We spotted this four-eyed Fox at the NMRA's season opener in Bradenton last year.
The hood was closed, but the shiny Jalapeno Red PPG paint and highly polished Mickey Thompson wheels caught the eye of your author. As I approached it in the pits, accompanied by associate editor Pete Epple, I noticed that it had "MM" on the windshield, indicating that it was entered in the Modular Muscle class.
Curious and intrigued, we looked at each other with raised eyebrows and approached the owner. Jacob Lamb of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, greeted us and opened the hood. Beneath was not only a Four-Valve, but a carbureted one at that. The engine bay was clean and freshly painted; the engine was simple and understated.
"I just wanted something different," Jacob says of his funky Fox. Different it is, and it doesn't end there. Instead of backing the junkyard '98 Mark VIII engine with a C-4 or Powerglide, Jacob chose a Jerico Performance DR4 four-speed manual gearbox and a Spec Stage 3 clutch. That's right--a carbed, Four-Valve, four-eyed coupe--with a stick.
The interior was just as clean and modest as the underhood. A rollcage, carpet, the shifter, and one Kirkey seat are all that are attached to the floor. The dash is smooth, with only four Auto Meter gauges, and the stock steering column, and wheel.
Mini-tubbed, Jacob's notch sits on 28x10.5 Mickey Thompson ET Drag slicks. Moser 35-spline axles, spool, and 4.56 gears fill the narrowed 8.8-inch rearend, and Strange brakes sit on all four corners. Weight transfer duties are handled by AJE in the front and Pro Suspension, QA1, and Wolfe Racing in the rear.
Behind the scenes, Jacob had a clan of friends and family help him with the build. "I was going to NMRA races with my good friend Richard Robinson, who has raced Mod Muscle for several years," says Jacob. "The racers seemed like such a good group, I wanted to build a car and race with them." After studying the field and noticing mostly '96-up 'Stangs, Jacob decided on an '85 or '86 coupe. Shortly after, he found a six-banger '86 notch on the Internet.
Jacob's very understanding wife, Constance--who drives a black '93 Cobra as her daily--has an uncle named Squeak Gay. When not busy working on Bobcats or building houses, Uncle Squeak found the time to help Jacob do all the chassis work, from the 12-point to the mini-tubs and subframe connectors.
From there, Junior Bullock of Bullock's Body Shop in Frankfort, Kentucky, handled the paint and body duties. Junior is a Mustang guy himself, and even painted Jacob's turbocharged teal '93 Cobra. Meanwhile, Jacob was working on the drivetrain. After acquiring the '98 Lincoln engine from his buddy Marty Luttrell of L&M Salvage, Jacob stripped it down to the short-block and added a pair of '04 Cobra heads that are worked by Smith's Automotive Machine Shop in Frankfort, Kentucky, a quartet of swap meet camshafts, a Sullivan intake manifold, and a Quick Fuel 750 carb.
Other key players were Mason Gravitt, Mike Henderson, Butch Smith, Chris Weatherby, Scott Gay, Milly Fint, Richard Robinson, Curtis Smith, and Jacob's 13-year-old son Jesse. The all-new Coyote Stock class has caught Jacob's eye, and as of this writing, there's a CS-legal 5.0L engine sitting between the strut towers of this clean coupe. Look for Jacob at your next NMRA race in this fiery red Mustang.