This is Part 2 in a multi part series on the 1995 Mustang GTS project, if you missed PART 1, it can be found here LINK

First the model, GTS, not a typo, I thought it was, but after some research it turned out I had a rare, but not particularly valuable car.

GT….S?

Let us wind back the clock a few decades and look at the original GT Mustang to establish a baseline. In 1965 Ford’s Mustang was still a young design, and evolving every year as the Muscle and Pony car blitz was in full swing. The Mustang GT came as trim package on the typical Mustang Fastback, it took the name from Gran Turismo or Grand Touring depending on who you ask, but essentially was a sporty 2-door that had power and options to suit spirited driving and comforts to make for a somewhat comfortable journey. We could bang on about what was in a GT package but will save that for another time. The Mustang GT option was discontinued in 1968, effectively replaced by the Mach 1, and when it returned in 1982, it represented the top performance trim of the Fox Mustang.

By 1994, the only way to get a V8 Mustang was to buy a Mustang GT (or Cobra) and the GT package came with a fairly long list of “standard” options or features. In a day before the technophile package lists of modern cars this meant power amenities, like windows, seats, locks, nearly mandatory Air Conditioning, ABS brakes, fog lamps, spoilers, and other treatments. In short, these cars may have had a v8 engine and a manual transmission, but the days of ordering a stripped-down lightweight “racer special” were gone with the 1960’s option delete lists.

Except in a couple of not so obvious ways…

The Fox Mustang had an unusual combination available, for those that maybe didn’t like the appearance of the Mustang GT, or perhaps wanted to save a couple of bucks, Ford offered the LX.

The LX Mustang was a trim package that was appearance wise, based on the vanilla-grade, economy 2.3L Fox, and was available as a Coupe, Hatchback, or Convertible. Interestingly, and very relevant, this car could be optioned up with a 5.0L HO (High-output) Windsor V8, exactly the same as the costlier GT.

It is said anecdotally that this more basic LX 5.0L was lighter than its GT brother, and touted by enthusiasts as faster, but the performance difference, if any, was difficult to accurately measure. 1993 was the last year of the Mustang LX of any ilk, and in 1994 the new SN95 simplified the line.

Body style options were reduced, the hatchback no longer in vogue, a coupe with semi fastback styling emerged as the only choice for non-ragtop drivers. Engines selections too were reduced, now only a 3.8L 150 horsepower V6 as the base offering, and the 215 HP 5.0L HO V8 in the GT.

“It all started with headrests”

Since this car was new to me, and I had only been in one other, I was keen to learn what I could about it. Reading the manual, and thinking about the 1997 Mustang GT I had tested in 2001, I noted the headrests were not as they should be.

The tilt adjustable Mustang GT headrests I remembered and illustrated in the manual were not present in my car, in their place was a set of Base V6 pieces. In fact the entire seat was from a V6, looking around the cockpit I noticed other inconsistencies, where was my leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter? Power locks and windows were supposed to be standard, but they were absent.

I began to worry that my otherwise excellent purchase might be a plain Base V6 Coupe that had been swapped up to a V8 and sold as a GT. Briefly panic set in.

Careful examination of the VIN, placed a “T” in the correct spot, denoting a factory V8 car, still being in the information dead zone of a military base, I was off to the local Library to harness the power of the internet.

Asking the internet actually yielded fairly good results, I had not been hoodwinked, I simply had a 1995 Mustang GTS.

What’s a GTS?

There seems to be no firm agreement about what the “S” in “GTS” really means, some say “Stripped” and that seems accurate enough. It seems that in 1995, Ford decided to rather quietly release a SN95 Mustang that was essentially a modern version of the Fox Mustang LX 5.0L and it was called a GTS, this practice would carry on in 1996, but the GTS designation was dropped and it became known as “Option 248A”

So what options did I have?

Not many, rear defroster and a block heater were about it, my mirrors were powered, but I am unsure if a manual adjuster was even available. From my research over the years identifying a genuine GTS car is not a simple matter, because they could be optioned up with nearly every option as a full load Mustang GT, except in one place, the seats. A correct GTS will not have the under seat wiring harness present to plug in a powered seat.

I had confirmed I had a GTS, but was it faster than a GT? Not in any way that I could define, it was apparently lighter than a typical GT and lightweight cars are supposed to be quicker, but I couldn’t notice any performance edge.

We will revisit and explore the 1995 Mustang GTS in greater detail in a later article.

Knowing what I had, I drove it hard and enjoyed it, under hood it was stock, and made more than enough power to get a fellow into trouble with the local police. By the end of the summer I was posted to the city of Edmonton and the next chapter would begin.

In PART 3 we start on the long road to power and performance.