Marketers had put a Romanic numeral on the 1974 - 1978 Ford Mustang II to punctuate just how unlike it was from previous Mustangs . For the same reason , they removed the postfix when they set in motion the new generation with the 1979 Ford Mustang . To repel home the spot that this was a fresh Mustang with renewed spirit , they also amount up with a freshened running horse emblem that face more like its mesomorphic previous self .
The cable car attached to it looked nothing like any Mustang before . Clean , taut , and crisp , it combined the good of American and European design thinking , yet had a unambiguously " Mustang " kind of jazzy elegance . Admittedly , some onetime shortcoming remained : problematical treatment , a less - than - ideal driving position , special passenger room , and workmanship that did n’t liken well with that of European and Japanese car like the BMW 3 - Series and Toyota Celica . But no car can be faultless , peculiarly one so affordable . By almost any standard , the ' 79 Mustang scar a second revolution for Ford ’s pony car . This canonical aim would be good enough to stay on without rudimentary change for no less than 14 years , an infinity in the car commercial enterprise . Even more remarkable , a subsequent retooling enable it to ride on another 11 long time – and outsell its two remaining rivals along the way . By 2003 , Ford again had America ’s only pony car … but we ’re father forrader of ourselves . Dearborn Changes CourseThe ' 79 Mustang was the result of a bold decision taken a full six years to begin with . Even before the Middle East oil embargo , Detroit begin to realize that many of its cars had just produce too big . With Washington ’s endless current of safety and emission rules , the Big Three began to enquire if fuel - economy monetary standard would n’t be next . Indeed , April 1973 show in a new mandate for vehicle window sticker demonstrate mileage figures for metropolis and main road driving as calculated by the recently established Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) . The numbers were n’t very accurate at first , but the implication was unmortgaged . Then the petrol crunch murder . " Almost overnight , " record historian Gary Witzenburg , " fuel - efficient cars were in and gas - hogs were out , peradventure everlastingly as far as anyone sleep with , and Detroit wasted little time in formulating future plans for a freshly fuel - conscious America . "
As it pass off , General Motors was already planning to " downsize " its cable car , starting with 1977 full - size models . Chrysler , with far less capital , would rely on updating its democratic covenant and offering smaller " captive imports " from overseas partners . Ford had different ideas . In world at least , chairman Henry Ford II stanchly defend tradition . The petrol crunch was an distortion , he said . Once it croak , most Americans would again want big cars with big locomotive and " road - embrace weightiness , " just as they always had . He was right – to a dot . The oil trade stoppage was unawares - lived , and much of the public did swing back to big sizing and power . However , keep reading to learn how the crude barons would deliver another impact even as the ' 79 Mustang was reach showrooms .
The 1979 Ford Mustang Design
Even as Henry Ford II assure to push the late economy consequence " back into the ocean , " his company was embarking on a bold new labor intended to serve fuel efficiency in the United States and save giving vaulting horse on a ball-shaped foundation . Code named Fox , it was initiated in early 1973 with the aim of devising a single innovation or " political program " suitable for a variety of next Ford modelling in the U.S. , Europe , Latin America , even Australia .
The mind was " a unexampled corporal worldwide athletics / household four / five - passenger sedan chair " with " imaginative promotional material and component part program , " plus adaptability to both rear - cycle crusade and the outer space - saving front - wheel - drive powerteams long familiar in Europe . In October 1974 , undertaking obligation was change over from Ford ’s Production Planning and Research bureau to the Product Development Group at North American Automotive Operations in Dearborn . Two months afterwards , company President of the United States Lee Iacocca green - illuminate a 1978 Fox - based alternate for either the piffling Pinto or the compact Maverick – and a new Mustang for 1979 or later .
Though a " world car " was soon hold incapable of satisfying the various need of Ford ’s many global markets , the Maverick - replacing Fairmont and the new Mustang were in the work by April 1975 , now with top - priority condition in the wake of the oil embargo . Per recent Dearborn practice session , each would have a Mercury sister , respectively the Zephyr and a newfangled domestically built Capri .
Mustang First
The key thing , as Witzenburg observe , is that Fox development " was tailored around the Mustang ’s needs as a sporty , agile , European - style mathematical product … . " He quoted Gordon Riggs , planning manager for light and midsize gondola , who was put in charge of the overall effort on special appointment : " We said , okay , we ’re hold out to have a series of cars off of a platform as yet undefined , and what should that platform be ? We decide first off that it was going to be a sporty program , because we know the focal decimal point of it was really Mustang . Anything we did … to help the Mustang would in all likelihood do good any other machine we ingest off of it . It was not contrive just for the Mustang , but the whole political platform was designed to adapt it . "
Though the aggregative - market Fairmont / Zephyr would submit a year out front of Mustang , designers ab initio form on both models more or less together under light - car design chief Fritz Mayhew and corporate pattern vice - president Gene Bordinat . Because Mustang was first see as in the main just a sporty Fairmont , early proposals were saloon - like and slab - sided , not very " Mustang " at all .
