This 1987 Ford Mustang GT looks like a lightly modified example on the outside, but under the hood is lurking a thoroughly modern powerplant in the form of a second-generation Coyote crate engine. While we don’t always feature custom projects on this page, this modern take on a restomod is worth a look given how closely it mirrors an otherwise mildly modified GT on the outside. Put it on stock wheels and lose the wing and you’ll have a hell of a sleeper. Find it here on eBay with bids just over $13K and the reserve unmet.
You should replace the taillights, too, if you want to return to the stock look, but I’d ditch them regardless of your specific plans. I see what the seller was going for – the car is already well modified, so why not dress up the cosmetics – but I think most would agree that sleepers are infinitely cooler. Lose the wing, replace the LED units with stock taillights, and revert back to some non-polished wheels and you can even keep the exhaust. The rest of the Mustang is standard-issue GT-spec, with the factory body kit still in place and a factory T-top roof.
Of course, changing out the wheels may not be as simple as I’d like to think, as the increased horsepower may demand wider rollers for a bigger contact patch. The seller has also upgraded to a five-lug Cobra disc brake conversion, with 13″ rotors up front and 12″ in the rear. The suspension features several upgrades not immediately obvious to the naked eye to help put the extra power down and keep the Mustang out of a drainage ditch, but the interior remains pleasingly stock in appearance aside from the addition of some auxiliary gauges and replacement gray leather. The seller notes the manual gearbox has been upgraded with a Tremec TKO 600 unit.
In addition to the obvious improvements under the hood, the Mustang received a full respray in Kona Blue paint, and all weatherstripping replaced. While I don’t normally love modified cars, I have to give the seller credit for seemingly restoring the Mustang as completely as possible, as details like weatherstripping and paint can be overlooked by enthusiasts in their rush to drop in a new crate engine and drive it as-is. While I would still choose a stock Fox Body with a 5.0L and manual gearbox over a modified car like this, the work here is nicely integrated and it’s just a few steps away from becoming a sleeper that will catch many modern muscle cars by surprise.
man, i bet this thing is at least two hands full at anything over half throttle!
memory is the stocker with 225hp was squirrelly as heck on anything other than hot, dry pavement.
still i’d love to drive it at least once
I wonder how many gallons of water that wing holds.
Beautiful car and done correctly! I have the coyote in my 03 gt convertible. Fairly easy swap with a tubular k member…and sings a great song when you mash on it. Good luck with the sale 👍
Never been much of a fox fan, but I like this, a lot !
***Drooling increases***
The wing is a Saleen style, and the body kit is not stock GT, look closer, it’s 93 Cobra stuff all the way around. LED tails are an abomination and it should have Cobra wheels and wing to complete that look. Tasty goodness.
My first thought was…”Fox Body AND and engine swap AND t-tops? I certainly hope the owner didn’t skimp out on subframe connectors.”
And then I read the listing, noticed that this thing even has a roll cage, and realized that the owner put together a heck of a build. I’m not a big fan of the chrome wheels or the LED taillights, but overall this car is really well conceived.
I grew up in New Jersey in the late 80s/early 90s, and Mustang GTs and LX 5.0’s were everywhere—so this car scratches a personal nostalgia itch for sure.
Heh…just realized the car itself is in New Jersey. I SHOULD HAVE GUESSED.
I’m with Jeff and the other posters here. I prefer stock, but this is a nice build with some attractive features (the Coyote being primary). I would change a few things but otherwise it’s a cool Fox Body.
Aside: the ebay ad is really hard to read. I know it doesn’t matter to some people, but to me a well-written ad should be part of the effort to sell something of significant value.
Bidding ended at $15,600 with Reserve Not Met.
It is going to be tough to recoup the money invested in this.
No matter how flashy the old 5.0 looks it will always be a sleeper to the cat in the other lane with the latest mega powered super car. A bit too shiny for me but I love that engine and transmission swap, along with all the other mechanical upgrades. Wonder how it does in all acceleration times including passing?
Fox body….unless it is a 93 Cobra…..PASS!
I was looking at a 1990 mustang fox body 302 mustang with a 5 speed manual transmission that was all original with 50k miles on it. The guy that owns the used car lot told me he was keeping the car for himself and I told him if he was ever going to sell it I would buy it when I got my money. then he sold it two days before I got the money for it. If I could of got the car I would of drove the car the way it was until I could of got money saved up then I would of got rid of the 302 and 5 speed manual transmission.