I'm playing "good idea, bad idea" again:hick:. I've found a couple of nice 5.0 Mustang 'verts for sale that seem like they would make good DDs. The only problem I have is that I'm not sure a 'vert would be a good DD in the snow belt. Thoughts?
Why am I considering a Fox Mustang as a DD with no qualms but I couldn't DD a Fox T-bird/Cougar or Mark VII? Well those cars are hard to find in nice shape and I don't want to ruin a nice one by driving it in the snow/salt. I could care less if I did that to a Fox Mustang. Why? There are thousands of Fox Mustangs that are or will be preserved and they are not hard to find in nice shape. Who cares if one is a DD and gets attacked by salt. It's just a Fox Mustang;). Fox T-birds/Cougars and Mark VIIs are nice cars, are hard to find not beat to hell, and should be saved.
I used to have an 81 Mustang with a 302 when I lived in upstate NY. I had studded snow tires on it and kept the hatch loaded with sand bags just to be able to move down the road. A vert might be a little better because it's heavier, but I wouldn't recommend a Mustang (especially a 5.0) as a winter driver for anyone who has to drive in snow and ice. I grew up in northern WI and never had a problem with rear wheel drive V-8 cars up there. (Thought I'd throw that in there, before I get the "you have to know how to drive in the snow" comments since I live in VA now)
I plan to daily drive a 5.0 vert starting next spring...gonna go for it, just found out tonight the title is clean, clear, and in the name of the guy who wants to sell it to me.
Man, I need another building for all the vehicles I will have in a coupla-3 months lol
I don't think you'll like all the problems that come with having a convertible uni-body. Other then that, its just like your bird, but alittle bit smaller. If you have decent tires you'll be fine.
I wouldn't get a convertible to drive every day, the trunks are tiny. I'd be looking for a hatchback.
I dont understand why people want a nice car for a DD if you live in the snowy area. Why beat up a nice car, the salt is going to rust it out and you might run off the road or slide into something or someone. Why not get a beater, like a pick up or a FWD import.
In my case: because the price is right, the title is clear, it has a 302 (not efi, car was a 2.3, now has a carbed HO 302) but I've seen it, heard it run, and it's not a hack job.
plus it's not in any better shape than my tbird, there's millions of stang verts on the road, and..i don't plan on driving it in the winter, I have a 4x4 truck for that.
I'm tired of not having a fun car, a ford car to drive to work everyday, when it's nice.
The ONLY downside to this car is that it needs a new top. And an efi 5.0. And a 5 speed. And etc....good thing is, I have most of what I need to bring the drivetrain/suspension/brakes to 5.0LX/GT standards..it's a '93, not a show car, but it will be fun.
I tried to drive a 5.0 86 Mustang through one New England winter , It was great as long as I didnt want to go anywhere,
It was a notchback not a hatch or convertable, I had studded snows in the rear, skinny all seasons in the front and 150 lbs of speedi-dri in the trunk and it still wouldn't go anywhere , But my 84 Turbo coupe was one of the best rear wheel drive snow vehicles I ever had.
I would not recommend a mustang for the snow .
eesh, our cars are scary enough in the wet/snow. My old '85 is the only CAR that I've ever owned that caused me to lose control in hard rain. Take the same this time, with less rear weight and more power and less weight overall. Don't think so. I would have considered an SN 95 or a 99-2K4, but I don't fit very well in those. An older foxbody is good if you're on the tall side, they have the most legroom before 2K5 if I'm not mistaken. Before I bought my MN-12 in 2k2 I was looking at a 98 GT and an extremely low miles Monte SS. The 98GT had "fitment" problems and the Monte SS was too nice to use as a daily. The MN-12 wasn't too much better on legroom until I found out that the front seats can be moved back an additional inch on the track, after that mod the car was perfect. Believe it or not, I've driven every single foxbody platform (even the LTD) except for a mustang, in fact I've only been in one my entire life and I was the passenger. I sat in the front seat of one that I was considering getting and wasn't too delighted with it.
The only upside I see to this is that you'll be paying 4cyl insurance rates for the car. Fox Stangs make shiznitty daily drivers and the vert factor makes it worse. Not to mention the carb setup. Just break down and buy a MKVII
Why are Fox Mustangs bad DDs? I can't imagine driving it in the snow is that bad. I drive a MN-12 T-bird in the snow and I've gotten stuck once, when I tried to pull out of a parking spot after 12" of snow fell overnight. Most cars would get stuck in that. MN-12s are considered to be some of the worst cars to drive in the snow and I manage it fine. I go all over in the snow with it. The thing has an open 3.27, no abs, and no traction control.
What I'm wondering about with the 'vert is how weather tight it would be. I'm more concerned that it will leak like a sieve and/or be drafty than how it drives in the snow.
I've never had a problem driving any car, van, or truck I ever owned in snow.... You just have to learn to drive in it, that's all.
Honestly.....My vert is waterproof in rain with 50 mph wind, I don't see why a stang wouldn't be weatherproof . (as long as the top doesn't have holes). My step-mom had a fox stang in the 80s.... She never had a problem in Buffalo snow.
I can only speak from my experience .....the car was too powerful and too light in the rear to be driven in New England snow storms , I have no idea what the terrain in Chicago is like but it was kinda hilly where I lived ...flat roads with a few inches were not a problem but so much as any hint of an incline would cause it to just spin and spin.
" Not getting stuck" in my opinion is not a great bench mark for how well a car is in the snow and the "you need to know how to drive in it" I think is BS too, I drove through 18 winters in Mass ..some vehicles are decent in the snow and others not so much .
