10k: 1979 Mustang Fox w/ Coyote V8

Hey didn’t the Daily Turismo just post a flat black Ford product with engine swap…yes, but the last one was not particularly fast, so we’d like to make ammends with a real coyote in fox clothing, literally.  This 1979 ‘Fox-body’ Mustang has a Coyote V8 engine transplant and is for sale in Morton, IL – currently bidding on ebay for $9250 with a buy-it-now of $12,500.

1979 was the first year of Ford’s legendary Fox platform that brought the Mustang out of its Mustang-II funk and back to a decent looking notch/fastback look with big engines up front and fun rear wheel drive out back.  This hatchback edition has been ‘murdered-out’ with a questionable flat black paint job, blacked out chrome/grill and smoked tail lights.

 Originally this Mustang would have come with either a 88 hp 2.3 L Pinto I4, 109 hp, 2.8 L Cologne V6 , or a 140 hp ‘5.0’ Windsor V8.  Now it has a 5.0 liter DOHC Coyote V8 putting out 412 horsepower and 390 ft-lbs of torque – mated to a C4 automatic transmission.

Inside this Fox doesn’t look too bad considering its age and its been bling-ed out a bit by its owner.  But our biggest wish is that he would have gone with a manual transmission, but its nothing a trip to a few junkyards and a few weekends couldn’t fix.

The Fox body mustang continues to be a performance bargain – and stuffing a newer engine into the chassis is always a good idea…hey is that a Ford Taurus SHO with 3.5 liter ecoboost V6 in front of the Fox…now that is an engine we’d like to see in the Fox (probably easier to use the rear-wheel-drve version from a F-150.)  But is 10 grand too much to ask for a non-mint Fox…even with the screaming V8?

See something with an Ecoboost swap?  email us here:  tips@dailyturismo.com