How did you get into 'stangs?

[Mr 5 0]

Like many here, I was a longtime Chevy guy but back in the late 1980's I started reading and hearing about the 'new' Mustang 5.0. They were supposed to be a low-to-mid 14 second car right off the lot with no mods, if you drove it right i.e. got traction. At the time I was driving a self-restored 1971 Camaro with a mildly modified 350 and a Muncie M-21 trans with a 3.73 rear that ran 14's all day but that I had owned a long time and was getting tired of. Remember, in 1987 a 14-second street car that doubled as a daily driver was considered very quick, like a 13-second street car would be, today. What did it for me was an article in a 1987 'Cars Illustrated' (now MM&FF) when Tony DeFeo, a staff writer and shade-tree mechanic bought a brand new 1987 Mustang LX hatchback, 5.0/5-speed, 3.08 rear with no options (even a 'radio delete') and after a bunch of runs at Englishtown (on a closed track) in mid-winter managed a 13.7 (and better) on the crappy Gatorbacks that came on the 'Stang. Whoa! Mid-to-high 13's in an almost totally stock (advanced timing, no air filter) 5.0 Mustang with about 600 miles on it? For - at the time - a cheap $10,000.? Sign me up! Well, it actually took a few years for me to abandon the Chevy and in that period I saw my friend's rebuilt 1975 Camaro 350 that ran mid-14's (like mine) take every inch of a quarter-mile to just...just...nose out a new 1988 Mustang 5.0 that had him to the very end of the track. In the meantime, I upgraded my Camaro a bit (better exhaust, intake) but my heart wasn't in it and in late '89, I decided to buy a new 5.0.

I waited until late winter because I live in the northeast and didn't want to break in my new Mustang on ice and snow covered roads, as I had no 'winter beater' to fall back on, then. I just used my wife's car when it snowed or got nasty. Long story short: My Strawberry Red Metallic 1990 Mustang LX hatchback was delivered in late March, 1990. It had the 5.0 engine, of course, the Borg-Warner 5-speed and the 'optional' 3.08 rear axle ratio. I ordered it with A/C and all the goodies except the high-end stereo as I wasn't into tunes that didn't come from my engine and tailpipes. This was a luxury car to me as the Camaro had no A/C or power anything except steering and brakes. It had the factory AM radio (a joke) and a rear window defroster fan - and that was it. It also had a four-barrel carb and no fifth gear.

I sold the old Camaro (for too low a price) to make the DP on the 'Stang, which cost me $13,600. plus tax. Since then I've had many a race with the Mustang and have enjoyed every minute of owning it. It's had too few problems to mention over 14 years and is a very well-made car, in my opinion. I've had many a race and won some, lost some, as we all do. With 124,000 miles on it I don't race much anymore out of regard for the car's age and mileage and the fact that I hope to eventually sell it for a good price and don't want to blow it up at this late date after so many good years with it. It's been owned exclusively by me (a actual grown-up) and has never been hit or really abused. It was a tough move to leave the bow-tie behind as I had numerous Chevys over the years but I wouldn't look back, now. I'm a Mustang guy and always will be, I guess.