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What do you get if you take a 1980 Mercury Capri and mate it with a 1993 Cobra? A head turning, show winning, four-eyed love machine.

Mustang Matt is a regular face in the crowd at any South Florida car show - especially if there are some pony cars around. He has been customizing, and restoring Fox bodied cars for the past 15 years - and his creations are anything but ordinary. The 1980 hatch (now named Dusty) belonged to a fellow Mustang Club member that had slated it to be a “project” car. It sat for a few years untouched, so in 2006 the owner decided to sell the car to Matt. In boxes. Before the sale, the car had begun the transformation to Capri fenders thanks to a dent in the original rear corner. Being a huge fan of four-eyed Mustangs, Matt decided to keep the new fenders, and start bringing two Fox iterations together.

The plan was simple. Make a signature car that utilizes the best Ford had to offer for the Fox platform, make it fun to drive, and keep it as factory authentic as possible. The result is a handcrafted combination of 1979-1993 genuine Ford components.

The rebuild began with an exhaustive search for new-old-stock (NOS) replacement and good used original parts. “I spent countless hours searching for the right parts,” recalls Matt. “Everything on the car is original Ford if it was available.” The results of that hard work are simply astounding. No attention was spared on any detail. Every single panel, cover, and grommet was sourced to recreate a flawless interior that could have been driven right off the showroom floor. “I ended up going through 12 different sets of map pockets to find the right ones,” recalls Matt with a grin. “I spent just about an entire day ironing the pleats back into the final pockets.”

Exterior

• 80-81 Cobra front air dam, hood and rear spoiler with 80-81 Cobra hood graphics
• Marchal fog lights
• 79-83 Factory three piece rear spoiler in mint condition 
• 93 Cobra replica tail lights
• 93 Cobra ground effects- ORIGINAL not reproduction
• 93 Cobra replica wheels with new 255/40/17 tires
• Mercury Capri flared fenders and rear quarters, grafted by a professional vintage restorer
• OEM 87-93 Mustang rear ¼ windows in perfect condition
• Factory sunroof with NOS weatherstrip- no rust, all original hardware
• Hand painted pinstripes- fits the old school look. 
• The stock Cobra hood graphic from Phoenix Graphics was hand trimmed to open up the center portions and let the paint show through.

Attention to every detail: This car features NOS and original hardware everywhere. That’s one of the reasons that this cobra is a complete trophy magnet at car shows. “The car has never failed to win an award in any car show entered to date,” mentions Matt. And with 7,000 miles on the odometer since the restoration - driven primarily to car shows - that’s a lot of awards. “I preferred the original look,” in reference to a completely factory looking powerplant, “but I could eventually dress the engine up and really knock them dead at the shows.”

Interior

• Interior- Original 87-93 BLACK from a low mileage car
• 93 dash with 140 speedo (mileage reset to 0 at build)
• Retro Mach 1 upholstery in black vinyl with early style large headrests 
• SVO lumbar air bladders in both front seats, 84-91 style pull out leg bolsters
• OEM carpet front and rear
• Pioneer stereo with Infinity speakers in stock locations- car is wired for trunk subwoofer
• The very first set of reproduction front seatbelts for foxes
• Leather shift knob and shifter boot
• The car has a leather cruise wheel but Cobras had no cruise control

Drivetrain- Stock 1993 Cobra 

• Under 20K miles on engine and trans
• Valve covers have never been removed
• No leaks, engine is super clean and original
• Stock Cobra trans and shifter
• 8.8 inch rear with 3:08 gears for the long hauls…
• Factory Cobra driveshaft and shifter 
• Walbro 190lph fuel pump and new fuel level sender
• 2 ½ inch H-pipe exhaust with Flowmaster Mufflers
• Cobra throttle body, mass air A9L etc.
• New Steeda sport springs and Tokico Illumina struts in front
• Koni red rear shocks, factory control arms with boxed uppers