 5.0 was a strong engine!
Thanks for the video, I was in the Air Force at the time when I bought my 82 Mustang GT Black on Black. Just after the purchase I got orders to go to Italy and took the car with me. Drove that Mustang for three years in Italy, everywhere I went the car drew a crowd, the Italians loved Fords and especially one with a V8. It got to a point that I had to plan on extra time any place I went so I could pop the hood and show the 5.0 V8 off. The Italians sure loved that car thanks for the memories!
Nice story. Where is the car now?
@@kamilkamil3382 When I left Italy I got stationed in Denver. I brought the car back with me and ended up selling it (big mistake). The Mustang was not the right car in the Denver snow. At the time I didn't know the 82 was a game changer for the Mustang's future. I had a little 4 cyclinder Mustang that I took to the dealer for an oil change and while I was waiting they had just got in the 82 GT and it was sitting on the showroom floor. I told the manager don't bother returning my Mustang after the oil change I'm taking this one home lol, what car it was!!
really enjoyed my '88 GT -- that year Ford stepped up with 225 ponies and 300 ft lbs . I was in heaven
Yup, I had an '89 GT, bright red, red interior, and as you said, 225hp. though I think it was much more. That car could move. totally fun car to drive.
85 was 210, 85 was 205, 87 was 225. But 85 felt better because of response.
@@DominatorGarage Some swear that the '87 and '88 (49 state) Speed Density 5.0 HOs ran better than the later Mass Air cars. And still a few others will tell you that the High Swirl 1986 5.0 HOs with their oddball pistons ran better than '87 and '88 (49 state) Speed Density cars.
'82 was 157 HP with the flat tappet cam and 2V carb. '83 and '84 were 175 with the 4V Holley, and '85 jumped to 210 with the roller cam. I think I've heard 215 for 1986 also. I've also heard 215 for 1993 5.0 HOs.
@@DanEBoyd I know...I run the 82 GT Registry. The 86-88 speed density cars have always ran better in my experience
I had an '88 LX convertible with the 5.0 and a 5-speed; bought it new in the summer of '88. It had the factory leather seats, and I had the 140-mph speedo and the leather wrapped shift grip installed at the dealership. I didn't like the ground effects and spoiler on the GT, so I opted for the LX to get the same performance without all of the extra "bling". I removed the "LX" badge on the trunk lid and replaced it with the same "5.0" badge as on the fenders, and installed the factory fog/driving lights. It was a great car that I loved driving, and someone actually approached me to buy it. I was getting married and needed the money to help buy a house, so I sold it. Strangely, I still occasionally dream that I still have it, LOL.
I actually love the look of the Mustang II both inside and out. I would love to have one w a drivetrain swap. Nothing crazy.
Great video. I remember when it was coming out and with a 2 bbl 150 hp v8 and 8 second 0-60 was state of the art. It did save the Mustang and we probably wouldn't have it today but for the 82 stang.
Nice memories. The years dragging out from the ‘malaise’ era of cars.
I bought a 1982 Mustang GT brand new in '82. I still own the car to this day, it has gone through many different engine/transmission combos and currently has a 351W stroker to 392. Love the car and it is part of the family now. Both my kids will end up fighting over it when I am gone.
I remember Vanilla Ice... "rollin, in my 5.0"
What about a souped up Tempo?
@@usmcvet0313 😂
Back in 1982 with new car emission laws in the United States seriously denigrating performance, the Mustang GT was one of the few cars that offered excellent performance for its time.
This car was quick and had a respectable top speed. Keep in mind this was at a time when Chrysler's k car and General Motors J car were barely capable of reaching a top.speed of 100 mph..
I love these videos.. I bought my 89 in 2009....still one of the greatest sounds out there.....
The 1982 Mustang GT is easily the most significant stand right behind the 1965. It really did relaunch the brand.
When I was 16, I bought my third car, a 1986 Mercury Capri ASC McLaren convertible. I loved that car, and recently found the current owner and its still a project car still after 13 years since I sold it. Lol. Although I had it for 3 years, it needed too much work to be a daily car. Even though I know a bit about it, id love to see a full detailed video on the ASC Capri.
Bought one of these brand new off the showroom. Red GT with the rear lovers and Michelin TRX tires. Found out they were the only tires that would fit on the rims at that time. It wasn't 60's fast but the hp to weight ratio was a step in the right direction. Then winter came and it snowed. You could not ease the clutch out slow enough to keep the rear end from spinning. It was front end heavy. But I loved that car. Still do and always will.
