Good morning, and welcome back to Shitbox Showdown! I’ve gotten a good night’s sleep, after spending most of the day yesterday ripping out soggy stinky carpet in my basement (which is even less fun than it sounds), and I’m ready to show you some cool old cars, far better than yesterday’s exhaustion-induced snooze-fest. Speaking of which:
Looks like you’re all going to keep on truckin’. Given that I already have a truck I like way better than this one, and I’m a well-known Mopar apologist, I have to swim against the stream on this one. That Cirrus is too good of a cream-puff to pass up.
Now, today, we’re looking at two sporty red coupes. Both have carbureted four-cylinder engines and manual transmissions, but apart from that, they don’t have a whole hell of a lot in common, except that I built model kits of both of them in my youth. Both of them are rare sights these days, but I still think they’re pretty cool. Do you agree? Let’s check them out and see.
1979 Ford Mustang Cobra – $4,999
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Woodland Hills, CA
Odometer reading: 76,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep, and registration is current
Let me set the scene for you. It’s the 1979 Chicago Auto Show, at McCormick Place, and my dad is shopping for a new car to replace his aging, rusty VW Beetle. Ford’s captive-import Fiesta hatchback is on the short list, so he’s checking them out. Meanwhile, his six-year-old car-crazy son is gazing in rapt wonder at a sleek silver and black sports car on a rotating dais: the all-new Ford Mustang. It was love at first sight, and I’ve had a thing for the Fox-body Mustang ever since. I haven’t owned one yet, but there’s still time.
1979 was, of course, right smack in the middle of the doldrums of the malaise era, and as cool as the new Mustang looked, it was no performance car, no matter which engine you picked. This Cobra is equipped with the 2.3 liter “Lima” four-cylinder, with a turbocharger and a two-barrel Holley carburetor. Turbos and carbs don’t play well together generally, but this one runs well according to the seller, and it’s registered, so it must have passed a smog test. It spins the rear axle through a four-on-the-floor, like it should.
But the real star of the show here isn’t under the hood; it’s on it. Automakers replaced horsepower with graphics during this era, and while the Fox-body Cobra is toned down from the previous year’s Mustang II version, it’s still a sight to behold. It came in last in Jason’s big roundup of the Class of ’79’s hood graphics battle, but I still like it. Though now that I look at it again, it kind of looks like the snake has breasts – which is cool, too, I suppose.
Condition-wise, it’s not terrible. No cars from this era held up particularly well, but this one is at least intact. It has some questionable add-ons, namely tacky LED (or HID?) headlights, and that hideous steering wheel, but those are reversible. Its original three-spoke alloy wheels are gone, probably because they need expensive Michelin TRX tires. The late-’80s Mustang LX wheels it wears now look OK, but they aren’t quite right.
1984 Honda Prelude – $2,250
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter overehad cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 203,000 miles
Runs/drives? Runs great, they say
When someone mentions the Honda Prelude, this is the car I picture: the second-generation, in red. It’s my favorite era of Honda design, with sharp angles, low beltlines, slender window pillars, and the all-important pop-up headlights. I built an expensive Tamiya model kit of this car in my younger days, a rare splurge for me back then – most of my models were five-dollar Monogram, Revell, and MPC kits. You can still get them on eBay, but they’re not cheap now either. The real car, on the other hand, seems to be a bit of a bargain.
The second-generation Prelude had a couple of odd quirky features, namely twin side-draft carburetors instead of a single downdraft carb like the Accords with the same engine, and of course those weird seat-reclining levers. But it also has that pitch-perfect mid-1980s Honda driving experience, with great dynamics and easy ergonomics. This one runs and drives well, and everything works except for the air conditioning, though the seller is working on that.
It’s on Oregon “SP” specialty-vehicle registration, which is a permanent registration and sidesteps smog requirements, but it also doesn’t allow the car to be used regularly, only for “special events.” I see plenty of people daily-driving cars on SP plates, but if you get pulled over, the specialty registration could get revoked, and you’d have to get the car smog-tested and put regular plates on it. Personally, I’m not sure I would want to use a car like this every day anyway; it would get used up in short order. Better to save it for fun driving.
Many Hondas from this era and later ended up heavily, and sometimes questionably, modified, but this one is still mercifully stock. In fact, the seller actually did some work to return it to stock by tracking down the correct steering wheel, as shown above, in place of the 1986 Prelude wheel it came with.