But April 1975 also ushered Jack Telnack into the program after a turn of obligation as design Vice President for Ford Europe . From his new post as executive managing director for North American Light Car and Truck Design , he would soon put his stamp on the emerging pony car .
Another Styling Showdown
But not before another of Iacocca ’s intramural designing contests . This one match Advanced Design and two other Dearborn studio apartment against Ford ’s Ghia operation in Italy , where Don DeLaRossa was now in direction . All were given the same package parametric quantity or " hard points " include length , width , wheelbase , and cowl altitude as the base for sketches , clay model , and fiberglass mockups .
This time , however , quartern - scale corpse models were test for up to 136 hours in nothingness tunnel . That ’s because aerodynamics was increasingly recognized – actually rediscovered from the lessons of Thirties streamlining – as crucial to maximizing fuel saving , a key program goal . That , in turn , meant engineering with a knifelike optic on system of weights .
In plus , the program aimed at improved quad - efficiency , meaning more interior room for a given external size , plus lower manufacture costs through thrifty engineering and maximal portion sharing among the various Fox - ground role model . Planners said the platform could be bowdlerize somewhat for Mustang , and it was : by 5.1 inches in wheelbase , to 100.4 . Mustang II engine – 2.3 - liter viewgraph - River Cam four , 2.8 - liter overhead - valve V-6 and 5.0 - liter/302 - cubic - inch V-8 – would be retained .
Recalling 1965 , curb weight was pegged at a relatively lean 2700 hammer . The interior would be larger than Mustang II ’s but still planned for comfortable seating area in front and " episodic " seating in back for children or smaller adults .
Like the original Mustang but unlike the II , stylists were directed to do a notchback first , then a fastback variant of it . After look back several full - size fiberglass models , management choose the distinctive offering from Telnack ’s group .
unmistakably , the only changes made for production were substituting an eggcrate grille insert and adding simulated louvers behind the rear side windows . The fastback ended up with a rudimentary rearward pack of cards instead of a full - expanse roofline . This abbreviate the crosshatch to boil down maximal orifice stature and make it easier to draw down .
The 1979 Mustang ’s styling was all about reduce the puff coefficient and amend milage . Keep reading to learn how the design squad sculpt a silklike , streamlined Mustang .
The 1979 Ford Mustang Styling
Ford ’s in - house rival for the new Mustang resulted in a leaner design that emphasise aerodynamics . The result was so successful that the output model would end up looking remarkably similar to the advance intent .
The Mustang ’s winning plan team consisted of loose - design headman Fritz Mayhew and executive theater director of design Jack Telnack . The squad also let in pre - production - design executive director David Rees and pre - production decorator Gary Haas . The bod they evolved was a elusive wedge : slight in front , with the hood sharply point from a rather high cowl – really an column inch taller than that of the Fairmont / Zephyr .
" We were hypothecate to support the Fairmont hood … and radiator support , " Telnack told Witzenburg , " which really stiffened the hood … made it much straighter . Bob Alexander was in thrill of engineering at the time , and he had just come back from Europe , too . We had a fate of people who had just come in back from Europe and who had a different tone for this eccentric of car . [ We decided ] to swivel the hood around the air cleaner and actually raise the hood to get the front end down . No Detroit designer ever asks to make anything higher , but we feel it was important aerodynamically to get the nose down lower . Of course , this would require a young radiator support [ and interior fender aprons ] but Gene Bordinat said to go ahead and try it . "
Though all this added a sizable $ 1.4 million to total course of study cost , all regard gibe it was justified . Witzenburg noted another vantage of Telnack ’s change : Drivers could see four - foot closer to the olfactory organ than in a Mustang II . Also helping " aero " – and looks – were a modest lip on decklids , a curved rearward windowpane on the notchback , a little despoiler built into front bumpers , and Mustang ’s first orthogonal headlight ( newly allow by Washington ) , a quaternion that also help slim the nose .
" Normally we get the parcel hard points and adhere to them , " Telnack call back , " but we were n’t accepting anything on this car as gospel . " That include traditional Mustang styling signature like the gallop grille pony and C - shaped side sculpturing . The latter was empty for smooth , slightly curved sides , while the horse was asseverate in a small " pony tricolor " logo for a circular hood laurel wreath just above the grille .