So I gave my son a 1984 Mustang Ghia for his 16th birthday. (transferred its title anyhow) Which was back in april 2021. We spend the last nearly 2 years together restoring it and making it into a decent but somewhat budget show car. And it isn't like we cut corners, it was done properly and we took our time to do it all right. But we didn't go into any expensive resto-mod territory with it. Other than mildly camming the engine and new manafold and 4bbl. Otherwise it was kept quite stock. He also paid for a good chunk of the parts himself as he had a part time job, and did a lot of the work himself as well with me and some good friends guiding him through the whole process. He opted to have it painted a slightly different shade of metallic blue in a multi tone scheme and also found some very nice modern looking 16" wheels for it. Yet nothing too flashy. It is just a great looking car.
The thing that I am impressed with is even though he still has his learners license, he really does take care of it immaculately. He is only its 3rd owner being as my partner bought it from the original owner about 3ish years ago, and after a few months ended up getting a different vehicle to suet their needs. When my son got it back on the road this year we took it by the original owner who garage kept it for over 30 years, and showed him everything he did to it. And it was a fascinating afternoon hearing stories about the car and its history. And it is a good bet my son will hang onto it for as long.
Hey from Montreal Canada 🇨🇦
Great channel, been subscribed for 2 years. Just for info, I bought a ‘72 Ford Maverick with the 302, with a 2 bbl, rated at 150-160 hp, but I zoomed it up with total intake manifold polish and cleaned up the exhaust manifold, then got rid of the single exhaust and put true dual exhaust, with turn downs over the rear axle. Next was switching the differential from a 2.76 ratio to a conservative 3.23, which really helped the old lady get up a bit quicker. That old dog scared a few ol’ boys around town for awhile, until I sold it to a young lady who promptly, 3 weeks later, wrapped it around a light pole( she was ok). I knew I should have kept it!😡
Your absolutely right you should have would have kept it, you would still have it to this very day.
Woulda coulda shoulda but didn’t, but that’s life as we call it, oh well.
I bought a 1962 Ford Fairlane 500 from my dad it had 221 cid V8 145 HP. 2bbl carb.
yes you should have...when i was a kid my brother a 76 grabber orange and black i loved that car..it was fast to..
DAMMIT MAN!! i know your pain bruh. Hold on to your best classics!
"Shrinking faster than the value of the US dollar"
GOT EM!
I proudly bell ong to the LGBFJB (Let’s Go Brandon F**K Joe Biden) club
@@cm1133 same here though I hate his handlers more haha
@@mussolini2525 I’m right there with you.
my best friend actually own a 86 svo, we dream so much about this car when we were teenager and he said often "i promise you fred, one day i will own an svo!" and as always he stand to his word 👌
WITH A PINTO MOTOR 4CYL
That and the Capri were some strong running cars
In the mid 90’s I had an ‘86 SVO. Loved that car and it could beat the V8’s of the same time period.
I saw a red SVO a couple years ago and it was clean! No idea if it was an unrestored/low mileage example or restored. I've owned a lot of Mustangs in the past 35 years, but never a Fox Body. I like the notchback version.
@@Bullitt3401 It must have been repainted. SVO’s only came in white, black and gray.
I can't over state the excitement of this case I was 18 and it was BIG, As ford guy 1974 to 1978 was painful as was 1980 and 1981
Although the 1982 Mustang GT was important in reviving the rear wheel drive pony car, the 1974-1978 Mustang II was also important. Yes, it was based on the Pinto, though significantly reworked, so it really wasn't just a fancy Pinto. Though its main objective, at least in the first few years, was to offer a small, stylish and fuel efficient car (thankfully still RWD as FWD had not yet caught on in a big way with American cars), without it continuing the Mustang name and spirit (and even some "performance" and arguably muscle towards the end of its run, without it, we would not have received the Fox body 1979 Mustang. And of course, that lead to the 1982 Mustang GT to help it climb out of the Malaise era. People noticed, and the Mustang was becoming more powerful and popular. That lead to the 1987 refresh to breath new life into that body style until 1993 - several years more than Ford had planned. Due to the incredible resurgence in popularity and flood of letters Ford received, the "front wheel drive" Mustang for 1989 was named the Probe and the rest is history! The only negative I see is that now the Mustang has become somewhat of a halo car, with high prices to match. We no longer have a budget priced, stripper Mustang LX 5.0 coupe. Mustangs are now premium priced and well equipped, but at least the legendary RWD Mustang lives on!
