1979 Ford Mustang
Third generation · Fox-body 1979–1993
The long-running Fox-body, built on Ford’s Fox platform from 1979 to 1993.
Photo: “1979 Ford Mustang Indy 500 Pace Car replica, front left, 06-14-2025” by MercurySable99 / Wikimedia Commons , licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 . Cropped to 16:9.
The 1979 model year
Overview
An all-new car on Ford's lighter Fox platform, replacing the Mustang II. Crisp, angular, and several hundred pounds lighter, it offered everything from a thrifty four to a 302 V8, plus a new turbocharged 2.3 four. The Mustang paced the 1979 Indianapolis 500, and Ford sold a commemorative Indy Pace Car replica. (Horsepower figures are SAE net.)
Specifications
- Engines
-
- 2.3 I4 88 hp
- 2.3 Turbo I4 (carbureted draw-through, no intercooler) 131 hp
- 2.8 V6 (Cologne) 109 hp
- 302 "5.0" V8 (2-bbl) 140 hp
- Transmissions
- 4-speed manual, 3-speed automatic
- Body styles
- Coupe (notchback), Hatchback (3-door)
- Base price
- $4,494 (4-cylinder coupe) ≈$19,400 today (inflation-adjusted) Original MSRP adjusted for inflation (CPI, 2024); not the car's current market/collector value. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U (U.S. city average, all items), annual average.
- Production
- 369,937 (incl. 10,478 Indy Pace Car replicas)
Year over year
What changed
- All-new Fox platform — lighter and roomier than the 1974–78 Mustang II it replaced.
- First turbocharged Mustang four: a carbureted 2.3 Turbo (no intercooler).
- The 302 V8 returned, badged '5.0'.
- Two body styles only: notchback coupe and three-door hatchback (no convertible yet).
- Mid-year Indy Pace Car edition commemorated the Mustang pacing the 1979 Indianapolis 500.
Living with it
Reliability & ownership notes
- The early carbureted draw-through 2.3 Turbo was trouble-prone (heat soak, no intercooler) and was dropped after 1980 — verify a survivor runs correctly.
- Fox-body rust shows in the floor pans, torque boxes, strut towers, and quarters.
Worth knowing
Notable
- First-year Fox-body cachet.
- The 1979 Indy Pace Car replica (two-tone pewter/black, pace-car graphics) is the collectible edition of the year.
Sources
- Wikipedia — "Ford Mustang (third generation)"
- CJ Pony Parts
- Curbside Classic
- Hagerty
- MustangSpecs — per-year base MSRP
Other Third generation years
Explore the Fox-body generation → All Third generation · Fox-body years →