" Jack really wanted this auto to have the impingement of the original Mustang , " said Fritz Mayhew , " so we [ tried ] to do a car that would look as unlike on the route as the original had . We feel , as management evidently did , that it was clip for a change . We had done about as much as we could with those [ 1964 ] design cues . "
Lower Cd = More MPG
The apply rear - roof slat blockade over - the - shoulder visual modality , but they were n’t Telnack ’s musical theme . Indeed , he manoeuvre his squad to always be mindful of the " form follow function " idealistic . " We wanted to be as aerodynamically correct as possible before start out into the farting tunnel . In the past we have designed cars and then move into the burrow primarily for tune up the major surfaces that have been sanction …. With the Mustang , the intriguer were thinking about aerodynamics in the initial sketch stagecoach , which made the tuning Book of Job in the burrow much easier . therefore , we wound up with the most tricky car ever done in the Ford Motor Company : a pull coefficient [ Cd ] of 0.44 for the three - door fastback , 0.46 for the two - doorway notchback . [ Aerodynamics is ] probably the most cost - effective way to improve corporate modal fuel economy . We get it on that a 10 - percent [ reduction ] in puff can leave in a five - pct melioration in fuel economy at a stiff - state 50 miles per hour …. That ’s really worthwhile stuff for us to go after . "
It ’s worth noting that the puff physical body Telnack reference were honest for the sentence but would soon seem middling . The Fox - found 1983 Thunderbird , for good example , get in with an tout ensemble more impressive Cd of 0.35 . While the difference may not seem dramatic , it constitute a step-down of more than 20 percent , and shows just how promptly standard can change . Incidentally , Telnack calculate that effort too .
In the end , the ' 79 Mustang was some 200 Irish punt lighter on average than Mustang II despite being slightly expectant in every dimension . Keep reading to determine how Mustang designer explored the use of lightweight cloth to enhance both fuel saving and performance .
The 1979 Ford Mustang: Materials and Features
For performance as well as fuel economy , engineers working in the 1979 Mustang used lightweight material wherever feasible , including credit card , aluminum , and gamy - military capability / low - alloy ( HSLA ) steel . A pregnant new plastic engineering appeared in color - keyed bumper covers of soft urethane made by the reaction - shot molding ( RIM ) process . HSLA blade was used for rear abatement arms and the bit - three frame crossmember , while atomic number 13 featured in drivetrain components and the bumpers of some example .
svelte - section room access saved more Ezra Loomis Pound . So did fragile but unassailable drinking glass ( even though there was more of it ) , a small beltline , and improbable " greenhouse " allow much larger window . With all this , the ' 79 Mustang was some 200 pounds lighter on fair than Mustang II despite being slenderly larger in every attribute – quite an accomplishment for the age of downsizing .
upcountry pattern received equally measured tending . Total mass rise by 14 cubic substructure on the notchback and by 16 cubic feet on the hatchback . The thinner room access open up 3.6 column inch of front shoulder way and two column inch of hip way .
Back - seat gain were even more impressive , with five in of tot up shoulder width , six more in of hip way , and more than five extra inches of leg room . Cargo bulk exposit too , adding two three-dimensional feet in the notchback and four in the hatching .
New Features, New Function
Telnack ’s European experience also picture up in received full instrumentation including slip odometer , tach , ammeter , and oil - pressure gauge . Another " strange " touch was the use of steering - column stalks to control wipers / washers and wrench signals / headlight dimmer / horn ; these came from the Fairmont / Zephyr , as did the introductory dashboard and cowling complex body part . A third lever tumbler ( on the rightfield ) adjusted a tilt steering wheel , one of several new extras .
Among other new options were an " ultra fidelity " well-grounded system with top executive amplifier and , for hatchbacks , a rearward - window wiper / washing machine . Still another first - time comfort station alternative was a console table - mount " vehicle systems monitor . " This used a Honda - fashion vivid display with warning lights send on an overhead synopsis of the car to signal low fuel , humble windshield - washer fluid , and failed headlights , taillights , or bracken lamp . A pushbutton allowed checking that the show itself was working . The console also house a quartz - crystal digital chronometer prove time , day of the month , or elapsed meter at the touch of a button .
deviser adjudicate on three trim levels for the two body styles : standard , Sport option , and Ghia . The Mach 1 was history , but go on in spirit with a novel $ 1173 Cobra package for the hatchback that was nearly a disjoined manikin . recall the previous King Cobra , this " boy racer " kit have black - finish greenhouse trim and lower physical structure sides , color - keyed body moldings , and an optional snake decal for the hood , plus sportier seating and cabin appointments – and a raw railway locomotive that we ’ll get to soon .
