I'm Here To Tell You Why People Should Stop Hating On Foxbody Mustangs

Petrolheads seem to love hating on performance cars of the 1980s, especially those from the States. What’s this? ‘80s American performance cars? I can’t even get past the first sentence without sounding like a loon, and I’m sure there’s already a crowd of Car Throttle readers gearing up to positively rip this story to shreds. Especially those from Team Camaro, who no doubt can’t understand why Ford’s iconic pony car is deserving of any credit at all.

I can already hear the trash talk - anyone care to wager how many times the word mullet or rustang will appear in the comments?

It’s all moot anyway, because there were no American performance cars in the 1980s, right? Except for maybe the Buick GNX and its Turbo Trans Am sibling. And the Calloway Corvette. Or even the Dodge Shelby Charger GLHS. Wait, is that the same Shelby who created monster Mustangs? Yes it is.

So perhaps there are a few American machines worth mentioning. Actually, I’m here to say there are more than a few, and they’re all part of the single most important decade in automotive history. Yeah, I just said that, and here’s why.

Everything you love about the automotive awesomeness of 2015 came of age in the 1980s. It was a pivotal period of automotive evolution, where manufacturers learned how to bridge the gap between old-fashioned mechanical systems and ever-expanding technological wizardry. Nowhere can this evolutionary process be better seen than in the U.S. market, where there was plenty of fail but also some definitive win. It’s time these cars received some credit not just for what they did back in the era of hair spray and glam rock, but for the inexpensive retro fun they can provide now. And with prices for rides of the 1980s trending upward, the time to buy is now.

$5000 in this category can go a heck of a long way, and to whet your appetites we will start with arguably the most iconic nameplate of the bunch: the Ford Mustang.

It’s true this once-great muscle car became something of a joke through the 1970s. In 1980 the Mustang’s highest-horsepower option was a craptastic turbocharged 2.3-litrr four banger making a wheezing 132 ponies. By the end of the decade, Ford had turned things around and brought some muscle back to the Mustang, courtesy of the bullet-proof 5.0-litre V8 engine that had been around since the days of the Roman Empire. Further refined with electronic fuel injection and engine management systems, it produced a respectable 225 horsepower in 1987 to deliver above average performance for the time - which admittedly isn’t stellar by today’s standards, but still enough for smoky burnouts and jaunts north of 140mph. Add in the convertible to better enjoy the V8 burble and suddenly things weren’t so bad.

More importantly, for our purposes in 2015 as an inexpensive retro fun car, the old 5.0 V8 is a sweetheart to build up for the one thing every car nut wants: more horsepower. Aftermarket add-ons range from mild to wild, and in many respects it delivers the best of both worlds – everyday reliability thanks to a touch of modern technology while still being easy to work on. And if you don’t want to just go straight, a wide range suspension and chassis options are also available to help these cars handle well better.

The Mustang’s popularity significantly increased towards the end of the ‘80s, so there’s a healthy supply of 1987-1989 hardtops or convertibles to choose from. This supply also means prices are still relatively low, even for examples that haven’t been hammered to death. Only the pristine ‘Stangs are trending north of $10,000 - it’s not tough to find a nice, daily driver 5.0 Mustang for around $5000. Or buy one of those used and abused stallions for a measly $1500 then invest another $4000 to build an attractive, athletic, 300-horsepower muscle car. Not a bad price to pay for an iconic American machine with real fun factor and a permanent place in automotive history.

That said, let the required Mustang versus Camaro trash talk begin. Or you could talk about your favourite retro ride. Let us know what you’d like to see featured as we bring some long-overdue respect to performance cars of the ‘80s.

This article was written by freelance journalist Christopher Smith.