1988 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 Hatchback 1988 LX 5.0 Used 5L V8 16V Automatic RWD

1988 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 Description

The Fox Mustangs are more than 40 years old now. I'm going to let that sink in while you look at how clean this 1988 Mustang LX 5.0 hatchback still looks. Basic black paint gives it a low-profile and serious attitude, while a bone-stock 5.0 provides plenty of old-school V8 motivation. Affordable fun, that has always been the Mustang's mantra, and this very reasonably-priced hatchback delivers. The clean lines made the LX somewhat of a sleeper in the early '90s, but everyone knew to look for the 5.0 badges and the twin polished tailpipes out back. Today these are still able to slip under the radar and the clean, unadorned lines of the LX look as good as ever. The black paint job was done sometime in the 90s and could almost pass for original today, showing some age and wear commensurate with its age and mileage. There are no indications that this car has been raced, wrecked, or otherwise mistreated, with doors that close easily and great panel alignment throughout, reinforcing the idea that someone took pretty good care of this car. The infamous '5.0' badges remain in place on the front fenders, so it's got the right look, and they kept the stock bumpers and rear spoiler, suggesting that the guy who owned this car understood restraint. If you're looking for a car to upgrade or turn into something amazing, this is what you want to start with. And even as it sits, it's probably more fun per dollar than anything else we've got! The gray interior is in fair shape, offering stock bucket seats covered in Ford's ubiquitous mouse fur upholstery. The driver's seat has a pretty big tear and some discoloration, but the other seats are in good shape and seat covers are cheap and easy to get. The door panels, center console, and the rear seat are all quite nice, and even the headliner remains taut. Ford's fat steering wheel feels great in your hands, and the relatively upright greenhouse makes the Mustang very user-friendly in traffic, where it's the ultimate point-and-shoot machine. The original gauges are all fully operational and the A/C blows ice cold, so this is a car you can still drive every day. Other options include power windows and locks, cruise control, AM/FM/cassette stereo, and power mirrors, making this a fairly loaded LX. With rear seats that fold down, cargo capacity is impressive and the trunk area shows only minor wear despite being 30 years old. Even the original cargo cover is still in great shape! The venerable 5.0-liter V8 under the hood was the go-to powerplant in the 1990s and it remains fast and fun today. The hard part is finding one that hasn't been modified, raced, and abused, but this one appears to be almost entirely stock. Still wearing its original intake manifold, throttle body, and even the stock valve covers, it's one of those untouched cars that just seems to run and drive better than most. On paper, 225 horsepower and 300 pounds of torque don't sound amazing to us today, but in reality, this is still a very fast car that has few peers on the street. Thanks to the quick-shifting AOD 4-speed automatic transmission, it snaps through traffic with real authority, and the original 8.8-inch rear end has 2.73 gears inside so it's awesome on the highway. 15-inch "phone dial" aluminum wheels look great on the Fox body and carry 225/60/15 performance radials that give it the right Mustang stance. Still fast and still fun after all these years, this is the kind of 5.0 Mustang that turned us all into car guys. Call today!