1985 Mustang GT Top Speed?

[oldfox]

I have 91 fox with a Kenne Bell and I was going to top it out once just to see,,,,, about 130 that thing
starts to "float" it doesnt feel stable at all. It was still coming on but,, Not me I'll pass I'm a sissy
I was surprised at how low the RPMs were at that speed with a 3:55 I can't remember what it was but it wasn't as much as you might think Guess I won't be going to the salt flats

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I crap my pants taking a Fox past 100MPH these days.

Every time i cross the line in my coupe at the strip, i feel like i'm nearing death. So far i've only ran it with the 302 and it ran 107mph...stopping from that speed even with the newer '87+ GT brakes swapped on my car is hairy at best. I've had mine up to 120 several times but that's the fastest i had the nerve to take it.

Anyways, there's no way it was the fastest production car in '85. The Coutach was a production car back then and it would go 180.

 

[FastDriver]

Yeah, but they said American production car.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Oh, i missed that part. I'd say it would have to be either the '87 GNX or a Corvette.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Every time i cross the line in my coupe at the strip, i feel like i'm nearing death. So far i've only ran it with the 302 and it ran 107mph...stopping from that speed even with the newer '87+ GT brakes swapped on my car is hairy at best. I've had mine up to 120 several times but that's the fastest i had the nerve to take it.

Anyways, there's no way it was the fastest production car in '85. The Coutach was a production car back then and it would go 180.

My car never saw the track until it had the Cobra brakes on it, but I can imagine it gets sketchy with the old 4 lug junk!

I love how my car feels going through the traps at the track, but I have a bunch of aftermarket suspension parts and the Cobra discs on it, of course. So it feels stable and I know it's going to stop.

I will say, though, when I first got the car, I was 17 and I let a friend of mine drive it. To this day, I think it may have been the fastest that car has ever been, maybe 125 or 130. It's hard to say though, because of course the speedo in the 4 eye cars only goes to 85, I was basing it off of RPM. Of course I was young and dumb, so I had to act like I was cool with him driving my car that fast, but honestly, I was scared ****less, both for my life and for the life of my car. It was stupid, on a narrow back country road with hills and trees and blind intersections. The car was stone stock back then, so driving like that was nothing short of a death wish. Dumb teenagers.

 

[zookeeper]

If your car is original I wouldnt even chance trying a top speed...With 20 year old brake lines, disaster can strike.

I know this is a prehistoric thread, but I just love this post! 20 year old brake lines??? Oh the horror!!! The lines on my '88 GT are now 23 year old and I wouldn't hesitate to run it on the top end. Heck, compared to my '68 fastback, it's practically new!!

 

[wythors]

There's a stretch of road in eastern Washington that shall remain unidentified. It is 22 miles of straight highway through rolling wheat fields with no buildings, no houses, no cross roads, no nothing. I've had my Saleen up to 140-ish out there. The old Fox chassis, even one supposedly built for a bit more speed and handling, gets mighty hairy at that speed. I've had my 'vert out there with the top down in excess of 120. THAT is an experience.

Here's a video that I took a couple of years ago on an outing out there with a large group of friends. The first car going by was doing a GPS-verified 162 mph as he shifted form 5th to 6th. His car is a fully track-prepped Cobra. Turn up the sound.

TheDrive.mp4 video by wythors - Photobucket

 

[FastDriver]

I just love this post! 20 year old brake lines??? Oh the horror!!!

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

At speeds like that the most important part on the car usually comes down to shocks and struts because the smallest bump in the road going 140mph can lift the car up so much you can lose traction and lose control. At higher speeds the dampeners are pushed to their limit because bumps happen so fast and so often, and if you're on stock shocks and struts then they're begging for mercy at highway speeds on rough roads. Once you lose control, then the focus turns to the 30 year old brakes which likely have never had the fluid flushed and replaced.

 

[zookeeper]

Post deleted just because...