Find of the Week: Track-Ready One-Owner 1989 Ford Mustang LX

The Find of the Week this week is a car that does fast a little bit different than most. This one-owner modern classic is the result of a 30 year project. It's an exceptional, highly modified 1989 Ford Mustang LX that the owner, sadly, didn't live to see completed.

The owner of this car was a life-long enthusiast. He spent much of his career with Mercedes-Benz training sales, service, and the parts departments of dealerships nationwide. If you had a problem or a question about your SLR McLaren of Maybach, he's the guy you called. He was also an AMG product specialist. He also had an affinity for fast Fords.

This Mustang was purchased new by the owner in 1989 in Pickering. Like many Mustangs of this generation, the car was bound to be modified and driven hard. But unlike most of this era of Mustang, this one wasn't destined for the drag strip. Instead, it was destined for the road course.

The third-generation Mustang is known as the Fox body. That's because it was based on Ford's Fox platform that underpinned a wide range of sedans and coupes at the time. It was a massive change from the largely shunned Mustang II, and enthusiasts flocked to the cars. Affordable, light, V8-powered, and easily modified. The cars were raced by factory teams, and by thousands of owners. This 1989 model is a late-year car, since the model ran from 1979 to 1993. It has the latest facelift with more modern aero headlights but since it's an LX it doesn't have the body kit of the GT. It does, however, get the GT's V8.

From the factory, this car was specced in Scarlet Red with a charcoal stripe, medium grey cloth interior and a hatch, radio delete, trac-lok rear differential, and a five-speed manual.

Since then, things have been changed. Massively. According to the seller, this car has spent time with some of Ontario's biggest names in modified cars: DaSilva Racing, Legendary Motorcar, Engineered Automotive, and others. The modifications started with a drop-in air filter and then spiraled from there.

Here's a recap of the highlights:

The 5.0L V8 has been completely rebuilt with Edelbrock upper and lower intakes, roller rockers, a Ford Performance camshaft, BBK cold-air intake, and has recently had the rear main seal, crank seal, and oil pan gaskets replaced. It's put 289 hp to the wheels on a dyno, up from the factory 225 hp to the crank.

Gone is the factory five-speed gearbox, replaced with a Tremec T56 six-speed taken from a Dodge Viper.

Underneath, the car has Bilstein coilovers with freshly rebuilt dampers inside Hyper coil springs. The K-member, tie rods, and rear torque-arm are from Mustang handling gurus Maximum Motorsports. There's a new factory steering rack, and stiffening up the notoriously flexible Fox unibody are a BBK front strut tower brace and welded in sub-frame connectors.

Stopping is handled by six-piston Baer front callipers fitted with floating rotors. There are Willwood four-pots in the back, with stainless lines all around and a brake bias proportioning valve.

A six-point cage is in place to keep the driver safe on track, with racing bucket seats and five-point harnesses. That radio delete has been undeleted with the addition of an Alpine head unit, and as another nod to safety, there is a Fuel Safe fuel cell and bladder. As part of preparing this car for sale, the bladder has been replaced.

Finally, the wheels are custom three-piece BBS motorsports parts wearing Bridgestone Potenza tires.

Last year, the car was left with Pfaff Tuning in Woodbridge, ON. The intent was to have all of the modifications completed, the car serviced, and have it ready to go. The service advisor had a 1989 Mustang as his own first car, so the owner left it in good hands.

Sadly, the original owner passed before the car was complete, but instructions were left to complete the car. Now, with a host of modifications, as well as documentation that includes the original bill of sale, key tags, and every receipt for the work done on the car, it's ready for its second owner.

The first owner's final wish for the car was to see it find a home with someone who would be equally devoted, not someone who was planning to flip it. So the dealer selling it on behalf of the estate is respecting those wishes. That means that if you're looking for an immaculate Mustang that's ready for a track day but might be too nice to actually take on the track, then this car, for sale in Woodbridge, ON, is exactly what you're looking for.

A lifelong racing passion project 6/26/2019 1:06:04 PM