Fox body rear seat room?

Yeah, the sn95 have just two pairs of belts. Dang it!

pres589 wrote: In reply to novaderrik: LTD II is a Fox that would seat five people better than a Mustang. There's a ton of Fox derivative vehicles to pick from, this probably being the largest.

yeah, but those have all returned to mother earth or been ground up and made into new cars by now... there might be a few examples still around, but i never saw a lot of them even when they were a few years old..

Look at the fox T-Birds and Cougars, they have more legroom/hip room (longer wheelbase and wider than a Mustang). 1983-1988. 2.3 Turbo cars are the only factory sticks.

Oh, and 3 belts in the back.

The LTD II is not a fox. There is a fox LTD, but it's not a II.

btp76 wrote: The LTD II is not a fox. There is a fox LTD, but it's not a II.

i used to have one of those "not a Fox" LTD 2's..

it had 3 seat belts in the back- and 3 in the front...

In reply to Javelin: you are forgetting the super coupe 5sp......also note, there were some cougars with the 2.3t 5sp and 3.8sc 5sp combo as well.....just a lot rarer.

yamaha wrote: In reply to Javelin: you are forgetting the super coupe 5sp......also note, there were some cougars with the 2.3t 5sp and 3.8sc 5sp combo as well.....just a lot rarer.

the Supercoupes weren't Fox based- the Fox based Thunderbirds got the turbo 4 cylinder and were called "Turbocoupes"... the supercharged V6 was used in the body style that replaced the Fox based Thunderbirds, when the name of the high performance version was renamed a "Supercoupe" to reflect the change from a turbocharger to a supercharger..

The Dodge Challenger seats 5, but the Mustang and Camaro do not.

Too bad it is a bit out of the OP's price range.

The replies I've gotten, although disappointing are why I love this place!

I was really getting excited to own a V8 Mustang (preferably a 5.0) but looks like its not in the cards. And to be clear, it's not so much the Mustang itself, it was owning a RWD, V8 (or equal power), manual.

I've owned plenty of "interestingly fun" vehicles but never anything anyone would consider powerful enough to be fun.

With the need to seat 5, I'm at a loss here.

Some possible options for you: CTS-V, probably not in your price range though, 04-06 GTO, Pontiac G8 GT or GTP

81cpcamaro wrote: Some possible options for you: CTS-V, probably not in your price range though, 04-06 GTO, Pontiac G8 GT or GTP

I'm afraid none of those are in my $3k range. I was hoping for a DD project. You know, something you can drive and work on at the same time. Talk about a unicorn!

I've seen quite a few Panther platforms that were swapped to 5 and 6 speeds. If you're willing to gamble on someone else's wrenching ability you should be able to find one in your price range.

If you have slim child seats a MarkVII may be an option. Tons of them have been swapped to a manual trans, but again it's someone else's wrenching ability. There is actually a great deal of leg room but the trunk is surprisingly small.

I really dig that LTD II

ebonyandivory wrote:

81cpcamaro wrote: Some possible options for you: CTS-V, probably not in your price range though, 04-06 GTO, Pontiac G8 GT or GTP

I'm afraid none of those are in my $3k range. I was hoping for a DD project. You know, something you can drive and work on at the same time. Talk about a unicorn!

I have two of those unicorns, driveable beaters/projects...it actually sucks sometimes.

Pick up an E36 328is with the Sport Package. Seats five, and has a similar feel to a Fox (I've owned two '92 fox bodies). Better handling, better brakes, but from a drivetrain perspective they're very similar. I sold mine with 120k to a GRM'er for $4100 two summers ago.

In reply to ebonyandivory:

There are a lot of V8-swapped Turbo Coupes and T-5 swapped 5.0 TBirds out there. Keep your eyes peeled on CL. They usually sell in your price range for a driver.

Having a slushbox in an elongated Fox isn't that bad.

The_Jed wrote: Having a slushbox in an elongated Fox isn't that bad.

I'd go for a 5.0 Thunderbird I suppose... And my wife could drive it if it were auto... Hmmmmmm.

The P71 then comes to mind but that's a FAR cry from a Mustang.

Can the 90's Mustang back seat be any narrower that my Protege5? I feel like adapting the third seatbelt from it to a Mustang couldn't be that involved.

EDIT: Wrong! Looks like the seat belt is a dumb idea from an execution standpoint as well as safety. Also appears to be no factory vehicle that fits the bill. At least late 90's era. Damn!

In reply to novaderrik:

Didn't know the early birds were fox based, either way a super coupe would fit his bill......

Those early T-Birds, and a lot of the other quasi-luxury Fox bodies, look pretty dated to me now. The cheaper and sportier lines (Mustang, Fairmont...) avoid a lot of the more dubious 1980s styling cues.

I've owned both SN95 Mustangs and true Fox body Mustangs, and the SN95s seemed to have less room in the back. The original Fox body cars were pretty OK in the back, although three people might be a bit much. And I wasn't really trying to give big overgrown people rides in the back of my Mustangs anyway.

b13990 wrote: Those early T-Birds, and a lot of the other quasi-luxury Fox bodies, look pretty dated to me now. The cheaper and sportier lines (Mustang, Fairmont...) avoid a lot of the more dubious 1980s styling cues. I've owned both SN95 Mustangs and true Fox body Mustangs, and the SN95s seemed to have less room in the back. The original Fox body cars were pretty OK in the back, although three people might be a bit much. And I wasn't really trying to give big overgrown people rides in the back of my Mustangs anyway.

did you just say that a Fairmont was a "Sporty" Fox body? it was a stripped down rattle trap POS box on wheels that came out in 1978 which Ford used as the basis for the new Mustang in 1979. it was so "sporty" that the horn button was a part of the turn signal and i don't think you could get anything bigger than 13" wheels on them from the factory..

540i w/ manuals show up now and then. Not as cheap as you're looking for though. Maybe $7k for a semi-decent one? I've never really looked at them but they exist.

I wouldn't compare them to a Fox-type Ford though, because they're way too nice vs any Fox.

Lincoln LS or Cadillac Catera?

I know diddly squat about them, besides the fact that they are RWD and the V6 LS could be had with 3 pedals.

What I like about the "earlier" Mustangs is the Lego-ness. Similar to what's been said about Subarus.

Not to mention the hyoooge aftermarket and plethora of replacement parts...

Gotcha. That's the same reason I wanted one; you can find parts literally anywhere in the U.S.

If you were local I'd let you take my Mark VII for a spin. It has some oddball mechanical and electrical stuff but it's mostly interchangeable with the '83 (?)- '88 T-Bird/Cougar. Lots of Mustang stuff fits as well, but they're more closely related to the CougarBird.

Marks were typically bought by the Luxobarge demographic and haven't suffered the same ham-fisted ownership as a comparable Fox or SN95.