The Mustang II was never intended to have a V8 Lee Iacocca hated what the high performance Mustangs had become and the Mustang II was intentionally designed not to accept even the small 302 V8. It's first year 1974 was the only year the Mustang did not have a V8 option. Ford screwed up and had to go back and redesign the Mustang II from the firewall forward to fit the V8 in 1975. You can tell a '74 because the panel the grill mounts in that extends back to the leading edge of the hood is much wider and the hood much shorter than the '75-'78 Mustang II. Ford had to bring the V8 back to the Mustang by popular demand even in the fuel embargo years.
@@glenn1035 I never noticed or knew that about the firewall redesign in order to fit the 302 V8 in it. Yes, even during the fuel crisis, people still wanted a V8.
What I credit Mustang II with was breaking the trend in the years up until that point for Mustangs to get bigger and bigger. A 1973 mustang was basically a mid-size, even by 1970s standards. It had a hood you could land a small plane on! It was clumsy through corners and needed an immense engine to make any kind of speed.
Who knows: if that trend continued, maybe by now they'd be building Mustangs on the F-Series chassis!
-yet there hasn't been a Mustang built since Mustang II that was bigger than a sub-compact.
@@Narrowgaugefilms Until the Mustang Mach E, now we have an electric crossover Mustang. It wouldn't surprise me if they came out with a Mustang pickup. Might as well have just named the new almost full size Ranger or compact Maverick a Mustang instead.
When Ford was developing the Probe with help from Mazda, in 1987, its original intent was to market it as a Mustang. But 'Stang fans went up in arms over the idea, and wrote a barrage of letters to Ford to demand they keep the Fox-body 'Stang as is. Ford listened, but development of the Probe was almost complete so they had no time to set that car aside. Instead, they looked at the sales numbers for the never-loved EXP two-seat coupe (which sold well only in its first year, 1982), and deleted that one from their lineup after the 1988 model year was over.
I owned a 1982 Mustang GLX Bivouac Convertible. The car was wonderful. the 5.0 Liter engine was so nice and the 4 speed manual transmission was so much fun to drive.
Thank you for this video and the great memory. My brother bought a new Mustang GT in 1982. Black with red interior. He picked me up and took me for a ride the day he bought it. At 14, it was the first new car I was ever in. He always had great cars (70 Firebird, 72 Camaro, 78 Celica and then the Mustang). Thanks again for the video.
I said this a thousand times before: the Mustang might not have gotten where it is today were it not for the Mustang II! And here we are in 2021, and Mustang is the only non-truck, non-SUV, and non-CUV being sold here by Ford in the U.S.A.! (As for the Mustang Mach-E, that is, if you'll pardon the pun, a horse of a different color.)
(10/22/2021)
Yup, the Mustang II in a lot of ways helped save the Mustang. Without the Mustang II Ford would have just had the Capri which would have been replaced without complaint by the Probe.
Of course, without the Mustang in the way the Probe could have had much more aspirational halo models and that might not be a bad timeline to live in either.
Amazingly, Ford still builds lots of cars in Europe...but not in the US. Stupid management.
@@penguinsfan251
To be fair, Ford still sells those cars in Europe; Ford also builds trucks and Mustangs in America.
FoE wasn't going to be folded to help FoA make more cars in the NAFTA zone to export to other markets. Ford's history in the UK and Germany is so deep they're viewed as domestic brands by fans of the brand in those markets.
N hasn't been discontinued or be discontinued like the slowmaro 😂
I had a 1974 Mustang II Ghia V6 with a sunroof and 4 on the floor and loved it. Gas was scarce at the time. The 17 mpg around town and 20 + mpg on the highway was important. Thousands were sold. It was the right car for the time and kept the Mustang alive.
I had a friend who had a black foxbody GT with saw blades on it and that thing would get somewhere. Mustangs have always been light in the rearend so you had to know how to hold that steering wheel.
I had an 1986 Mustang GT, and the salesman told me the same thing, he especially warned me to be careful in wet weather or I would wind up wrapping it around a telephone phone.
I really loved that Car, and looking back that’s the only vehicle that I wish I still had.
