1986 Ford Mustang GT/LX from North America - Comments

Very simple things have gone wrong-

Drivers Seat torn on side when purchased.

Fan Clutch bearings shot when purchased.

Water Pump replaced at 100k from previous owner.

Wheel bearings replaced by previous owner.

Sway bar bolt broken by previous owner.

New clutch around 90k from previous owner.

Rust holes in floor, and rusted body panels.

Broken fog lights.

Bouncy idle problem never solved.

Needs new struts on all sides.

When I purchased this car I thought it would be a potential nightmare because the way it had looked - rusty.

I decided to turn it into a small educational project to learn to take apart the motor and replace and gaskets and sensors, etc.

It was fairly easy to work on. This car is so easy to find parts for and there are so many Mustang enthusiasts for the 5.0 EFI engine that you can ask anyone how to work on them that probably owns one of these bad boys.

Not only did I take the engine apart, but I decided to learn how to mod this engine, and it was fairly easy to do also.

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Handling and steering hasn't been up to par due too bad struts.

It is fairly quick and its much much quicker than my 1984 Z28 Camaro with a 305.

This car should not be driven in any snowy conditions, obviously because its rear-wheel drive and it's a sports car and it won't stay on the road too long.

The engine bay is fairly roomy, I've heard of people dropping in a 460 C.I. motor.

The fog lights always break, time and time again.

I get 25mpg, I don't know if its because of the K&N Air Filter and the Tornado or not.

I beat on this car at least 4 times a day and it still seems to run just fine.

I assume that you are using the term "Sports Car" lightly.

I consider more of a sports coupe or "pony car".

I save the term "Sports Car" for the Porsches, Corvettes, Ferraris etc.

I even consider MGs & Miatas sports cars, but sorry, not Mustangs or Camaros.

I think "sports car" is a great term to use for his mustang. I have had an of those "sports cars" you named beat out my 1985 390cid LX yet so I think sports car is a great term for this car.

Corvette's, Porsche's and Ferrari's are sports cars. But how can you consider a Miata much of a sports car. Lets see a Mustang and a Miata race and then see who wins. Miata doesn't even have sports car history like a Mustang.

Just my opinion, but I would call a Mustang a muscle car, and the Miata a sports car. To me, a muscle car is more of a straight line, quarter mile, 0-60 car, not known for it's handling in the curves (a Mustang isn't), and a sports car might not be quite as fast from 0-60, but is nimble and can be driven hard through the bends.

Funny how people say the Mustangs didn't handle too well. Both of mine seemed to. I did dead mans curve which is a 90 degree turn on Rt. 90 in Cleveland at 65 mph without pulling out of the seat. I also found many tight twisty roads and drove the heck out of them. The cars handled like a dream, nice and tight and flat through the corners. I would love to pick up another one someday...

Having owned 7 Mustangs (including an '85 GT) I'm afraid I have to agree with commenter 17:33. The Mustang is not a good handling car. The new ones are better (I now own a 2007), but even they tend to break loose easily in turns. My '85 and '89 were absolutely SCARY. If there was a drop of water on the road they'd break both rear wheels loose at 60mph if I floored them (even WITH positraction).

I currently own a mildly modified 2001 Pontiac Grand Am Quad 4, and if I have a situation where it is imperative that I get somewhere REALLY, REALLY fast I leave my Mustang in the garage and drive the Pontiac. I'm far more likely to get where I'm going without wrapping it around a telephone pole or spinning off into a field.

There's a big difference between good handling and spinning the tires when you floor it. Just about any car will break loose on wet pavement and spin out if you floor it. The Mustang was a tight good handling car and if you had the original Gatorbacks on it or a comparable wet traction tire, the wet handling was decent too. Would it spin on wet pavement if you gave it too much gas? Heck yeah!! Since it would smoke the tires through second gear on dry pavement, it was a given that it would easily spin on wet pavement... I even drove one of mine in the winter (in Upstate NY) with a full set of Blizzaks on it and it was fine... with NO weight in the back. It wasn't like a 4X4 or anything but I got around pretty easily with it and it never was "scary" to drive. I never had any complaints with the handling overall and thought it was pretty on par with most cars in it's class.

I always ran upgraded high-performance all-weather tires on my Mustang. It was STILL a total nightmare to drive on twisty roads or wet roads. These cars are great for straight-line acceleration and are a lot of fun, but I'd never dream of even getting mine out of the driveway on snow or ice.

The only vehicle I ever owned that was more prone to sudden rear-end break-away and spin-outs was my Dodge Dakota Sport with nothing in the back.

Although our rear drive SUV and rear drive sedans have proven to be much better on snow or ice than our front-drive car, I'd take a well-balanced front-drive GM compact over a Mustang for high-speed cornering any day.

"I'd take a well-balanced front-drive GM compact over a Mustang for high-speed cornering any day."

Then I guess I'll see you down the road at the finish line after I get there first, by a long shot, in my 5.0.

"I'd take a well-balanced front-drive GM compact over a Mustang for high-speed cornering any day."

In straight line performance the Mustang would win. On a twisty road the Mustang would lose. Cornering is not a Mustang strong point even with the high-performance suspension setup. I own both front drive compacts and a Mustang. In an emergency situation I'd never take the Mustang. It's too prone to breaking loose in high-speed cornering.

I wouldn't say the Mustang handles poorly as much as I would say it takes much more skill to drive a Mustang, or any high performance rear driver, well. You have to balance the high horsepower with the rear wheel drive to get the best out of the car. It is definitely not for everyone, but it's the best combination for high speed thrills.

"I always ran upgraded high-performance all-weather tires on my Mustang. It was STILL a total nightmare to drive on twisty roads or wet roads. These cars are great for straight-line acceleration and are a lot of fun, but I'd never dream of even getting mine out of the driveway on snow or ice."

I agree 100%. Even if it just rains my Mustang stays in the garage. Over the years every Mustang I've owned has proven to be very unstable on slick or icy pavement. Ironically, the best car on snow I ever owned was a classic 1972 Plymouth Duster V-8. I guess it was the balance and weight distribution, but it would blow front-drive cars off the road in snow. It was even better than our current large SUV.

I think people have just gone soft over the years from having ABS and traction control and every other thing to aid you in being a "good" driver.

I never had trouble with either Mustang I had, and even drove one through the winter. Yeah, I put Blizzaks on all four corners, and yeah it didn't handle like a Jeep in the snow, but I got around without feeling scared or unstable, and was out in some pretty nasty weather with it (Upstate NY).

As far as wet traction, they had so much torque and were so light they'd spin off the line pretty easily (but not uncontrollably), but cornering with the Gatorbacks was great on wet roads as that was what they were designed for. Never once did I lose the back end around a corner on wet pavement... maybe dry pavement, but that was on purpose!!

I had a 88 5.0. Currently have a 86 with stock suspension. It's a little sloppy but fun. My 88 GT lowered, with pretty sweet suspension with z rated BF Goodrich kdw tires, raced all kinds of cars. The thing handled great, but the V8 power with such a light car takes a disciplined right foot.

The 5.0 responds very well to mods - good times.