Today being Christmas, the height of the gift-giving season, we’ll need to decide if this Nice Price or No Dice Mustang is a proper present or if its price makes you hope it comes with a return receipt.
Finding a nicely sorted 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TD for under six figures, as we did yesterday, may not be a big enough deal to be considered a Hallmark movie moment, but it was pretty sweet nonetheless. Our diesel wagon’s $8,700 asking price proved perfectly palatable to 60 percent of you, earning the car a Nice Price win in our vote.
It was once common practice in the auto industry to make model year changes each and every single year. The result was a fall tradition of people eagerly looking forward to “seeing what next year’s cars would look like.” Owing to the cost and the need to move development monies to emission control and safety improvements over style, by the 1980s, this tradition fell out of favor.
That’s not to say that all cars stayed the same year after year until a major overhaul took place every half-decade or so, and Ford’s Mustang was one model of car that saw significant improvement and styling updates with each new model year well into the 1990s.
This 1983 Ford Mustang LX convertible is a notable model and year for three major reasons. The grille is probably the least important but the most trivia-worthy of these. This model year saw a design change to the nose, giving the Mustang a narrower grille opening and, more importantly, a Ford Blue Oval badge in the middle of that opening. This was the first time any production Mustang had ever carried the blue badge, as earlier years went either brandless or were simply marked with FORD lettering.
Behind that grille is another notable update to debut this model year, which is the 3.8-liter Essex V6. Now, it should be noted that this was a clean sheet design named for the production plant in Essex, Ontario, with no connection to the smaller and older English Essex V6.
Oddly enough, for a fresh design, Ford went with a 90° Vee angle for the Essex rather than a more compatible 60°. This required a split-pin crank to operate smoothly. For its Mustang debut, the 3.8 breathed through a two-barrel carb, making 112 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. On this car, that’s mated to an automatic transmission, which could be either the older three-speed C4 or the newer four-cog AOD, depending on how it was optioned. The car is claimed to run and drive like new.
The last major change for the Mustang in 1983 was the reintroduction of the convertible model. This came after a nine-year hiatus, entirely skipping the prior Mustang II generation. These were built as a partnership between Ford, which did the major structural reengineering of the Fox platform, and Cars & Concepts in Brighton, Michigan, which did the top engineering and installation. Most of the convertibles built in 1983 were fitted with the 3.8/automatic drivetrain, making this car par for the course.
What’s unusual about this particular Mustang is its back story and resultant condition. According to the ad, this Mustang’s first owner enjoyed driving it for 24,000 miles before passing away in 1999. The car was bequeathed to the family, who used it only sparingly and kept it garaged most of the time. This has resulted in a car with just 25,181 miles on the clock and a near-showroom-fresh appearance.
That means it still has its original owner’s manual and tonneau, as well as its weird Cuisinart-style plastic hubcaps (boy, the ’80s were funky) covering each 14-inch wheel. The top is new, and the seller shows it raised, so we can see that it appears to be well-fitting. That matches well with the silver metallic paint and black vinyl interior, the latter looking amazing if ’80s-rental-car cheap.
The engine compartment is just as clean, and the 3.8 looks a bit lost there, meaning maintenance should be a breeze on the engine. Despite being a GLX, which should indicate that it’s reasonably fancy, the car lacks niceties like power windows and locks or cruise control. Like European Fords of the time, the horn is activated by pushing the turn signal stalk, not the steering wheel center.
A clean title and accident-free history are added incentives for this Mustang’s interest, making it a perfect contender for a very last-minute gift. That is, of course, if you all approve of the car’s $7,900 asking price.
What do you say? Does that seem like a deal for this old and well-preserved Mustang? Or do the milquetoast specs mean this won’t be sitting under a giant bow this holiday season?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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