1986, and that meant every part
had to be lighter and stronger. The
Mustang’s V-8 featured a revised
new block with thicker decks and
cylinder walls. Piston rings were
thinner to reduce friction, and flattop pistons yielded 9.2:1 compression. A true dual-exhaust system
debuted on the ’86 V-8 engine, with
stainless steel tube headers, an
H-pipe, two catalytic converters
on each downpipe, and a pair of
mufflers. An all-new cylinder head,
the E6AE, featured a masked-valve
arrangement with a fast-burn chamber to reduce emissions output.
GT transmission choices included
the standard T-5 five-speed manual
or extra-cost ($646) four-speed automatic with overdrive. These were
carryovers from 1985, although the
’86 pressure plate grew from 10.0
inches to 10.5 inches. Ford pleased
many enthusiasts in 1986 by
upgrading the 5.0-liter package’s
rear axle to 8.8-inch ring gears; all
’79-’85 V-8 cars were equipped with
the relatively weak 7.5-inch units.
Traction-Lok rear axle ratios for ’86
were the same as ’85 — 2.73:1 standard with the five-speed, 3.08:1
optional with the five-speed, and
3.27:1 standard with the automatic.
When finalized and tested, the
H.O. V-8 produced 200 hp at 4000
rpm and 285 lb-ft of torque at 3000
rpm. On paper, it lost 10 hp to the
’85, but it gained 15 lb-ft of torque.
The slight horsepower deficit was
blamed on the new E6AE heads
(which would be dropped for ’87),
although car magazines reported
the ’86 Mustang to be the fastest of
its breed since 1970. Car and Driver
recorded a 6.2-second zero-to-60
time for a new 5.0-liter LX, which
compared favorably to an ’85 test
that clocked 6.4 seconds. Better yet
was a 95-mph quarter-mile trap
speed, four faster than in ’85.
62 FOXMustangMagazine.com
DOOR TAG DECODE
The VIN 1FABP28M6GF320072 decodes as:
1FA
Ford Motor Co.
B
active seatbelts
P
passenger car
28
three-door hatchback
M
5.0-liter V-8
The most popular color for '86 GT hatchbacks was black (10,895 ordered); the
rarest was Dark Slate Metallic (only six). Our feature car is one of 6,367 hatchback GTs built in Oxford White.
BODY
6
check code
G
1986
F
Dearborn-built
230072
consecutive unit number
Some of it is simple to decipher, such as the date entry, which tells us this Mustang
was built in September 1986. The bottom band of information tells us:
EXTERIOR
61B
three-door hatchback
INTERIOR TRIM
PD
Canyon Red with articulated cloth seats
TAPE
1
GT stripe
R (radio)
6
AM/FM MPX cassette player with
electronic search
AX (axle)
E
3.27:1 Traction-Lok
TR (trans)
T
automatic w/Overdrive
BBTT
specific springs and shocks
DSO
Charlotte, NC