Camuso to prep the body. They went over
every inch of the body panels, straightening
and smoothing the exterior skin, and then
smoothing the sheetmetal in the engine
bay for a super-clean look. Josh painted the
underside chassis black and sprayed the body
in Black Purple Metallic, chosen at Jackie’s
request. Moldings were also done in matching
body color and took many hours of prep time.
Looking at it now, it seems like fitting the
engine to the body would be easy, but it was
harder than it looks. The Coyote 5.0 engine
came from Ford as a crate engine along with
a 412hp rating (405 as installed in a new
Mustang GT) and an electronic control pack.
To accommodate the engine, the factory
K-member was removed and replaced with
a tubular unit from AJ Engineering. It’s a
universal part with changeable frame mounts
for a variety of Ford engines.
With the bare engine sitting in the engine
bay, the transmission — a Ford 4R70W
automatic — was connected, and this is where
the fitment issues began.
“The shifter linkage was hitting the driver’sside floor, so we had to move the floor in
about an inch,” Mark says. With that problem
solved, the headers — BBK Coyote engine
swap headers — were mocked up to see what
kind of obstacles they’d encounter. They hit
the side of the transmission. The solution
wasn’t quick, but it was what was needed. The
headers were modified for clearance, then
sent out to replace the ceramic coating. From
there, the exhaust flows into 3-inch pipe and
very aggressive Flowmaster Delta 40-series
mufflers with 3-inch outlets.
The 8.8 axle was rebuilt around a new Ford
Racing differential with 3.73:1 gears.
For suspension, tubular control arms were
installed up front, with new Eibach springs,
KYB struts, 1987-93 spindles, and a new
steering rack. Maximum Motorsports caster
and camber plates keep the wheels rolling
true, and SSBC SVO front disc brakes with
slotted rotors and a show-prepped Hydratch
Hydroboost power booster provides a needed
upgrade to the brake system. For an extra-
Issue 10 FOX Mustang Magazine 39