1980 Ford Mustang - Doesn't Get More "'80's" Than This

Chances are, if at the drop of a hat you were asked to name a quintessential "1980s car," you wouldn't knee-jerk answer, "Oh, 1980 Ford Mustang!" Neither would I, frankly. But when I came across this '80 Mustang for sale on Marketplace about 45 minutes west of The Triple Wide, it fish-hooked me back to the '80s in a way your stereotypical "80s cars," like a DeLorean, simply don't.

After five years of the Pinto-based Mustang II, Ford introduced what became known as the "Fox-body" Mustang for 1979. The Fox platform itself debuted for the 1978 model year under the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr; the Mustang followed a year later. The "Fox" name was reportedly inspired by the Audi Fox, although the precise origin of the name isn't entirely settled.

The Fox platform would go on to underpin scores of Ford, Mercury and Lincoln models through the 1980s and early '90s. The original Fox architecture lasted through 1993, although a heavily revised derivative carried the Mustang through 2004. So, technically, saying the Fox-body ran all the way to 2004 needs an asterisk—but considering the basic architecture's extraordinary longevity, "Fox" certainly had one hell of a run.

Arguably, the most famous and certainly the longest-running nameplate application of the Fox architecture was the Mustang.

While it was no Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird, I thought the Fox-body Mustang was a most welcome breath of fresh air when it debuted in 1979. I even like this factory installed carriage top. The Fox Mustang was roughly four inches longer than a Mustang II and rode on a wheelbase roughly four inches longer—100.4 inches versus 96.2. Goes to show you what a couple of inches here and there can do for an automobile's design.

Have to wonder: if the Mustang II had simply been downsized and remained on the Falcon-derived architecture used by the original Mustang, would it have made a big enough difference aesthetically that it wouldn't be the black sheep of the Ford Mustang stable it is today?

As much better looking than a Mustang II as they were, and far more in line with the loosely defined "pony-car" classification, everyone I drove left me vexed, perplexed and confused. They ride stiffly and feel primitive in ways that other Fox-body-underpinned cars, like the 1983–1988 Ford Thunderbird, simply don't. I say the same about my 2005 S197 Mustang GT: its inherent crudeness feels purposely dialed in.

Although there are no pictures of it, our '80 here is powered somewhat curiously by Ford's 200-cubic-inch, or 3.3-liter, pushrod, one-barrel inline-six. At the risk of sounding like a punk-ass, know-everything Gen Z car blogger who goofs on the cars us Gen Xers grew up with, the little engine that could not cranked out all of 89 horsepower and 143 lb-ft of torque. 

Here's where the story goes off the rails. Ford had intended the Cologne, Germany-built 2.8-liter, 60-degree V-6 to be the optional six-cylinder engine in these cars, the 2.3-liter four was standard. While the 2.8 was offered in the 1979 model year, Ford ran into supply problems with the 2.8, and midway through 1979, replaced the V-6 with the old 200-cubic-inch inline-six. The 2.8 V-6 was then dropped from the Mustang lineup for 1980, leaving the 3.3-liter six as the optional six-cylinder engine.

Couple the little sixer with its light-duty C3 three-speed automatic and factory-standard 3.08:1 rear axle, and it's safe to say no one has driven this little pony very quickly over the last 46 years and 66,000 miles. 

So, what to do with this thing? Sky's the limit. Do we drop a junkyard-truck 351 Windsor in her? A fuel-injected "HO" 5.0? How 'bout we go nuts and go Coyote, leaving the body as-is? A pure, modern-day-ish rat rod. I find that oddly appealing. We can gussy up the suspension, so it doesn't ride like a truck with square wooden wheels too. 

There's a network of Fox-body aftermarket parts out there to rival any Camaro, Firebird or even Corvette. It's a $2,900 asking price, low enough that I'd like to think you could probably take this off their hands for closer to $2,000, if not less than that.