Love the memories! My friends father had a 84 Mustang GT that was absolutely beautiful AND the mileage was almost nil. Aloha!
currently have a 2019 Mustang GT 5.0 in orange Fury love how powerful the engine is and fun to drive. Just have an axle back and PP1 wheels beautiful car
I dunno, I always liked the Mustang II. Give that shape to a car that can perform, and it would be great
I had the glx model with a 5.0 and a 4 speed manual transmission it was my favorite car performance on a budget .
Back when cars were light - 2,800 cars barely exist anymore ha. I remember reading the R&T of that time, this GT was a really big deal!
Thank you for this video. This was my first car back in 2004 or so, $1600 and ran like a mess. Was supposed to fix it up with my pop but it never happened. Still though... what it lacked it reliability it more than made up for in fun and style, and it taught me a lot about owning a car that my peers today don't even know. Sweet memories :)
Yeah I bought one of these used when I was 24 years old. Fun car to drive hard and handled well but only because the suspension was sooo stiff. I remember running the front tires at about 25 psi because I was afraid the dash would fall apart. And this had traction bars, right? Must be the only car ever to come with traction bars. But you are right about the reliability - everything went wrong with that car inside and out and at about 100k miles I drove it to the junkyard because I could not imagine selling it to anyone. The driver seat actually broke through the floor pan and the dealer told me this was a recall issue but they would not fix it so I drove around with drivers seat tilted over and a hole in the floorpan. In fact this car finally made me swear off domestic cars forever not so much because of the quality issues but because of really poor customer service.
This was really a great Mustang, far from the original one, yet it left its mark in car history.
The Fox body chassis saved the Mustang where the Mustang II nearly killed it. I remember when those '82 GTs hit the streets. They had a tuned exhaust and sounded awesome. The big challenge is to find one from 1980 or 81 in original condition. By the late 80s and early 90s you could get one of those for peanuts. Most had their 4 or 6 cylinder engines taken out and had 351s dropped in.
Love this article. I loved the 82 GT bodystyle, it was awesome. But my only opportunity for a Foxbody car was the 1991 Mustang LX 5.0 Convertible. ...and I have no regrets. But I would love a mint condition 82 GT if I ever find one.
I have one of the FIRST ONES off the assembly line. Ordered it in October 1981 picked it up from my dealer on January 4, 1982 AND I still have it. 40 years ago this month sat and placed order with dealership and there were at that time not much in the dealers book on it for option packages, and was not suppose to ship, from Ford, till early spring 82.
Thanks for the video, it brought back memories. I remember the slogan "The Boss is Back". It would a few more years until I bought a fox body Mustang, mine is a 1989 GT, a car I still own today.
If you dont mind me asking, whats the maintenance costs like? Ive been looking at a mustang from a similar year.
@@LandofNope Maintenance shouldn't be too expensive as there was way less electronic control stuff then. Also, aftermarket performance parts are very widely available for any Fox or later Mustang platform.
I was 12 in 1982 & it was a great year for cars... Not because of raw power or performance but because designers had new tools and were going for new looks for a changing market... My parents sold their house in the South and moved to Dearborn Mi. for work in 1982. They bought a Silver Z28, with a Cross Fire injected 305...When you punched it, two hood flaps slammed open on the hood right in your face, it pinned you to the seat and the sound was magic... Knight Rider hit in late 82 or 83 with "Kit" the edgy & awesome black Trans AM... Moving to Dearborn, I was in Ford Meca & saw & heard my first 82 Stang (think it had glass packs) ...It was Maroon & sounded glorious... Thats where I got the Mustang bug as a kid and then I fell in love with many mustangs. After High School, I bought a Black 91 GT... Great Car memories!
When I was 21 I purchased the 82 Stang GT in silver with black interior, brand new off the lot, cost me 10 grand. I removed the 2BBL carb and the intake manifold, installed a Carter 625 AFB electric choke 4 BBL with a Edelbrock Performer manifold, Woke the Stang up, she ripped, also removed the convertor and installed a test tube, back than the test tube was 25.00 at any auto parts store. I also had my buddy cut the coil springs, 2 coils and this lowered the car 3 inches. Also when the tires went bad I stepped up size to the 220 55 390. I drove the car for 96k miles no issues. sold it to gal.
Had a 1985 Mustang straight six and a 1969 Mustang with a 302 V8. When you put 110 Avgas in the straight six. It was almost as fast as the V8.
The quad headlight fox bodies are the best looking fox bodies fight me
No fight here, I agree 100%.
