Foxbody owners, is this normal?

[AnthonyA1234]

Test drove a Foxbody today. The clutch felt veryyyy heavy near the end of it. I brought it up to the seller and he said it was normal and that’s how they all are. Can anyone who has owned or driven a Foxbody confirm this?

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[compprep]

Fox body's are all mechanical, not hyd. Maybe the cable or fork are worn. Plastic Pawl under the dash might be worn. Does it have a heavy duty clutch? I'm sure you can find another fox to compare to.

Mine's a 4 banger with a Spec stage 2+ and I don't feel it's heavy at the bottom. Can't remember what stock was like 20 yrs ago!!!! I have the alum quadrant, and other upgrades also.

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Fox body's are all mechanical, not hyd. Maybe the cable or fork are worn. Plastic Pawl under the dash might be worn. Does it have a heavy duty clutch? I'm sure you can find another fox to compare to.

Mine's a 4 banger with a Spec stage 2+ and I don't feel it's heavy at the bottom. Can't remember what stock was like 20 yrs ago!!!! I have the alum quadrant, and other upgrades also.

No no heavy duty clutch at least none that the seller mentioned to me. Also, the car has 160k miles. The engine looked very strong though. Do you think I’d be better off just finding a lower mileage one?

 

[Interceptor]

They all drive and operate different. If a weird clutch feel is scaring you to a low milage vehicle (good luck on that unless its a museum piece) you may want to stay away from the fox bodies.

I have had several, they all had quirks. They are a great car to own if you like working on cars, a true hot rodders dream.

They are not a modern car. As mentioneded they are a mechanical car. 160k is decent mileage.

Check rear torque boxes for cracks.

 

[Cobra Jet]

The Fox clutch is as mentioned - it's cable driven on a pawl - straight up manual leg workout.

If the cable is stretched or the pawl under the dash is worn out, it's going to grab way differently. How many miles does the clutch have on it, did owner say?

The original Ford clutch kit was made by Valeo and is riding on a factory 50oz flywheel.

Having owned MANY Fox Mustangs, myself, last I knew, the original clutch cable supplied via Ford parts at Dealers is no longer available to purchase. Ford Motorsport (then Ford Racing) and now Ford Performance used to sell the clutch cable that was similar to (and sought after) the original supplied factory cable. The aftermarket cables are horrible. The only other company that I knew had a decent comparable cable to the original was Maximum Motorsports. Again, I'm talking going back 10+ years now. I don't know if a good cable is available anymore from Ford Performance or MM.

The problem with some aftermarket cables is they are too long or they bind within the cable sheathing.

If it has an aftermarket adjustable cable, it's possible it's not adjusted properly at the firewall (if that style) or the aftermarket pawl is garbage or it's just a garbage cable.

Bad grab point on pedal would also mean worn clutch disc... aside from a shitty cable or pawl.

 

[Cobra Jet]

What are you looking for in a Fox Mustang - any particular year, body style or condition (price range now a days)?

 

[Strokerswild]

The Fox clutch is as mentioned - it's cable driven on a pawl - straight up manual leg workout.

If the cable is stretched or the pawl under the dash is worn out, it's going to grab way differently. How many miles does the clutch have on it, did owner say?

The original Ford clutch kit was made by Valeo and is riding on a factory 50oz flywheel.

Having owned MANY Fox Mustangs, myself, last I knew, the original clutch cable supplied via Ford parts at Dealers is no longer available to purchase. Ford Motorsport (then Ford Racing) and now Ford Performance used to sell the clutch cable that was similar to (and sought after) the original supplied factory cable. The aftermarket cables are horrible. The only other company that I knew had a decent comparable cable to the original was Maximum Motorsports. Again, I'm talking going back 10+ years now. I don't know if a good cable is available anymore from Ford Performance or MM.

The problem with some aftermarket cables is they are too long or they bind within the cable sheathing.

If it has an aftermarket adjustable cable, it's possible it's not adjusted properly at the firewall (if that style) or the aftermarket pawl is garbage or it's just a garbage cable.

Bad grab point on pedal would also mean worn clutch disc... aside from a shitty cable or pawl.

Also, if memory serves, there is a little rubber boot on the firewall end that can fail and get pulled into the cable inner and sheath, which makes things interesting. And leads to failure of the cable, usually on the road in the middle of the night. Don't ask how I know....

On a semi-related note, when did Foxes turn to gold? I'm in the market currently, and can't believe the asking prices I'm seeing....

 

[AnthonyA1234]

Also, if memory serves, there is a little rubber boot on the firewall end that can fail and get pulled into the cable inner and sheath, which makes things interesting. And leads to failure of the cable, usually on the road in the middle of the night. Don't ask how I know....

On a semi-related note, when did Foxes turn to gold? I'm in the market currently, and can't believe the asking prices I'm seeing....

Yea they’ve Been gaining value in the past few years and that paired with the used car market right now is leading to some crazy prices. Could anyone tell me what the one I’m looking at buying is worth roughly? The guys asking 13,800 but I feel like that’s too much. If the mechanic doesn’t find anything I was thinking offering 9 or 10

 

[Strokerswild]

Yea they’ve Been gaining value in the past few years and that paired with the used car market right now is leading to some crazy prices. Could anyone tell me what the one I’m looking at buying is worth roughly? The guys asking 13,800 but I feel like that’s too much. If the mechanic doesn’t find anything I was thinking offering 9 or 10

9 to 10 seems about right to me based on mileage and what I can see in the pics, assuming it's stock and solid.

I'm looking for a nice stock '85.5-'86 SVO and the really nice ones have ridiculous asking prices, but actual sales thereof apparently aren't happening since they're perpetually for sale online. A friend had a pristine but high-mile '86 comp prep for sale in 2017 for $12K and I'm kicking myself in the ass now for not buying it.

 

[Cobra Jet]

SVO’s have finally come up in value over the last 7 years… they had Mustang II stigmatism where no one wanted them and those who did have them were parting them out for the valuable SVO only parts.

You can still find an SVO for under $10k if really looking… hit up Craigslist, OfferUp and FB Marketplace… don’t pay eBay, Gateway Classics or Streetside Classics values for any SVO, they’re way over priced…

I owned (3) SVO’s in the past, very unique and fun Mustang, it was way beyond its time. Sales faltered on them, because Ford didn’t train their Salesforce very well about how to sell the SVO…. Back then, the SVO matched its GT counterpart at the strip and out handled it in the twisties…

 

[Strokerswild]

SVO’s have finally come up in value over the last 7 years… they had Mustang II stigmatism where no one wanted them and those who did have them were parting them out for the valuable SVO only parts.

You can still find an SVO for under $10k if really looking… hit up Craigslist, OfferUp and FB Marketplace… don’t pay eBay, Gateway Classics or Streetside Classics values for any SVO, they’re way over priced…

I owned (3) SVO’s in the past, very unique and fun Mustang, it was way beyond its time. Sales faltered on them, because Ford didn’t train their Salesforce very well about how to sell the SVO…. Back then, the SVO matched its GT counterpart at the strip and out handled it in the twisties…

Yes, they're out there. I've been eyeing values for several months.

However, I just got wind of a local '89 GT vert with 9,600 miles, still on the original tires and perfect and the price is reasonable (drawback: auto trans). While I prefer that SVO I've wanted since I was a teenage punk in high school, my new nickname might be Vanilla Dave.

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