There is no denying the potential of the Fox-body Mustang. Foxes have ruled the street and track, broken into the 6-second zone, and won road-racing championships. Many states even used the Fox as highway patrol cars to make quick work of those who chose to run from the law. These police and government versions of the Fox-body were known as Special Service Package or SSP Mustangs.
Although Chris Lancaster's four-eyed Fox appears to be a slick '86 coupe, it actually started life as an SSP Mustang. "This is a '91 Georgia State Police car," Chris informs us. "One of my friends owned the car in high school, and several different people have owned it since."
Over the years, this coupe has seen many configurations. Along the way, it was relieved of its street duties. "It was an all-out race car," Chris adds. "It was powered by a 347 with a carb and two stages of nitrous. When one of my buddies was racing it, he slapped the wall pretty hard and took out one of the quarter-panels after a huge wheelstand."
After assessing the damage, the car was stripped. When Chris took ownership, it was nothing more than a shell with doors. Chris tells us he had to use a forklift to put the car on his trailer to get it home.
With the remnants of a Fox coupe sitting in the garage, Chris began to bring his new Pony back to life. The damaged quarter-panel was replaced, and the hunt was on for the rest of the body panels.
"I wanted to be different from the other Mustangs running around central Georgia," Chris adds. "I always liked the '86 GT front bumper. With the lower foglights, it's more aggressive." Once Chris gathered all of the pieces, the four-eye nose took the place of stock front fascia. The engine bay was smoothed, and the blue exterior was coated in fresh white paint.
Next on Chris' agenda was the interior. Black Corbeau seats keep Chris and a passenger safe, and a 10-point Competition Engineering cage adds safety and stiffens the chassis. Chris then shifted his attention to making power.
"I have always liked the mod motors," Chris explains. "I knew I wanted a mod motor in this car, so I bought a Four-Valve Aluminator engine from Ford Racing." The all-aluminum 4.6L was then dropped into the smoothed engine bay, but Chris knew it needed something more. The engine was topped with an intake manifold from Sullivan Performance.
Air is forced into the crate motor by way of a single 78mm ball-bearing, water-cooled turbocharger from Precision Turbo. Chris bolted up a set of custom headers to supply plenty of exhaust gasses to the turbo, which feeds the motor via a ProCharger air-to-air intercooler and tubing fabricated by Chris.
The all-aluminum Four-Valve was mated to a Dynamic C4 three-speed transmission, with a 3,800-stall Dynamic converter transferring power. A Ford Racing driveshaft connects the gearbox to the 8.8-inch rearend, which houses the 3.27 gears. A spool transfers power to both rear wheels equally with the help of 33-spline Moser axles. UPR Products solid rear upper control arms and Steeda lower control arms keep the rearend inline under hard acceleration.
Up front, a UPR K-member supports the mod mill and helps remove some extra pounds from the nose. Lakewood drag struts with 130-pound coilover springs support the weight and help with weight transfer. The power steering has given way to a Flaming River manual rack.
Once the car was together, Chris headed to Panhandle Performance in Lynn Haven, Florida, where Mark Biddle worked his magic on the FAST XFI fuel injection system. When all was said and done, Chris' former state patrol car laid down a healthy 680 rwhp and 695 lb-ft of torque at 18 psi of boost on pump gas. But what would it equate to on the dragstrip?
"The car has gone a best e.t. of 8.80 at 156 mph," Chris tells us. "The combo is simple, makes good power, and the car drives great!" Chris has put the car through its paces in the True Street class. With this much performance, Chris may have built the perfect four-eyed freak.