"Four Eyes."
Excellent bodies but horrible interior. I owned a GT with a stick. Fun for its time!!
@@Stormin2548 you don't like the turnd steel dash inlay?
Dual headlight fox body Granada 💯
I really did like both of my rear wheel drive Mustangs 71 Mach 1 351 Cleveland 4 speed 77 Mustang 2 4 speed got ridiculous gas mileage.
I don't know why everybody knocks them, considering the Mustang was almost taken out by the Maverick.
And now the Maverick is a unibody pick up truck and my wife’s nephew’s first name.
So great to hear the inside stories of how the car business evolved. Great video.
Such a good video. Love all of your stuff!
I had a 1990 5-speed 5.0 and a 1988 AOD 5.0. Loved them both. Really awesome cars that responded well to minor mods.
One Saturday evening in 1985 when I was a senior in high school my best friend stopped at my house after coming back from the nearest big town with a 1982 Mustang GT. I was so jealous but being the best friend he was he let me drive it often. Then about two years later when he and his brother were heading home and they hit a patch of ice and went in the ditch and totaled it after hitting a tree. The insurance company found him one exactly like the one he wrecked. They both looked just like the one in this video. I still to this day think it was a sharp car. I ended up buying my senior year a 79 2.3 turbo mustang but had nothing but electrical problems with it. The turbo went out so I dumped it about 6 months after buying it. A college buddy had a silver SVO Mustang which was a fast car. I haven’t had a sports car most of my life until I bought an SRT Challenger. My high school best friend also had a Probe GT I think it was and a Merkur with same engine as SVO. Guess I can’t complain because at 21 I got a 1970 Chevelle which I have had 33 years and still have to this day.
my little brother bought the 82 mercury version, the Capri 5.0 with 4 speed .I bought an 85GT with a t5 in 1989. loved those 2 cars, today we both own 2012 GTs sadly with Automatic trans.
This is Ted from Texas. I've always loved Mustangs. In 1982 I got my first 5.0. It was a Mercury Capri. The very next year I got a 1983 Mustang GT. I kept it for 30 years and now my brother-in-law has it. I currently own in 1984 Mustang GT350. She does need some work, but it is on the road and driving
This is the car that made me fall in love with mustangs. Now I have a 92 Notchback 5.0 and love it.
So true! I remember being in High school and wanting one, my mother wouldn’t Co-Sign for me to get it, I bought with her help a Grand Prix, but wanted that Mustang!! Years later I bought an 89 Mustang GT 5.0, loved every minute owning it, alas it got stolen!! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!!💭❤️❤️❤️
When I graduated college, I ordered an ‘84 Mustang GT convertible. It was identical to the one in the movie “The Goonies” but I ordered it with a white ragtop instead of a black one. First thing I did was put big sticky tires on it & bigger jets in the secondary 4bbl. It was a screamer at the time, and I loved that car!
Looking back nearly 40 years these horsepower numbers and 1/4 mile times seem anemic. I, however get OCM's point taken in the context of the times. Thankfully Ford made a "performance" rear drive decision that we can all be thankful for.
A little bit of tinkering vastly improved performance.
God I was only 10 years old in '82 and I remember seeing this cars on the road and wanted one when I got my license but unfortunately I never did. Great video
seen the ad for an 83 mustang, got the brochure, and I wanted one. bought a near new 83 GL mustang (6700 miles) that had the 5.0 5spd manual, 3.08 rear gear. Same as the GT drivetrain but not a GT. I still have that car today. I got really involved with the 5.0 craze of the 80s and performed many modifications. It was fun times.
Then you had the 4 barrel carb! The five speed just came out in the 83 Mustang nice! 👍👍
@@allenthomas182 yes and I sent the carb off to "the carb shop" which offered a rebuild and modification to the original carb boasting 1/2 second improvement in quarter times, after installing it and running it, it was like it was a different car. pulls harder in second, really woke it up. At the time it was the thing to do in many magazines. then I started to get more into the car, B303 cam, (great sounding cam) edelbrock intake, nitrous kit, shorty headers, fiberglass front and rear bumpers, changed rear from the 7.5 to 8.8, updated trans to a newer T5 which had a lower geared 1st and a taller 5th. sub frame connectors were added, then switch to a motorsport 5 lug conversion with axles and rotors. Next came aluminum heads, lightweight tubular sub frame, and conversion to manual steering...... then life happened, got divorced, bought other cars, and now the car just sits. great memories.