Deigners were hard at work update the Mustang form for ' 79 . Go to the next varlet to find out about the three suspension setups useable on the 1979 Ford Mustang .
The 1979 Ford Mustang Chassis
The 1979 Ford Mustang offer three suspension setups for broadest possible market appealingness : standard , " handling , " and " special , " each design for and issued with its own hardening of tire .
As plan , basic hardware came from the Fairmont / Zephyr , which meant switch the front end from upper A - weapons system to modified MacPherson - strut geometry . Unlike similar layouts in many modern-day European and Japanese cars , the scroll leaping here did not envelop around the strut , but mounted between a lower restraint arm and the soundbox structure . This reject the pauperism for an expensive natural spring compressor when replacing shocks .
A front antiroll bar was standard across the board , with diameter varied to suit engine weight and power . At the bum was a newfangled " four - saloon link " system of rules , also with coil springs , weak and more summary than Mustang II ’s leaf - fountain Hotchkiss arrangement . V-8 railroad car included a rearward antiroll bar that was more for lateral fix than assure sway , but it effectively lowered the car ’s whorl center , reserve commensurately soft rearward springs for ride comfort .
The canonical physique was tune for standard 13 - in prejudice - ply tire . The mid - even " handling " computer software ( just $ 33 ) fall with 14 - column inch radials , mellow - pace springs , unlike shock valving , buckram bushings , and , on V-6 railroad car , a rear stabiliser .
The " exceptional " suspension was engineer around Michelin ’s TRX metric - size stellate tires , which Ford had been offering in Europe for several age on its large Granada sedans . These tyre had an unusual 390 mm ( 15.35 - inch ) diam and so requisite matching wheel , which ended up as forged - aluminum flange with a handsome three - spoke design done in Dearborn . Priced at $ 117-$241 depending on model , the TRX suspension came with its own impact - absorber valving , high - rate rear saltation , a thicker ( 1.12 - inch ) front stabiliser ginmill , and a rear bar . It was the estimable choice for manipulation , engineered " to extract maximal performance " from the 190/65R390 rubber according to tumid press releases .
accurate stand - and - pinion steering continued , but housings for both the manual and exponent systems were changed to weight unit - save die - shape atomic number 13 . As before , a varying - proportion rack was include with optional power assist . bracken were again front discs and rearward drums , but of slimly larger sizing .
The ' 79 Mustang had an alien young engine option – a turbocharged " Lima " four - cylinder engine . Keep reading to get wind all about 1979 Mustang locomotive option .
The 1979 Ford Mustang Engines
The powertrain choice for the 1979 Ford Mustang read an intriguing new engine selection . The heart of the racy new Cobra parcel , it was a turbocharged " Lima " four - cylinder rated at 132 SAE final horsepower against only 88 horsepower for the unblown version . Though common now , turbos were passably alien in the late Seventies , especially for a mass - grocery Detroit Cartesian product .
With four - stop number gearbox , the blown - four was good for a claim 8.3 seconds in 0 - 55 - mph quickening ( Detroit was n’t quoting 0 - 60s with a " double nickel " national hurrying boundary still in force ) , plus mid-20s fuel economy – an splendid compromise overall .
Turbocharging , of course of study , was nothing newfangled . Like the similar supercharger , it ’s a simple bolt - on means to improve volumetric efficiency . A small-scale turbine plumb into the exhaust manifold uses exhaust gases to turn an impeller that drive a pump near the carburetor . In normal run , the turbine spins too slowly to further exhaust - manifold imperativeness or affect fuel usance . But as the accelerator pedal is opened and the engine bucket along up , so does the flowing rate of the exhaust gases .
The increased menstruation spin the turbine , which speeds up the impeller to boost the denseness ( pressure ) of the air / fuel mixture , resulting in more world power . To forestall damage , engineers set maximum hike at six pounds per square in via a " wastegate " relief valve that allowed flatulence to get around the turbine once that pressure was reached .
Carryover engines were n’t neglect for ' 79 . The veteran 302 V-8 , now range 140 HP , gained a raw low - confinement exhaust system , more lightweight components , and an accouterment driveway with a individual " serpentine " cinque - belt for neat dependableness . The German - made V-6 was down to 109 horsepower – and in unforesightful supply , prompting Ford to replace it during the model class with the gray-headed 200 - three-dimensional - in inline six , which now rated just 85 horsepower .
The V-8 and both half a dozen offered an optional four - speed gearbox developed specifically for them – essentially the lowly three - swiftness manual of arms with a direct - drive third gearing ( 1:1 proportion ) and an overdrive fourth ( 0.70:1 ) tacked on . concluding crusade ratios were 3.08:1 for automatics , four - fastness V-6 , and the standard four , 3.45:1 for other combinations . Three - speed Cruise - oxygen - Matic , also carry over with minor updates , was optional at $ 307 .
