At $25,000, Is This 1993 Ford Mustang LX Kind Of A Drag?
Today's Nice Price or No Dice Mustang has been built for the strip, but according to the seller, it is equally at home on the street. Let's see how homey this dragster's price makes us all feel.
It could be argued that the 1986 Nissan 300ZX we looked at yesterday represented the model line's "Fat Elvis" phase. Larger, heavier, and more ostentatious than earlier models, the 300ZX had evolved into more of a boulevardier than a corner-cutter. That's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Elvis could still belt 'em out during his later Rubenesque era. Our T-topped coupe went the extra mile in the transition to cruiser by offering an automatic transmission, further blunting any sporting aspirations but making for a calmer ride overall. That, and a very nice presentation, made the car's $5,800 asking price perfectly palatable for the vast majority of us, earning the Nissan a solid 87% Nice Price win.
Should that 300ZX have proven too tame for your tastes, perhaps today's Mustang will buck the trend.
Read more: You Can Buy One Of The Best Modern Sports Sedans For Less Than A Toyota Corolla
Listen, when it comes to rollercoasters, I prefer fast turns over long drops. I have a similar feeling when racing, as I would rather carve a few corners than just do ones-and-dones on either a quarter or eighth mile straight. That being said, I do enjoy drag racing as a spectator sport and particularly like the run-whatcha-brung racing involving cars that are modded for the track but are still legal to drive to that track. It's sort of like seeing Dave Bautista in a really cool suit.
This 1993 Ford Mustang LX Notch is an example of just such a car. Claimed by its seller as still having such niceties as power windows and working A/C, it's also said to bring 418 hp to the table and can bump that all the way up to 520 on a 100 shot of nitrous oxide.
Making all that happen is a 363 CID fuel-injected and naturally-aspirated V8. That's been built for both street and track, starting with a Dart block, and then into which a bunch of up-rated mechanical bits were poured. Feeding all that is a custom fuel delivery system starting with a tank under the trunk that the seller describes as a "work of art." The car will run on either race fuel or pump gas, making it a true Swiss Army Knife.
With NO2 on board, the rest of the mechanicals had better to be up to the task lest they get launched all over the track, making for a very bad day. To that end, this 'Stang has a built automatic with a pistol grip shifter and trans brake. Behind that is an 8.8-inch rear end with super short 4.11 gears connected to 33-spline axles. The wheels are 18x6 custom alloys in front and 15x10.5 in the back, and those are shod with new meats.
According to the ad, this all makes for a 10-second car. Or a 6.90 one on the shorter eighth-mile mini-me tracks. And that's without Mad-maxing it with the nitrous. For safety, there's the required battery cut-off switch and a roll cage in the cabin. That's been installed with swing-out sections, making egress a lot easier when not on the job. It also has a custom instrument cluster and a rear seat delete, meaning the kiddies will have to watch the car from the sidelines.
All of those mods appear to be well executed. In fact, the car overall seems to be in pretty good shape. The seller says that it's not a "show queen" but that it will get "tons of thumbs up" at car meets.
The black paint is original, and aside from the pinned cowl hood and extra hole in the front bumper, it looks appreciably stock. This being a '93, it has the later look with a cleaner nose, and smoother sides featuring quarter light glass that extends backward, covering where the earlier cars have faux vents that aped the look of the Mercedes 450 SLC. Another benefit is the better dash that was fitted to these later Foxbodies, although it this car's case, that's been carved up to fit the IP, shifter, and NO2 switchgear.
Other mods include a quick-release steering wheel and four-point racing harnesses for the two seats. The title is clean, the car is claimed to be totally rust-free, and the mileage is listed as 10K, although with so much done to it, what does that really mean?
To be certain, this Mustang is a niche vehicle. Despite the claim that it can be legally driven on the street, there are a lot of likely compromises in doing so. Fuel economy? Don't ask. Accidentally triggering the nitrous in the Krispy Kreme drive-thru? It could happen. Plus, the car has been denuded of its wipers, so rainy-day driving is out of the question. There's also the niggling question of whether this would be a better track-day car if it wasn't hindered by the need to be street-legal.
The biggest question of all is whether or not it's worth the $25,000 the seller is asking for this build. It's arguable that the car, as it sits, could not be replicated for such an amount, what with all the go-fast bits that have been added. Still, does it warrant such an outlay in its as-built state?
What do you say? Is this street/strip 'Stang worth laying out $25,000? Or is that too much, even for a car with appreciably low trap times?
You decide!
Florida Keys, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at robemslie@gmail.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle.
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