Favorite Fox Bodystyle

91TwighlightGT

Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Sep 8, 2002
1,190
405
124
Missouri
Watching the Mustang II thread (for lack of a better term lol) I started thinking about my personal preference for Fox platform body styles. It might be fun to see what people consider their favorite to be, so feel free to post up your own list - as detailed as you want it to be.

1. 91-93 GT/87-90 GT - It's a close toss up with the Cobra, but I always liked the GT wing better than the Cobra wing. The ground effects are a toss up for me, but rear bumper goes to the Cobra. The running horse in the Cobra is cool, but I actually like the smooth front with the Ford emblem on the GT, too. I give the later models a slight advantage because of the larger front fender openings and the minor interior differences.

2. 93 Cobra R/93 Cobra - I give the Cobra R the nod over the standard 93 just for the wheels - but they are obviously both really cool cars.

3. 82 GT/79 Pace Car - The reality is that I think these cars look the best with big air dams. These cars when done right have a really aggressive look, and I don't really consider myself a huge 4-eye fan.

4. 91-93 LX Hatch/87-90 LX Hatch - From a pure looks perspective, I've always preferred the Hatch to the Notch. The Notch wins in the performance category with stiffness and weight, but the Hatch is just a better looking car.

5. 91-93 LX Notch/87-90 LX Notch - With all that said, I still would generally prefer an Aero Nose over the Four-eyed variant. These cars can be done well, especially with a decklid style spoiler (think NASCAR, but not huge) to help balance out the back end. Ground effects on these are tough to make look good, but the Saleen stuff seems to be the best fit for the body style. There is an orange notch picture that has floated around for years that hits all the right notes.

6. 85-86 Hatchback/79, 83-85 Hatchback - I'm not well versed enough in the years to have much 4-eye preference, but I would tend to go later model outside of the ones listed above. T-top cars would be highest on the list here.

7. 85-86 Notchback/79, 83-85 Notchback - Not really my style, honestly.

8. 91-93 Convertible GT/87-90 Convertible GT/91-93 LX Convertible/87-90 LX Convertible - I'm not into convertibles... but Fox convertibles really just never did it for me.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


I saw a silver LX notchback with dark tinted windows in early 89 and that's what made me even take a look at the Mustang. Since then, I find that I've enjoyed the subtle variations and the Camaro design I thought was sleek back in the day just looks dated now.
 
93 Cobra-can't be beat IMO
85-86 Capri RS- LOVE the nose on these
85-86 GT-just look mean
79 Pace/82 GT-killer front styling
everything else...meh. Was never a fan of the 87-up GT's, the hatch and notch were kinda' boring looking. Verts are mundane as well.
 
Been grooving on this 1980-82 GT Enduro.

Not production, just a Ford / Firestone show car.


HH15_r0003_01.jpg



HH15_r0003_15.jpg
HH15_r0003_16.jpg


HH15_r0003_03.jpg
 
87-93 saleen convertibles are easily my favorite (given preference to any with stern or speedline wheels).
Lower stripe package, not SC.
I'd buy one now that i could probably afford it, but i just don't believe in owning 2 mustangs, i barely drive one, what would i do with two?
 
Last edited:
85-6 gt obvious reasons
87-89 LX convertible, the gt verts just don't look right,
Don't care for the 90-93 cars because of the air bag steering wheel, they look like every other ford wheel of that era.
Except the 93 cobra, I'd take one in a heart beat.
 
Originally when I was looking I wanted an 87-93 LX convertible.
My motorcycle riding days are done and to me, personally, a convertible is the next best thing.

I found my 87 GT convertible and I like it. It has options I never saw before back in the day which sealed the deal for me. I also really like the notch back cars, any year (a convertible is a notch with a foldable roof).

No matter which way you look at it, these cars are becoming more rare as the years continue to pass by. I'm not suggesting they are collector items, however, I never see a foxbody stang out on the road anymore. Unless it's the weekend, or a car show is in town.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I saw a silver LX notchback with dark tinted windows in early 89 and that's what made me even take a look at the Mustang. Since then, I find that I've enjoyed the subtle variations and the Camaro design I thought was sleek back in the day just looks dated now.
The F-body's didn't age well. I was a big 3rd Gen Firebird fan and really liked the clean lines of the Formula. Now they look bloated and dated especially the GTAs
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user
I'm sure I'm going to catch hell for this, but here goes:

1. Mercury Capri ASC McLaren Hatchback

ceeb68a2ca98e6297395f5cd30a1c71ce2d4f261.jpg


I had a friend with one exactly like that one, other than the wheels (he had gold Enkeis if I recall correctly) and I was in love with that car from the moment I first saw it. He threw a rod through the side of the block and sold the roller for $1000 back in 2003... I didn't even know he was willing to sell or I'd have had it. They were so agressive, so cool, and so different than anything else in the ponycar class.

