1979 Ford Mustang Facts

Overview

• The 1979 Mustang moved to Ford's Fox platform and launched the third generation.
• Ford built 369,936 Mustangs for 1979, corroborated by MustangAttitude's complete six-row body-style breakdown.
• Ford built 10,478 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car replicas for 1979, confirmed independently by MustangAttitude's production table and MustangSpecs' narrative text.

Production Breakout

The legacy corpus previously reported 369,937 and an incomplete two-row body-style summary (Notchback 213,017 combining Coupe and Coupe Ghia; Hatchback 92,478 covering only the base hatchback). MustangAttitude's complete six-row breakdown reconciles exactly to 369,936, one unit below the legacy total -- the same one-unit gap found in the legacy corpus's duplicate Pace Car entries, which this slice merges.

Engines & Power

Specifications

• MustangSpecs reports 179.1-inch overall body length, 69.1-inch width, 51.5-inch height, a 100.4-inch wheelbase (substantially longer than the outgoing Mustang II's 96.2-inch wheelbase), and 56.6/57.0-inch front/rear track.
• Reported six-cylinder-era curb weights: Hatchback 2,516 lb; Notchback 2,550 lb -- about 200 lb lighter than the 1978 cars despite being longer overall.

Options & Packages

Counts distinguish verified production records, attributed reports, disputed figures, announced limits, and figures that do not survive in available records.

Buyer Identification

• For early Fox cars, read the VIN, door tag, buck tag, and build sheet if present. Body code 66 is commonly used for the coupe/notchback body and 61 for hatchback references, but trim and package identity still needs the door tag and option documentation.
• Pace Car, Cobra, 5.0, and TRX claims should be checked against the buck tag, paint/trim codes, graphics, wheels, spoilers, engine code, axle tag, and original window sticker because Fox bodies are easy to update or clone.

Special & Tuner Models

Additional Notes

• Fox-body paint and trim codes are on the door label, while special identity often depends on package paint: Pace Car pewter/black/orange, 1984 G.T.350 Oxford White/Canyon Red, 1990 Emerald Green 7-Up convertibles, 1992 Vibrant Red Feature cars, 1993 Chrome Yellow or Vibrant White Feature cars, SSP agency paint, Saleen serialization, and SVO/Cobra details should be checked against tags and paperwork.
• The 1979 Fox body began a 15-model-year run that would carry Mustang through 1993.
• The three actual Indy pace cars used T-tops, but production Pace Car replicas used sunroofs.
• Fox-body research is unusually dependent on survivor condition and modification history, because the platform became one of the most modified American performance cars of its era.
• The 1979 Fox platform gave Mustang a lighter, cleaner base that would support everything from economy four-cylinders to later 5.0 performance cars.
• The Indianapolis 500 Pace Car package created the first Fox-body collectible and previewed aero pieces that influenced early Fox performance styling.
• Early Fox buyers could still choose notchback or hatchback bodies, a split that later made LX 5.0 coupes especially popular with performance-minded owners.