My 1980 Mustang Ghia V8 very slow Help!

I move to the USA a few months ago and my nice Uncle just gave me a

1980 Ford Mustang with a V8 engine!!! It is in nice shape but the plastic covered top is peeling back. Why did they cover the roof with plastic is strange.

I read US car magazines (Car Craft) in China and heard of the Mustang

5.0 V8 being very fast car. This one is smooth driving and good running but slower than even my Uncle's new Ford Taurus sedan. I think maybe it has V6 but I look under the hood and it has V8. The car doesn't say 5.0 on it though, just "Ghia". Maybe carbrator is clogged or muffler? But my Uncle said it has the same power as always. Should I upgrade the carbrator and mufflers? Oh and what is Ghia and how different from 5.0 model?

Appreciate help to wake up my classic American V8!!!

Jiang Kar

Reply to
Jay Karolyi
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Your car is not a 302 it has a 255 cubic inch motor that year. That is why it is slow among other reasons. The faster Mustangs came out a bit later in the '80's after the introduction of the GT in '82

Ghia is the luxury model and has a vinyl roof as you noted. Ghia is an Italian "styling house" Ford bought years ago. Stu K

Reply to
Stuart&Janet

Jay Karolyi opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Welcome to the States... but I have bad news.

Your uncle is right. That car was not built for power.. just to be a cruiser and it was at the tail end of the gas crunch. And most new v-6's are stronger than that V-8

Unless you are ready to rebuild the entire car, I suggest just driving it.

"Ghia" is a term that was supposed to make the car be thought of as "upscale".. and most Ghias had the vinyl roof as did many sedans .. some called "Landau"

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

end of the gas crunch.

This V8 is suppose to be good with gas? It seems to me to be greedy with gas and slow also.

Ahhh...so Ghia is the luxury model with low power. So too much work to upgrade this V8 to 5.0 status so its a fast car? Can I use a performance carbrator or muffler to help a little bit? Or some other parts off 5.0 model?

Why did they put this plastic vinly "Landau" on the roof...the car looks nice except that part peeling off. Was it a style to make it look like fold-down top even though it is not? Strange.

Thanks for your help

Reply to
Jay Karolyi

Your uncle's Taurus may have a 200hp engine, My old used car guide says the

81-82 stangs with 302 V8 is rated 140-155 hp. It doesn't go back before 1981, I'd expect about the same HP. John
Reply to
JohnR

Reply to
Erik D.

There are few cars in the world as ugly as a 1980 Mustang Ghia. Drive the car until it's dead and then flog it to some sucker for cheap.

Merc

Reply to
Merc

This V8 was put into Mustangs in a time when people were asking for more power and the gas crisis was still a very recent memory. Ford attempted to give everyone what they wanted. This was not one of their better ideas, but fuel injection technology was a few years away.

For the time, this was the most powerful stock Mustang you could get. Scary.

I am not sure how many parts are interchangeable. I am also unsure how easily you could swap engines to a 5.0. There are plenty of 5.0 parts cars available if you really like this particular car, but I would suggest just learning to drive it well and then selling it when you find a car you like better. The cost of the swap will be less than some well-used 5.0 Mustangs.

Convertibles also died for quite some time - I'm not even sure if the US auto makers produced a convertible in the late 70's. This may have tipped off the nostalgia of the convertible. The Mustang convertible reappeared in

1983, so this may have been the start. I also believe that it was high-class to have a vinyl top - many late 70's cars had them. The problem with them is what you are seeing - it is not very durable.

You're welcome. Your English is pretty good. What country are you from? Just curious. I work for Mitsubishi Electric and have been to Japan a few times. I have a lot of respect for those who can speak both an Asian language and English. Neither are easy and they are both very, very different.

Jim

Reply to
JS

Well, an Aztek might fit the bill. StuK

Reply to
Stuart&Janet

It's supposed to look expensive, like an old coach or limousine. Old people are the only people who still buy such things.

Jim S. '82 Mutant

Reply to
Jim S.

I've got an '80 ghia. The previous owner replaced the gutless engine with a

302 from a '79 truck and it goes just fine. We also pulled the a/c out, which didn't hurt performance.

