Prestige Mustang

When a vehicle gets older, it generally gets harder and harder to find parts for it.

After several years, vehicle manufacturers cease to make replacement parts and they aren't available from aftermarket part makers or dealers either. If that happens to be a case with a part one needs, the next best route is to buy from an auto salvage business.

This is happening to me on a more frequent basis. I recently had to replace accelerator/cruise control combo cables for my 1989 Mustang. During this, I found that I also needed to replace the accelerator/cruise control servo "canister" that the cables attach to. Unfortunately, my mechanic was unable to find these parts locally.

One may wonder why I would continue to maintain a 1989 vehicle. Well, it is partly sentimental for me to maintain it as it was my dad's last car. Plus, it is a popular model. I have found several notes from people asking if I were interested in selling it.

Being retired and having plenty of time on my hands to do a search, I located a business who specializes in Fox Body Mustang parts.

What's a Fox Body?

From Dust Runners Automotive Journal:

A Fox Body Mustang is a Mustang produced anywhere from 1979 to 1993. It doesn’t matter if it’s a coupe, convertible, or a hatch. It also doesn’t matter what engine is has either, or transmission. As long as it’s between the ages of 1979 and 1993, it’s a Fox Body. 

Why is it called a “Fox Body”? I know, it’s a really weird name to give to a car. But, it’s called a Fox Body because it’s on the Ford Fox platform. Ford designed the Fox platform as a unibody chassis and used it across a wide range of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles. Ford’s main objective with the Fox platform was to downsize the massive cars they made in the ’70s.

Another reason to maintain it: It's a classic!

From Dust Runners Automotive Journal:

If it’s older than me, it’s probably a classic…. right? The Fox Body is now wandering into the 25+ year-old range depending on what year you own, which means it’s starting to become a “classic”. When cars start to be considered classics, their prices go up. CNN Money even mentioned the Fox Body Mustang in their “Top Ten Investment Cars under $5,000“. On top of it becoming a classic, it’s also facing a similar issue to the 240sx’s “Drift Tax”. Youngsters getting into hot rods are scooping up Fox Body Mustangs left and right, causing the prices to go up even more.

I called several Mustang parts suppliers and none of them had the parts I needed. Luckily, one of them recommended Prestige Mustang of Monroe, Georgia. I called them and found that they specialize in salvaged parts from Fox Body Mustangs (along with Mustangs from 1964 to 1973) and they had the parts I needed. Additionally, they were reasonable in price and were speedy in shipping.

So, if you happen to have a Fox Body Mustang and need parts for it, I would definitely recommend Prestige Mustang. Their website is at www.prestigemustang.com. 

Checking Out Mustangs

Above, a very tempting 2016 Mustang Coupe . Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday, I had to go into Woodland Hills to pick up something from Best Buy and decided to drop in at Vista Ford to check out their used Mustangs.

Unfortunately, there were none to look at. The salesman told me that due to the recall of mid-2000s cars of many makes, including Ford Mustangs up to 2014, their supply of used cars is a bit meager. The recall is related to the Japanese airbag company, Takata Corp. Airbags in vehicles during the mid-2000s have safety problems such as shrapnel being shot out when an airbag deploys. People have already been injured and killed because of this. There's an enormous back order of replacement airbags for the cars affected and it is taking a long time to get and install them.

As my 1989 Mustang is getting on in years, available parts is becoming more difficult to find. It is currently running fine, but that could change at any moment. So, I am considering buying a newer model. Since I bought The Beast new last year, a used vehicle is less painless for my wallet.

Since I was there, I decided to take a look at the 2016 Mustangs. The prices ranged from around $27,000 to $42,000, depending on the model and options.

I did like the 2016 Mustang Coupe (pictured at top) its sticker price was $28,000. I sent Denise the photo of it and said, "I am soooo tempted!" That was somewhat an understatement!

I'll decide what I am going to do once I get back home from Hawaii.

Truck Coffin

California is known for many things.  Hollywood.  Surfing.  Wine.  Pop-culture.  Sports.  Dysfunctional government.  And, last but not least, a vibrant car culture.

Yesterday, as I was off on an errand to the local supermarket, I saw an interesting truck while stopped at a stop light in the Tarzana community of the San Fernando Valley.  So I took a cell phone picture of it.

Here it is:

Nothing like going in style!