Hey, it’s fast and looks good – what else could you want? Hopefully, not handling or braking ability. True to muscle car tradition, the last variation of the Fox platform Mustangs were designed to go fast in straight lines and to turn heads, not to rule the circle track.

I have owned my ’90 Mustang GT for over four years, tearing up nearly sixty thousand miles of asphalt in that time. Driving this car for an average of an hour each and every day for the past couple of years has given me more of a feel for how it performs than I probably ever wanted to know.

When I think of my car, mixed feelings swell in my head. While I love the fact that even after 115,000 miles, it is still faster than ninety percent of the cars on the road – merging is definitely not a problem with the 5.0 engine. However, as more and more components begin to fail, my thoughts soon turn to finding a replacement.

It is unfortunate that stricter emissions standards buried the five liter, for it is a great motor. At a rated 225 horses, with an astounding 300 foot pounds of torque (almost that of a Corvette of the same year), it can hold its own against almost any small block V8. The ride and idle, even after all these miles, is very smooth – especially when compared to the choppy, “sawing” of high-revving four cylinders. Durability permeates that genes of all 302 cubic inches, even with 115,000 miles, my engine does not burn oil or coolant – yet; one of my friends owns a ’85 Mustang that had a 5.0 with over 150,000 miles on it that did not start burning oil until the mid 120,000’s. I have also heard that many police departments kept their five-liter Mustangs a longer than they normally would because of their durability.

The five-liter motor does have some drawbacks though. It has earned the label of a dirty motor by promoting the formation of sludge in oil passages; this is akin to arterial plaque in a person’s veins and can lead to blocked pathways that can result in poor lubrication. However, I have never personally heard of engine failure in a Mustang due to blocked oil passageways, I assume that other parts of the motor would fail before sludge became a prime concern. If you do rebuild a 5.0 motor, you would be wise to clean as many of the passages out the best you can though. The 302 cubic inches of the V8 tend to fill the engine chamber, which helps contribute to some scraped knuckles when working on those hard to reach parts – like the frustratingly difficult spark plug closest to the fire wall on the passenger side. Lastly, the block, while considered small for a V8, is not aluminum (a plus for durability), and is quite heavy; if you live in a climate where the winters become slick, that extra weight in the front can lead to some scary, to put it mildly, sliding.

The only problem I have ever had with the engine itself, is that the valve cover gaskets blew out; a common problem with these engines. This is not too difficult to fix, but it is a waste of an afternoon. If you have to replace yours, you may want to also replace the rockers with lower friction roller rockers, which supposedly give a little more horsepower by making your engine more efficient.

The best thing you can do for this motor, and any motor in fact, is use synthetic oil, which lasts much longer than conventional oil. I have written an epinion specifically about synthetic oils (Why Fake is Better than Real in the general vehicle maintenance section), so I will not stray off topic too much here, but synthetic oils reduce the amount of friction in your engine and do a much better job at protecting the motor from heat than conventional oils do. One thing about the oil pan attached the five-liter, it has two drain plugs which making a complete drain a real pain. Even Mustang magazines recommend taking these cars to an oil change place because it is hard to jack up the car and provide adequate, and safe, clearance to both drains. This can be remedied by installing an aftermarket oil pan – if you do that, try to get a bigger pan with a windage tray that reduces friction by prevent oil from hitting the crank shaft – just make sure you have enough clearance over speedbumps and such.

The engine of the 1987 and 1988 Ford Mustang GTs and LX 5.0s, is a Speed Density motor, which is basically how the car’s computer determines how to adjust the engine to environment it finds itself in. In 1989, Ford switched over to a more detailed system, called Mass Air, which used a special sensor located along the intake tube. Stock for stock, the Speed Density cars tend to be slightly faster than a similar Mass Air car; unfortunately, the Speed Density computers do not handle upgrades very well and need to be converted to Mass Air before
Big upgrades, such as new heads or a cam can be installed.

