There was a lot to like about Ford’s “Fox Body” Mustang of the 1980’s. Though lacking the attractive lines or brutish character of the first generation, it was a substantial aesthetic improvement over the Pinto-derived second generation ‘stang. It was also somewhat unique in pony car history for offering a 2.3 L turbo four alongside the usual assortment of V6’s and V8’s, purporting to offer the right combination of performance and economy.
So it’s no wonder the Ol’ Fox is popular with pony car enthusiasts. Now, Kurgan Motorsports of Atlanta has taken one of these semi-classics and retrofitted it with the barnstorming 5.0 L “Coyote” V8 and drivetrain from a wrecked 2011 Ford Mustang GT.
Kurgan Motorsports owner Bob Kurgan explains:
“The engine just dropped right in. It was everything else that was difficult. With this engine only being out for just a little while, everything had to be custom built for it to swap over. Getting the engine running was easy. We had to custom make the motor mounts, air conditioning brackets, power steering brackets ourselves. But it’s a friggin’ animal on the streets.”
Kurgan’s team also added custom Kooks headers, a brake booster from a ’03 SVT Cobra and swapped out the Fox’s standard transmission for a T-45 5-speed. The result is 412 hp (307 kW) and 390 ft lb’s (529 Nm) of torque. And that’s before the whole thing is supercharged for the win.
Kurgan Motorsports will be giving a (presumably) live demonstration of the engine swap at the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals in June of this year. Kurgan hopes to work with Ford to develop a kit that’ll help other Fox body enthusiasts perform the same feat with their cars. It doesn’t get much sweeter than this.
By Tristan Hankins
Link: Kurgan Motorsports via Stang.tv
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