In 1982 Ford loudly and proudly proclaimed “The Boss Is Back” in their advertising campaign for the 1982 Mustang GT. The ’82 GT saw the emergence of the chrome 5.0 badges that would adorn Mustang fenders for over a decade, and see a comeback nearly 30 years later when Ford again cleverly marketed a 5.0 engine to the generation that grew up with them.

The ’82 Mustang GT was still underpowered with just 160 HP and 250 ft-lbs of torque. This was a significant improvement over the previous V8 offering that displaced 30 horsepower less. Ford got the improved horsepower via the use of a parts-bin camshaft that came no less than out of the marine engine division, as well as a larger carburetor that drew in a whopping 356 cfm of incoming air and fuel charge. Zero to 60 times dropped to 6.9 seconds, which doesn’t sound like much but remember this was a time when America was coming out of the Carter-era fuel crunch, and anything under 10 seconds to 60 probably felt like you were riding a ballistic missile to Moscow.

The ’82 GT features TRX suspension and those odd, metric, TRX wheels that wouldn’t last past 1983. It also had a new front nose, similar to the one from the 1979 Indy Pace Car. The hood featured a non-functional scoop, and the GT was available with a four-speed stick.

We recently came across this time-machine ’82 GT on eBay, item number 131177403597, with just 62,000 miles on the odometer, this car is well preserved, and oddly optioned. It has the T-top package, but lacks power windows, or power locks. It also has no A/C, which according to the seller meant it also got lower drag accessories, this would have also knocked some more weight out of the car.

This car appears well preserved, and ready for you to crank up some Bon-Jovi and Van Halen on the factory AM/FM radio while you cruise with your hair in the wind. The buy it now price is set at $10,999, which is high, but ’82 GTs were unique, and they did reignite the Mustang performance craze. This is the car that started it all, and if you’re looking for an unmolested Fox body it’s a great example.