Tossing aside the wimpy Pinto parts, the 1979 Mustang was built atop the shortened chassis of the Ford Fairmont "Fox" body that had been introduced for '78. While the Fox platform was still a unibody structure, it shared little else with previous Mustangs. The new front suspension was a modified MacPherson strut system that mounted a spring separate from the strut itself, while a new link and coil spring rear suspension held up the back of the car. This basic suspension system would remain in use on Mustangs through at least the 2003 model year.
Available as either a coupe or fastback hatchback, the new Mustang rode on a 100.4-inch wheelbase and was 179.1 inches long. That's a bit more than four inches longer in both dimensions over the Mustang II, but still shorter than the original Mustang's 108-inch wheelbase and 181.6-inch overall length. However, the '79 Mustang was significantly roomier inside than any previous Mustang thanks to a more upright-oriented cockpit and flatter doors that allowed more shoulder and hiproom.
The new Mustang's styling was angular and handsome, but hardly related to previous Mustangs. There was no running horse in the shovel nose grille which was flanked by four square headlights, the sides were devoid of the signature side scallop and the taillights were divided into six segments instead of three. With slightly different blistered fenders, a flatter grille and different taillights, Mercury sold the same car as the Capri. The '79 Mustang was at its best wearing the optional 390mm three-spoke "TRX" wheels and tires, but there was little about it that was intrinsically Mustanglike.
All three engines from the '78 Mustang II carried over to the '79 Mustang. The 2.3-liter SOHC was rated at 88 horsepower, the 2.8-liter Cologne V6 at 109 horsepower and the 4.9-liter (but called a 5.0-liter by Ford) V8 made 140 horsepower. They were joined by a turbocharged version of the four also making 140 horsepower but saddled with epic boost lag and hideously bad reliability. Late in the model year, the old 200-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) OHV straight six reappeared making 94 horsepower. Four-speed manual transmissions were standard behind all engines with a three-speed automatic optional.
The most desirable of all '79 Mustangs would turn out to be the 6,000 Indy pace car replica fastbacks, which featured a unique hood scoop, unique front air dam, unique rear spoiler, black and silver paint with orange graphics and an interior blessed with genuine Recaro front seats. The pace car was available with either turbo four or V8 power and included the TRX wheel and tire package.
With the Ghia trim back on the coupe and a "Cobra" package available on the hatchback (which had a fake hood scoop but no spoilers), the '79 Mustang was a hit. A healthy 369,936 Mustangs were built that model year.
In a very real way the 1980 Mustangs were worse than the '79s. While visually they changed very little (a few aerodynamic tweaks were made, including a subtle lip spoiler on the coupe's trunk lid), under the hood things got ugly. Gone from the line were both the 2.8-liter V6 and the 5.0-liter V8. The only six available was now the wheezy 3.3-liter straight six, while the sole V8 was a new version of Ford's small-block displacing 255 cubic inches (4.2 liters) and gasping out just 119 horsepower. It was the smallest — and the worst — V8 ever offered in a Mustang. By default the turbo four was the most powerful engine in the '80 Mustang inventory. Too bad it was a grenade waiting to detonate.
All the spoilers and scoops used on the '79 pace car were now part of the '80 Cobra package, which also included a tasteless oversize cobra hood decal. In what was the worst year ever for Mustang engine performance, Ford sold 271,322 examples of the breed.
A five-speed manual transmission finally came to the Mustang in 1981 as an option behind the regular and turbocharged fours. Also, making a return appearance on the options list was a T-top roof. Otherwise the '81 was much the same car as the '80, and sales slipped dramatically to 182,552 cars.
Big news came for 1982 in the form of a new "High Output" (HO) version of the 5.0-liter V8 making a healthy (for the time) 157 horsepower with two-barrel carburetion in a revived Mustang GT hatchback. Backed by a four-speed manual transmission and wearing many of the '79 pace car's body pieces, the '82 Mustang GT wasn't quite a return to the glory days of high-performance, but it was a step in the right direction.
The rest of the Mustang lineup was set up in three progressively more luxurious series: L, GL and GLX. The turbo four was gone (temporarily), but the base four, iron lump straight six and inexcusable 4.2-liter V8 all carried forward through '82. The most unusual model Mustang, however, wasn't sold to the public at all, but a "Special Service Package" notchback coupe equipped with the Mustang GT's 157-horsepower V8 and four-speed transmission that was used by the California Highway Patrol as a pursuit vehicle. The CHP bought 400 of the SSP Mustangs in '82 and they, along with numerous other state and local law enforcement agencies, would continue buying them right through 1993 when Ford ended production.
A new grille with Ford's Blue Oval logo at its center came along with the 1983 Mustang. But the grille was the least of the changes that year, as the Mustang convertible returned in the form of a conversion performed by ASC, Inc. on coupe bodies. The convertible was offered in GLX and GT trim and featured a real glass rear window, power operation and rear-quarter windows that rolled down. The convertible was instantly popular.