@@alankulchecki3160 👍👍👍
My first new car was an 82 GT, in red, the four speed tranny, and the TRX wheels/suspension, without the Recaro seats. Loved that gar!
I had an 82 & I loved it. Fun to drive & never any issues. We did have issues with it getting stolen & vandalized though. I wish I still had it.
My sister bought a new 82 Mustang GT. It was fun to drive and more feisty than the track times suggest. And absolutely, the 82 GT triggered the musclecar wars of the 80s to the present day.
I had a 74 Mustang II, and a 73 Mustang. I liked both of them. I remember when these cars came out, too, and everyone was crazy for the 82 GT!
You missed the benchmark 1985 Mustang GT…Holley 4 barrel carb (last year for carbs), 5 Spd Borg Warner trans, quad shock rear end, high flow cats, true dual exhaust, factory headers & stainless steel exhaust, and a roller cam-rated at 240 horse power it represented the end of an era of carburetors and the switch to fuel injection.
I had a 1985 Mustang GT and with a few upgrades that was about a total of $1000 I could run 13.0 in the 1/4 mile. Loved that car.
Excellent video!
I read an article about the '82 Mustang GT in a car magazine: I took notice. A couple of years later I was standing at a light with a '68 Torino GT Coupe: a guy pulled up next to me in a new Mustang GT: he must have heard my exhaust: he took off like he was being shot out of a canon! I took notice again!
In 1988 I was tired of noticing: I went to the Ford Dealer and ordered a brand new one! I waited 10 weeks because they had to build me one. I had to bring a friend to the dealer to bring it home because I couldn't really drive a stick just yet. (I learned pretty quickly.)
It was a great car: I drove it 25 years. It was super-reliable, got respectable fuel economy (all things considered...). If it wasn't such a handful in snow, you might call it "near perfect"!
I had an 82 Capri 5.0 4 speed. I have a 74 Charger Rally 440 and to me, 74 was the last year of any semblance of performance before the Capri/Mustang. The Capri was spry and handled well but the Michelin TRX tires weren't good for stoplight encounters. I then had an 84 1/2 Mustang 20th anniversary convertible 5.0 and then an 86 5.0. So yes 82 got us heading back in the right direction. To put the 82 5.0 in perspective, I could outrun my friends 75 Corvette.
My first car at age 19 that my dad helped me buy was a red with white vinyl top 4 cyl 1974 mustang. I kept it shiny and clean and it didn't have any power but I kept it for 5 years and the only problem it gave me was the flywheel went bad. Later on I bought a new 1987 4 cyl mustang LX and my husband and I put about 350,000 miles on it when the valves locked up. Finally about 3 or 4 years ago I bought a 2003 100th anniversary mustang GT convertible. I finally got something that can keep up with the freeway traffic! 😁😁😁 I loved all of my mustangs!
Makes sense to me. I’ve own 16 foxbody Mustangs. They’re pretty great.
The Mustang II looked more like a Mustang than any Fox Body ever did.
@@DanEBoyd , and yet people not only, gasp, actually WANT the Fox Body Mustang, but that the Fox Body platform was one of not only the most versatile, but also best built, as well as most widely used, vehicle platforms that was ever made by ANY vehicle manufacturer worldwide, plus it was also built FAR better than the Mustang II, the parts for Fox Body vehicles are far easier to find than the parts of a Mustang II, the Fox Body mechanical work is super simple, and the Fox Body allows for more body versatility as well, oh, and they are also SUPER cheap to buy, as well as to restore.
Sounds silly, but I thought the slapper bars on the '82-83 looked very cool. Hard to believe a car with relatively low power back then needed them, but I liked them anyway. The one stock picture in the video (that I've also seen elsewhere) has the rubber snubber missing on the right slapper bar. They went to the quad shock rear system in mid-84.
I miss the 1980s, 1981 through 1989. I also miss 2017 through 2020, when it was ok to be financially prosperous.
My brother bought a brand new 1982 5.0 Mustang GT. Black with red interior which I didn't like. But I did love that car. He had 3 foxbody stangs. He got me hooked. I couldn't afford one at the time. But in 2012 my wife and I got a 2012 GT Premium. It was black. I loved that car. The coyote is what I liked. After that one we got a 2015 GT. Blue with white stripes. That was a fun car also. So then in2016 I ordered a GT Premium with the track pack . Race red with black on the hood and hockey stick stripes on the door. This one is staying with us.
