Showcase: 1989 Mustang LX Notchback with 27,000 miles

[Invective]

My wife and I briefly owned an 1987 Mustang LX Notchback 2.3L with auto transmission - very pleased with it except we needed a larger car.

Back in 1989, there were more body styles of the Ford Mustang that there are today. By far, the most common was the fastback Fox-body Mustang that we are all familiar with. Ford also offered the Fox-body Mustang in a convertible body style. One of the body styles that is typically seen only in police cars was the notchback Mustang that is more of a coupe body style with a functional trunk separated from the interior cabin.

https://i.imgur.com/b99l31Ml.jpg

https://fordauthority.com/2020/03/1989-ford-mustang-lx-5-0-notch-has-27000-original-miles/

[cobra3073]

Essentially a Ford big block fan, I own a heavily modified 1973 Mach 1 (currently with a 545 {429 SCJ, with a 545 dynoed at 706hp/736tq}) that I originally ordered as a specially 351CJ/C6 in late 1972 while I was stationed overseas. This was my dual purpose (street/strip) car until I returned to the States in 1985. I subsequently got married and the First Lady made the observation in 1988 that the '73 was a bit "much" for driving every day. Prior to leaving the Philippines, I had replaced the 351CJ with a 1969 428SCJ motor out of a Shelby that I modified with a Sig Erson cam with solid lifters. I had picked the 428 motor up for the equivalent of $100. This was during the time of the gas crisis and many Filipinos who owned "pony cars" were replacing their big American engines with Toyota motors.

Anyway, we decided to get a new Mustang and went down to a dealership in Maryland where we purchased a new 1989 LX with the 5.0 engine. I remember the first day I "put my foot" into it. Man, what a "top in" rush! Needlessly, to say, that car became our every day driver. I say "our" because as I was still in the military, the First Lady drove it for many years as I traveled all over the country during inspections of military installations and operations with the AF IG, while she stayed at home.

We have pictures of our now 30 year old daughter in her car seat the day we brought her home from the hospital in the car. As the kids came, the First Lady wanted bigger cars to ferry them around for their activities, so every two years, I purchased a Lincoln Towncar for her until the Lincoln MKTs came out in 2010. Since then I have gotten her a new Lincoln MKT every 2-3 years.

Anyway, we still have the '89 LX. I gave it to my daughter on her 16th birthday but she has put less than 100 miles on it as she went off to Harvard at 16 and upon her graduation took a job at Harvard. Living in an apartment in Boston, she claims she has no place to park it and don't REALLY need a car up there. So, the LX is taking up space, along with the '73 mach 1, my '73 Grande (472/C6) and a '69 mach 1 (which now holds the 428SCJ motor that I ran in the '73 Mach 1) in my garage.

While I am basically a hotrodder, I have promised my daughter I will not modify "her" car. That having been said, I did pick up a block from PAW when they were selling the old 5 liter blocks cheap in anticipation of doing "something" to the motor in the 5.0. While my other three mustangs are heavily modified, the LX has never even had a valve cover off. With over 225,000 miles on it, it still exhibits no problems! I think it is in such good shape because I always kept up with the routine maintenance and most of the miles were "highway." I did have to have the transmission replaced by the dealer twice within the first year while the car was still under warranty.

Note: My daily driver now is the 2003 Marauder and I am in the process of learning more about the modular motors...am putting a "backup" motor together utilizing a 1999 teksid block, 2003 Cobra crank and 2003 Cobra heads. While I have ALWAYS been an NA guy, I am thinking of using a power adder for this backup motor.

~BT