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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
My editors would like me to end on a unifying note. Something about how these rivals are really on the same side in the most important battle, which is against boredom and conformity. Sorry, can’t do that. Mustangs are awful. But I will say this: If the best Mustang is the Camaro, the best Camaro is actually the Firebird!
Ahh mustang people. Read some of the comments, much butt hurt there, lol
I remember reading in the late 90s, side by side comparisons of the Mustang and F-body and the 4th gens far outperformed them, not sure why people love Mustangs so much. The scene in Tommy Boy comes to mind about selling people crap in a box and they would buy it because of the name......
Ford's in general are just atrocious to work on. Having now 25 years of experience wrenching on everything on the road and owning my own performance shop..... I hate Fords. Almost more than any other brand I can think of although there are a few close seconds - Fiat's are awful.
Ford has always done an amazing job of making their vehicles ridiculously hard to service. They excel at jamming things in unserviceable locations with zero regard for how difficult it will be to maintain later. That's honestly my biggest complaint. That and just straight really missing the mark on products like the Focus RS. What a pile of shitz that was.
Had a Fiat 850 Sport Spyder a long time ago, think it was a 1973. What a pile of crap. But, I pulled the engine out of the bay with my bare hands, set it on workbench and proceed to rebuild. that was kind of cool
I've had two 5.0 Mustangs in the past 2-3 years. Both sold. I had an itch to get a Fox for a long time. That itch is scratched. I have no desire to get another, unless it is just too nice and too cheap to pass up. Say whatever you want about our 3rd gens, but they were literally a league above the competition in the '80's.
I've had two 5.0 Mustangs in the past 2-3 years. Both sold. I had an itch to get a Fox for a long time. That itch is scratched. I have no desire to get another, unless it is just too nice and too cheap to pass up. Say whatever you want about our 3rd gens, but they were literally a league above the competition in the '80's.
It Is funny how as we get older what we thought was good back then really turns out to be well NOT!. A few years back I too thought I wanted a Fox Body, but after seeing them up close in person nowadays, I don't know what I was thinking.
If you think the interiors on our third gens are cheesy, just sit in a mid eighties Fox Body for more than a minute!
Ford has always done an amazing job of making their vehicles ridiculously hard to service. They excel at jamming things in unserviceable locations with zero regard for how difficult it will be to maintain later. That's honestly my biggest complaint. That and just straight really missing the mark on products like the Focus RS. What a pile of shitz that was.
GD[/QUOTE]
try as you may to like any of them, all it takes is one job.... then - at the very least - you hate werkin on them
I enjoyed the rivalry with Fox bodys back in the day. I lined up against them all the time. Hate to say it but an LX with 5 spd was a formidable foe. Im a Camaro/ Firebird guy don't get me wrong but I do like a nice Fox body GT car.
I'll give ford credit for forging their own powertrain path. DOHC motors, flat plane cranks, and twin turbo V6's. Its easy to copy the sucess of the LS (cough cough hemi), but ford has always gone their own way. There is something to be said for that.
Old car memories are pretty good and this one was very informative, I did not know much of that information. That GT would’ve been a beast with the 5.8
I've had two 5.0 Mustangs in the past 2-3 years. Both sold. I had an itch to get a Fox for a long time. That itch is scratched. I have no desire to get another, unless it is just too nice and too cheap to pass up. Say whatever you want about our 3rd gens, but they were literally a league above the competition in the '80's.
ive owned several 5.0 mustangs also and prefer the iroc also .. the 89 lx mustang i owned in 1991 right after i graduated was a fast little car though .. they were all fun cars back then when life was much simpler ,lol .. after a few 5.0's and a few irocs i went to the dark side and bought a grand national in 1993 and owned the streets with that car .. if we could only turn back time ..
My "Fox Body" Lincoln Mark VII LSC. I bought it from the original owner's estate, approx. 20 year ago. It had 98,000 miles then, 289,000 now. Engine, trans, differentil never been apart. I love this car, it is the "Mustang GT for the Man who wears a suit".
My "Fox Body" Lincoln Mark VII LSC. I bought it from the original owner's estate, approx. 20 year ago. It had 98,000 miles then, 289,000 now. Engine, trans, differentil never been apart. I love this car, it is the "Mustang GT for the Man who wears a suit".
The value of the Mustang name is incredible. Every non-car person who gets this idea in their head that they might want to have a sports car first thinks of a Mustang, especially back in the 80s. "Camaro" is an iconic name in its own right, but it can't touch the magical "Mustang" name.
It was just amazing to me back in the 80s that someone could pick a Mustang over a Camaro or Firebird. They looked so boring and conventional. To me, they always looked like suped-up Escorts. Even the one in post #11 above is just dull. Looks like an Escort with extra bodywork tacked on. The name doesn't fit the car at all. Mustangs are lithe, sinewy, muscular animals. The Fox body cars were upright and blocky. A lot of the 1980s sales were four cylinder cars with the same HP as a Cavalier, but they moved a ton of them. Then there's that total crap Fox interior.
I think one reason a lot of people ended up in Mustangs is that they were more conventional. They were upright, easy to get in and out of, easy to see out of. A shorter driver, particularly women, definitely could see easier behind the wheel of a Mustang. Firebirds and Camaros sit low and wide. Behind the wheel, you can't quite see where the car ends. For the non-enthusiast, they could be a little intimidating. Mustangs were just like driving any other car. If you bought a Camaro or Firebird, you really felt like you were in a sports car.
Old car memories are pretty good and this one was very informative, I did not know much of that information. That GT would’ve been a beast with the 5.8
They are a beast with a 5.8, my friends car it sits in my shop beside mine almost bought it myself. Very fun with the 5spd.