Had a new1979 Capri RS (Turbo 4); a new 1986 and new 1988 Mustang GT. Loved them all.
My second mustang was an '82 GLX Notchback. I've owned probably 15 cars since and that particular stang, and it will always be my favorite car.
I want to drive one of these in stock form just to get a better appreciation for how fast mini vans have gotten over the years.
:)
I helped buddy in San Diego with his custom 'Stang build. 1982 body, convertible.
1990 interior.
1993 5.0 engine/power train.
He added a Saleen kit & painted it himself.
Turned out sweet. Got in some magazines.
Someone stole it.
Luckily, LoJack was a thing, and he got it back.
Sold it & bought a boat.
'83 or '84 "TRX" suspension package Stangs had that 390mm rim & tire option, only Michelin that tire,not cheap,either.Many Stang owners wound up changing back to 15 or 16 inch rims.
79-84...was option. And 79-82 had a different size option as well as the bigger size.
@@DominatorGarage '79-'82 was 190/65/390 or something like that, while '83 and '84 were 220/55/390.
They now, or at least were, making replica TRX wheels in 16" size, so tires are more available. I didn't like the TRX look back in the day, but I liked that they appeared to be more 'deep dish' than the ten-hole wheels.
I had a ‘79 Capri 5.0 with those Michelin tires. They were cool but super expensive and hard to find by ‘88. Too much for a teenager to buy
My dad has a 1982 Mustang GT, just like the red one in lots of the photos. He bought it in 1985 and still drives it today.
I was hired by Ford in 1982 as junior executive when they released the Mustang GT and it FLEW off the line. Dealers and Drivers loved it and it revived the Division. It was definitely a bold move because at the time factories had to meet CAFE requirements and could not afford to lose power on profitable truck products. Paired with the aggressive marketing of the Ford Ranger and Bronco ll the company single handedly rescued the American muscle car and inspired a new generation of light truck buyers and SUVs. Really a case study in engineering and marketing done right.
Love your channel man
My first car was this and the same color/wheels. I have a ton of memories...It was first my dad's car originally and he said I could buy it when I got my first job. He had a 1968 Mustang GT , so this 82 was probably a redheaded stepchild "so to speak" to him Anyways all summer I worked from 8-5 for 2 1/2 months and my dad took all my paychecks. Occasionally he would throw me a ten (I was like"dang"). And he would have this smirk as he handed me 10.00 after I worked outside all day, Mon-Fr. But at the end of summer he had it all cleaned up and gave it to me and I remember how good it felt finally getting it. And I think most everyone thought he gave it to me but I definitely paid for it albeit he gave me a good deal looking back. And I felt a good pride knowing I worked for it. This exact car is full of so many memories, stupid choices, and lessons learned. I know mustang fans..."I wish I still had it". Lol
I bought an 82 GT HO Mustang in March of 82, I was stationed at NAS Mirmar CA. Oh the good times 👍
In 1989, my buddy John had a Mustang SVO. That car was crazy fast for a four cylinder. Who knew back then that the engine in that SVO Mustang would lay the groundwork for 2.0 eco boost engine in my Ford Bronco Sport.
I am 53 yrs old and the fox platform Mustang was my 57 Chevy. Opened up the world of the car hobby and racing for me. Got no respect way back in the day until people saw the potential and your tail lights. Fox4Life
The '82 GT was a glimmer of hope that was fully realized with the '86 GT SEFI/roller cam combo. Only wish Ford had gone ahead with the 2.3 16-valve in the '87 T-bird and SVO.
Miles Rains. I believe there was a handful of prototype 2.3 16 valve heads made, probably a couple got in the hands of Jack Roush. He showed in road racing what the 4 cylinder turbo was capable of in his well developed Merkurs.
The Probe was an OK car, but no replacement for the Mustang. A re-badged Mazda.
If Ford wanted to rebadge a Mazda to replace the Mustang the FC platform would have been a better starting point. If they were really smart the Fox platform would have been an international platform from the get-go with the same IRS the Sierra used, which would have given them a way more sophisticated platform than the rewarmed Monza platform Chevy was calling a Camaro. I know the Fairmont came out a few years before the Sierra but it's not like Ford didn't know they were about to replace a bunch of similar sized cars in both their NA and EUR markets.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 Oh, the Fairmont. My family had several of them and one of the absolute bare bones models with a 2.3 liter 4 and a park bench front seats was actually a decent little car. And yes, I the IRS would have been an improvement, though some would probably disagree.