I]never had a problem at all in any wrong wheel drive cars in the snow ever . a Taurus makes a great winter car IMHO
You know what, I spun out the other day in a light rain while driving my 88 crown vic wagon. That car is neither light, nor powerful. Its basically on par with a 84-87 v-6 cat/bird. I was flipping a u-turn and tried to shoot a gap I shouldn't have. I have also not had any problems with the same car in the snow because I know it is going to be slick and plan for it. The car has good stock sized tires. I have gotten it stuck once, where I was able to drive it out. That was in about 12 inches of snow.
My bird I have driven the winter for 2 years with both good and bad tires, and I have not gotten it stuck. As long as you know what your doing in the snow its not a big deal. If its slick out, don't drive. Wait till the plows are out. I don't plan my day around how much snow there is, but if I don't have to drive I don't.
I have had way more problems with FWD cars then any other in the snow.
You know what, I spun out the other day in a light rain while driving my 88 crown vic wagon. That car is neither light, nor powerful. Its basically on par with a 84-87 v-6 cat/bird. I was flipping a u-turn and tried to shoot a gap I shouldn't have. I have also not had any problems with the same car in the snow because I know it is going to be slick and plan for it. The car has good stock sized tires. I have gotten it stuck once, where I was able to drive it out. That was in about 12 inches of snow.
My bird I have driven the winter for 2 years with both good and bad tires, and I have not gotten it stuck. As long as you know what your doing in the snow its not a big deal. If its slick out, don't drive. Wait till the plows are out. I don't plan my day around how much snow there is, but if I don't have to drive I don't.
I have had way more problems with FWD cars then any other in the snow.
Well I guess you are just a better driver than I ever was . Like I said, I was speaking of my experience
How do you get "stuck" but are able to drive out? I always thought stuck was "stuck and can't drive out". Just wondering......
I count being stuck as not being able to drive through it. I slid into a snow bank while parked on ice and had to do a forward/reverse thing a couple of times. Less then 5 minutes.
As long as the top is good I may be looking at a 'vert.
I'm used to driving trucks in snow, ice, what-have-you. A Mustang, Thunderbird, Volvo, Volkswagen, or even a corncob up your ass is miles better than a truck in slick.
If you drive like you have brains, and don't take chances....The ONLY time I ever had a Thunderbird stuck was when I was going home, gravel road was soft ie; not frozen, with a 1/2" layer of sleet...I met a truck on this road, got too close to the ditch, slid clean off in it. Luckily, the guy saw me drift off, and stopped, came back and pulled me out.
I'd rather drive in fresh powder snow than any ice. At least you can get some grip if you ease the gas, and have decent tires.
I learned how to drive in '92 and '93 during the winter in a Jeep CJ7. 35" tires, it did have power steering and brakes, and that was it for amenities. Having grown up without getting used to ABS, I'm very cautious when the roads are bad.
Of course, in Missouri, we don't get Lake Effect snow like Lou does...12" would probably bring people to a panic here, lol
I'd drive a stang vert unless the roads were slick enough to have trouble walking on...then it's 4x4 time, and I'm only driving on gravel.
Also, if it has a trac-loc, it's going to be even more squirrely on snow and ice...
Being stuck is having a capable 4x4 with great tires stuck in a snow drift deeper than I am tall (over 6'). Everything else you can drive yourself out of is merely interesting, lol.
If it didn't involve another vehicle and a chain, you just got slowed down some, I reckon.
By the way, that 6'+ snowdrift I mentioned....took a massive Case tractor to jerk me out of....funny seeing a perfect imprint of a Ford truck front-end imbedded into the snow, too. I tried to pull it with 2 of my dad's tractors, they both just spun. I'm lucky it didn't bust out the grille and lights, etc, but I was barely going 10-15mph, so I got lucky, and was only 1/4 mile from my place, anyhow.
Dont kill a fox mustang. You dont want to drive a fox convertible in the winter anyway. Dont hold heat very well, squeaks, rattles, wind noise. I'd get a cheap 4x4 truck or something. No sense in killing a mustang just because there is a lot of them to choose from. But I guess where you live the chances of finding a 20 year old car that is not rusted already is pretty slim. I mean I'm sure you can but it wont be cheap and that would just be retarded to buy a non rusted car to DD.
wow, my experiance with an 84 aerobortion mustang vert daily driver is completely different than all of yours. i feel sorry for you guys. i dont know about a v8 one mine was a 3.8 with c5 trans.
i rocked my beater vert every winter for the 3/4 years i had it and even in ten inches of snow had no issues with driving around in it in the city streets. no snow tires or balast required. way better driving around in the snow than my 91 fourbanger stang for some reason.
i honestly hoped the snow wouldve torn the bumper off of is sometimes but it never happened.
the top was shrunk by the snow sitting on it but kept the weather out untill i broke the rear window putting the top down. i hated being creative about trying to keep the elements out.
never had any complaints about the heat with the top down in january other than the heat only came out the windshield vents, still cozy though.
other than being rotted out from the rear control arms back when i got it it held up fine rustwise driving thru the snow and salt.
if the one your looking at aint mint screw it and drive behind a saltruck all winter with the top down and laugh at everyone shivering next to you on the highway as youll be the only one looking cool doing it.
I say go sn-95 if you're gonna do it. But thats just my opinion:dunno:
Get a Vette, its aluminum and fiberglass, NO RUST! lol