1980 Ford Mustang Facts

Overview

• Ford built 271,322 Mustangs for 1980, corroborated by MustangAttitude's complete four-row body-style breakdown.
• The 302 V8 was replaced by a smaller 255-cid V8 after the 1979 model year.
• The 1980 Cobra adopted Pace Car-style front air dam, fog lamps, cowl hood scoop, and rear spoiler hardware.

Production Breakout

The legacy corpus's total (271,322) is correct and unchanged. Its two-row body-style summary (Notchback 152,540; Hatchback 98,497) was a lossy re-aggregation: 152,540 equals Coupe (128,893) + Coupe Ghia (23,647) combined, and the legacy Hatchback row already matched the base Hatchback/Cobra row exactly while silently omitting Hatchback Ghia (20,285) as its own category. MustangAttitude's complete four-row breakdown reconciles exactly to the stated total.

Engines & Power

Specifications

• MustangSpecs reports 179.1-inch overall body length, 69.1-inch width, 51.5-inch height, a 100.4-inch wheelbase, and 56.6/57.0-inch front/rear track -- identical to the corroborated 1979 figures, consistent with the shared Fox-body platform.
• Reported curb weights: Hatchback 2,516 lb; Notchback 2,550 lb -- also identical to the corroborated 1979 figures.

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 1980 255 V8 is often remembered as a low point before the 5.0 H.O. revival arrived in 1982.
• The 255-cid V8 is remembered as one of the weakest V8 Mustang offerings, but it also shows how fuel-economy pressure shaped Ford's early-1980s decisions.
• The turbocharged 2.3L four-cylinder kept Ford experimenting with boosted Mustang power before the later SVO made the idea more sophisticated.
• Cobra graphics and aero pieces did much of the performance-image work in 1980 because the powertrain lineup was still recovering from the late-1970s malaise.