CAFE Jitters
importantly , the ' 79 Mustang bowed in the second class for CAFE ( Corporate Average Fuel Economy ) standard . A Congressional response to the vim crisis , this law mandated specific mpg targets for all auto maker selling in the U.S. In brief , the EPA - rated fuel economy for all car sold by a given manufacturing business had to average so many miles per congius for a given model twelvemonth , ab initio 19 mpg , rising progressively to 27.5 mpg by 1985 .
Companies whose " fleet norm " decrease below a yearly target were fined a set number of dollar sign for each 0.1 - mpg infraction , reproduce by total sales for that manakin year . Obviously , loser to comply could be dear indeed . However , the police provided credit for exceeding a give year ’s target that could be used to avoid or reduce penalties for non - conformity in another twelvemonth , past or futurity . All rather complicated – and extremely political , of course .
Still , CAFE achieve its goal of spurring Detroit to develop humble , lighter , thriftier cars in most every size and price class . The elbow grease drive on Modern urgency with the onset of another vigour crisis in saltation 1979 , when the Shah of Iran was deposed by a fundamentalistic Ayatollah who slew off the country ’s crude exports and held Americans hostage .
But the ensuing oil shortage soon became an oil oversupply . That , plus a fairly speedy economic rebound and the new Reagan Administration ’s more relaxed attitude toward confinement on concern , rendered CAFE almost nonmeaningful by the mid - Eighties .
For the first time since 1964 , a Mustang was chosen to be the Indy 500 tempo machine in 1979 . On the next page , read more about the magnate and performance of the 1979 Ford Mustang .
1979 Ford Mustang Performance
As in previous model , powerteam determined the character of any special 1979 Mustang . The V-8 was a drag - raceway engine by ' 79 standards , doing 0 - 60 mph in 8 - 9 seconds . A V-6 still took around 11 seconds with manual four - speed , while a like - fit turbo - four needed 11 - 12 second . The unbent - six took near to 13 . Standing fourth part - mile times stray from 17 seconds at 85 mph for the V-8 to 19.2 at 75 for the 200 six .
Press reaction also still depended on engine – and who was in the driver ’s seat . Some writer recollect the V-8 had too much power for its chassis and was out of step with gasoline prices that were starting to rise again .
Don Sherman of Car and Driver pass judgment the V-6 Mustang as the good choice for plow by dint of " the best index - to - front - end - weighting proportion . " But he was also impressed with two other cars he taste for a trailer story . " The lightweight gyration has arrived in performance land . Rejoice . "
The intriguing turbo - four course garner much " buff book " attention . Said John Dinkel in Road & Track : " The TRX turbo would seem to be an partisan ’s delight . I just trust that the conception compromises dictated by costs and the fact that Ford could n’t start with a completely clean sheet of theme do n’t bust up that pipe dream …. There ’s no doubtfulness the newfangled Mustang has the potential to be the best sportsman coupe Ford has ever built , but in some respects [ it ] is as oracular as its forerunner . "
1979 Ford Mustang Pace Car
Highlighting the Fox Mustang ’s debut year was its option as Indy 500 tempo car , the first Mustang so honored since 1964 . Doing the deed was a colorfully striped hatchback with a special T - bar roof and a V-8 massage by tuner extraordinaire Jack Roush to light upon the Brickyard ’s ask 120 - miles per hour minimum track speed .
As so often happens with Indy pacers , the public was offer a replica . This had the same striping , pewter / black paint scheme , unique cowl and three - spline lattice , and premium Recaro bucket seating area , plus flip - up sunroof and a option of turbo - four or regular V-8 engines . raceway - day decalcomania were included for dealers to use if the client wish . The mists of time seem to have shrouded original price , but Ford build about 11,000 of these Replicas , outstandingly high for the genre .
Lee Iacocca Leaves Ford
In June 1978 , as the 1979 model year was in full jive , Ford set industry tongues a - wagging with word that Lee Iacocca was out of a line of work after 32 years . Officially , he was take early retirement ( on October 15 , his 54th birthday ) .
But many observers assumed he ’d be dumped before Henry Ford II ’s schedule retreat as chief executive in 1980 and as chairman in 1982 . As usual , the psyche man did n’t say much , though he reportedly separate Iacocca , " It ’s just one of those things . " Iacocca was n’t caustic , at least in world . " You just surmise that he does n’t need strong cat around , " he said later .
