I absolutely adore Fox Body Mustangs. For cheap muscle car thrills, I don’t think there’s a better used buy right now. They’re affordable, plentiful, and come with seemingly endless levels of aftermarket support, whether you’re just trying to keep the car legal for your state’s yearly inspection or want to build a seven-second dragster.
Having ended production in 1993, the Fox Body is primed for an ultra-expensive restomod treatment, a la something similar to Singer’s Reimagined Porsche 911s. While a handful of restomodded Fox Body offerings have popped up over the past few years, nothing comes close to the level of reengineering and attention to detail as this one from Velocity Restorations.
The Florida-based firm has been restoring and restomodding Ford and Chevy trucks for over a decade, but it’s never taken on a vehicle as new as the Fox Body. But going by the car’s decidedly subtle appearance and the supercharged V8 under the hood, I’d say they’re doing this generation of Mustang justice.
What’s A Restomod Supposed To Look Like, Anyway?
At first glance, Velocity’s Fox Body doesn’t exactly look too different from an unmodified, well-kept, low-mile Mustang. There’s no big wing out back, no outlandish fender flares, and no painfully out-of-place modern headlight design. The only notable differences from stock are the hood, which has a center section that rises two inches from the base, and the wheels, which are three-piece, 18-inch billet units from CCW.
As for the interior, there are a few things I love, and a couple of things I don’t love so much. Velocity managed to keep the original Fox Body cabin’s character alive here, which is good. I adore the steering wheel shape; I’m glad Velocity kept the late-model Fox Body airbag wheel design. It’s a totally new piece, naturally, done by Sparc Industries to include a little “V” logo in the right lower corner, where the Ford embossment would normally be. I would’ve preferred if the wheel had stayed all leather rather than having Alcantara sewn into parts of the rim, but I bet buyers can just option that away if they want to.
Then there are the seats, which I also love. They’re Recaros wrapped in a lovely cloth that’s covered in a funky retro pattern, which matches inserts found in the custom door panels. The dashboard remains incredibly simple, with controls for climate and a period-correct-looking radio—no screens here. Similarly, the gauge cluster, made by Dakota Digital and Autometer, doesn’t stray too far from the Fox Body’s design. The cost for this thing isn’t going to flashy new upgrades, but rather a deep, measured enhancement of what’s already there. Which is how I like my restomods.
That being said, I’m not really sure what’s going on with those A-pillar-mounted gauges. While it’s appropriate for a ’90s Mustang, I’m not sure those gauges have a place here. Again, I’m sure you can customize your build as much as you want at this price level. I wouldn’t have them.
Onto The Good Stuff: What’s Underneath
Paying six figures for a Fox Body Mustang is absolutely insane to me, and I don’t think there’s any realm where I can confidently say “you get what you pay for” regarding this build. But you do get a whole lot. In fact, you’re pretty much getting a new car built from the ground up.
Instead of improving on the existing chassis setup, Velocity decided to throw out the stock Fox Body equipment and bolt the body to a new chassis and suspension setup from Roadster Shop, an Illinois-based firm that fabricates new chassis for old performance cars. According to Velocity, this unlocked more room in the rear end for a bigger nine-inch Ford rear end, more space to route the exhaust, and allowed the company to remove the front shock towers to make more room for the engine. Stopping power is provided by six-piston calipers from Baer.
The engine, if you’re wondering, is pretty nutty. It’s a brand-new 5.0-liter Coyote crate motor with a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger bolted to the top. It’s connected to that nine-inch rear end through a 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission and a carbon-fiber driveshaft. Velocity says the setup is good for 800 horsepower at the rear wheels. That’s more than three times what this car was making at the crank when it was new.
This restomod costs around $400,000, according to Velocity’s PR firm. While it’s true you could probably build something close to this level of Fox Body when it comes to power, dialing in the interior and all of the chassis work underneath is probably a bit tougher. And as other big-dollar restomods have shown, there are a bunch of people with a lot of money who would rather just have something like this delivered to their door without having to lift a finger – so I don’t think Velocity will have trouble getting deposits.
Top graphic images: Velocity Restorations
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