Where do Fox Body Stangs Rank.....?

'66 coupe said:

Funny how the people defending Fox Mustangs, all own Fox Mustangs. Imagine that...

I recently acquired a '87 Florida Highway Patrol SSP and although I will concede that the car has had a VERY rough past through no fault of it's own, I still have to say I am the least impressed with this generation of Mustang. Other than my '66 hardtop and my '08 Bullitt, I have also owned 2 SN cars(a '95 GT 'vert, and an '01 3.8). The build quality on the '87 is absolutely horrible when compared to all of my other cars, the '66 included. If you like factory pop-rivets and doors that make a healthy rattle when closed, the fox is your car. To make things worse, the reproduction parts are pricier for Fox cars than they are for the classics.

It's still an enjoyable car to wrench on, and I personally like the looks of Fox Mustangs. But I just feel like Fox owners are collectively in strong denial about the rankings of their cars. As someone who's always admired the looks of the Fox cars, I have noted it seems to be the least liked by people outside of our hobby. I've heard them referred to as "ugly boxy 80's Mustangs" to "k-car looking Mustangs." Granted I was in 3rd grade when the SN95 debuted, so Foxes were just old used cars when my class started getting their licenses. I don't see these cars overtaking classics in becoming the "most sought after Mustangs" for the above reasons.

As stated, they're "sought after" because they're cheap performance cars. They're easy to wrench on, and the motors are still cheaper to replace than mod motors. But just watch the classifieds on Corral. A sub $5k Fox will sell in days, while a $5k-$10k Fox will sit on there for months. With the exception of '93 Cobras, once Foxes get into the 5-figure territory, the buyers seem to look elsewhere(Sn95 Cobras, Bullitts, & Machs). And with good reason, IMO.

Not bashing Fox-bodies. Like I said, I like the looks of them(especially Notches with 5-lug swaps on SN95 wheels ). But I just feel that a reality check is in order. If you're looking at a Fox as an investment then look for a clean stock example that can be bought cheap to stay stock. But don't trick yourself into thinking they will go the way of the Hemi-Cuda, or even a '65-'66 k-code. These cars are still aging, and so are the SN95 cars including Cobras, '01 Bullitts, and Mach I's. Even the first S197 cars will be 10 years old in a couple years, and will surely see somewhat of a price drop in 2014. And anyone with an S197 will vouch that the performance and build-quality of these cars are worlds different than anything Ford was doing in the '80's.

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