@@arevee9429
Yeah, I can see why guys who want to mod their cars for drag racing might have been a little skeptical of IRS in that era, I'm not sure if it costs more but there's definitely plenty of examples of cars with IRS that work well for drag racing, including Sierras so I think they'd have gotten over it, just like they did when the 6th gen Mustang finally showed up with IRS.
I've always liked the looks of the Fairmont, but I like Chasers and Soarers and Cressidas too so maybe that's just my inner old man.
That 108 Horse ESCORT GT Was The One To Watch! That Was A Sure Fire TERRROR On Wheels!!
@@richardkaltenbach3961
108 HP was enough to be competitive with Civics and AE86s and Golfs.
It's a shame the RS Turbo was never an option in North America. They were an also ran in Group A but they were still pretty quick as a road car.
I worked for Ford back than…I remember the Mustang getting several questionable changes…not so good back than…luckily the all the Fox bodies are really popular today for performance upgrades.
The 5.0 Fox Body was and still is a very popular car. Its power output and acceleration were amazing for its time. Its classic car value has started rising faster in the past few years now.
I bought a new 1983 Mustang GT, 175 horse Holley 4 barrel 5.0 with 5-speed overdrive. Dark red with black stripe on hood and red vinyl interior. Didnt have the metric wheel/tires. Loved that car. Paid $9,800.00 brand new. I could put rubber down in first to fourth. Fourth gear was a chirp at 85-90 mph. Owned it 9 years. Brought both my kids home from hospital in it when they were born. Sold it and bought my wife one of those newfangled Explorers in 1992. Regret selling it but thats water under the bridge.
A excellent video on a important modern muscle car that made the 80's that much cooler then & it started bringing performance back to Ford! I loved the early 80's GT & test drove one each year from 1982 until '85 when I finally decided on a Black with Silver striped 1985 Dodge Shelby Charger with it's 146 HP 2.2 Turbo which was quicker off the lights than the GT V-8 then which I enjoyed testing many times! The following year I bought the new '86 Dodge Daytona Turbo-Z but always loved that Fox body Mustang GT & had numerous friends who had them, yet for some unknown reason I never bought one myself out of the 92 vehicles I've owned until now.
The fox body saved the mustang from being discontinued. And probably why they basically stayed the same for almost a decade and a half
Its does not exactly follow the traditional design style of Mustang quality and it did appear a bit square and box-like but I do agree it was an important turn in muscle car style and performance from 1982 to the present day. Good feature indeed!!
It didn't follow traditional Mustang design language but it definitely nailed the standard Ford design language of the era. It looks like the lovechild of a Sierra and an Escort (which isn't really a bad thing).
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 I fully agree with your good self!!!!
@working_country ___
Who mentioned a pickup truck? Look up what a Ford Sierra is. Hint: It's not a pickup.
@working_country ___
No, I'm a fan of vintage racing and one would have to have lived under a rock in the 80s to not know about the Ford Sierra RS500. Over here the Sierra was sold as a Merkur.
@working_country ___
Yeah, they had the Pinto turbo engine without an intercooler but the Cosworth models had a better 2 litre engine with an intercooler. Same block, but with a Cosworth DOHC head. The Cossies didn't have the split window either so they look better than the XR4ti and other models with that bodyshell.
Those engines have great aftermarket support and since they were made for Group A they're incredibly durable just like the other Group A engines (3S, 2JZ, RB26, 4G63, etc). The Sierras made as much power as the Mustangs Ford teams had been using but weighed less and had IRS so they handled better.
I was born in the 80s too and I really wish GM had have made a Camaro or Firebird for Group A, it'd be an excuse to do a proper 302 equipped Z/28 homologation model.
I found a 82 with a 351 in 92. It was awesome ,my first car, my first standard transmission . I still have a GT till this day
In the last street race at the Mexican border on 1320 video, 60+ percent of the cars were foxbodys. Most of those with Chevy power train. They're extremely popular.
Turbo LS in a Fox body seems like a good formula for a cheap bracket racer.
This guys channel is great if you a light a quick watch before bed. He’s like bob ross but for cars. Keep doing good my dude
It was produced in good numbers and was an easy and affordable car to massage, with another $400 it was more like 275-300hp no problems at all