A stunt driver is making Ford’s unloved Fox Body Mustang cool again
Ken Block is to the car world what the Kardashians are to makeup: influential, aspirational, cannily progressive, and emulated by millions. The 52-year-old stunt driver has nearly 6 million Instagram followers. His “Gymkhana" driving videos, named after the historic British motorsport events,command rapt attention from his legion fans.The latest one, “Climbkhana TWO," set on the extreme edge of China’s serpentine Tianmen Mountain road, has 14 million views.
Every time Block hints he will make a new installment forhis driving series—whichcombines death-defying driving skill on impossible roads,drifting as beautifully executed as Olympic dressage, and other behind-the-wheel acrobatics with dry humorand epic camera angles (search for “Ken Block + Randy’s Donuts")—it’s a big deal. Block has implied thathis newest video will showcase a new car—a build designed by Ash Thorp,the guy who designed the latest Batmobile.This levels to this arenearingnirvana for car aficionados.
Also check these Vehicles
6496 cc
Petrol
What car will Block and Thorp use as a muse for this film, the concept body around which they’ll construct the latest custom build? Not some crazy Lamborghini,Ferrari hyperbeast, or modified monster truck. Block will use as hisblueprint the humblest little pony car you could imagine: aFox-body Mustang.
If you know Mustangs, you’re gasping right now.
Ford made thisscruffy ‘Stang for eons in car-life terms, from 1979 to 1993. It wasnamed “Fox-body" because it was built on Ford’s “fox" platform that underpinned multiple coupes and sedans for decades forFord, Mercury, and Lincoln. The modelwas so affordable that Ford sold more than 2.6 millionin total. Theybecame ubiquitous in the 1980s, a low-rent version of the Lamborghini Countachs and Ferrari Testarossasmade famous for being driven in the TV seriesMiami Vice.
That exact humble background and odd ‘80s nature are precisely what drew Block to make one.
“The Fox-body happens to be from an era that I’m fond of—that whole look of the all-white Countach, and even the white Volkswagen Cabriolets prominent in the ‘80s in that time," says Block, speaking recently by phone from Park City, Utah.He has been there for weeks, he says, working out daily with his three kids and planning his next big shoots. “Those are my fond memories of that type of car, and the Fox-body just ties into that so well. I think they’re getting more popular—but I just did it because I like the ‘80s."
The Under-Loved ‘Stang Rises Again
Block, who is sponsored by Ford, has famously driven Ford Escorts and F-150 pickup trucks in the videos he shoots in such places asSan Francisco, Los Angeles, and Dubai. But he chose to modify the under-loved Mustang, a concept he has nicknamed “Hoonifox," for good reason. The original modelFox-bodieshad a tried-and-true Ford V8 engine, simple components made easy for modification, and the lightweight bodies—less than 3,500 pounds—thatmake them perfect for the kind of rally-style driving, slides, drifts, and jumps Block has become famous for executing in tiny downtown alleys and off the sides of cliffs. (Incidentally, when Block’s Hoonifoxmeets reality sometime in 2021, it’s likely to have his famous custom-builtAWD system—and an all-new electric drivetrain. “I’m excited to experiment with that," he says. “As much as I love combustion engines, I also love technology.")
It’s not that biga divergence—over the course of its life cycle, the Fox-body Mustang came in many forms. Ford offered it variously with 120-horsepower to 210-horsepowerfour-cylinder, six-cylinder and V8 engines; rear-wheel-drive; a five-speed gearbox; a three-speed automatic gearbox; Cobra and Saleen editions; and a choice among “notchback," hatchback, and convertible body styles. (A notch-body Mustang embodies the particular “notch" style design in which the trunkis less noticeable than the engine and passenger compartments.) Some years, it came with dual front headlights, other times with quad headlights. At one point in the ‘80s, Ford even offered it as a Turbo GT and a performance-tuned SVO version.
The disparity between the Fox-body and the rest of the Mustang lineup is evident without even looking under the hood. While the original Mustangs had swooping rooflines and slightly flared fenders that looked fast standing still, the Fox-body version—with its stumpy, square hood and oddly slanted B-pillar just behind the driver—just looks … still.
Then there’s the interior: Few hadair conditioning, radio, speakers, rear seats, or much sound insulation. The “rear seat" was accessible toadult forms only as a torture chamber; it wasn’tlarge enough to sit upright in without fear of knees, elbows, and head being bumped or twisted likepretzels.
And while “regular" Mustang coupes routinely sell for $50,000 and up on Bring a Trailer, and Steve McQueen’s old BullittMustang sold for $3.4 million in January,driver-quality Fox-body Mustangscan be had for as little as $7,000, 86% of the Fox body Mustangs sold at auction in the past yearwent for less than $25,000, according to Hagerty. (The outlying high sellers were two 1993 Ford Mustang 5.0 SVT Cobra R Hatchbacks that Barrett-Jackson sold for $143,000 and $121,000.)
It hasn’t stopped the inevitable 30-year rebound, though—the phenomenonthat makes cars cool again after the kids who grew up with them as posters on the wall are old enough to make enough money toafford them. Over the past three years, the average value of a Fox-body Mustang has increased 24.5%, with the average value of a car in very good condition at $11,516. Auction data on Bring a Trailer also indicatea gradual though persistent rise.
Ripe for the Plucking
Still undeterred? Good—Block would be proud. With their high production numbers and low price point, many originals were so used and abused that they basically disintegrated into the air like seasoneddandelions. Some survived, durable as they are, and are still on the road.
Look through the usual spots: Bring a Trailer, Hagerty, Hemmings, and local swap meets. Go to the next Radwood show, whenever it happens, and make an offer on the myriad Fox-bodiesyou’re sure to see there.
Beware of rust, which is basicallyeverywhere: inside the frame rails, on the subframe, in the floor pans and quarter panels, and on the shock towers. Hagerty’s valuation guide also suggests you check the A-pillar and rear windows for cracking or dents (the stiffness of the engineering in these was notoriously poor). Also be sure to inspect the subframe for signs of twisting or warping caused by past abuse.
If Block’s driving sets any type of precedent, you’dbetter buy one now before a new generation of “Hoonifox" fans beats up the rest of them.
