This is one bad little Fox Body!
Originally, this 1985 Ford Mustang notchback wasn’t anything to write home about. After all, it came with the 4-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission, making it a little grocery getter instead of a tire roaster. However, the owner of this Fox Body had a vision of dropping a modern Coyote V8 under the hood, transforming a poodle into a fire-breathing stallion.
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More specifically, the donor motor is a 2016 Gen II 5.0-liter Coyote V8 from a Mustang. Instead of going wild swapping out internals to make really big power, the owner decided to install some headers, cold air intake, billet oil pump gears, billet timing sprocket, and a Boss 302 ratcheting timing tensioners. That means he’s largely relying on the engineering prowess of the boys in Dearborn, which from the factory was producing 435-horsepower, far more than the original 4-banger provided, so that’s a huge improvement.
Now, you might be thinking a 1985 Ford Mustang notchback is nothing special. After all, the notchbacks lack the curvaceous nature which makes fastbacks so alluring, reminding one of the boxy, generic auto design dominant throughout the 80s. However, the owner of this car points out a mere 37 notchbacks were made by Ford in 1985, so this little pony is a bit of a rarity.
What’s even more impressive is this guy did the swap in the four months with no help from anyone and zero previous experience with Coyote swaps. We’re sure he did plenty of homework and has experience with modding Mustangs, but that’s still remarkable. He said getting the motor in was the easy part, but the bell housing, headers, etc. were a “very tight” fit, so he had to engage in some finagling there. His advice to others is to put the motor in through the bottom so fitment wouldn’t be such an issue.
Check out the video to see and hear this car in action. It’s pretty brutal and should remove any mockery serious gearheads would throw at it, even if they’re not a Ford fan.
