It's stunning to think the '90 Mustang is 12 years old. Twelve years. Wow. When Mustang Monthly cranked up 24 years ago in 1978, the '66 Mustang was the same age. To those of us who have been around the hobby all that time, it is really hard to believe that now a "late-model" is actually approaching the status of "vintage." Weird.
But what's really funny is that history is repeating itself. Parts that were once quite plentiful from Ford are dropping like flies. In another five years, you won't be able to go back to this article and do anything but look back fondly on the "good old days" when you could snatch up original Ford weatherstrip, trim items, and body parts from suppliers.
The big difference is that companies such as Year One and Latemodel Restoration Supply are trying desperately to keep the necessary items in stock while working to reproduce the goodies that Ford deletes. Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Of course, the market is a bit different than it was back in the day. The restoration parts are still as viable, but folks want to jazz up their cars and personalize them more now. That's where the high-quality fiberglass components of Cervini's come into play. Want a Cobra rear wing? Cervini's can supply it. Want a Mach 1-styled hood? The boys at Cervini's stock it. In short, you can do whatever you want in this brave new world.

Though rust isn't as big an...

Though rust isn't as big an issue on the Fox cars, the hatch area seems to be the one spot that does get body rot. Even our '90 LX here has begun to show signs. Though this is bad, the pre-'90s are usually worse.

The bumpers, although they...

The bumpers, although they don't need chroming, do suffer some trials. The ABS pops over time and the yellow plastic shows through. This one has also been nicked in a couple places and needs replacing.

Luckily, this is one part...

Luckily, this is one part that is still available from Ford. Go the extra mile on this part and get the original like we did when we ordered ours from Year One.

One part that isn't available...

One part that isn't available from Ford anymore is the quarter-window.

Even if it was, the price...

Even if it was, the price would be extremely steep. We got a pair that were in OK shape (better than ours) from Mustang Central.

Other high-wear areas on Mustangs...

Other high-wear areas on Mustangs that are forced to sit outside are belt-line mouldings and door-glass brushes.

This car has seen more than...

This car has seen more than its share of outdoor activity...

...due to several vintage...

...due to several vintage restorations taking up its garage space.

The grille cover on this car...

The grille cover on this car will be repaired and reused. However, Latemodel Restoration Supply (LRS) has new ones if yours is toast. We will add a bit of black screen material to the back side of it to keep out debris, and we'll paint the cowl area under it semigloss black to make it fade back.

While buffing the car several...

While buffing the car several years ago, we happened to use some tape that decided it really liked the paint on our mouldings. We'll repaint these when we do some of the other stuff. Just in case yours are toast too, LRS has them.