Prior to Editor Turner picking...
Prior to Editor Turner picking Wild Strawberry for his Fox 500 T-top LX, Terry and Julie picked that same color for their ’84 coupe. When the couple first purchased the car, the only good panels were the T-top roof and a quarter-panel. Terry and Julie replaced and straightened all the others until everything was smooth and straight. With plenty of instructional help, the couple had paint on the panels. A Boss (Inc.) cowl hood gets support from Redline Tuning hood struts.
Ford Racing’s Z304 aluminum head features 2.02/1.60 valves, a 63cc CNC’d combustion chamber, and a 204cc intake port volume. The heads are designed for 5.0- and 5.8-liter engines and boast raised exhaust ports, which could require custom headers in many applications.
If you’ve followed the East Coast Mustang show scene the last few years, you probably know Terry and Julie Allen. OK, so you may not know them personally, but you have probably seen their two-tone Fox Mustang coupe. The coupe was a fixture at car shows, and even made a feature appearance in 5.0&SF magazine a few years back. In the car show world, once a car is finished, most builders need another project to keep them from going stir crazy. That was the case with Terry and Julie.
I guess this car was kind of a 7-year itch, Julie says. We had the red/black ’93 done, and had taken it around. We needed a new project and started talking about it while at shows with the ’93. The couple knew they wanted to do another coupe, and they had also grown fond of ’79-’86 Mustangs. Plus, they had previously owned a T-top Mustang, so that was it--the search was on for a four-eyed, T-top coupe.
It took two years for them to find the right car, and even with it being a one-owner ’84 5.0 LX T-top coupe, the only good parts on the car were the T-top roof and one quarter-panel. However, they had a vision of the finished product. With a vision and some dedication, you can make just about anything happen. It took another two years to get the car in its as-photographed condition.
The first year was dedicated to body and paint. Since much of the body had to be replaced, that kept Terry and Julie plenty busy during the car’s first year. They also decided to build it themselves so more money could be spent on a powerful engine combination. Terry and Julie replaced and straightened exterior panels, and added an Autoweld Chassis mini-tub kit and a recessed trunk-mounted battery. They painted everything but the Boss (Inc.) 3-inch cowl hood, which needed special attention when it came to paint application. The couple had plenty of instruction from those in the know, but when it came down to the actual work, Terry and Julie made it happen.
Where Terry and Julie spent the money was inside the car and under the hood. They knew those were the two areas they would have to invest in to get the results they wanted. The Upholstery Barn’s Charles Sanner handled the custom interior, including reupholstering the seats, door panels, headliner, and so on. The dash features VDO gauges to keep tabs on mechanical transactions.
Speaking of mechanical transactions, Terry and Julie’s other Fox coupe featured a single-turbo powerplant. This time around, they doubled that number, but instead of buying an off-the-shelf kit, of which there aren’t many, the couple decided to build their own. No one really had a twin setup we liked, Julie says. The couple fabbed-up their own turbo kit using twin 57mm turbochargers, along with homemade headers. To make sure the bottom end could live under the 20 pounds of boost, Terry and Julie dropped coin on a D.S.S. Racing-built 331 featuring a Boss block, FRPP Z304 heads, and a classic GT-40 intake. Behind the stout engine combo is a Freddy Brown-built 4STB AOD with a 3,000-rpm stall converter.
When the car made its debut toward the end of the 2010 show season, obviously it was well received. We really pushed ourselves to do things we weren’t sure of, Julie says, but in the end it has all been very rewarding. Seeing a dream come to life is amazing, and it proves you can do remarkable things when you set your mind to it.
We wonder what the Allens will build next...
5.0 Tech Specs
’84 LX T-TopEngine and Drivetrain
Block Ford Racing Performance Parts Boss 302
Bore 4.125 in
Stroke 3.100 in
Displacement 331 ci
Crankshaft D.S.S. Racing
Rods D.S.S. Racing
Pistons D.S.S. Racing
Compression Ratio 9:1
Camshaft FRPP F303, FRRP lifters
Heads FRPP Z304 w/Scorpion 1.6 roller rockers
Intake
FRPP GT-40
Throttle Body Summit Racing
Mass Air Abaco 80mm
Power Adder Home-built twin turbocharger kit w/twin 57mm turbochargers, 20 pounds of boost
Fuel System Magnafuel pump w/Magnaflow regulator, home-built fuel rails, and 60-lb/hr injectors
Exhaust Home-built headers and intermediate pipe w/Stainless Works mufflers and 3-in tailpipes
Transmission Freddy Brown 4STB AOD w/3,000-rpm stall converter
Rearend 8.8 w/FRPP 3.27 gears, Detroit Truetrac differential, and Superior 31-spline axles
Electronics
Engine Management A9P computer w/Anderson Ford Motorsport PMS
Ignition MSD Digital 7 w/Blaster coil, Livewires spark plug wires, and Autolite 3924 spark plugs
Gauges VDO
Front Suspension
K-member UPR Products tubular
Control arms UPR Products tubular
Springs UPR Products coilover
Struts UPR Products
Caster/Camber Hotchkis
Brakes Stock
Wheels OE Wheels 10th Anniversary, 17x8-in
Tires 225/45-17
Rear Suspension
Springs Coilover
Shocks QA1
Control arms Homebuilt, Auto Weld Chassis mini-tub kit
Brakes Stock
Wheels OE Wheels 10th Anniversary, 17x12-in
Tires Kuhmo 335/35-17
Chassis Stiffening Homebuilt, through-the-floor subframe connectors and street cage
As we all know, factory ’84...
As we all know, factory ’84 Mustang interiors weren’t the most stylish. To bring the interior into the 21st century, The Upholstery Barn’s Charles Sanner revived the car’s guts with custom seats, door panels, and headliner. The remaining factory pieces, like the dash, console, and trim, were refinished to like-new condition. The stock gauges were also replaced with VDO units.
Terry and Julie went with...
Terry and Julie went with an industrial look under the hood of their T-top. The couple powdercoated all the parts themselves, and made the turbo kit, too. Terry and Julie sought professional help for the engine and transmission in the car. For the 331 under the hood, they went with a D.S.S. Racing 331 to provide the basis for the car’s motivation. With a 9:1 compression ratio, the engine’s ripe and ready for boost, which comes in at around the 20-psi mark thanks to the twin 57mm turbochargers. A Freddy Brown-built AOD uses a stock shifter to get from gear to gear.