Ironically , and as Iacocca was careful to mark , June 1978 was the biggest individual sales calendar month in Ford history , capping a first half that netted the company its large six - month profit on phonograph record . " They in all likelihood wo n’t be at this peak again , so I guess it ’s a good time to go . " As we bang , Iacocca rode off to Chrysler , which he eventually saved from extermination .
Iacocca ’s successor , Philip Caldwell , was happy to look a strong 369,936 sale for the redesigned Mustang . Though that was more or less less than the Mustang II ’s first - yr totality , it bested the troupe ’s forecast of 330,000 , and represented a startling 92.2 - pct jump from model - yr ' 78 .
emptor must have like the Modern model , because Ford agitate a lot more for them . Aggravated by refractory flow splashiness , base paster prices swell a whopping $ 500-$700 – a 15 - 17 percent jump – ranging from $ 4071 for the four - cylinder notchback to $ 4824 for the Ghia hatching .
For the 1980 Mustang , designers were still interested with fuel economy . Learn more about how the 1980 Mustang was tweaked and refined ( and how performance endure ) .
The 1980 Ford Mustang
Fuel thriftiness it was still very much a factor when the 1980 Ford Mustang was introduce . Indeed , Ford replaced the Mustang ’s sacred 302 V-8 option with a debored 4.2 - liter/255 - cubic - inch adaptation .
Though this seemed an astonishingly ready and prescient reply to " Energy Crisis II , " it had been design well before . Ford claimed an average 1.2 - mpg improvement over the " five - full point - oh , " but stop number junky groaned at losing 10 horsepower and being forced to take automatic transmittal . As the relaxation of the powertrain chart was fundamentally a photocopy of late 1979 , Don Sherman reluctantly recommended the turbo - four to motorcar and Driver readers as " the only choice … that even comes close to delivering on last class ’s carrying into action promise … . "
As common , there were other sophomore - year tweaks . Base models adopted high - back bucketful seat and full people of color - keyed national trimness , and all 1980 Mustangs come with brighter halogen headlights ( replacing less - effective tungsten sealed - electron beam ) .
The pick list added a cap - mounted luggage carrier ( $ 86 ) , a " window shade " payload - area cover for hatchbacks ( $ 44 ) , and – shades of Boss 302 – hatchback liftgate louvers ( $ 141 ) . A pricey new notchback supernumerary was a $ 625 Carriage Roof , a diamond - grain full vinyl cover adjust off by black windowpane skeleton and moldings so as to feign the top - up appearance of a genuine convertible .
Still available for notchbacks and newly standard on hatchback was the Sport Option , again comprised of style - sword wheels with trim rings , black cradle - control panel and windowpane moulding , wide torso side moldings , striped rubstrip extensions , and a sporty steering steering wheel . The sumptuousness Ghias come back with coloration - keyed seatbelts , mirrors , body side casting , and hatchback roof slats , plus fresh down in the mouth - back bucketful seats with adjustable headrests , door mathematical function pockets , visor vanity mirror , thicker pile carpeting , deluxe guidance roulette wheel , cap - bestride aid handgrip , and a full complement of interior lights . Leather or cloth - and - vinyl group upholstery was uncommitted in six different colors .
Cheering enthusiasts , the Pace Car Replica ’s Recaro pail tush were optional for any 1980 Mustang . Though not tinny at $ 531 per readiness , they were genuine Euro - motorcar furniture with lean back backrests and adjustable second joint and lumbar keep – all much preferred to the secure - back stock chair that road - testers still often lamented .
Last but not least , Cobra styling was update with a Pace Car - elan slat grille , posterior - face hood scoop , and front and rear spoilers . Standard foglamps and TRX temporary removal go along , but the package was no longer uncommitted with optional V-8 ( reasonable with the weaker 255 engine ) , and its price was up by $ 309 , to $ 1482 . As before , a big hood snake decal was available separately ( at $ 88 , up $ 10 ) .
" Buff leger " testers still compensate scant aid to the baseborn four - piston chamber engine because it just did n’t have the muscle to be very interesting in a car like Mustang . The 200 - cid six was also widely ignored , doubtless because it was so familiar ( sure-enough , in other words ) and far from exotic : seven - main - bearing crankshaft , overhead valves with hydraulic lifters , cast - iron block , a simple one - barrel carburetor .
Even so , the straight six still had a place in 1980 , being efficient and easy to go with . It had less horsepower than the V-6 it supplant but compensated with greater displacement and torsion , so " real - world " performance was n’t that dissimilar . And by Ford ’s " price - of - possession " formula , where required maintenance for the first 50,000 miles was averaged agree to trader parts and Labor Department Leontyne Price , the inline six cost less to operate than the V-6 , an appreciated plus for ostentatiousness - weary buyers .
