Where have all the Foxes Gone?

[RS_Capri_85_5.0]

Long time lurker who recently joined. I've owned 2 four eye foxes, a 1984 Mustang GT 5 speed T-Roof red/gray and a 1985 Mercury Capri RS 5.0 5sp T-Roof. Of the 2, the Capri was my favorite. With a healthy sprinkling of GT 5.0 offroad and performance parts the Capri was easily the most fun car I ever owned. Having sold it in 1994, I began regretting that decision not long after. Recently, I made the decision to track down another '85 Capri RS 5.0 5sp with T-Roof. It's a pretty tall order trying to replace the car I had, since there were not that many out there to start, and the passing of years has weeded even more of them out.

Keeping expectations real, I widened my search to include '85 GT 5.0's with 5 speed and T-Roof as well. Even still, there don't seem to be that many of them out there, let alone close to stock. I took '86 cars off the list, since it's well known the 5.0 for that year featured flat tops speed density and and other things that are not performance friendly the way '85 5.0 roller motors were in the Capri and Mustang GT. Even still, the '86 5.0 5sp T-Roof cars are scarce in original condition or overall.

As an exercise just for giggles, I widened my search to include '87 to '89 GT's with the 5.0, 5 speed and T-Roof where applicable. The resulting numbers available were even more depressing even without the T-Roof. There just don't seem to be that many of these cars out there for sale that are closer to stock. I know the '87 and '88 motors can easily be converted to MAF so they will accept all the upgrades the carb 5.0's of 1985 responded well to. As far as I know only the 86 motor had flat top pistons and poor heads, the '87 and up is a roller motor with better heads and forged pistons which respond well to performance cams and the rest.

When my search for '87-'88 T-roof cars went bust, I widened to the '89 year. Same story, just not that many cars out there to pick from. What I do see a lot of are convertibles over all years, and I dislike convertibles. Between '85-'89 skipping '86 though the official build numbers of convertibles per year are significantly lower than hatchbacks, looking at today's numbers available for sale, one would think it's the other way around. With the sheer numbers of 5.0 GT 5sp cars built between 1985 and 1989, one would have thought that finding the right car would be like shooting fish in a barrell. Where did they all go? Even the LX and Notchback 5.0's seem to be around in greater numbers overall. I knew going in it was going to be difficult finding a Capri RS 5.0 like I owned and was going to take a while. What I would never have expected was finding a Mustang GT 5sp hatchback with a T-roof or no, made between 1985 and 1989 to be this difficult.

Perhaps I've made my search more difficult specifying the car be fairly close to stock, not a basket case or a project / race car/ ex race car. I want to do all the performance work myself, as I did on my '85 Capri, and 85 GT. I want to enjoy the fun and fulfillment that comes from doing it yourself. With all the companies out there today offering parts options for the Fox, there are infinite choices for the DIY person. Back in the day, we didn't have all the places catering to the FOX enthusiast. It was only beginning to kick off. I want to personalize my own Fox, not buy it already done or to someone else's taste. With a seeming lack of original condition GT hatch cars available, other than at ridiculous asking prices, from both dealers and private sellers, is it going to be impossible to find what I am looking for? There were so many Foxes made between 1985 and 1993, why is is so hard today to locate one.... where are they all hidden?

I'm not being cheap. I'm aware finding the right Fox for cheap is a steep order to fill. That said, shopping in the 5K -7.5K$ range it SEEMS LIKE available cars should be falling out of the trees. They just aren't out there, not that I've found. I'm doing Google searches, at present, as well as Craigslist. I'm located in Hanover Pa. Any suggestions for where I SHOULD BE looking? They will be appreciated.I'm not afraid of putting in hard work and elbow grease. I worked on cars and trucks for 30 years, over 1/2 my life,.. I know my way around a car pretty well. Of course, I'm not going to lie and say, I don't want to spend more money than I have to get the car. I'd like to have some leftover $$ to start building the car immediately once I find it. I'm open to reasonable suggestions.