2. 1985-86 Mustang GT
dbbf3fa8c0d6f1f93d6974f3135ce6f8.jpg

So mean, finally got rid of that grille that look like they laid a Fairmont's grille back, gave it some styling worthy of a high performance variant, and gave it the balls to back it up. It had a look like no other fox-body Mustang that I honestly do feel was only bested by an aftermarket-conversion Capri that cost an awful lot more and is a lot harder to find. Throw in Holley's last hurrah as an OEM musclecar carburetor supplier in 1985, the introduction of the 8.8 rear end, dual exhausts, and the EFI that came along in 1986, and both of the cars that wore this face were something REALLY special.

3. 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe
Screen%20Shot%202013-08-27%20at%204.13.52%20PM.jpg

Hey, @91TwighlightGT said "fox platform" he never said it had to be Mustangs, and if I wanted to be pedantic, I could throw some SN95/New Edge cars on the list since they were built on a modified fox platform but I'm not. It'd make this exercise too easy, and I feel it would break the spirit of what he intended. This will be the only non-Mustang on the list other than the Capri. These cars were sexy. The body looked like it came straight from the Nascar aero-wars of the late 80s, where Bill Elliott was lapping Talledega so fast in a car that looked like this one that they changed the rulebook. Those wheels were a crazy mix of modern (for the time) and 1970s Trans-Am, and then you got a 2.3L Turbo that was the pinnacle of that engine's factory capabilities, four wheel disc brakes, and that interior... Yeah, these are my #3 favorite fox-platform car.

4.1984-1985.5 Mustang SVO
1984_ford_mustang-pic-9003328771489298383-1024x768.jpg

An ugly duckling, to be sure, but hear me out. This car was special in every single way. Special wheels (the first 16" wheels on a Mustang), special interior (BMW-levels of luxury in a Mustang, something that wouldn't be seen again until 2015), four-wheel-disc brakes, five lugs for the first time since 1973, that crazy twin-plane spoiler, that incredible adjustable suspension, and it set up several design cues that carried into the 87-93 aero-nose cars. Randy Leffingwell wrote a book on the Mustang's history, and it goes into great detail on just how special the SVO and the team that made it was, the book is worth a read for that alone if nothing else. (Including the story of why it got a heavier flywheel than they originally planned for.)

5. 1985.5-86 Mustang SVO
1040x620xc.jpg

Halfway through the 1985 model year, the SVO got several updates, including the composite headlights. It is a better car than the 1984-85.5 car in every meaningful way, but I prefer the recessed headlights.

6. 1979 Indy 500 Pace Car
ch1009-84438_1@2x.jpg

The best looking of the 1979-1983 cars by a long shot, these things were just gorgeous. Loud 70s vinyl graphics screaming "look at me" over a drop-dead-sexy black and silver paint scheme with the only thing I don't like visually being the taillights. I miss Indy pace car editions, everyone used to do them when they got to pace the 500 any given year, and other than the random one-off, it just doesn't seem like they happen anymore, which is sad. We had Indy 500 Mustangs, Corvettes, Camaros, GMC picukups, Vipers, Ram Pickups, Chevy Berettas, Oldsmobile Calais, and so on and so forth. If I hit the lottery, I want a small collection of Indy500 pace car edition cars, and #1 on my list of them to track down is the 1979 Mustang.

7. 1993 Mustang Cobra
cobra-front-e1558196586907-630x390.jpg

Where do I start with this car? I start with arguing with myself over its placement on my list. I put the SVOs above it, because without the SVO, there would've been no SVT, and they did it first. However, as good as they were, and as special, are they better? The caveman/redneck side of me says "aw hell no, them thar SVOs ain't even got a V8", but the side of me that loves sophisticated things thinks that's part of the SVO's appeal. Anyway, I'll keep having that argument with myself, let's get back to the car. This car was simply the cleanest styling execution of the entire 1987-1993 "aero nose" fox-body Mustang. You have lines that flow the entire length of the car. For the first time since 1978, there's a pony on the nose. You've got those wheels that STILL look amazing to this day, you've got the best looking taillights of any fox-body Mustang, and you've got the power under the hood. This car became to the fox what the Shelby cars are to the classics, the most cloned car of the generation. Yeah, it should probably be higher on this list.

