The year was 1987. Ford had just given the Fox Mustang a freshening of the interior and exterior design with a new, more aero and flowing look. The interior featured a rounded dash with gauge "pod" flanked by light switches and a center stack design for HVAC and audio, a huge departure from the "Fairmont" style dash the '79-'86 Mustang used, which was more of a design child of the '70s with its flat face and wide expanse from A-pillar to A-pillar. On the outside, Ford updated the Mustang with their "aero" look that started with the '85½ SVO and Escort models and expanded to the all-new Taurus/Sable for '86. The aero design included rounder front fascias with tucked in/flush bumpers and new plastic headlamp housings that replaced the traditional square glass headlamps. The plastic headlamps were designed flush to the fascia and hood of the car to improve aerodynamics for fuel economy and wind noise as well as give the cars a fresh, modern look.
Fast forward about five years and many of those plastic headlamps became faded or yellowed, looking like they'd been at the bottom of the Atlantic along with the Titanic. Twenty-five years later, it's even worse. Besides the negative vibe, the light output of these headlights is dramatically reduced. This lower light output means you have less visibility during night driving and less time to react to obstacles in the road, such as debris or even a bicyclist/jogger. The main reason this happens to these plastic lamp assemblies is that the clear coating applied to the lens during manufacturing breaks down with sun, bugs, harsh cleaning chemicals, and more. Once the clear coat barrier fails, the yellowing begins. While this is an inevitable situation no matter what kind of car you drive, if you don't catch the issue early on and maintain your headlights with a plastic polish, you'll find you'll need to completely replace the lamp housings.
We're lucky in the fact that the Fox Mustangs, and the '87-'93s in particular, are so popular that restoration and custom parts keep flowing into the aftermarket more than two decades later. When it comes to the aero headlamps of the '87-'93 Mustang, the choices are abundant. From completely stock fluted lenses with amber side markers to one-piece assemblies with LED "halo" or daytime running light (DRL) features and projector beams behind smoke tinted lenses, you have the option of keeping your Fox Mustang stock appearing or giving it a custom look just by bolting in new headlight assemblies.
For our '90 Mustang LX, the time had come for its third set of headlights since it rolled off the line in Dearborn in January 1990. The folks at Latemodel Restoration Supply have plenty of lighting options, from budget to super-trick. We opted for the standard six-piece lamp set to return our headlamps to their former stock glory. Follow along to see how it's done and then go give your Fox some love with a new set of headlamps. You'll be glad you did.
While the LRS headlight offerings are all quality products with different styles/looks to them, they do not include the Ford trademarked oval on them. This is most likely a non-issue for the majority of our readers, but for those of you who show your late-model in a concours class, having that Ford brand logo on your headlights is something judges will certainly be looking for (or should be!). If your original lights are not cracked or otherwise needing major replacement, you might be able to bring your original lights back to near-new quality with a headlight cleaning and polishing kit. LRS sells just such a product (PN LRS-113008HDW; $9.99). With a little effort you can have your original lens looking much better for the judge's scrutiny at your next show.
The coveted Ford oval on original...
The coveted Ford oval on original Fox Mustang headlights can be found at the bottom edge of the lens in the center between the two headlight adjuster tool nubs. These headlights are on a club member's '88 GT convertible.
Follow the instructions in...
Follow the instructions in the headlight cleaning/polishing kit. There are several brands on the market. Some use good old-fashioned muscle to work and others use a drill motor.
Once the plastic lens has...
Once the plastic lens has been cleaned and polished, the driver's headlight looks like new once again. Only five more lights to go and the front of this GT will be ready for inspection on the show field.
1 As noted in our intro text,...
1 As noted in our intro text, we replaced our stock headlights, parking lights, and side market lights many years back with a "smoked" lens version. While they looked great with our Medium Cabernet paint, over the years both the paint and the lights have degraded significantly. Unfortunately the paint isn't so easy to fix!
