1979 Ford Mustang review from North America

Both front flexible brake lines split.

Front calipers seized.

Parking brake cable seized.

OEM plastic timing gear broke power shifting into 2nd at 6000rpm.

Seatbelt buckle jammed ($10 at the wreckers).

Waterpump 4 times (17 bolts, but only $50)

Front crankshaft main bearing worn irregularly, eats seals, oil seeps out front. Problem will wait until I rebuild the (SWEET) motor.

Valve seals dried out & cracked.

Ford built very few of these jems, most 6 cylinder cars came with the lame duck 3.3 inline, 1 bbl. boat anchor or after '83, the 5 liter with 2 cylinders sawed off known as the 3.8 (to be avoided at all costs). Some 2.8s came with a 4 spd/OD tranny, but most were autoboxes. The engine is tractable right down to idle, but no real excitement comes on until 3500 rpm. The car is light enough at 2850# but a 3 spd auto really strangles the life out of this spirited Ford-of-Europe 60 degree ex-racing motor which is small enough and light enough that power steering is not required and was not even available with the manual tranny.

MacStruts up front and the 3.9 turn lock to lock rack and pinion ratio is quick enough, deadly accurate and communicates almost as clearly as an NSX's.

The Mustang hatchback (pre-rear shoulder belts) can swallow 8 inches of 4x8 plywood with the backseat down and gives a huge cargo capacity and with it up, seats 4 adults... a little snuggly.

The 2.8 came only in the early 79s before being replaced by the lethargic American 3.3 due to...availability? cost? politics???...and the 4spd was available only halfway through the model year.

The car begs to be flung through corners, accelerates well, has given me 42 miles per gallon of regular (hwy.trip) is dead nuts reliable, super easy to fix and looks beautiful. But the brakes really suck. Typical of the Mustang, the rears lock way too early, but it WILL stop fairly well if you just keep pressing down on the whoa pedal until the fronts come into play.

The Mustang 2.8 is more of a continuation of Mercury's (Merkur's?) Capri than the American icon Mustang, but in many ways this car outshines the original or the Capri II. The engine breaths easier due to the separation of the siamesed exhaust ports, the front suspension is much improved and the interior room is cavernous in comparison.

If you find one, get it! I got mine.