I know I keep bemoaning the lack of simple two-door coupes available today, but dammit, why can’t we still have cars like these? They’re easygoing, charming, affordable, and fun. Somewhere along the line we forgot that those were supposed to be virtues. Thank goodness a few of these old relics are still floating around, and are still affordable. Yeah, in either case you have to deal with carburetor hassles, but they both run fine now, so don’t sweat it. So what’ll it be – the gaudy fun Mustang, or the crisp and clean Prelude?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
idc about anything else, i need that hood graphic
The Carbs are a real pain in the ass when they develop a vaccuum leak. there are so many hose to check, but man that thing is half the price and in what appears to be much better condition….A part of me wants an old turbo Fox body like this to body swap onto a newer Ecoboost 4 cylinder mustang with manual trans and the track suspension. mostly just to see what it would do lighted to 70’s safety standards, but that will never happen.
I’ve owned a Fox body Mustang; an ’89 LX 5.0. This ’79 Mustang ain’t that. But if there ever was a car screaming out for a 2.3 ecoboost swap, it’s this Cobra. I’ll take it.
Easy choice. Twenty-something me bought a new 2nd Gen Prelude Si and that’s still the car I look back on with the most fondness. If this one was black like mine was I would be mighty might tempted
Oh, I want to be bite by that snake! Like Brittany in the “ Slave 4 U” music video, just wrapped around me. I’ll take your mom out to Applebees and your dad to Gapplebees after. The period correct coolest dude in 1989 Kokomo. That hood art should be posted in the Louvre across from the Mono Lisa. Change my legal name to Cobra Commander. Start selling stolen goods below a freeway overpass. Embrace the snake, because nobody is treading on this cobra!
I hear ya. I’m choosing that Mustang, getting the cobra graphic tattooed on my chest, and taking it to the next cars and coffee shirtless…
That hood art should be posted in the Louvre across from the Mono Lisa.
Is that Typhoid Mary’s sister? Or just the wrong girl I kissed in high school? (Wait, scratch that, I was such a loser I didn’t kiss any girls in high school).
Mono Lisa: “.. the wrong girl I kissed in high school? ”
Mononucleosis aka “Mono” is called the kissing disease….. So yeah, exactly the wrong girl you kissed in high school.
Mono spreads through bodily fluids, usually saliva which is why you can get it through kissing. Most people who get mono feel better in about 2 to 4 weeks. Sometimes, severe fatigue can last several weeks after that. In some cases, it can take 6 months or longer for the symptoms to go away.
I know all this because I kissed her…l although she called herself Dolly and it was in college….but hey. Same-same.
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-mononucleosis-causes
This is one interesting and very hard choice.
Still wish we had the both option.
I’m taking the Mustang just because those Honda seats look like the decades of grime have become the seat
Tucker, another great/tough choice between two absolute bangers.
Turbotictac’s strategy for the Mustang is a solid one, but I can’t say “no” to Peak Prelude. In fact, my sister lives in PDX … I might just ask her to go check it out …
I love the Honda but I love old California cars with low miles even more. That Mustang looks like it has a lot of life left especially if it has a current registration. The faux pas muscle car wins here
I chose the Prelude because it reminded me of a wonderful night now lost to the mists of time.
This one was an easy choice for me, I knew from the thumbnail. I am going to find out just how much HP I can squeeze out of that 2.3L until it gives up, and then toss either a push rod 5.0 or the cheapest first gen Coyote I can find into it and have a neat little toy to add to my fleet. Most likely a push rod 5.0 because I can get one for next to nothing, it would fit much more easily, and I can throw an alphabet cam in it and have a car that sounds like it is fast while actually being slower than your average commuter. Perfection.
Pushrod 5.0s aren’t dime a dozen anymore since Ford hasn’t made any in 20+ years. I know a few of the well known engine builders who build strokers no longer build based on factory Ford blocks because it’s getting difficult and expensive to find rebuildable cores.
It is true they are much harder to find than they were. But I know of several people that have them available and where a few are in pick and pulls. It helps having connections though no doubt. I also think it would be neat to have the first and last year of the Foxbody chassis as I already own an 04 and they ran 79-04.
Not gonna lie, the graphics almost swayed me to go Mustang but then I came to my senses and voted Prelude. It’ll outlive us all.
Bubble-era twin carb Prelude with an owner who cares and for half the money, thank you.