In 1980 , the original pony car turned 15 . Go to the next pageboy to learn about how the ' 80 Mustang compared to the ' 65 model that start it all .
The 1980 Ford Mustang versus the 1965 Mustang
As the original shot glass car deform 15 year old , it was natural to compare the 1980 Ford Mustang with the one that started it all , the 1965 Ford Mustang .
Looking at full of life statistic , it was tempting to say little had changed . Though the new jigger was 7.6 in trimmer joist in wheelbase , it was only 2.5 column inch shorter overall ( at 179.1 ) , about an in wide ( at 69.1 ) , and less than 100 pounds heavy ( 2516 hammer at the curb ) . Front passenger space was about adequate , but the ' 80 was much roomier in back , suggest Ford had get word something about space utilization in all that metre . And unlike the ' 65 , the Fox - weapons platform auto was burdened with all manner of safety features mandated by the federal government , such as reenforce doors and five - mph bumper , so Ford had apparently learned something about weight mastery too .
railway locomotive comparing were every bit interesting . While the 2.3 - litre four - cylinder was a Seventies conception , the six cylinder was exactly the same powerplant that was standard in ' 65 Mustangs ( save former cars with the 170 - three-dimensional - inch unit ) . The 255 - three-dimensional - inch V-8 was base on the 302 , which , in turn , germinate from the 289 that itself was enlarged from the original Mustang ’s 260 . Yet both the six and V-8 now returned much better fuel mileage than their 1965 counterparts .
What such comparison could n’t convey was how much Mustang had changed over 15 years . As we ’ve see to it , the fashionable clean compact that won all America ’s heart was permit to become too large , too unwieldy , too wasteful . Ford knew that as well as anyone , hence the far more rational Mustang II . But the Fox generation was far better , deliberately designed to be even closer to the ' 65 in size of it , if not character . And why not ?
Then as now , it was the original that defined Mustang for most people . Of course , the Fox - platform version could n’t be a retro copy , because automotive reality had switch greatly since the Sixties . All the more remarkable , then , that it ended up so nimble , attractive , and effective – and with a winning charm all its own .
A Sales Setback
What the 1979 Mustang could n’t match was the sale achiever of its 1965 counterpart . Times had change from the wide - open 1960s , that much was exculpated .
With a new gas crunch trigger off another sharp recession , total U.S. car sales plunged for model - twelvemonth 1980 . Mustang was not immune but fare reasonably well , tote up 271,322 units . Not surprisingly , demand for four - piston chamber fashion model dash up from 54 percent to nearly 68 percentage of total deliveries . Sixes declined a little over a point to just below 30 percent , leaving V-8s at fewer than three percent . These shares detain about the same for 1981 , but on much lower mass of 182,552 unit . Sharp Leontyne Price hikes did n’t assist . The base four - cylinder coupe went up to $ 6171 , the top - argument Ghia hatchback to $ 6729 .
The 1980 Mustang was poise to get its performance channel back , and Ford was ready to prove it on the racetrack . Keep show to get a line about racing the 1980 Mustang .
Racing the 1980 Ford Mustang
Just as the original Mustang enjoyed a high - visibility competition career , Ford ease up strong indications during 1980 that it was about to get its public presentation act back together , with Mustang the star of the show . Hinting at what might lie ahead was a tantalizing " concept " attraction for that season ’s car - show electric circuit : the Mustang IMSA .
Powered by a much - modified turbo - four , this buff hatchback crouched low on ultra - wide Pirelli P7 tires squeeze by outlandishly flare pilot . Also featured were a grille - less nose , deep front air dam , loop rearward spoiler , and contention - inspired papa - riveted charge plate screening on the side windows and taillight panel . In name and appearance , the IMSA strongly suggested that Ford was more than just thinking about a restitution to competition – and about the International Motor Sports Association GT series in particular .
September 1980 brought more racy intelligence as Ford announced organisation of a Special Vehicle Operations ( SVO ) division lead by Michael Kranefuss , summoned to Dearborn after serving as challenger director for Ford Europe . SVO ’s submit purpose was to " develop a serial of limited - production carrying out cars and modernize their image through motorsport . "
The Modern getup apace fuck off down to business with a turbo Mustang to be drive by former Porsche pilot Klaus Ludwig in selected 1981 IMSA GT events . Ford also provided direct support to other Mustang racers , backing a Trans - Am climb for Dennis Mecham and an IMSA Kelly American Challenge automobile for Lyn St. James .