Most of the work I have had to do on the car has been with the items which receive the most wear and tear. I have replaced the battery and altenator twice, once shortly after I bought the car and then a couple of months ago. Of course, I replaced the rather spongy stock shocks when they started to leak; I recommend using a performance shock (though not a drag shock like a 90/10) to help compensate for the degradation of the bushings. The fuel pump, messily located in the fuel tank, had to be replaced. Not to long ago I was forced to replace both the rack and pinion and power steering pump, both of which lasted twelve years and 114,000 miles – not bad, but still a pricey repair. Also, the stock radiator had to be replaced when the fins began to unravel.

Upgrading to a three core radiator is a wise thing too do unless you live somewhere where the temperature does not rise above sixty. While tempting, a four core radiator would probably be too big and would make reattaching the fan clutch tricky to say the least. The fan clutch is a trouble spot, as it tends to fail unbeknown to the owner of the car. The effect of the failure cannot easily be seen, but is felt by the water pump which burns itself out trying to spin the disabled fan. This is probably what killed my water pump, and if you buy a used five-liter, you would be very wise indeed to replace the fan clutch (easy- only four bolts and the removal of the fan shroud) as soon as you get the car, no matter what the previous owner says was replaced. There is supposedly a lower friction fan clutch that is a little more pricey but it supposed to help keep your mustang cooler.

I have had a very good experience with the AOD automatic transmission in my 1990 Mustang GT. Even after all these miles it still shifts smoothly. This is in no doubt, partly because I pamper the transmission and I have the fluid regularly changed. With this type of transmission, it is important to pay the extra money and have the torque converter drained when the transmission fluid is changed. Also, it is wise to have the filter replaced every time the fluid is drained and to use synthetic transmission fluid, for the same reasons as using synthetic oil. A word to the speed demons: manual transmissions are nearly always, unless the driver has no clue what he is doing, faster than automatics.

Compared to a true sports car, an ’90 Mustang GT cannot handle. That’s not to say that you cannot out-maneuver a lot of other cars, though. The last generation of Fox Mustangs (‘87-93) was designed before handling was a priority and muscle cars were never really made to turn really fast - just to scoot really fast. Given the sheer amount of upgrades available in the aftermarket, it is easy, though sometimes not very inexpensive, to turn a convention 5.0 Mustang into a good road racer. Adding insult to injury, the rubber bushings that help stabilize the suspension components tend to wear and shrink with age, which results in even worse handling capability. I have noticed an average 5 mph decrease in speed I can take turns and off-ramps. Fortunately, as I get older I find less need to take a turn at forty miles an hour

Traction is a big problem with these Mustangs. While giving the car plenty of kick, the rear wheel drive does not like to stay planted when the road is moist, let alone slick. With the first snow fall of the season blanketing Toledo just a few days ago, I began suddenly reacquainted with the lackluster traction. Climbing a snow glazed, uphill on-ramp, I could only go 15 mph before the back end would began to sway. Of course, this can be helped by adding some weight to the back of the car, as the hatch itself has very little weight. Also, adding some traction bars or some better lower control arms in the rear can help keep the tires planted. Combine the heavy front that likes to slide with a light rear that loves to sway and you get a very interesting car to drive in the snow. Good all-weather tires are a must! I recommend the Falkens with the water channel… tey have kept my car on the road better than anything else I’ve tried.

Braking, while firm and responsive, could be made much better. The drum brakes in the rear of the 1987’s – 1993’s are not exactly at the forefront of automotive technology and leave much to be desired; since they are only a responsible for a third of the braking, they can be over looked though. The front brakes, while of ample size, sometimes feel a little weak after long periods of driving and tend to shed brake dust more than a dog sheds fur. To help the brakes keep cool under prolonged use, it is best to switch to high-temp brake fluid. While there are brake upgrades available in the aftermarket, they are quite pricey and are probably only to be considered by the serious enthusiast, though, shouldn’t we all be serious about safety?

