Fox Body 'Stang (Part 2)

So I talked about a sweet pro-touring Mustang last time, but I realize there are a lot of other purposes for which someone would want one of these Mustangs.  I've got a sweet spot in my soul for drag racing, but oddly enough, this car would not be my first choice for that (see post "Fairlane Wagons").  No, my first thought for this car was another form of racing I would love to get into: Drifting.

(Not a Mustang)

(Also not a Mustang)

(Neither are these)

Drifting is awesome!  It's fun, exhilarating, adrenaline inducing, and requires a lot of skill to do right.  (Videos people make about drifting may also suggest its sexy, but that's most likely to get more people like me to go watch them.)  Maybe I've driven too many rear wheel drive cars on gravel back roads, but I think there is no other feeling quite like kicking a car sideways through a turn.  Sadly, I don't have the proper skills to keep it out and do a sustained drift, but I'd love to learn!  There are a handful of races that should be on my bucket list by now (but I haven't updated it): Drag racing my Fairlane idea (and also in Hot Rod Drag Week), Drifting (in any capacity), driving the Baja 1000 with my brother (not decided on vehicle at this point, maybe a stock Raptor for the awesomeness, sponsorship, and fun of competing in a stock truck), Road racing in my Fiero GT or my GT500 KR clone ideas, and the racing I'll talk about later in this post.

(This is a Mustang)

(So is this)

People drift these cars already, so I'm not crazy!  Vaughn Gittin Jr. drives a new Mustang in Formula Drift, but check out this race team!



Sorry about their lack of taste in thumbnails and in painting their cars...

I would love to drift a Mustang that would be very similar to the one in my last post, other than the fact that I'll have to not care what the body looks like when I'm done racing.  I could live with a simpler engine too, like, say, a 351W or 347 stroker... possibly with a twin screw blower.  Also, the body style would be something I could live with changing.  It doesn't have to be a hatchback for racing.  It could be a notch or even a convertible, if it helps for weight.

(Convertible '84 Mustang with '05 GT rims)

 

(Convertible '86 Mustang with new-style Magnum 500 rims)

The other option for racing a Mustang like this that really intrigues me is Autocross.  For those of you who don't know, autocross is like a mini road race that people set up in parking lots or other open spaces with cones.  It's a very short, very tight, and very intense timed road race that is usually done within 2 minutes.  It's all about speed, braking, and handling your car with precision skills.  This seems to be the easiest to get into since it doesn't require loads of horsepower because you don't get going as fast.  It's more of a suspension and torque game.  Brakes help too.

('92 Mustang running an autocross)

For this type of racing, I would elect a different route than I usually go (or most people for that matter).  I would harvest a 3.0L DOHC V6 from an early 2000s Taurus and put a supercharger on it.  Then I'd mate it to a built AOD transmission (elaborate for name which stands for automatic overdrive. they had to think more when naming its replacement) with a reverse manual valve body and a slapstick.  In a car that light, I really think that motor will make more than enough power to sling you through the turns of an autocross course.

Now in case this feels a bit too mainstream for you, I have two alternate bodies for this build.  There is the Mercury version of the Mustang, the Mercury Capri,...

('80 Mercury Capri in full road race attire)

... or there's the classic Lincoln Mark VII LSC, a.k.a. the Lincoln Super Coupe (Yes, that's what LSC stands for).

('89 Lincoln Super Coupe)

The Lincoln Super Coupe could be partially to blame for this whole idea (along with my recently removed '00 Taurus with the 3.0L DOHC V6) because this car came with a 3.8L supercharged V6.  Ford was hoping this car could be a fuel saving, power equal replacement to the V8 muscle cars of the late '80s, but we're Americans, and I'm pretty sure there's a constitutional amendment saying we have the right to own big V8s.  Right?  I think I remember reading that somewhere...  Needless to say, the Mark VIII came with a 4.6L DOHC V8 instead of a meager little 6.  But the concept of this car would still work in some arenas, like autocross.  You may ask, "Why not just get an LSC to race?"  Because it's almost 1000 pounds heavier, that's why, and in my pursuit of fun and tire smoke, heavyweights are only allowed in big packages.  I may aspire to drive a Torino, Grand Marquis, and a pickup, but my racers are a fox body, a Fiero GT, and a 700+hp GT500KR clone.  Plus, the Grand Marquis should put out close to four figures for horsepower, so it can be a little heavy.

(This is a Mustang)