1986 Ford Mustang GT from North America - Comments

Air conditioning went out 1 month after I got the car. This was due to Ford's poor choice in A/C fittings on the A/C condenser (they always leak). I cut these fittings off and changed them to GM style fittings. I haven't had a problem since.

Heater core was shot on this car when I bought it. This is another Mustang problem. Be sure not to buy a cheap heater core replacement or you will have to do the job over in a few years.

Power lock solenoids and ignition switch went out after a few years also.

Try to stay away from automatic Mustangs because they are a lot slower.

This car is fast, durable, practical and economical (for a sports car). The 5.0 liter HO Mustang is the bench mark by which all other American sports cars/hot rods are compared when talking about acceleration.

Police Departments buy 5.0 Mustangs, beat the hell out of them, put 80,000+ miles on it and then sell them. Then 18 year old teenagers buy them at auctions and race them at the drag strip all day. Then they'll drive them home afterwards and go to work in them the next day with no problems.

Compare a 1979-93 Mustang to a 1994 or newer Camaro in these often overlooked areas. These year Mustangs have a real back seat! Two adults can really sit back there! So will a car seat. Also look at how the rear seat folds down. I have fit a 6.0 hp, big wheel Craftsman push mower in the back of my Mustang with plenty of room. Last but not least, these Mustangs are very easy to work on. There is lots of room under the hood of this vehicle. I dare you to try and change the spark plugs in a newer Camaro (Can you say bleeding limbs).

The bottom line - I paid $4,000 for my car in 1991. If I put a new paint job on it, I could probably get my $4,000 back today (not that I want to sell it). It runs a 13.9 in the 1/4 mile (it has a few minor modifications). It gets 24 mpg on the highway at 65mph. All this plus real room for my two kids in back.

I would like to know what you have in your motor in order to get 24mpg? I have a 85GT that has a little bit bigger cam, stock factory headers, and a Holley 4 barrel 650 vac. secondary. And Just Installed A Offy. Port-O-Sonic High Rise With A 750 Vac. secondary! Before installing the last two mods I was at 10mpg at 80-85mph And now I'm getting about 12-12.5mpg at the same speed. I've Tried driving the speed-limit which is pretty hard behind the wheel of one of these cars, and got a best of 16mpg. my best ET Before the intake swap was 13.38 at the strip.

On the MPG issue... The 1986 Mustang has fuel injection instead of a carb which greatly increases the efficiency. I had an 88 and a 90 LX 5.0 and I was getting over 25mpg average with both of them. I still miss driving them and have always thought of getting another one. They are awesome cars.

I was wondering how much you have done to get into the high 13s? I have done the basic bolt-ons to my 86 GT, but I haven't had the time to take it to the track to see what it will really do. Also, on the gas mileage issue, I can almost get 30mpg on the highway. This is with the stock 180,000 engine and 5-speed and 2.73:1 rear gears.

Hey you guys; This is for 2.3 litre 4 cyl engines that would kick ass with most engines of twice their size. Ford blew it when they stopped production. The combo in the Thunderbird was even a far better platform. I've seen 87/88 t'birds with only a (factory) turbo upgrade that would outdo most anything in the same class. I recently outran a BMW M3 (2002)

on a road course with my 87 TB TC. He could not keep pace on anything (exception being off the line). The TC is completely stock. The SVO is a wonderful machine, but if you want a step up consider the T'bird TC.

I had 2 cousins with Turbo Coupe T-Birds and they weren't beating M3's with them. I raced one of them with my Mustang 5.0 and he disappeared pretty quickly in the rearview mirror. The 0-60 times were well into the 7-8 second range. Isn't the M3 around 5 for the 2002 model? Hmmmm... another fish story, go figure.