8. Fox-body Saleen Mustang
1-1572550492393@2x.jpg

I'll admit, the reason this car isn't higher on the list is because of a dislike of Steve Saleen. Regardless of what I think about him though, the cars are absolutely legendary, and with good reason.

9.1990 "7Up" Mustang
gmp_18815-650x320.jpg

I don't know if it's the color, the crazy story behind how these cars came to be, the fact that my grandfather worked for Dr Pepper his whole life and by extension sold 7Up for the last couple decades of his career, or what, but these have always fascinated me. There's one for sale down in Austin with a really good price on it, and if I thought I could save up the cash and/or sell the II project quickly enough, I might be tempted... but I think I'm going to hold out for the Cobra II, King Cobra, or 85-86 GT I really want for my next project instead.

10. 1989-1990 "25th Anniversary" Mustangs
199025anniversary.jpg

That's it, that's all that was special about them, but it was enough. This was an important milestone, and one hell of an anniversary, and Ford just quietly, calmly, and subtly handed these out like that plaque you get for a long-term work anniversary. 25 years was a big deal. GM was 3 years away for their pony cars, AMC and Chrysler's pony cars were long gone, 25 years was really a big deal. The Mustang had survived being blown up to massive proportions, shrunk down to compact size, a year without a V8, two years with an awful V8, and even managed to evade being switched over to the FWD Mazda platform it was due to be moved to in the later 1980s. This simple badge, applied to the dash, was an important reminder to the world that the Mustang was still here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7 users
91-93 LX convertibles. I dunno why, but I love the lines on these.

next would be an 91-93 GT in two-tone. After owning an LX for 20+ years, GTs seem so alien with the extra body work and fog lights.

Edit: reason for picking 91+ Is only due to the 16” pony wheels
 
Last edited:
I cant believe the 90 LX is getting some respect. Red all over. That Pace car is perfect , look at the detail. Looks like somebody just bought it thanks for that post of the different years.
 

Attachments

  • KIMG0281 (1).JPG
    KIMG0281 (1).JPG
    525.7 KB · Views: 197
  • KIMG0093.JPG
    KIMG0093.JPG
    343.9 KB · Views: 183
  • KIMG0078.JPG
    KIMG0078.JPG
    510 KB · Views: 173
1.
52D861A7-083B-4493-920D-962D466C7A13.jpeg

Simply the nicest overall look, starting with the best 4eye grill! Also, IMO the 85/86 GT interior was the best! (10 holes need to go, as in this example)

2.
BA091DA5-34F7-4C57-B07A-21FF1D1348BD.jpeg

Teal ‘93 Cobra - just looks cool, and of course “Cobra”

3.
782F1BC6-DFB0-44D6-BD88-5BC2C711D93F.jpeg

Any nice, clean, unmolested LX 5.0 hatch (although I prefer the GT wing on these cars)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
#1: 82 GT or 79 pace car
#2: 84-1/2 GT
#3: 85-86 GT
Those are my favorite Fox Mustang styles in order, I wouldn't necessarily say I have a ranking system beyond them. But if we include other models and the later updated Fox chassis cars, I'd throw in the 03-04 Machs and Cobras, Capri RS and ASCs, the Thunderbird Turbo Coupes and Super Coupes, and the Fairmont Futuras into the mix.
 
#1: 82 GT or 79 pace car
#2: 84-1/2 GT
#3: 85-86 GT
Those are my favorite Fox Mustang styles in order, I wouldn't necessarily say I have a ranking system beyond them. But if we include other models and the later updated Fox chassis cars, I'd throw in the 03-04 Machs and Cobras, Capri RS and ASCs, the Thunderbird Turbo Coupes and Super Coupes, and the Fairmont Futuras into the mix.
Thunderbird Super Coupes aren't foxes.
 
I see no reason why it has to be Mustang specific. Fox Thunderbirds are pretty cool cars, and a well done Capri is definitely unique.

Fox-4 is different enough to not qualify. The 2000 Cobra R is one of my favorite cars, though.
 
My first and only Mustang 1993 LX 5.0 five speed hatch,sport seats,ac,power everything,cruise . I love all foxbo
IMG_20200313_171037_hdr.jpg
IMG_20200417_165357_hdr.jpg
IMG_20200407_160320_hdr.jpg
IMG_20200313_170939_hdr.jpg
dies and the mustang ones also.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users