As if to signalise its return to the path , Ford introduced the McLaren Mustang in late 1980 . The work of designer Todd Gerstenberger and Harry Wykes , it was another to a great extent modified hatchback with enough built - in potential for easy version to race duty . Looking reasonably like the IMSA show car , the McLaren run around a grille - less nose above a low - riding " wench " spoiler , plus operable hood scoops , tweaked suspension ( mostly a mix of heavy - tariff off - the - ledge component ) , massive buffer flair , and premium German BBS alloy wheels wear broad - shoulder 225/55R15 Firestone HPR radials .
king was again provided by the turbo - four , but it was newly gird with a variable boost controller having a range of 5 - 11 pounds per square inch vs. the veritable engine ’s fixed 5 psi . place end product was 175 horsepower at 10 pounds per square inch , a magnanimous jumping over the 132 - horse stock mill . A $ 25,000 Mary Leontyne Price tag and practical helping hand expression limited McLaren product to just 250 unit ( including the image ) , but at least they were for cut-rate sale .
Few changes were made to the ' 81 Mustang , which was well - received overall . Keep reading to see about the next loop of the New Breed of Mustang .
The 1981 Ford Mustang
Changes to the 1981 Ford Mustang were small . Interior trimming was shuffled and slightly upgraded , and an optional T - barroom roof with twin lift - off crank panels was revived for both body styles at a hefty $ 874 . The 131 - horsepower turbocharged four - cylinder engine was restricted to manual transmittal , and then was quietly phase out , reportedly due to persistent driveability and reliability problem . The Cobra package was a near rerun except for a stiffer $ 1588 toll .
Mustang ’s main ' 81 word involved full availability of an optional five - hurrying overdrive manual gear case for four - piston chamber models , an item that had been phased in the previous season . Engineers sensibly specified a " unretentive " 3.45:1 final thrust versus the four - speeding tranny ’s 3.08:1 cog for better off - the - line snap . The overdrive fifth was geared at 0.82:1 for economic highway cruising .
It was just what the fundament Mustang involve – almost . As Consumer Guide noted at the time : " Our bighearted objections to the five - speed are its linkage – cockeyed , yet vague – and its fault pattern . As with the four - speed , first through 4th are arrange in the usual enthalpy - pattern . But fifth is awkwardly locate at the bottom of the dogleg to the right of and opposite fourth , instead of up and to the rightfulness …. Why Ford did it this manner is a mystery , but it have getting into or out of fifth genuine work . Our guess is that the engineers wanted to forestall inexperienced driver from accidentally enlist overdrive and needlessly lugging the engine , as well as to prevent confusion with the often - used third . If so , they ’ve succeeded admirably . "
At the sentence , one transmitting railroad engineer observe that Ford thought most drivers would want to downshift from 5th straight off to third , bypassing fourthly . A more logical reasonableness was that putting fifth over - and - up would have entailed overly prospicient branch strive . The " official " account was that the uranium - shaped shift move substantially emphasized the economy benefit of the long - stride fifth gear . Whatever the reasonableness , it just did n’t work .
Overall , though , the " New Breed " worked beautifully , another Mustang just right on for its time . But the act of the Eighties was another dysphoric time for car lovers of every persuasion , and the future tense predict to be no better as far as anyone could see .
It was in this dour standard atmosphere that Motor Trend picked Mustang to kick off a serial of nostalgic " Now Vs . Then " equivalence in its November 1980 return . After drive a modestly optioned V-8 notchback against a classic hardtop of like spec , author Tony Swan concluded on a wistful distinction : " Mustang ' 66 is one of those self-propelling immortals that ’s earned a special niche . It is a car of distinctive role … produce in a manufacturing community mirthfully free of today ’s frequently conflicting regulation .
" Mustang ' 80 , " Swan continue , " is also a car of distinctive fictional character , an achievement made more remarkable in opinion of [ those ] regulation … . [ It ’s ] contemporary in every sense and perhaps suffer from this in dividing line to its ancestor . In an age of behemoths and extra , it was n’t particularly unmanageable for something as trim as the original Mustang to suffer out from the bunch . But in the age of the Big Shrink , it is much more difficult for a graphic designer to attain something truly outstanding . Thus , we are comparing not only two cars but two geological era . On a true point - for - point comparability , each competitor scores … . But in the linear perspective of today ’s humankind , the 1966 Mustang is an misdating – a aggregator ’s point . Of course they do n’t build ‘em like they used to . [ E]ven if they wanted to … there ’s this problem : They ’re not allowed to . "
Maybe not , but that did n’t rule out building ‘em better – which is exactly what would happen . More straight off , carrying out was about to make a surprise comeback in embattle Detroit . Not surprisingly , Mustang would lead the charge .
