- the car-auction website bring a trailer has a collection of a half-dozen '80s mustangs for sale in an auction that ends on december 28.
- among the highlights: a 1984 turbo svo model, a 1988 asc mclaren convertible version, and even an ex–florida highway patrol police mustang from 1989.
- the cars are being auctioned individually, but what a collection they'd make if you got the whole set.
the fox-body mustang enjoyed an uncommonly long run, from disco to grunge. along the way, ford had plenty of time to evolve the car and roll out distinct variants. there were carbureted cars and fuel-injected ones, four-eye headlights and flush, convertibles and coupes (both notchback and hatchback), and even a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder svo model. and all of that, plus a saleen, are represented in a pennsylvania collection now up for auction on bring a trailer. the auction ends on monday, december 28.
the oldest car in the lot is a 1984 mustang svo, the least meatheadish of all fox-bodies. powered by a turbo four, it made a beefy-for-the-era 175 horsepower and featured four-wheel disc brakes, a five-speed manual, and a 3:45 limited-slip rear end. most important, though, the svo brought a hood scoop and a factory biplane rear spoiler that tells the world, "yeah, i admire the merkur xr4ti, but i prefer to buy american." this one has 64,000 miles and tires that are from, uh, 2005. melba toast here might need a new set of shoes.
next up is a 1985 gt with 72,ooo miles. this is one of the four-eyed cars, the last stalwart of the early-'80s carbureted era. these cars have their following, but they're generally not worshipped the way that some of the later 5.0 models are. that's why this one might be the bargain of the bunch. and its four-barrel 4.9-liter v-8 made 210 horsepower, which wasn't too shabby (yes, all the mustang 5.0s of this era were actually 4.9s, and if that's news to you we're terribly sorry to shatter the foundations of your entire mustang worldview). sure, that's less than the subsequent fuel-injected gt's 225 horsepower, but ford tended to futz with horsepower ratings in those days, and "around 200-something horsepower" is probably appropriate for most 5.0 models. in 1993 ford de-rated it to 205 horsepower for no apparent reason, except maybe to create some perceived difference between the 5.0 cars and the new cobra. but anyway, if you want to roll like troy from the goonies, this is the one to get.
this auction features a pair of weirdo 1988 mustangs, so let's look at the obscurest first: the asc mclaren convertible. the main benefit—and also the main drawback—of this car is that 98 percent of the populace will think it has a lot to do with mclaren, and the 2 percent who know otherwise will explain the difference in tedious detail. the first part of the name is most germane, since american sunroof company cut the tops off mustang coupes to create this two-seat, manual-top fox-body. mclaren was supposedly involved in tuning, but a proto-f1 this is not. it does appear to be a perfectly good and sort of strange mustang, but ford's own convertible mustangs famously had back seats and power ragtops so your hair could blow, so this is one for the real stang heads.
the 1988 saleen, on the other hand, is a known entity, in that it predates decades of subsequent saleen tuner cars. despite showing 123,000 miles, it's already commanding big money, which is understandable because it's awesome. look at those graphics. look at that pioneer graphic equalizer. the cigarette burns on the driver's seat? those are factory. imagine the aqua net in your coif meeting the black netting of the headrests. this is easily the most cobra kai car in the collection, and we're sure the price will reflect that.
but ford made mustangs for narcs, too, as exemplified by the 1989 ssp. this baby started life as a florida highway patrol car before retiring to the fort walton beach pd in the early '90s. considering the use case for a florida cop car, it's amazing this mustang still exists in this condition—or any condition, aside from "chewed in half by perp on krokodil." the fox-body ssp police cars were some of the meanest-looking po-po rides ever, and surely the most fun. they were basically the mustang track-/drag-car setup (notchback, 5.0, five-speed) adapted for police use. if you saw this in your rearview mirror, you weren't getting away. unless maybe you had a saleen.
finally, we have a 1989 mustang gt that's unusual mainly for its mintiness. by now, most 1989 gts have been turned into 8-second drag cars, stripped for parts or wrapped around a phone pole outside a waffle house parking lot. this one was likely saved by its particular combination of options, which is totally dad spec. it's an automatic hatchback with all the frills—power windows and locks, cruise control and air conditioning. and it's in that sweet spot for mileage—23,000 miles—where it still looks like a new car but you can actually drive it without instantly depreciating it by 50 percent. look at that interior. if you were in high school circa 1989 and couldn't afford this car, maybe now's your chance.
these cars are all for sale individually, so you don't have to buy six mustangs at once. but it would be real cool if you did.