I don't think there is a lot of weight difference between the 255 and the

302. If memory serves they have the same block, just a different bore.

I don't think I've ever seen a fox with a vinyl roof before. There are still a couple of pintostangs, er Mustang II's running around town with vinyl roofs though. Come to think of it, when I met my wife that's what she was driving.

Reply to
D.K.R.

To be honest, I think the 74-78 Mustang II is uglier still, not the Cobra II or the King Cobra, but the notchback style ghias that they produced then were hideous.

Merc

Reply to
Merc

Ghia was the firm that Ford Motor Co. hired to develop the body style, to replace the K-Car style platform fo the early and late 1970's. Volkswagen and Porsche have used them also. If memory serves they are an auto design firm out of Italy.

Reply to
Mr. Ford

I think Cadillac has used them too. Back in the early 80's.

Reply to
66 6F HCS

I am from Guangzho province of China which is heavy industry area. I was factory manager there and am managing a gas station store here now for my Uncle. All schools children learn English in China and school in China very strict. Also I study management in Chinese university and I study English there from an American teacher.

I guess some believe my Ghia Mustang is ugly, but my uncle gave it to me as a very kind present for coming to USA and he takes excellent care of it. I like the looks and always wanted a Mustang or other American large car. The only American car common in China is Buick and they are expensive luxury.

I also have no choice but to drive it because I just start earning money. So are there no low price upgrades to help the power a little bit? In magazines they say carbrator upgrade was a good choice and better mufflers.

Jiang Kar

Reply to
Jay Karolyi

Pardon my English, someone called my V8 engine a "dog" and now you call my car a "fox". I never hear these words. Are these animal names to say something is not good and to insult it? Thanks for your help.

Jiang Kar

Reply to
Jay Karolyi

He didn't mean anything by that. The '79 - 93 mustangs are often referred to as fox body cars. Some just shorten it and call them foxes. When a mustang is called a fox, it just means its a 79-93, which in my opinion are the best looking or "foxiest" ones out there! Erik D. '94 white lightning

Reply to
Erik D.

The term "dog" when referring to engines usually means an engine that isn't producing much power. The 4.2L is a dog compared to the later model 5.0. I don't know if I have ever seen performance parts for it. Some people here say that the 4.2L is based on the 5.0 block, so maybe some parts are interchangeable.

As Erik D. mentioned, the term "Fox" is used to define a Mustang from

1979-1993. This was the code name of the platform. Some other cars that shared this platform were the LTD, Fairmont, Grenada, Thunderbird, and Cougar. It is cheaper to manufacture many cars on the same platform. Some parts are interchangeable between all "Fox" body cars. For some other information, the new Mustangs are based on a variant of the Fox platform, sometimes called the Fox-4 or SN-95. Some parts are still interchangeable between a 1979 Mustang and a 2004 Mustang.

As for your car, maybe other improvements would be better? You could make the car handle turns better by making some changes to the suspension and chassis. Subframe connectors would tie the car together for a more solid feel, and shock/strut/spring combinations will make it hold the road better. Putting different gears in the rear end would improve the feel of acceleration by allowing the engine to get into its power band faster. Simple things like this can make the car feel better and more fun to drive while not really doing anything to the engine itself.

If you absolutely must do power modifications, perhaps you can research how many parts are interchangeable between your engine and the more popular 5.0. Freeing up the exhaust will help some. Cam change might provide some power.

JS

Reply to
JS

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say, if you like the car then by all means fix it up. My first car was a 68 Ford Falcon and I thought it was beautiful but most others did not. Same goes with the 73 Mercury Cougar I had next.

Merc

Reply to
Merc

And, as far as I know, is still designing for Ford. For example, the StreetKa concept shown at the Turin Auto Show:

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Along with Fiat, Renault, Lancia, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, De Tomaso, Maserati, DeSoto, Jaguar, Lincoln-Mercury (the original Batmobile, no kidding), Studebaker, Packard, and several others less well known like Diatto, Itala, SCAT, Bertone, Vignale.

Indeed, not only design, but they got their start as a coachmaker, building the bodies that go on some other manufacturer's frame. They've been continuously designing car bodies since 1915 or so. It's a long and interesting history. with some great looking cars:

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Reply to
Garth Almgren

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