Everyone and their brother who’s into our little hobby has had experience with the Fox-Body Ford Mustang, or at least they have a friend who is into them. And that’s for good reason: they are cheap, plentiful, and proven platforms for all sorts of vehicular activities. Want to build a fast drag car for cheap? The Mustang should be on your list, as you can make one go faster practically by staring at it. Want to build a capable autocrosser with V8 power? Again, that’s the Fox Body’s wheelhouse, since the aftermarket offers tons of handling upgrades. How ’bout a sweet cruiser? Yup, they do that too, and you could even get a convertible or one with T-Tops for extra cruising cred.
But what about rock crawling and trail blasting? Yup, apparently the Fox Mustang has you covered there too! Who knew?
While the easy button is to snag a beat-up 90’s Wrangler or maybe one of those weird and awesome 4×4 AMC’s, people are now building all sorts of regular cars that previously had no business traversing rocky trails before and transforming them into off road-capable machines. And guess what? We found one that’s nearly finished, and it’s DIRT cheap! (See what I did there? I’ll see myself out.)
Here’s how it looks up front. Those headlight buckets have me thinking it was originally a 1985 or 1986 “four eyes” Mustang, which are a personal favorite of mine. Note the makeshift bumper made out of scrap steel. I’d fit this thing with something a little beefier, personally.
Whoa, this is a little crazy! It appears that this one started its life as a convertible, which would make it easier to strip down. It has an off-road rollbar and what appears to be some heavy duty subframe connectors. Also, dig the placement of the 5.0 badge. It’s not a Fox Body without that!
Here’s an aft view for you to enjoy. If I know my off-road tires, it appears that this ‘Stang is wearing some meaty BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A’s. Note the taillights secured to the rear of the vehicle, and it seems to have a steel trunk in the former hatch/trunk area for storage. The stock filler neck and tank are just hanging out right there in the open, which is probably a little dangerous, but OK!
Speaking of those BFG’s, they are mounted on the widest 4-lug Mustang steel wheels I have ever seen. No 5-lug conversion on this thing.
Looking under the car, it appears that the stock axle is hoisted up by some coilovers. The axle is pre-stuffed with a set of 4.56’s and a locker, which is a nice touch. Some universal Borla mufflers are providing the 5.0 V8’s soundtrack. Please tell me it has an “off-road” H or X pipe. Please.
Inside, it’s still an 80’s Mustang. Judging by the car’s remaining cosmetic features, I think it’s a 1985 GT. And yes, it has a 5-speed!
The heart of the beast is a carbed 5.0, which again leads me to believe that this is/was a 1985 GT. You could sneeze at these and make more power, so since all of the heavy bodywork has been scrapped, this one must fly!
Something up here is a little different than your typical Fox Chassis car. Can you spot it? Hint: It’s one of the first things to rot out on these in the rust belt. Once you see it…
So, what’s the buy-in for this thing? A paltry $2500. Honestly, that’s not a bad price for a toy that you could beat the snot of and go everywhere in. Will it anger purists like a Vette Kart does? Maybe. Will it rip down country roads and trails with reckless abandon while putting a smile on your face? DEFINITELY. Someone snag this thing!
Click HERE for the original posting on Craigslist.
Oh!
A Mustang hack!
Youtubes roadkill did the same thing to a corvette. Just ask chad he is good friends with David friburger. The editer of hotrod magazines