2 For our work today, you'll...
2 For our work today, you'll only need an 11mm wrench or short socket, but if your tool box is metric challenged you can sneak by with a 7/16-inch wrench or socket. A ratcheting boxed end wrench is a nice time saver too.
3 It's easiest to start with...
3 It's easiest to start with the side marker light removal, as the outboard lamps are situated over the headlamp's rubber perimeter seal. Disconnect the side marker bulb by turning it counter clockwise and pulling out of the lamp housing.
4 Slide your hand in there...
4 Slide your hand in there a second time with a socket or wrench and remove the two 11mm nuts while holding the side marker to prevent it from falling out of the headlight opening panel. Then pull the light forward to free it from the panel.
5 The headlight itself is...
5 The headlight itself is secured by three 11mm nuts. The upper two are relatively easy to access, but the lower retaining nut will take some patience. You might be able to get to the nut through the core support opening with a swivel socket or wobble drive extension. Once the three nuts are removed the headlight and its adjustment bracket will come free.
6 Finally, the inboard parking...
6 Finally, the inboard parking light can be removed as well. This light is retained by two 11mm nuts and we recommend reaching up from under the bumper to access the lower nut, at least on the driver's side. The passenger's side is a little easier.
7 For our '90 Fox, we're...
7 For our '90 Fox, we're returning to stock with Latemodel Restoration Supply's Deluxe Headlight Kit (PN LRS-13008-KIT; $189.99). The deluxe kit includes all six lamps, plus headlamp adjustment brackets, new headlamp body seals, new headlamp bulbs, and new bulb retaining rings.
8 A rear shot of the headlight...
8 A rear shot of the headlight assembly shows the adjuster plate, bulb, and bulb retaining ring already assembled out of the box. All we had to do was install the body seal on each headlight.
9 LRS has several lighting...
9 LRS has several lighting options, including an economy headlight kit without the headlight adjusting plates. If you need to remove your adjusting plate from your old headlamp, all you have to do is pry the three metal retaining clips off of the adjusters. Now you can install your new headlamp to your original adjuster, or vice versa.
10 The economy headlight...
10 The economy headlight kit does not include a bulb or bulb retainer. You can transfer your old parts, or LRS has stock and performance replacement bulbs, bulb retainers, adjustment plate clips, and retaining nut kits to replace any broken or missing parts. We updated our headlights with LRS' Ultra White headlight bulbs (PN LRS-9004W; $24.99).
11 Once you've transferred...
11 Once you've transferred your bulb (for economy light sets) or upgraded your bulb as in our project, the headlight bulb retainer is slipped over the bulb and rotated clockwise to secure the bulb in the headlight housing.
12 Double check that all...
12 Double check that all remaining parking/turn and side marker bulbs are in serviceable shape and replace as needed. The same goes for the wiring sockets. With age the terminals can lose their tension or have resistance/corrosion problems. LRS carries replacement sockets that are easily installed.
13 To prevent damage to the...
13 To prevent damage to the new headlight body seals, it is advisable to slide the headlight assembly into place first, followed by the parking light and side marker light assemblies. Hand thread all of the 11mm nuts onto the lights before tightening with a socket or wrench. Reconnect any light sockets not already connected during assembly.
14 If you reused your adjuster...
14 If you reused your adjuster brackets and your headlights were in adjustment previously, consider your work done. However, if your headlight replacement included new adjuster plates, then you must check and adjust your headlight alignment.
15 You can use the same instructions...
15 You can use the same instructions we provided in our April 2012 article about aligning vintage headlights to measure and adjust your late-model's plastic headlamps. To make the job easier, we ordered this trick headlight adjustment wrench from LRS (PN LIS-14540; $19.99) to reach the 4mm adjustment screws on the rear of the adjuster plates.
16a We took these before and after shots at dusk to show the dramatic improvement of the clear and focused lenses of our new headlight kit versus the nearly decade old lights we had been running.
16b Not only is the headlight itself brighter and clearer, but the parking and side marker lights are more distinguishable as well.