The Fox Body Mustang represents a special time in the history of Ford. For one thing, the 80s would see the rise of the SUV as the go-to transportation for America. Simultaneously, imported sports cars from Japan and Europe routinely took these Mustangs to the cleaners at red light drag races across the country. This gen Mustang was by no means a bad car or even a slow car (Most of the time), But for a lot of people, they just don't stack up when compared to JDM, European, and even a couple of American sports cars.

On the other hand, there's a religiously devoted following of Fox-body enthusiasts who help aid in the used parts supply chain for Fox Body cars, including things like the Thunderbird, but of course, mostly Mustangs. These tuners can turn your Fox-Body mustang into something that could challenge modern-day sports cars on the strip and at the track. So, what's the deal with these Mustangs? Are they good? Are they bad? Let's find out.

Today, let's look at how the Fox-Body Mustang stacks up to the rest of the Mustang back catalog. 

Not A Bad Upgrade From The Mustang II

The third-gen Mustang was so radically different from mustangs of the past you'd expect a major backlash at the time it was released. The reason this didn't happen is, of course, because the Mustang II was an ugly, slow, unreliable failure that almost killed off the pony car brand forever.

http://www.seriouswheels.com

Even if Fox-Bodies aren't the most refined car in the world, it makes a heck if a lot more sense than ever bothering with the four-wheeled factories of sadness its predecessor was

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A Four-Cylinder Option

fox body mustang custom
Via pinterest

Think the new EcoBoost turbo four-pot was the first of its kind to go in a Mustang? Think again; it actually happened almost 40 years ago. For a few short years, Fox-Body Mustangs had the option of a 140 cubic inch 2.3-liter Inline four-cylinder engine.

Available with or without turbocharging, we don't want to even imagine how slow the naturally aspirated version was. With 86 horsepower on tap, we reckon it may even be unsafe for highway use, especially if you find one today on eBay.

Over A Decade Of Refinement

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For the purpose of this article, we're going to divide the third-gen Mustang into two groups. Ones made before 1984 and those made after. This was the year which Ford began to double down on performance. Models like the SVO and the 5.0 V8 GT cemented the Fox-Body as a solid platform to make good amounts of power.

Via: Hagerty.com

Improvements were so good that Hagerty officially declared the Fox Body Mustang as the official end to the "Malaise Era" of American cars. One categorized by slow, weak, emissions choked V8s paired with oversized and wobbly square bodywork. The Fox-Body Mustang looks sleek and futuristic compared with many other cars of the period.

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Are There Better Options?

Ford Mustang fourth generation
Via Wikipedia

We can't get around the fact that these Mustangs are approaching 30 to 40 years old. That said, don't expect parts to be as accessible for these cars as it was even 10 years ago. It seems that, especially for the old 5.0 V8, there just aren't spare OEM parts laying around in warehouses anymore.

Even in the Fox-Body family, many argue that the Thunderbird is by far the more interesting option of the two. Of course, this is a matter of opinion, but it's definitely an opinion worth pondering a little.

via Cruz.com

That said, we'd be wrong to not compare it to Mustangs made after 1993. In 1994, Ford introduced a new style of Mustang, one which took inspiration from the original Mustangs of the 60s and would continue being developed until this day. Ford would refine this style over the next 20 years to create the fourth, fifth, and sixth-generation Mustangs.

Too Old And Too Slow?

Compared to Mustangs made after the Fox-Body, newer ones are arguably better looking, faster, more reliable, parts are usually readily available, and there's a huge market of mechanics who know how to fix them.

Via: Pinterest.com

Ford's technological innovations since the death of the Fox-Body, especially in engine and transmission technology, mean that the older cars look spartan, slow, and, quite frankly, a bad investment. While it'd be foolish to argue that Fox-Body Mustangs are just as fast, we think there's a happy medium which both sides of this argument can agree on.

Why Not Both

Via: Mustang Forums

If not for America's wrenches, tuners, and professional modders, the Fox-Body may have faded from existence by now. Happily, there's a group of enthusiasts who've been outfitting the latest and greatest of late-model hardware and shoving it under the bonnet of the old Fox-Body

Via: Mustang Forums

Let's bring your attention to this latest creation from Mo's speed shop out of Dallas, Georgia. Their Fox-Body Mustangs had its engine ditched for the 2.3-liter Turbo Ecoboost engine found in a slew of modern-day Ford cars. Before you go complaining that it's not a v8 and therefore not a real Mustang, let us remind you the Fox Body originally came with an 80 ish horsepower four-cylinder, so we'll hear no such complaints about that. Why would anyone want to poo poo such a sweet ride anyway?

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