Fox Body Mustang Diet 101: Smoke & Donuts

By Patrick Morgan - August 28, 2018

Add a donut to part of your Fox Body Mustang’s regular balanced diet. In fact, go ahead and add a LOT of them.

Do you know what we like the most about the Fox Body Mustang? We like its simple and honest approach to performance. Take any Fox equipped with a 5.0 and the tread on your rear tires will instantly turn into your arch nemesis, requiring elimination at once.

Although there were a few engines available over the years, it was in 1986 when the 5.0 received the venerable 8.8 Ford rear end. Already a fun car, that driveline combo turned many parking lots into playgrounds, just like this one in the above video from YouTuber UndisputedMRecabo.

Compared to newer Mustangs which have an ample amount of horsepower, sticky tires and great setup, the Fox Body can be seen more as a car of daydreams. With such average performance from the factory, the Fox is easy to upgrade and build into any way you want. You could turn it into a drag car with no interior and not feel bad about spending much money. You could leave it comfortable, but turn it into a track car and attack lateral g-forces all day long. What it is, is a car that invites you to spin a wrench and modify it. Especially to upgrade the emissions-choked 302.

In many ways, the Fox is a lot like this video. Even untouched from the factory, the 5.0 is extremely simple, with no frills, but it gets the point across perfectly. There’s no settings to adjust or traction control to turn off, either. Just find a vacant lot, pin the throttle and have fun. A relief in the days of overwhelming electronics. And if you were wondering, no tires were hurt during the filming of this video. Just kidding, two were. And there’s probably many more roasted rear tires to come.