Postmortem said:
Here in Iowa it is impossible to drive in winter with live axle & RWD combo. I won't buy another Mustang until they get IRS - simply I don't have enough $ for summer car only.
Explain please. I really don't see IRS/Solid axle having anything to do on ice/snow. I know we don't have the weather you have in Iowa but here our winter beaters are 4X4's, AWD, FWD. I drive a neon in winter. It's the RWD/Torque of the mustang that's the problem.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Just a opinion from someone that was a teenager in the 60's. Remember these cars are legends and there's a lot of urban lengend out there. I had friends with Boss 302 and tried to talk my dad into letting me buy one after he said I couldn't buy a GT500 (NO GO on either, my 66 289 4v for my first car was all I could con him into). I would take the present fox body to most of the technology of the 60's. The solid axle has elvolved for 40 years and it's not your fathers car any longer. Most cars today handle better than most track cars 40 or 50 years ago. Many inprovements have been taken from the race cars even in the engine dept (roller cams etc). I would take my GT or Mach over the Boss 302 in the handling dept but it was great for the day.
Many solid axles are running round track it's just it cost a couple grand to bring them up to speed (hum the same it would be if you had to drop in IRS).
I don't think anyone really wants to go back to drum breaks or bias ply tires but the stuff on the cars your trashing is light years ahead of what we had in the 60's.
As far as the Cobra being a rounded car it's not. The vette's Z06 is a rounded car. It will take a cobra at either track because of the design and cost they spent to do it. The Cobra is a price/performance trade off. Car's are much like stereo's you can get a great one a lot cheaper than perfection.
Perfection cost a ton more money. So theree alway a give and take in a design.
One last thought for those think I'm a drag racer. Been there done that but it's not me much anymore. I my go to the track with my cars a few times but I'd build a 5.0 if I wanted to do that. I'm not tearing up my daily driver because I had to go to work everyday (done that too
). In my world with 2 lane roard and hills you have to pass when you get a chance on the roads.
A low power car with IRS doesn't do jack for me, those cars your have to floor them a block before your ready to pass and then sweat it out if your going to make it. The MUSTANG you drop it in 3rd and hall a**. At 65mph I throw the Mach in 3rd to pass I'm going 90+ out the other end and usually have to lift so I don't overrun and have a problem with hitting a car head on.
Too much power is good it tight places.
The Mach flat shines on the road even in turns. The one twistie turn I do drive is a banked 35mph turn and I take that at 65-70mph you must acclerate in conors(sp) not brake or let off. Where the solid axle doesn't shine is on very rough roads but I've driven these type cars all my life and know how to handle them. A road couse isn't a rough road.