1983 Fox Body Mustang Convertible gets Coyote Swapped for Make-A-Wish® Recipient

Jul 10

Jul 10 1983 Fox Body Mustang Convertible gets Coyote Swapped for Make-A-Wish® Recipient

1983 Mustangs

Make-A-Wish® Foundation (MAW), the nonprofit organization responsible for creating and granting wishes to children with critical illnesses, has teamed up with Turn5 (T5), home to AmericanMuscle (AM), for their biggest “Wish” build to date. When the Philadelphia, Delaware and Susquehanna Valley MAW chapter introduced its Ford Mustang-owning wish recipient, Matthew, to AM, Matt explained some of the back story on his car. Matthew’s 1983 V6 Mustang convertible was gifted to him by his grandmother so he could use it to commute back and forth to school. Initially, Matthew’s request for AM was a simple one, requesting for a little body work and some fresh paint on the 35-year-old sheet metal however, the team at T5/AM have a hard time of taking cosmetic builds seriously -- especially for someone like Matthew who just went through a heart transplant.

Matthew’s Fox Body was transformed over the course of the first half of 2019 by AM’s team of in-house technicians, spearheaded by Justin Dugan and Master Technician Joe Gallo. The proposition of a Gen-2 5.0L Coyote swap further complicated AM’s plan and timeframe for the build, requiring a ton of custom fabrication and parts to shoehorn the giant Coyote into the Fox Body’s tiny engine bay. A slew of steering, suspension, drivetrain, and exhaust components were modified to fit the application as well as a one-off set of Forgestar Wheels custom made to clear the modified suspension and big brakes on Matthew’s overhauled steed.

After hundreds of hours of labor and thousands of dollars in donated Mustang parts, Matthew’s Fox Body was revealed to him in front of a huge crowd of Mustang enthusiasts at AM’s 11th Annual Mustang Show at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, PA held on June 15th, 2019. To commemorate the build and provide a glimpse of the hard work involved, AM has dedicated their most recent Hot Lap episode to Matthew’s Fox Body build.

Watch it here: https://www.americanmuscle.com/hotlap-maw-2019.html