About safety: the 1990 Ford Mustang GT does come with an air bag, which make the steering wheel a bit clunky and cumbersome. The self-adjusting seat belts in my Mustang are firm and quick to react to shifts in body weight. However, the driver side seat belt retractor likes to break, and in a spat of engineering foolishness, Ford made the seat belt and the retractor a non-serviceable, one piece unit; every time the retractor brakes, the seat belt needs to be replaced as well.

By default, the GT Mustangs came with nearly every option. Power everything (including lumbar supports in the seats), lighted mirrors and a six-speaker premium sound system. While the sound system is a bit dated and nothing like the Mach sound system found in today’s Mustangs, it is passable, but anyone remotely serious about their music will want to upgrade. The side-view mirrors have a power adjust, located in the center column, but the motors tend to fail over time. The power window switches also tend to fail, and I have replaced all of mine, ditto the power lock buttons.

I have found that the controls on the dash to be placed in a logical manner. For example the head and fog light switches are located one on top of the other of the left side of the gauge pod, the hazards and defrosters on the right. Oddly, the high beams are located on a steering column stalk with the wind shield wipers, this results in sometimes activating your wipers when trying to flash your brights, and vice versa. The fuses are all located in an easy to access panel on the left of the steering wheel. The climate control knobs are located in the center, within easy reach of both the driver and the passenger – which can be annoying when the passenger begins to play with your settings. I do prefer the knobs of the 1987-1993 climate controls to those of the older sliders, which would often get stuck are become limited to where they would slide to. One word of warning, the metal pole that runs for the temperature adjustment knob to the heater core (another pricey part to replace) can loosen from its holder, which requires fiddling around behind the dash nearly upside down to see what’s behind the glove compartment.

While most people do not like the GT’s style, with the extravagant ground effects and the “cheese-grater” rear tail lights, I believe that it adds a touch of distinction to what is supposed to be the flagship of the Mustangs of the time. This distinction comes at a price, for all those ground effects are quite heavy, even though they are polyurethane, and a 5.0 LX (same motor, no ground effects) will run the quarter mile quicker than a plastic-laden GT. Also, the rear ground effect on the GT hangs down, to cover the exhaust pipes, and can act like a parachute, increasing the wind resistance and thus dragging down the car.

It is hard to find a Mustang of this time period that has not been customized, and mine is no exception. The reason behind this is that a seemingly whole industry has sprung up to produce a multitude of products that can make your Mustang go faster, brake quicker, and handle better. This is a blessing, for it means plentiful, inexpensive, for the most part, parts can be readily found to tweak one of these cars into the beast you want it to be.

While cursed with some flaws, the 1990 Mustang GT is a great daily driver. It is reliable transportation (however, it can be cramped for more than two adults) that can hold its own against most cars. While the handling falls far short of spectacular, it is passable. The ride, with all but the most extreme racing shocks, is slightly bumpy, but not teeth-breakingly so. Despite sitting low to the ground, the driver and front passenger get an excellent view of the road ahead and to the side. However, Mustangs of this body style have a blind spot – the passenger side rear, which is dangerous enough that it influences how and where I park my car.

The hatchback, which all GTs of this era are, gives ample room to haul some light cargo. I have hauled one week’s worth of luggage for my girlfriend and I in it. I have also hauled some big, old computers in it and recently, a floor sander. There is definitely room for all but the largest families’ groceries in there. Also, the rear passenger seats fold down, giving even more space, and the look of a European sports coupe.

With current prices between $3000 and $5000, Mustang GTs of this year are a great value, if you are willing to put up with the problems an aging car has. Despite the durability of the engine, there are quite a few parts that will need to be repaired, but this is the same for any twelve year old car. However, any weekend racer or anyone who wants a sharp car to cruise around in will need not to look any further than any 1990 Mustang GT.
Amount Paid (US$): 5500
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1990
Model and Options: GT Hatchback- Automatic