Robert Miller
1981 LX Coupe TTop
I started my search for a new Fox to build after purchasing my dream car; a 2004 Mystichrome Kenne Bell Coupe, With 636hp on tap and 598lb of tq, and Factory Paint that caught every eye it went by, it was all any Mustang Enthusiast could ask for, right? Well prob so Except for the fact that it wasn't something I really created. So that's what drove me to want to build another Fox, not just any Fox but a rare one with a restomod attitude; if that could be said for the longest running chassis base that started in 79 and run through 93.
So I wanted to find a rare Fox; well that would lead me to look for SC Saleens, Coupe Saleens, Mclarin's or 93 Cobras, Right? Not so Fast: all these cars were everything the 04 Cobra was, Nice cars from the Factory and already have national attention. A good friend of mine had what I was looking it was a T Top LX Coupe. He wasn't about to part with it so I decided after seeing his car I would start my search for the rare Fox. Searching internet boards, Craigslist ads and forums for months; One day while looking at a set of wheels For Sale on a local forum I spotted in the background what appeared to be the car I was looking for. I did what anyone would do and sent a Private Message; "not interested in the wheels but is the Car for Sale?".....Few minutes later I got a reply. After a few PM's back and forth I had the deposit sent and picked up the car that weekend. It was exactly what I wanted: A 1981 Mustang T-top Coupe, It was a very low option car with no A/c or console. Pretty much a plain Jane Coupe but with the correct Buck Tag of "TR" which of coarse meant it was order with the T-Roof. I had no plans of building the car anytime soon because of the Mystichrome. However when parts starting popping up for sale, I started gather them and dreaming up ideas of how it would look when finished.
Starting out back I used the fox 8.8 Rear with welded axle tubes, FRPP 4:10 Gears (all rebuilt by Donnie and Corey of Boosted Performance) and FRPP 5 Lug axles, with Rear disc Brake swap I decided to use a T-56 6 speed from an 03 Cobra its connected to the rear with an 03 Cobra Alum Driveshaft. rowing the gears is a MGW Shifter with Hurst pistol Grip Handle. I used a donor car that provided the Cobra 5 Speed Pedal assembly and steeda alum quadrant, but I upgraded to a Spec Stage 2 clutch help with power transfer, I added a Moroso Coolant tank, a custom Griffen radiator,Meziere Inline thermostat, swapped out the B head cam cover and did a coil on plug conversion for a much cleaner look, I Polished the stock Cobra Intake then added a set of Mac Long Tube Headers, 3" Mac Pro-chamber mid pipe, A set of 3" One Chamber Mufflers, and love them or hate them the 3" Flowmaster LX tips.
Trusted Friend and owner of Boosted Performance (704)-896-3339 out of Mooresville NC, Donny Salem got his hands on the car after I purchased a MMR Short Block 900 with fully built internals. Donny Cleaned up and assemble the MMR Short Block 900 added a set of Stage 3 Ported B Series Heads and Stage 3 Crowler Blower Cams; Backing the new combo includeds a set of 80lb injectors, Aeromotive fuel system.Wanting something supercharged I went with Procharger's P1SC, and tuning from Rick at Amazon Tuning Solutions, our first dyno session went off great. The mail order tune from Rick was so spot on we only spent about an hour on the dyno dialing it in. The weak spot seemed to be the small blower. So after about 600 miles of break in time, I sourced an F1C Cogged Procharger System and installed it, Back to Rick at Amazon showed that I was having some fuel issues, so Rick and Donnie quickly realized my fuel pump wasn't supporting the new 22lbs off boost we are expecting. So after installing a new Aeromotive A1000 pump I'm excited about taking the car back and seeing Rick again work his magic on the Mustang Dyno. were I'm hoping for some impressive numbers in the mid 600rwhp range.
The car has been a blast to build and its turned out way better than expected. With the Corbeau II seats and custom Autometer gauge field dash, everything is in place to keep up with all that's going on with the car. Suspension set up is key to getting a great stance in a Fox. so out back I choose to go with Maximum Motorsports weight Jacker lower Control Arms, H & R Race Springs, Strange Adjustable shocks and HPM Adjustable uppers. Steeda got the nod for Front and Rear Sway bars; upfront I used the donors car AJE K-member to set the Modular 4.6 4V into the shock towers of the Fox Chassis, along with the Hyrdo Boost Braking set up, I also used AJE Tubular A-Arms, I added Cobra 13" Brakes, Strange Adjustable Struts and QA1's coil over with stiff 325lb springs; Maximum Motorsports Caster Camber Plates set a top the Shock Towers. For a solid foundation, Inside I added a custom MSC 8pt roll bar, its all tide into the Maximum Motorsports Full Length Sub Frame Connectors making the car a blast to drive on the NC Mountain Roads.
Special Thanks to Boosted Performance and Amazon Tuning. They both were very helpful in completing the project and dream.
some of you know i do some work with a shop called amazon tuning... every month or so they do a feature car. this one caught my eye!