The drivetrain lineup was also revised for '83 with the straight six and 4.2-liter V8 being eliminated and quickly forgotten. A revised version of the turbocharged 2.3-liter SOHC four returned to the lineup, this time with electronic fuel injection that did a wonderful job of tempering turbo lag and increasing engine longevity. But its 142-horsepower output didn't seem all that impressive, especially since the 5.0-liter HO V8 now sported a four-barrel carburetor and was rated at 175 horsepower. And the V8 was now available with the excellent Borg-Warner T5 five-speed manual transmission.
The normally aspirated 2.3-liter SOHC four was still around for buyers too timid for anything else, but the six-cylinder option was the new "Essex" 3.8-liter V6 making 112 horsepower.
Despite all the improvements, the '83 Mustang was hardly a barn burner in the sales race. A total of 120,873 Mustangs were sold that model year, including 23,438 convertibles.
Much of the 1984 Mustang line was carried over from '83, but there were a few changes and an unexpected new model in the line. Although there was supposed to be a more powerful (205 hp) 5.0 V8 this year, development problems killed it. A fuel-injected version of the HO V8 with 165 hp was offered with the automatic transmission (now with a fourth overdrive gear). The turbo four was back for one last year, now rated at 145 horsepower in the Mustang GT.
There were also revisions to suspension tuning, and at midyear Ford offered a "GT-350" 20th anniversary package for convertibles and hatchbacks. But the big surprise came in the form of the technologically sophisticated SVO Mustang.
With its own unique appearance (single square headlamps in a grille-free front end, plus a unique dual-plane rear spoiler), the SVO was powered by an intercooled version of the turbocharged 2.3-liter four rated at an impressive 175 horsepower. Wearing big 16-inch wheels on five-lug hubs, with four-wheel disc brakes aboard for better stopping, the lavishly equipped SVO was quick, agile and expensive with a base price of $15,596. However, no matter how interesting it was on a technical level, it wasn't as quick as the V8-powered Mustang GT and never sold in large numbers.
Another new grille design came along for the 1985 model year featuring a single large slit between the two pairs of headlights. The GT was treated to a new set of 15-inch cast-aluminum wheels shod with P225/60VR15 Goodyear Eagle "Gatorback" tires, and thanks to a serpentine single belt accessory drive system and revised roller cam, the 5.0 HO engine was now making a full 210 horsepower in four-barrel carbureted form. The fuel-injected HO hooked to the four-speed automatic now made 180 horsepower. The SVO continued forward, but the turbocharged four was gone from the Mustang GT options list.
Fuel injection became the only induction system on the 1986 5.0 HO, and output was 200 horsepower with both the five-speed manual and four-speed automatic in Mustang GTs. Real dual exhaust debuted this year, meaning there were now two catalytic converters so each engine bank had its own exhaust right to the tail pipes. The SVO Mustang's turbo four was recalibrated and its output was also 200 horsepower.
With Mercury's Capri out of production after the 1986 model year, Ford simplified Mustang production in 1987 by eliminating the V6 engine option, killing the high-priced SVO, and paring down the trim levels to just LX and GT — the coupe in LX only with the hatchback and convertible available in both trims. The front end and taillights were redesigned once again with the GT getting its own grilleless face, flush single headlamps, specific taillights, rear spoiler, urethane side skirts and turbine wheels. But many found the low-key skirtless LX to be the real performance value, as it was offered with all the GT's performance options, but without the look-at-me exterior pieces. Both the LX and GT also got a new interior including an improved dashboard that grouped the instrumentation in a pod in front of the driver.
Carburetors were finally a thing of the past for Mustangs as even the 2.3-liter, SOHC four-cylinder engine now sported fuel injection and made 90 horsepower. The 5.0-liter HO was also revised and now made a robust 225 horsepower regardless of transmission. At this point in its development, the "5.0 Mustang" had reached its full flower and would remain mechanically unchanged through 1993. In fact, the 1988 and 1989 Mustangs were virtually unchanged from 1987.
There was a good chance the Mustang would be killed before the 1990 model year, as Ford contemplated re-engineering the car to accept a driver-side airbag. But Ford decided to spend the money and installed the airbag for 1990, eliminating the tilt steering column in the process.
A new five-spoke, 16-inch wheel was offered on both LX and GT 5.0-liter Mustangs for 1991. The car carried over into 1992 with only a few not-very-special "limited edition" models to goose sales by offering special wheels and paint.
While the basic Mustang LX and Mustang GT were unchanged for 1993 (the 5.0-liter engine's output was revised to 205 horsepower — probably for marketing reasons with the redesigned Mustang coming for '94), a new special-edition Mustang did appear in the form of the SVT Cobra. A parts bin mix of 1983 Mustang taillights, the front air dam from the GT, a new grille with the running horse emblem on it and 17-inch wheels scavenged from a delayed Thunderbird project, the SVT Cobra was nonetheless surprisingly attractive. The 5.0-liter in the Cobra was modified slightly to make 235 horsepower while the improved suspension, bigger wheels and tires and four-wheel disc brakes all expanded the other parameters of performance. Only 4,993 of the Cobras were built during the 1993 model year. Another 107 track-ready versions of the Cobra, known as the "Cobra R," were also built without such luxuries as a radio or backseat.
Even after 15 years in production, Ford still sold 114,228 Fox-based Mustangs during the '93 model year. Obviously the Fox-bodied Mustang was totally exhausted. Or was it?
0 comments:
Post a Comment