Scarlet95

Hi! I'm looking into buying my first mustang, and I need some information. I'm not familiar with the mid-year mustangs.

The car I'm looking at buying is a 1985 Mustang GT hatchback with a 5-speed manual transmission. I'm unsure about the engine size. In my excitement over test driving, I neglected to look. The car is canyon red in color with black trim and stripes. The exterior is in pristine condition. The interior is tan with orange and blue trim on the seats. It has cruise control, but someone ripped off the radio. It idles like new and drives like a champ. No strange knocks or noises. I don't have any pictures to post..
The asking price is $2500.

Is this a reasonable price? I'm not sure what they are going for. Also, is 1985 considered a "good" year? I know some years are more reliable than others.. Any other information you might have for me would be great!

Thanks!

mustangGT86_05

85 was the last year of the carbs, which is suppose to be a pretty good engine as far as the carbed ones go. Based off your description, the price is very reasonable. Also, unless the engine has been swapped all GT's came with a 5.0. The only thing I personally would look to change is the interior, I know they weren't too pretty but its all your preference.

Scarlet95

Yeah, the interior is pretty gross.. It's in great condition, I'm just not a fan of the colors. Thanks so much for the info!

mustangGT86_05

No problem, there are tons of aftermarket options for these cars too, I was surprised to see all the options after buying mine. Best things to do first if you do get the car is install frame ties and do torque box reinforcements. Have someone weld in the frame ties, as for the torque box reinforcements if you plan to do them yourself make sure you have a nice set of drill bits. I just did them myself and its a chore.

Scarlet95

I'm not sure how much I'm going to put into this car, aftermarket wise. This will be my first "sport" car of any kind. I've only owned a Ford Focus SE and my Grand Prix SE. So, even the all-stock speed glues me to the seat!

mustangGT86_05

Understandable, but at some point you'll probably want more lol the 2 I mentioned help protect the integrity of the car

van-swink85

My 85 had 254xxx miles on it before i sold it and i never left a parking lot without gettin sideways, and it made a 10 hour drive to its new home with no problems, i liked that car more than my current mustang

Foureyed

Sounds good to me, as long as the drive-train and body are solid. Putting the interior etc together its just the fun part of the project.