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Jason and his Barra Fox-Body Mustang
This is the story of an Australian Fox-Body Ford Mustang. A car that never actually existed. The Fox-Body was never sold in Australia, and outside of a mid 80’s stint in the Australian Touring Car Championship in the hands of Dick Johnson, it is a vehicle rarely seen down under.
With Aussie enthusiasts preferring to import and restore more “classic” examples from the ’60s and early ’70s over the boxy fox body.
However, the Fox-Body’s lightweight and tuneable chassis has made it a bit of a drag racing hero in its home nation, the US of A. And the body shape has aged quite gracefully, which has ignited some interest in our side of the pond. One thing that has not stood the test of time, however, is the outdated, and frankly underwhelming power train.
So, it’s no wonder that in America these machines are a favourite platform for all kinds of engine swaps, from Godzillas, LSes, and even 4G63s… but what happens when we get hold of one down under?
When Jason Waye, the man behind Muscle Garage and Tuff Mounts, was looking for an R&D car to slip a Turbo Barra into, the Fox-Body was high on his list of desired vehicles. What he’s ended up with is a tough-as-nails, nine-second, drag-and-drive warhorse.
But, before Jason even started his Fox-Body build, there were a few criteria he had set.
First off, it had to stand out from your average Fox-Body build. Secondly, it had to survive the gruelling conditions of the drag-and-drive style events Jason had planned to enter.
With these goals in mind, Jason could think of no better pairing for his Fox-Body, than a mighty Ford Barra Turbo.
Now, it’s one thing to have a car that looks great standing still, but Jason’s Mustang can throw down when it matters. He managed a 9.45 quarter during the car’s debut at Street Machine’s Drag Weekend, but that wasn’t without its challenges.
Due to a hand injury, Jason had to pull out of Drag Challenge week so he enlisted the help of drag racer, Adam Rogash from MPW Performance with the important job of piloting the car down the strip. Adam ended up beating Jason’s PB with a run of 9.21 @ 146mph.
Running consistent low 9-second passes is a lot to ask from a car. However, there’s a lot less going on inside the engine than you might imagine. Aside from the standard housekeeping you’d find in any performance barra: Timing chain, billet oil pump gears, and a set of valve springs. The internals of this engine remain mostly factory.
A standard bottom end with some bolt-ons sees the car produce in excess of 700hp at 21psi.
The brain of the car is a Haltech Elite 2500 ECU run through an off-the-shelf Haltech Barra Terminated Harness.
A Flex Fuel Sensor allows Jason to get the best of both worlds at Drag and Drive events – running ethanol for his high-power passes, and then standard pump fuel for the long road trips in between tracks.
Along with an i-C7 display dash and some supporting sensors, this makes for a reasonably simple and reliable electronics setup.
There is so much that goes into any build and the reward for building a one-of-a-kind car that’s reliable enough to take you thousands of kilometers around the country, but also throw you into the back of your seat with low 9-second passes… that’s really what it’s all about.
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