The Honda wins by default
Damn, I can’t even remember the last time I saw that era Prelude and it had to be trashed. I also always liked them and that’s a steal for just about any POS that runs around here. Pinto Mustang even shittier than the one a HS friend had in a dime-a-dozen bodystyle? Easy choice.
Both of these are cool. I love the ridiculous hood graphics on the Mustang, but I can’t turn down a solid Prelude for $2250.
Also, the turbo engine of the Mustang makes me nervous. I would buy one of these to use as a fun daily driver, and I think the Honda is probably going to be easier to keep running.
Honda in a landslide on this one. That might be the best condition ’84 Prelude in the country right now and the price isn’t bad.
Honda, please.
I always liked the Prelude. This one looks pretty good and it’s definitely a Nice Price.
The alternative is being seen in public driving the garish Ford. No, thanks.
Me too. My favorite is the third generation one, but this is a close second. The 4th and 5th gens are gross to me, but the 3rd makes me overlook them. There’s a sweet RHD third gen one on the latest season of Sex Education on netflix
I am not seeing any turbo
It’s right there. Here’s a picture for reference.
https://img.ifunny.co/images/a6027ee2b72695b22d666afa5d3d4780ff89184e34447f285c67bc79925d341c_1.webp
I agree, I don’t believe this one has the turbo any longer. The air intake to the fender is not logical for a turbo engine. I think the turbo is normally on the passenger side of the engine of these 2.3’s of this era.
They went to an unusual amount of trouble to put all the vacuum lines on that non turbo setup. Its kind of odd.
Came here to say the same thing.
It’s there, it is tucked down low on the passenger side based on the video I saw on Youtube of a guy walking around one and showing the engine bay. Definitely unusual placement and hard to spot though.
The Turbo is on the driver side, under the carb. A steel U pipe connects the exhaust manifold (on the passenger side of the engine) and routes under the oil pan and connects to the turbo exhaust side on the driver side. The 1983/84 Mustang GT Turbo is on the passenger side as too the SVO models.
Back in the day, I had a naturally aspirated 2.3 engine n my 1980 Mustang that I swapped out for a 79 Cobra Turbo 2.3 engine and transmission. It was an economical car with a good kick once the turbo spooled up. The Ford 2.3 Turbo and SVO turbo of 83 through 86 had efi and on the SVO, an intercooler. Ford was hot back in those days, they were campaigning a crazy looking, wide body Mustang turbo IMSA car that blew out flames on every shift of the gears. That old technology gave us the turbo cars of today.
Thank you for the additional info. Really cool to hear about how the technology was being utilized.
The Prelude is way too cool to pass up for $2k and the Ford is the epitome of uncool.
RWD > pop up headlights.
Fox body for me!
I usually give bonus points for RWD cars, but it is hard to get excited about rear wheel drive when it is paired with a malaise era 4 cylinder engine that can still pass a smog test.
The 2.3 Lima is one exception though. They were made for so long and raced for so long that building one for power isn’t too hard.
I had a Pinto with one, and my Dad threw a full can of Pinto Beans at it. Bored it out, header, aluminum intake with a 4bbl Holley. It would bark the tires in the first 3 gears. Kinda scary for a little brown turd with a white “sport” stripe.
last one I had was the fuel injected one in a 94 Mazda B2300. It was well over 200K miles when I sold it and just wouldn’t quit. Non-interference timing on a 4 cylinder is a big plus with me also.
Agreed. Look what Cosworth was able to do with this engine. Granted, this isn’t a simple build…
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth – Wikipedia
I had an 88 Accord that I absolutely loved. The fact that the owner tracked down an original steering wheel means they care about the car. Also, pop up headlights. Prelude for me, not even close.
I’ve told the story a coupla times about my ’88 Accord LX-i 5-speed. That little 2.0 liter had a nice little growl, and its 120 horsepower I4 worked well with that manual. It was black over ivory, and quite a handsome ride.
Yep, the one I had was an LX-i 4 door with the five speed. It was black with the black and tan interior. It handled great, and I never felt like it was underpowered for what it was. Top 5 in my favorite cars I have owned.
Is that an ’80s Honda that isn’t entirely rust? Not even a question on this one.
I was never a fan of the foxbody unless it had a LS1 swap. Still not a fan of the body look.
a 4 eyed Fox? I don’t even have to look at the other choice…easy