Oh, I like this. I like this a lot. For anyone who reads my ramblings, you might have picked up a theme I have specifically regarding Ford vehicles: I like them stripped, powerful, and purposeful. Almost downright nasty, but in a good way. It roots back to a 1973 Mercury Comet GT that I learned how to drive like an absolute delinquent in. I loved the car for many reasons…it was tossable, I could steer it with just the long pedal on the right, it looked like a small-batch moonshine runner, and it sounded like a Saturday Night Special at a dirt track. Perfect car to turn a 13-year-old loose in, right? I agree.
I’m not too picky on what model Ford it is…but it comes down to size. It has to be close to the size of that Comet, and this 1982 Mustang fits the bill. Four-eye Fox, the GT nose cone, hoodscoop, D-slot Bassett wheels on Cooper Cobras (with the white letters out, as they should be!), ducktail spoiler…
…caged interior, five-speed manual trans, fuel cell, harnesses, and a fire extinguisher because safety is the ultimate concern. I like this a LOT. Everything exposed, minimal comforts (useful, but minimal), without being fully stripped to the core. You might not drive this kind of car every day, but you could if your really had your heart set on it. Full gauges tell you what you need to know, and that shifter handle looks like it could beat someone into submission if you disconnected it from the trans. Good stuff!
Underhood is a 302 that, while lacking information, looks like a good place to start. The additional bracing and BBK alignment plates are nice extras, and additional and unseen items include a Lakewood driveshaft loop and an 8.8 Ford rear axle filled with 3.73 gears and a Ford Performance limited-slip unit.
I don’t care that it’s still a four-lug car and I don’t care that the color is “Retina-Searing Orange”. This little Mustang is awesome, from bumper to bumper, and I bet the sound of that 302 blasting out of the side-exit pipes would be like hearing angelic trumpets as this thing drifted around the Sinkhole corner at NCM Motorsports Park wide open in third…
eBay Link: 1982 Ford Mustang
Re work the windshield and dash bars and you would have a nice car.
Had a friend the bought a new one that color in 82 I think . I think he thought I’d be a sleeper . He thought it was tan . I had to tell him he couldn’t have gotten a worse color to not call attention to one’s self. Poor guy was color blind one a few colors. He didn’t see anything in blk and wht . Just not what everyone else saw.
Nothing that a gallon of satin black won’t cure….
That is one sweet ride! The best part? Next year it can be registered as a classic in NC! No inspections!
Come on Geordie, could you be a little more original!
A high school Stewzer55 would have daily driven something very similar to this car.