"Simple Plan"

Chris Miller's '86 GT

    Regardless of what you do in life, you always need a plan. It really doesn't matter what it is, from going on vacation to building a car. I will admit that I can put an entire build together in my head, in just a matter of minutes. I am certain if you are reading this, you can and have done the same. Whether you are wanting a road race, drag race, show car, or cruiser; it is not hard to formulate exactly how it could look. From the paint to suspension, mapping the whole deal takes just minutes, and a few cold beverages. Nine times out of ten, cars are purpose built. Let's be honest, you rarely see a car that you can't figure out it's purpose. As you shuffle around your fox body Mustang, you envision what it would look like with different wheels, a body kit, different hood, and so on. Then if you are like me (highly likely) you will whip out the phone and Google pictures of said parts, just to see for yourself how it would look.

    Chris Miller of Malverne, NY had just such a plan when building his '86 GT. Chris has owned over 25 foxes, and is no stranger to building cars. He's owned GTs, SVOs, coupes, SSPs, and so on. All of his cars served different purposes, but as life happens, which it almost always does, he had to sell them over the years. Whether for homes or children, we've all had to do the same.

    The plan for this '86 was very simple; keep it looking as original as possible, while having all the goodies where it counts. The build would be centered around a coyote swap, for great power, and reliability. The engine bay would receive some smoothing, but nothing over the top, and the coyote would wear it's factory engine cover. Next up was to address the less than adequate brakes on the car, which weren't even a match for the original engine. Obviously you can't install larger brakes and run the original ten hole wheels, so the wheels would have to be changed as well. No worries, they won't give away the secret. The interior also was to remain as stock as possible. No racing seats, or dash swaps. The end results was to be a vintage '86 GT that looked basically original inside and out, but had plenty of present day performance.

    Motivating the GT is the aforementioned coyote. With its amazing power right out of the box, it was a natural choice for just such a build. Though not a simple task, the swaps are getting easier as more parts and information become available. Once the engine bay received a bit of shaving, and fresh paint, it was time to get busy on the other projects. Chris continued on by wiring for the Ford Racing control pack, and plumbing the Aeromotive fuel system. A Hydroboost system from an '03 Cobra was also used, to clear the coyote's wide shoulders, and handle the new Terminator brakes. 

    Inside the car, Chris applied the same approach. The seats, dash, console, etc are all vintage to the car. Using the aircraft style gauge pods, Chris replaced all of the factory units with Auto Meter gauges, as well as a GPS measured speedometer. A Momo steering wheel was also installed featuring red stitching, to match the red piping on the factory seats.

    The suspension is made up of a AJE k member to secure the coyote, Eibach springs, KYB shocks/struts, Steeda lower control arms, MM caster/camber plates, and MM full length subframe connectors. The brakes were sourced from a 10th Anniversary Cobra, with the red calipers tying into the red cam covers, and the red accents on the interior. 

    For the exterior, the car was resprayed in satin silver, with SVO sail panels, Steeda Aero spoiler, and SVO tail lights. All of the original matte black accents remain, keeping with the original appearance of the car.

    The results of Chris' well executed plan are precisely what he was going for. The car is an absolute animal to drive, while looking like a stock '86 riding on Cobra wheels. All we can say is: "We love it when a plan comes together". CR