If the Camaro was as cheap as the Mustang and had a better name it'd be more popular. The Mustang is cheap, and you get exactly what you pay for, not a bit more. If GM had used the same basic underpinnings from 1974-2004, the Camaro would have been cheaper, and probably more popular, but just as boring as the Mustang II through SN95s.
The 3rd gens did, I think, outsell the Fox body for a year or two. GM did kind of botch the launch and there were a lot of quality issues in 1982 and 1983. By the time they were done building 3rd gens, the quality and reliability had really come a long way. But I think the reputation was damaged by those first couple of years.
They did have pretty much the same platform from 1982-2002. 4th gen sold well at first, but the all-new 1994 Mustang quickly surpassed it. I think a lot of it was again the name. But also just general livability. Mustangs don't intimidate prospective new owners because of their more conventional styling.
I enjoyed the rivalry with Fox bodys back in the day. I lined up against them all the time. Hate to say it but an LX with 5 spd was a formidable foe. Im a Camaro/ Firebird guy don't get me wrong but I do like a nice Fox body GT car.
Agreed. I enjoyed the rivalry back then too. What enthusiasts seem to drool about today in terms of exhaust sound; say an RB26 revving to the moon, we felt the same way when you heard a Fox Body roll up with Flowmaster's. Best sound of the late 80's early 90's, hands down. I honestly wouldn't mind getting my hands on a notch back and swapping in a Coyote engine. Some members here are too young to know, but the old Summit Racing catalogs of the 90's had half of the catalog devoted to the Mustang, and maybe a page or two to the F-Body. That is how popular they were. I still have those catalogs in my collection, too funny...
Speaking of the mustang cross platform, my 1st car desire was one of these. As a young adolescent I like many of us had a crush on Charlies Angel Farrah Fawcett and likewise that car she drove. I thought that Mustang II was it, and that would be my 1st car. I remember my dad telling me that as I grew older there would be much better designed cars and I would care less about this car. Well of course he was right but he failed to tell me that the Mustang II crossed platformed with the PINTO! I did have this poster on my wall for many years and both do still look good to this car guy!
Compared to how the Ford-vs-Chevy rivalry played out at the drag strips and drive-ins back in the '60s---arguments turning into fist fights on a fairly regular basis--- I assumed it (the 'rivalry') had pretty much died.
Of course, I don't get out too much any more, and certainly no longer street race.
Some members here are too young to know, but the old Summit Racing catalogs of the 90's had half of the catalog devoted to the Mustang, and maybe a page or two to the F-Body. That is how popular they were. I still have those catalogs in my collection, too funny...
- Rob[/QUOTE]
that's what it took fer the fox cars to compete.....
Agreed. I enjoyed the rivalry back then too. What enthusiasts seem to drool about today in terms of exhaust sound; say an RB26 revving to the moon, we felt the same way when you heard a Fox Body roll up with Flowmaster's. Best sound of the late 80's early 90's, hands down. I honestly wouldn't mind getting my hands on a notch back and swapping in a Coyote engine. Some members here are too young to know, but the old Summit Racing catalogs of the 90's had half of the catalog devoted to the Mustang, and maybe a page or two to the F-Body. That is how popular they were. I still have those catalogs in my collection, too funny...
- Rob
Man I agree 100% about the exhaust note of a 5.0 with Flowmaster exhaust. Just plain wicked sounding!
Flowmaster originated here, in Sonoma County, Ca. They were manufactured here, also. Every young buck with a V8 sported Flowmasters, back in the 80-90's. Still pretty popular here.
My "Fox Body" Lincoln Mark VII LSC. I bought it from the original owner's estate, approx. 20 year ago. It had 98,000 miles then, 289,000 now. Engine, trans, differentil never been apart. I love this car, it is the "Mustang GT for the Man who wears a suit".
Some family friends bought a new one of these in 88. It was white, and super cool. I have always loved those cars
"Chazman", "Dagwood' thank you very much for the compliments.
It's been one of my longest owned cars. Some years back, I installed new "duplicate of original " leather front seat upholstery and the back seat is out of a same year, 65,000 mile, garage kept Mark VII LSC, I came across. About 5 years and not many miles ago, I rebuilt the suspension, front and back, new brakes, hoses, power door lock solenoids, driver's door keypad, Walker "Super Turbo" mufflers and more, . It runs and drives like when i bought it.
I plan on selling it and some of my other 7 vehicles, due to other life plans.
"Chazman", "Dagwood' thank you very much for the compliments.
It's been one of my longest owned cars. Some years back, I installed new "duplicate of original " leather front seat upholstery and the back seat is out of a same year, 65,000 mile, garage kept Mark VII LSC, I came across. About 5 years and not many miles ago, I rebuilt the suspension, front and back, new brakes, hoses, power door lock solenoids, driver's door keypad, Walker "Super Turbo" mufflers and more, . It runs and drives like when i bought it.
I plan on selling it and some of my other 7 vehicles, due to other life plans.
Absolutely! NO WAY I would do one of those "Spring Conversions"! The LSC (Luxury Sport Coupe) used different air springs(firmer) than the Base or Bill Blass version. IMO it provides a perfect balance of handling and ride.
I switched the anti-sway bar END LINK bushings(and ONLY the end link bushings !) from the OE rubber to polyurethane bushings. This provides less lean in turns without any increased NVH.
Not to brag, or hijack, but I had the OE JBL "Premium Sound System " worked on, by a pro radio man. He replaced some "chips" & capacitors and added a "Universal Input". He also did some work on the OE JBL Amp. When I plug in my Ipod, the sound is fantastic! I don't drive as much, since I retired.
07-06-2020, 09:30 AM
